Hoffenheim seal Modeste move

that Kevin Strootman has agreed to join Manchester United when the transfer window reopens in January.

A verbal deal was agreed between the midfielder and manager Louis van Gaal at the beginning of this year according to Dutch journalist Hugo Borst, while Van Gaal was still in charge of the Netherlands national team.

Strootman has been with Roma since the summer of 2013 and has notched up twenty-nine appearances in all competitions, scoring six goals.

Prior to his move to the Italian capital, the 24 year old played for Sparta Rotterdam, Utrecht and PSV Eindhoven in his native Netherlands while internationally he has won twenty-five caps for his country, scoring three goals.

United have just discovered that they will be without summer signing Daley B…

Louis van Gaal insists Alex Ferguson s presence will not be an issue as he prepares to take over at Manchester United.

The national coach of the Netherlands was confirmed as United s new manager on Monday, having been strongly linked with the role for a number of weeks.

Ferguson brought an end to his hugely successful Old Trafford reign at the end of the 2012-13 season and played a part in choosing his successor, David Moyes.

However, the former Everton boss struggled in his new position, parting company with United in April after just 10 months in charge.

Ferguson has remained a visible presence at the club in his new role as a director.

However, Van Gaal, who will begin work with United after the FIFA World Cup, insists that will not cause any problems fo…

Tottenham were expected to return to normality in a three-game run against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal but have proved their doubters wrong, says Jose Mourinho.

Spurs claimed the north London derby bragging rights as a stunning strike from Son Heung-min and a thumping effort from Harry Kane – his 250th goal for club and country and a record 11th against Arsenal – secured a 2-0 win on Sunday.

The victory sent Mourinho s team back to the top of the Premier League, where they will stay for at least the week barring Liverpool beating Wolves by an unlikely nine goals.

Mourinho s team, who had 30.8 per cent possession against Arsenal but allowed just two attempts on target, both of which were well saved by Hugo Lloris, have now picked up seven points from …

Bayern Munich attacker Mario Gotze would fit in well under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, according to Roberto Firmino. 

Gotze, who scored the winning goal for Germany at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, has been heavily tipped to leave Bayern in the off-season. 

The 23-year-old has been linked with a move back to Borussia Dortmund, while reports also suggest he could join former manager Klopp at Anfield. 

And Firmino, who played against Gotze several times during his four-year stint in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim, suggested Gotze would be a perfect fit at Liverpool. 

Gotze I still know well from my time in Germany, when I played with Hoffenheim against Borussia Dortmund and Bayern, the Brazilian told Bild. 

He has incredible qualities in att…

The Football Association (FA) has asked FIFA to launch an investigation into claims of racial abuse aimed at Emile Heskey during the team s World Cup qualifying win over Croatia.

We can confirm that we will be making a report to FIFA about the racist chanting aimed at Emile Heskey by some Croatia fans during the World Cup qualifying game in Zagreb. a FA spokesman said.

It is unacceptable for anyone to be subjected to racial abuse and we will be asking FIFA to investigate this.

The FA and England team are determined to do all they can to eradicate any form of racism from football and society.

England s 4-1 away win over the Croats was marred by racist abuse directed at black striker Heskey.

Monkey chants emanated from a section of the ground…

Shakhtar Donetsk defender Darijo Srna has been handed a 17-month ban for failing a drugs test.

Srna withdrew from first-team action after Shakhtar s 2-1 win over Napoli in September after it emerged he had returned adverse findings in an out-of-competition test last March.

The former Croatia captain s suspension has been backdated to when he failed the test, meaning Srna, 35, will be eligible to return to action on August 22 this year.

The National Anti-Doping Center of Ukraine (NADCU) confirmed in a statement Srna had tested positive for the steroid dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA).

DHEA occurs naturally in humans but the NADCU said in a statement that the full-back s sample had given atypical results of the endogenous steroid .

Srna denied knowingl…

Tottenham Hotspur have completed the signings of Ben Davies and Michel Vorm from Swansea City, .

Full-back Davies, who racked up eighty-five appearances for the South Wales club since breaking into the first team at the start of the 2012/13 campaign, has penned a five-year deal with the North London club after securing a swap deal which has seen Gylfi Sigurdsson move in the opposite direction.

The Icelandic midfielder returns to the Liberty Stadium having impressed their during a six-month long loan spell in 2012.

Netherlands international Vorm moves to White Hart Lane for a fee of £3.5m having spent three seasons with Swansea, and will provide competition to current first choice shot-stopper Hugo Lloris.

The 30 year old was part of Louis van Gaal�…

Hansi Flick says the injury that ruled Nico Schlotterbeck out of Germany duty is nothing serious and the defender should return for Borussia Dortmund s clash with Bayern Munich.

Schlotterbeck started Germany s 2-0 win over Peru last week, but he has been ruled out of Tuesday s friendly with Belgium in Cologne due to a thigh injury.

However, the 23-year-old – who has both played in (36) and started (33) the most games of any BVB player this season – is expected to be available for Saturday s trip to Bayern.

We didn t want to take any risks with him, Flick said at Monday s pre-match press conference. It s nothing serious and in two or three days he ll be back on the pitch.

Bundesliga leaders Dortmund head into Der Klassiker a point better off than Bay…

Former Rennes coach Rolland Courbis concedes Ousmane Dembele lacks consistency, but hopes the Barcelona man can star at the World Cup at the end of a difficult season.

After Dembele made a dream move from Borussia Dortmund to Camp Nou last year, his Barca career was rocked by a hamstring tear on his full LaLiga debut, the winger then suffering a setback in January.

But the 20-year-old France international is fit again now and Courbis, who coached him at Rennes, is hopeful Dembele can kick on.

He is incomprehensible, Courbis said of the wide man.

I set up to put him in what I think is his best position, the nine and a half something like [Kylian] Mbappe at Monaco with [Radamel] Falcao, although at Rennes he didn t have Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi or Andres…

Milan rivals vying for Liverpool duo

AC Milan and Inter Milan are locked in the battle for Liverpool fringe players Fabio Borini and Suso, .

Both clubs have recently done business with the Reds, but they are now set to challenge each other for the two Liverpool footballers.

Fabio Borini is widely tipped to return to Italian Serie A after rejecting offers from Sunderland and QPR in the summer transfer window.

He will not come on the cheap through and it is believed Liverpool will only consider an outright transfer for the 23-year-old.

Meanwhile, the two rivals have been showing interest in Spanish attacker Suso as well, who should be available on a cut-price deal.

The 20-year-old has impressed while on loan at Almeria and with his contract…