LONDON // Under-pressure England goalkeeper Joe Hart believes Manchester City will not make life difficult for him to find another club by demanding a prohibitive transfer fee.
Hart, 30, who was subjected to criticism for conceding two free-kicks in the 2-2 World Cup qualifier draw with Scotland on Saturday, has returned to City after spending last season on loan with Serie A outfit Torino.
However, his situation at City has not improved as the unconvincing Claudio Bravo has been retained while manager Pep Guardiola has brought in uncapped 23-year-old Brazilian Ederson from Benfica for €40 million (Dh164.5m), making him the second most expensive goalkeeper ever.
“I certainly don’t think they are going to try and price me out of a move, I think there’s enough respect between the player and club,” said Hart, who will sit out England’s friendly with France in Paris on Tuesday.
“We’re going to work together, there’s no point in working against. There’s no animosity between the two. They are going in their direction and I need to go in mine.”
Milan snap up Portugal’s Silva
MILAN // AC Milan captured Portugal sensation Andre Silva from Porto on a five-year deal on Monday as the resurgent Serie A giants continue to build for next season.
“AC Milan would like to announce the signing from FC Porto of Andre Silva, who has signed a contract until June 30, 2022,” an official club statement said.
It gave no financial details of the deal, although reports suggest the Italian giants have paid in the region of €38m for Silva, who is often described as the “the new Cristiano Ronaldo” and was recently given a glowing report by the Real Madrid star.
“When I retire, Portugal will still be in good hands,” Ronaldo said. “We have a great striker in Andre Silva.”
The 21-year-old striker became a reported target for a number of top European clubs on the back of one strong season with Porto, and his displays with Portugal during 2018 World Cup qualifying.
But after Milan failed in bids to land Andrea Belotti from Torino and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund, the seven-time European champions made an audacious bid for Silva – and were met with a positive response.
He is their fourth recruit in as many weeks following the signings of Swiss left-back Ricardo Rodriguez (Wolfsburg), Ivorian Franck Kessie (Atalanta) and Argentine centre-back Mateo Musaccio.
Buffon says next season will be last – unless Juve win European Cup
After more than two decades of top-level football, goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon says next season will be his last. Unless Juventus win the Uefa Champions League.
Buffon told Italy’s Sky Sport that if Juventus “were to win the Champions League I would continue playing one more season to try and also win the Club World Cup and other trophies”.
Buffon, 39, has won eight Serie A titles with Juventus and the 2006 World Cup with Italy but he has never won the Champions League, coming runner-up three times.
Buffon said he promised Juventus president Andrea Agnelli that he would continue playing if he finally wins the elusive European trophy.
Buffon has made a record 169 appearances for Italy and plans to lead the Azzurri at next year’s World Cup.
Argentina to test attacking options in Singapore
Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli was delighted to start his tenure with a win against bitter rivals Brazil last week and will now look to try out new attacking formations in Tuesday’s friendly against Singapore.
The South Americans agreed to play the tiny Asian nation as part of the host football association’s 125th anniversary celebrations and Sampaoli is refusing to underestimate his opponents despite the huge gulf in class between the sides.
“We expect to face a team that will relish the chance of taking on and trying to beat Argentina,” Sampaoli said after taking team training at the Singapore National Stadium on Monday.
Argentina are second in the Fifa rankings, 155 places above Singapore, and Sampaoli is looking forward to taking the next step in his management journey after enjoying a debut 1-0 win over Brazil in a Melbourne friendly on Friday.
“The team is doing well after the match against Brazil and we are expecting a difficult game against Singapore,” Sampaoli, 57, added.
“We have started our journey together already and we are looking forward to seeing it continue, starting with the game tomorrow.”
* Agencies
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