Serie A champions Juventus have completed the signing of Palermo forward Paulo Dybala for a fee that could rise to €40million.

The Argentine striker, who will join for the 2015-16 campaign, was linked with a switch to the Premier League with the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal said to be interested, while Juve s Serie A rivals Inter were also thought to be contemplating a move.

And the highly sought-after 21-year-old has opted to stay in Italy, penning a five-year deal with Massimiliano Allegri s side, who have already completed a league and Coppa Italia double as well as reaching the UEFA Champions League final.

Dybala has been a star turn in a Palermo side who finished 11th this season, scoring 13 times in 34 Serie A appearances.

He made t…

Mateo Kovacic believes he has found a coach who believes in him in the form of Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri following his move from Real Madrid.

Chelsea signed Kovacic on a season-long loan from the LaLiga giants as part of the deal that saw goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois go the other way.

Kovacic, who made five appearances as Croatia made it to the World Cup final, came on to make his Blues debut in Chelsea s 3-2 win over Arsenal.

And, having helped Sarri s side maintain their winning start to the season, Kovacic revealed he is thrilled to be working under former Napoli boss Sarri.

88% Among players to attempt 30+ dribbles in La Liga in 2017-18, Mateo Kovacic s 88% dribble success rate was the best of any player in the competition. Talent.

— OptaJ…

A veritable living god as a player, Diego Maradona has yet to inspire the same fervour as Argentina national coach after a laborious and controversial World Cup qualifying campaign.

Argentina s struggles to reach South Africa mean many fans are sceptical about his chances of leading the country to a third World Cup triumph.

Maradona, the inspirational captain of Argentina s 1986 World Cup-winning side, was named national boss in November 2008 after a disappointing start to the qualifying campaign brought Alfio Basile s tenure as coach to an end.

Fourteen years after he left the 1994 World Cup in disgrace following a positive drug test, Maradona returned to the Albiceleste with a two-pronged objective: take Argentina to the World Cup, and do it in style.

…

Liverpool striker Fabio Borini has completed a move to Sunderland on a four-year contract.

The Italy international previously spent the 2013-14 Premier League season on loan at the Stadium of Light.

I am delighted to be back at Sunderland, he told the club s official website. It is a club I know really well from my time here previously.

It will be emotional for me to play at the Stadium of Light again and I can t wait to get back on the pitch as a Sunderland player.

Head coach Dick Advocaat added: Fabio is a great addition to the squad who will make our front line stronger.

He can play in a number of attacking positions which is a huge benefit to the team.

Borini endured a difficult time at Anfield having failed to become a first-team…

Franck Ribery has apologised for pushing an assistant referee following Fiorentina s Serie A defeat to Lazio on Sunday.

Ribery, who joined the club after leaving Bayern Munich at the end of the 2018-19 campaign, twice shoved the official on the pitch after the Viola s 2-1 defeat to Simone Inzaghi s side.

The former France international – who was substituted with 14 minutes of the game remaining – could now face a potentially lengthy ban.

He took to social media on Monday to issue an apology to the official and everyone associated with Fiorentina.

I m really sorry for last night, a post on Twitter read. I apologise to my team-mates, the coach and the fans. I also apologise to Mr [Matteo] Passeri because at the end of the match I was very agitated a…

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After a long and arduous 37-game journey, we ve finally arrived at the final day of the Premier League season. The champions have been crowned and the three relegated clubs have been confirmed, but there are still plenty of questions to be asked about European qualification. Today, we re going to preview a game that ll play a pretty important role in that debate as Leicester City prepare to go head to head with Tottenham Hotspur at the King Power Stadium.

Leicester

When you win your first ever FA Cup it can be pretty difficult to focus on any other tasks or goals for the rest of the season, but for Leicester, they need to smarten up because they need to give everything they ve got in this game if they …

(GSM) Teemu Tainio has joined Eredivisie giants Ajax on a one-year deal after being released by Sunderland.

Tainio s contract with the Premier League outfit was terminated by mutual consent on transfer deadline day, which allowed the Finland international to move to Holland.

The 30-year-old midfielder will be reunited in Amsterdam with Martin Jol, who signed Tainio for Tottenham Hotspur in 2005.

The former Spurs boss, who had been keeping tabs on Tainio after leaving White Hart Lane in 2007, has thanked Sunderland for helping the move go through.

I am very happy we could strength our squad on the final day of the international transfer market, the Ajax boss told the club s official website.

Teemu is someone who can do his job in the midfield. H…

Gianluigi Buffon is four minutes away from setting a Serie A record of 930 minutes without conceding – which would surpass Sebastiano Rossi – in Juventus derby at Torino on Sunday.

Massimiliano Allegri s men – who suffered a heartbreaking Champions League exit in midweek – have already set a milestone by keeping 10 consecutive league clean sheets, the last of which came in Friday s 1-0 win over Sassuolo.

Now Buffon is on a personal unbeaten streak of 926 minutes, with Rossi s mark set at 929, as he bids to become the goalkeeper with the longest top-flight run.

Juve go into the match on the back of a morale-sapping defeat to Bayern Munich, in which a 4-2 aggregate lead became a dramatic 6-4 defeat after extra time at the Allianz Arena on Wednes…

Monaco sunk deeper into relegation danger as Thierry Henry s tenure plunged new depths in a humiliating 2-0 loss to bottom-placed Guingamp at Stade Louis II.

Marcus Thuram and substitute Nolan Roux both scored in the space of seven second-half minutes to earn the visitors just their second win of the season.

Henry, whose team had never before lost a Ligue 1 match at home to Guingamp, has now suffered six defeats in his nine top-flight matches since taking over from Leonardo Jardim.

The 2016-17 champions, who have also crashed out of Europe, sit three points from safety and will need a significant upturn in form after the winter break if they are to avoid the drop.

Monaco have just over two weeks to heal their psychological scars before the Coupe de Franc…

Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 7/10 @

In what could prove to be another action-packed MLS showdown in the early hours of Sunday, New England will welcome Orlando to the Gillette Stadium.

Starting with the hosts, making a thumping return to winning ways last weekend as they breezed their way to a 3-1 romp at home against Inter Miami, New England find themselves tipped as a leading contender to clinch a play-off spot in 2023. Drawing a line under their extended six-match blip last time out, the Revs are now trying to find some much-needed stability. Signing off May with back-to-back 3-3 draws against Chicago and Atlanta, Bruce Arena still has a headache over his side’s extended issues at the back. Including a 3-0 drumming at the hands of Philadelphia last mon…