FC Schalke 04 general manager Horst Heldt has revealed the club are on the verge of signing Manchester City defender Matija Nastasic on loan for the rest of the season.

The Serbia international, 21, is currently out of favour at the Etihad Stadium under Manuel Pellegrini, having not featured in an English Premier League fixture in 2014/15.

We are negotiating back and forth, that s how it goes, Heldt told Bild Magazine. You get closer and closer and in this case we are no longer far apart from each other.

I am optimistic that we will get this done in the coming days.

Both Nastasic and winger Scott Sinclair are expected to be sold this month, but Pellegrini has insisted the duo will leave only if the club receive good offers.

They…

Inter are seemingly nearing an agreement with Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen, reports say.

The Denmark international is out of contract at the end of the season and has also been linked with a move away from Spurs in January.

Inter are among the clubs reportedly interested in Eriksen and it seems the Serie A high-flyers are close to a deal.

TOP STORY – INTER IN ADVANCED TALKS WITH ERIKSEN

Inter are in advanced talks with Eriksen for a move ahead of the 2020-21 season, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Nicolo Schira.

However, he reports Spurs are looking to sell Eriksen in January for at least €20million (£17m).

Amid uncertainty over his future, Eriksen has made just nine Premier League starts for Totte…

Liverpool are interested in Copenhagen’s Robin Olsen, according to .

The 28-year-old shot-stopper is currently at the World Cup and his performances for both Sweden and Copenhagen have been impressive.

manager Jürgen Klopp had decided to give Loris Karius a proper chance halfway through the 2017/18 season and permanently benched Simon Mignolet. The former Mainz 05 ’keeper was doing well until the horror show that, unfortunately for him, happened in the Champions League final.

Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper target has been Alisson Becker of AS Roma, also currently at the tournament in Russia, but the Mirror believe the Brazilian is set to move to Santiago Bernabeu despite Real Madrid winning three consecutive Champions League titles with  Keylor Nav…

UEFA has opened proceedings against Romanian officials Sebastian Coltescu and Octavian Sovre in relation to the events that led to the postponement of Istanbul Basaksehir s Champions League match at Paris Saint-Germain.

The game at the Parc des Princes was suspended after only 13 minutes when it was alleged Coltescu had exposed Basaksehir assistant Pierre Webo to racist language.

Demba Ba, playing for the Turkish side, was seen remonstrating with Coltescu and could be heard saying: You never said this white guy . Why, when you mention a black guy, do you have to say this black guy ? .

The match was completed a day later with PSG running out 5-1 winners. Prior to the resumption, players from both teams warmed up in No to racism T-shirts and took the knee in the c…

After the year Karim Benzema has had, you could be forgiven for thinking he came straight from a computer game.

Appropriately, the Real Madrid and France striker has been awarded the highest rating in FIFA 23 ahead of its release later this month.

EA Sports has announced its ratings for the top 23 players for this year s edition of the popular football simulation, with Benzema the top-ranked on 91, while the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane have fallen.

Benzema scored 44 goals in 46 games in all competitions for Madrid last season as they went on to win both the LaLiga and Champions League titles, and has already notched four goals in six appearances this season.

Last year s top-ranked, Messi, has seen his rating fall from 93 to 9…

West Ham United will consider a move for former striker Demba Ba when the transfer window reopens in January, .

Only the bottom four teams in the division have a worse return than the Hammers’ goal tally of eight in ten Premier League games this season, while Ricardo Vaz Te is their only striker to have hit the back of the net this term.

They have failed to score in six out of ten top flight games this season, with their latest blank coming in a goalless draw with Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.

Ba has made just five appearances since Jose Mourinho returned to Stamford Bridge, and the Senegal international has failed to hit the back of the net since 2-1 FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City at Wembley in April.

The 28 year old had a brief…

Fabrice Muamba said Bafetimbi Gomis sudden collapse at White Hart Lane on Wednesday evoked memories of the day he clinically died.

Muamba, playing for Bolton at the time, fell to the ground at the London venue during an FA Cup quarter-final with Tottenham in March 2012.

The Congolese midfielder suffered a cardiac arrest, and his heart stopped for one hour, 18 minutes.

Now retired, Muamba, 26, said Gomis scare playing for Swansea against Spurs brought back the memories of his near-death experience.

I was busy trying to concentrate on my uni work that takes priority nowadays but I heard about Gomis through social media, Muamba told the Daily Express.

You are not sure of the full details but you can put two and two together and then it came out tha…

Wayne Rooney has revealed that Everton made it clear they wanted him to leave the club before his move to DC United last month.

Rooney returned to Goodison Park last July following a trophy-laden 13-year stint at Manchester United, and went on to net 11 goals for the Toffees, finishing 2017-18 as their top scorer.

The 32-year-old failed to find consistency in an often-struggling side, though, and new manager Marco Silva and director of football Marcel Brands confirmed in June that the former England captain was in talks with MLS club DC.

The forward finally completed the move on 28 June, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract, suggesting at the time that the decision to leave Merseyside was not just down to him.

He has now expanded on the reasons behind…

Manchester United are interested in signing Raphinha from Leeds United in the summer of 2021, according to . It has been reported by the Brazilian news outlet that the agent of the winger is aware of interest from United, and that he plans to hold talks with the Whites regarding a potential move to Old Trafford.

Raphinha joined Leeds from Rennes in the summer of 2020 and has been superb for the West Yorkshire club so far this season. According to , the 24-year-old has made 18 starts and three substitute appearances in the Premier League for the Whites so far this season, scoring five goals and providing five assists in the process.

While Leeds may not be willing to sell Raphinha in the summer of 2021, United are a massive club and are a superpower. A move to the Red De…

Could he have done much more?

Following Scotland’s pretty dismal failure to qualify for the World Cup many people thought George Burley would be relieved of his duties as national manager. He stayed in the role and then led his side to a terrible 2-0 defeat in a friendly in Japan. To be fair to him he had very few regular players available for that game but it was poor none the less.

Excuses

He still kept his job and led his side to their friendly in Wales on Saturday. This time there were no excuses. Apart from Celtic’s Scott Brown and Sunderland keeper Craig Gordon they were at full strength and playing against a young an inexperienced Welsh team who were without the few stars they have. Defeat was unthinkable.

What transpired, of course, w…