Manchester United in talks over Joshua Zirkzee

Republic of Ireland manager Martin O Neill has a selection dilemma over who to play in goal for Wednesday s friendly with Oman in Dublin.

Veteran goalkeeper Shay Given announced his retirement after Ireland s Euro 2012 campaign, but has since made himself available once again and has been included in O Neill s 27-man party for the clash with Oman and the Euro 2016 qualifier in Georgia on Sunday.

The 38-year-old is one of four keepers in the squad, alongside David Forde, Keiren Westwood and Rob Elliot.

That leaves O Neill with a decision to make over who gets the nod, but O Neill insists that Given, who has 125 caps to his name, is not guaranteed a starting berth.

I talked to Shay quite some time ago way back last season when he was on loan at Middlesbrou…

Market: Lyon to qualify

Odds: 4/7 @

Two sides who will be looking to book their spot in the final of this season’s Coupe de France, Nantes will welcome Lyon to the Stade de la Beaujoire on Wednesday night.

Starting with the hosts, marking their return from the international break with a nightmare display over the weekend, Nantes found themselves in the midst of an extended rut. Eventually blown away on home soil as they were hit with a 3-0 drumming at the hands of Reims, Les Canaris have now failed to win any of their last four Ligue 1 appearances. With that run highlighted by an action-packed 4-2 defeat at the hands of PSG on March 4th, Antonie Kombouare’s side have come under real scrutiny this season. Although Nantes might have stunned everyone across Fra…

Diego Milito says Inter Milan s recent win over Juventus has given them the belief they can take out the Scudetto this season.

Formerly at Real Zaragoza, Milito has enjoyed a renaissance in 2012, with his double in the victory over Juventus on November 3 pushing both him up to 27 league goals this calendar year as the Nerazzurri climb to second on the Italian table.

Speaking to Inter s official website, the Argentina international reiterated his desire to win more trophies with the club, particularly the Scudetto shield.

I d do anything to win the Scudetto! the 33-year-old said. We hope to win titles. Lots of titles.

Milito had previously said back in July that he would even dye his hair blonde if Inter won the Serie A this season, claiming: I would do…

Market: Palmeiras win

Odds: 3/2 @

Looking to lay down another marker this weekend, a high-flying Palmeiras will make the trip to hometown strugglers Sao Paulo late on Saturday night.

Starting with the hosts, while Sao Paulo might have managed to pick up a much-welcomed Copa Libertadores victory away at Racing Club, Hernán Crespo s side failed to keep up that momentum last time out. Putting in what many across Brazil are branding a season-worst display, the former AC Milan striker saw his side get hit with a 5-1 drumming away at Flamengo. Still firmly battling it out at the foot of the table and opening Saturday s contest sat in the drop zone, Sao Paulo have also gained a reputation for their continued inconsistencies on home soil. Last seen at the Morumbi suffe…

Edin Terzic breathed a sigh of relief after Youssoufa Moukoko s late winner guided Borussia Dortmund past Union Berlin, keeping them in touch with Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.

Moukoko came off the bench to net the decisive goal after Donyell Malen s opener was cancelled out by Kevin Behrens, as BVB edged a battle between Bayern s two closest challengers 2-1.

The victory ensures Dortmund – who were beaten 4-2 by Bayern last week – remain two points adrift of Thomas Tuchel s league leaders with seven games still to play this term.

Terzic now has 32 wins from his first 50 league games in charge of Dortmund – more than any other Dortmund coach has posted in their first 50 matches at the helm – and the importance of their latest victory was not lost on th…

Manchester United s pursuit of a new centre-back sounds like it is becoming quite expensive.

Not only have Leicester City reportedly quoted them £90million plus for Harry Maguire, the Red Devils are also being expected to make the England man their third-highest-paid player.

Little wonder Manchester City have apparently stepped away from the race to sign him.

TOP STORY UNITED TO OFFER MAGUIRE HUGE WAGE

The Daily Star claim Manchester United are to offer Harry Maguire a wage of £250,000 a week to tempt him to Old Trafford.

That is said to be three times as much as he earns at Leicester City and would make him the third-highest earner at the Red Devils, behind Paul Pogba and Alexis Sanchez.

Perhaps he is worth the money, th…

Prediction: Atletico Madrid win

Best Odds: 

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As English football prepares for a brief detour in the name of the FA Cup third round, the Spanish La Liga continues to move through its fixture list in what is rapidly turning out to be one of the most exciting top flight campaigns in recent history over in Spain. Today, we re going to take a look at what can easily be described as one of the most intriguing games of the season so far title race leaders Atletico Madrid and the historic Athletic Bilbao.

Atletico Madrid

Barcelona and Real Madrid were always going to have their fair share of troubles this season, but few could ve imagined Atletico Madrid would take advantage quite as effectively as they have. It s going to be tough for them to main…

There are numerous clubs keeping a close eye on the development of Olympique Lyon s Bradley Barcola at the moment, according to Fabrizio Romano. One of them is Liverpool, though the Italian transfer expert claims the race is fully open at this point.

Liverpool fans will be glad to hear anything about their club working on recruiting new players following the disappointment of dropping out of the race to sign Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham. Barcola, however, is not quite at the same development stage as the England international, even if he is several months older.

Further more, 20-year-old Barcola is not a midfielder, but a winger. Preferring to play on the left flank, he s quite a versatile attacker, fully capable of causing defences problems from the right or …

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has confirmed his interest in signing Hamburg defender Paul Scharner.

The 32-year-old has made just four appearances for the Bundesliga outfit this season, having left West Bromwich Albion on a free transfer in June.

The pair spent a year together at the DW Stadium before Scharner ended a five-year stint with Wigan by joining Albion in 2010 and Martinez has revealed the Austrian is one of a number of targets he is hoping to bring in ahead of Thursday s transfer deadline.

Over the next 48 hours I m hoping to bring one or two players in and Paul is one of them, but I can t speak about that because he is a player attached to another football club, Martinez told reporters following the 2-2 draw against Stoke City.

We have the…

New Chelsea signing Willian says his move to Stamford Bridge is motivated by his desire to feature for Brazil in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

The 25-year-old s switch to the London club on a five-year deal was secured on Wednesday, after being granted a work permit for his transfer from Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala.

Fellow Premier League clubs Liverpool and Tottenham were reportedly interested in the midfielder s services, but he opted for a move to Jose Mourinho s side.

And Willian is hopeful the move will benefit him as he looks to become a member of Luiz Felipe Scolari s Brazil squad, at his home World Cup, having previously featured just twice for the national team, in two friendlies in November 2011.

That is definitely an aim of mine, to win my place in the …