Como ambassador Raphael Varane says that his former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has been the most influential person across his career, and has revealed what Zizou told him to do during training sessions as a youngster. 

Varane spoke in-depth in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday, 18 months after he retired at Como. 

• Read more: Varane breaks silence 18 months after shock Como retirement: ‘Difficult journey’

The four-time Champions League winner had joined Cesc Fabregas’s side on a free transfer following the end of his Manchester United tenure in the summer of 2024, but picked up a serious injury to his knee just 23 minutes into his first competitive appearance with the club in the first round of the Coppa Italia that same summer. 

Varane was then left off Como’s Serie A squad list for the 2024-25 campaign and ultimately announced his retirement, less than two months after he had originally joined the club. 

Despite retiring at the age of 31, Varane decided to stay on with Como and is currently serving as an ambassador, sits on the club’s development board and has a hands-on role overseeing the management of the youth sector. 

What Zidane told Varane at Real Madrid

During his own teenage years, Varane left his boyhood club Lens in order to join Real Madrid, where he would go on to play under the likes of Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Zidane.  

“When I moved to Real Madrid from Lens, everything was bigger, newer, different. More than anything, the perception of time is different. You don’t play for a month and it feels like a year,” Varane told La Gazzetta dello Sport. 

“You have to stay focused, stay on track, be resilient and train in the same way that you play.” 

Varane also revealed which individual had the biggest impact on his career: “Zidane,” he said. 

“He advised me to focus on one specific thing during each session. A long ball, a different touch, a new move. A small thing, not lots of things, not everything. Add things and improve day by day.”

Click here to read the full interview with Varane

Douglas Luiz has finally returned to playing regular top-flight football during his loan spell with Aston Villa, but how much will it cost the Premier League outfit to sign the Brazilian on a permanent transfer from Juventus? 

How much will Aston Villa have to pay Juventus to sign Douglas Luiz permanently?

It has been a strange few years for Douglas Luiz, who earned rave reviews towards the end of his first stint with Villa, which began in 2019 and ended in 2024. His performances, particularly during the 2023-24 season, earned him a big-money move away from Villa, joining Juventus in a deal worth €50m. 

Despite his promising Premier League performances, Douglas Luiz failed to hit the ground running in Serie A, and soon became somewhat of an outcast in the Bianconeri first-team. In the end, he made just 19 Serie A appearances during his first season in Italy, and only three of those came as a starter. 

The Old Lady decided to cut their losses during the most recent summer transfer window, sending Douglas Luiz on a season-long loan deal to Nottingham Forest with a conditional obligation to buy. 

Still, largely due to injuries, Douglas Luiz struggled to make an impact at the City Ground and was limited to just eight league appearances during the first half of the 2025-26 season. 

His loan deal was terminated in January, which facilitated a return to Aston Villa, this time on loan with an option to buy. 

Since then, Douglas Luiz has gone on to make six consecutive starts and is looking increasingly settled back in his familiar environment at Villa Park. He added his first league goal of the season with his second-minute strike in an eventual 4-1 loss against Chelsea in the Premier League on Wednesday night. 

If Aston Villa were to activate their option to buy clause this season, Juventus would receive a €25m fee, which is payable over three financial years. The Bianconeri could also claim bonuses of up to €3.5m, the club confirmed in January.

Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Scholes has deleted a story from his Instagram profile criticising Red Devils head coach Michael Carrick but praising Italy international Sandro Tonali. 

The Class of 92 graduate took to Instagram to share his thoughts after Manchester United’s 2-1 defeat by Tonali’s Newcastle in the Premier League on Wednesday evening, criticising his former teammate Carrick, who has been placed in charge on an interim basis until the end of the season. 

Despite an upturn in United’s results since Carrick took over, Scholes said that they “have been crap last four games,” and also gave a shout-out to Newcastle midfielder Tonali. The Instagram story was posted on Wednesday evening and had been removed from Scholes’s profile by midday on Thursday. 

Scholes continues to praise Tonali

Tonali has previously cited Tonali as being the best midfielder in the Premier League. 

Speaking on The Overlap in October, Scholes said: “I love Tonali at Newcastle. Oh, he can run. (Bruno) Guimarães as well. I’d probably choose Tonali at this point.” 

When asked to clarify if he meant that Tonali is currently the best midfielder in the Premier League, he replied: “Yeah. Why? Are you going to say Declan Rice? 

“Yes. I think he’s better than Declan Rice. I really like Declan Rice, don’t get me wrong. I think he’s got everything, I just think too many times he takes too many touches of the ball. I think he tries to look a little bit more stylish than he needs to. 

“I think his physical attributes are brilliant, I think he can be a box-to-box, he can link, I think he can score goals, I just don’t think he does it enough. I prefer Tonali. Is that okay?”

• Read more: Tonali sends message to Pickford after wonder save: ‘One of the best shots of my life’

Dusan Vlahovic is closing in on a return to action after over three months on the treatment table, but what does his presence in the squad mean for Juventus’s summer signing Jonathan David? 

Vlahovic nears Juventus return: Where does David fit in?

Vlahovic has been out of action with an adductor injury he suffered during Juventus’s 2-1 win over Cagliari on November 29, an issue which required surgery to fix.

He had an operation in London, has been working on his rehabilitation since then and as of Wednesday, has returned to training with the first-team group at Continassa, albeit partially. 

Reports earlier this week suggest that the Serbian, who is into the final year of his contract with the Old Lady, could potentially be called up to the matchday squad to face Pisa in Serie A on Saturday. 

In Vlahovic’s absence, and with Arkadiusz Milik also out long term, Juventus have been left without a ‘traditional’ no.9 in their attacking ranks: Summer signings David and Lois Openda have both played there previously, but neither have particularly convinced when starting alone at centre-forward in Serie A. 

The Bianconeri has considered bringing in a new striker during the January transfer window given Vlahovic’s injury and his contract situation, but a move for Fenerbahce’s Youssef En-Nesyri fell through towards the end of the January transfer window, 

Vlahovic will soon be able to lend Juventus a hand on the pitch, and there have been reports that talks over a potential contract extension are progressing as well. 

Vlahovic’s return does not spell the end of David’s days in the Bianconeri attack, though, as reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport suggest that Luciano Spalletti is keen to play both attackers in the same line-up, with the Serbian leading the line and the Canadian playing off him a second striker or no.10 role. 

This would still allow Juve to field Kenan Yildiz and either Francisco Conceicao or Weston McKennie out wide as well. 

The Derby della Madonnina between Milan and Inter in Serie A is fast approaching, and the league have confirmed that Daniele Doveri will be the man with the whistle in San Siro on Sunday evening. 

Doveri confirmed as referee for Milan vs. Inter 

Milan will be the home side for Sunday’s derby in San Siro. The Rossoneri are currently in second place, 10 points behind the table-topping Nerazzurri after 27 matches of the 2025-26 campaign. 

Referee Doveri will take charge of Sunday’s derby. The 48-year-old has taken charge of 14 matches in Italy so far this season: 13 in Serie A and one in Serie B. 

Doveri has refereed Milan twice so far this season: Once for the 3-0 win over Udinese in September and once for the 1-1 draw with Atalanta in October. Matteo Gabbia, Luka Modric and Santiago Gimenez were shown yellow cards in the 1-1 draw with La Dea. 

Doveri has taken charge of three matches involving Inter so far this season: For their 2-1 win away against Hellas Verona in November, their 2-1 win away against Genoa in December and most recently, the 2-2 draw with Napoli in January. 

Doveri showed yellow cards to Yann Bisseck against Verona, and to Manuel Akanji, Bisseck again and Nicolo Barella against Genoa. 

This will not be Doveri’s first Derby della Madonnina either: He has taken charge of four in his career to date: The 2-0 win for Inter in 2019, the 3-0 Nerazzurri victory in 2021, the 1-1 draw later that same year and Milan’s 3-0 win over Inter in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final last season. 

Doveri has refereed Milan 34 times, resulting in 19 wins, nine draws and six defeats for the Rossoneri. He has taken charge of 39 Inter matches, resulting in 16 wins, 10 draws and 13 losses.

Marco Verratti is increasingly likely to be called up to the Italy national team squad for the upcoming World Cup play-off campaign at the end of March, but what role will the 33-year-old Al-Duhail midfielder have to play in Gennaro Gattuso’s side? 

According to various reports over the last few weeks, Gattuso has been considering calling Verratti back into the national team fold for the World Cup play-off semi-final against Northern Ireland on March 26.

Should the Azzurri win that fixture, they will then have to face either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina away from home in a one-legged decider for a spot at the final World Cup tournament. 

How does Verratti fit into Italy’s World Cup play-off plans?

According to updates on Thursday, Verratti is on Gattuso’s preliminary squad list and according to Tuttosport, he will be part of the squad at the end of the month. Federico Chiesa and Federico Gatti are among the other players who could return to the squad. 

For Verratti, if he is called up, it would be his first involvement with the Italy squad since the Nations League third place play-off against the Netherlands in June 2023. 

It remains to be seen whether Verratti will play if he is called up to the squad. According to Thursday’s report, he is seen as an alternative option to Juventus’s Manuel Locatelli at the base of the Azzurri midfield. Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Barella are unlikely to be dropped from their starting spots in Italy’s strongest XI. 

If Verratti is to play, it is most likely that he would be a second half substitute: An experienced player capable of helping Italy get things over the line with his ability to read play and control the tempo of the game from the middle of the park. 

Strahinja Pavlovic has revealed that he spoke to Juventus star Dusan Vlahovic and former Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic before deciding to join Milan from RB Salzburg in the summer of 2024 and claims that Serie A is the best league he’s played in: ‘In these two short years, I’ve learned more than the last six of my career’. 

The Rossoneri defender spoke in-depth to La Gazzetta dello Sport ahead of the Derby della Madonnina between Milan and Inter coming up in Serie A on Sunday evening. 

• Read more: Kaka picks one Inter player he’d steal for Milan and picks derby MVP 

Pavlovic on joining Milan, talks with Vlahovic and improving under Allegri 

Pavlovic claims that he has learned more from playing in Serie A than he had done across six years of his career across Serbia, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria. Being at Milan and playing under Massimiliano Allegri specifically has played a major role in his development. 

“You just have to walk around Milanello to understand how many legends have played here, there are pictures everywhere: In the dining room, in the gym … It makes me happy to wear the same shirt that they wore. It’s a great feeling, it’s hard to describe.” 

Pavlovic revealed which of his Serbian teammates he spoke to before joining Milan: “I called Luka Jovic who was here last season, but I also spoke with Milenkovic and Vlahovic to find out more about the Italian division.” 

He insists that moving to Serie A has been the most insightful step of his career: “Milan is the biggest club I’ve played for so far and Serie A is stronger than Austria, France and Serbia. Everything is different here, there are no easy games. And in these two short years, I’ve learned more than the last six of my career. For a defender, it’s the perfect league to grow.

“The coach puts a lot of attention on the defence and we’ve made a lot of progress. The credit is not only due to the defenders, though, because we need everyone’s help. The forwards and midfielders lend us a big hand as well.

“(I’ve learned) so many little things. I’ve started paying attention to little details that I hadn’t even considered before, which makes the difference.” 

After a difficult 2024-25 season in which Milan finished in eighth place, missing out on European football altogether for 2025-26, the Rossoneri now find themselves in second, albeit 10 points off their city rivals, Inter. 

Are Milan ‘happy’ with their season so far?
“It’s a difficult question,” Pavlovic pondered. “We’re happy compared to last year, the goal at the beginning of the season was to get into the top four and we are in the running to achieve that. But looking at our performance, we could have had more points, so there is a bit of regret. 

“There are still 11 games to go and we will do everything we can to get the most out of them.” 

Click here to read the full interview with Pavlovic

Newspapers in Italy claim that Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri would want to bring both Adrien Rabiot and Luka Modric with him to Real Madrid if he were to accept an offer from Florentino Perez in the near future. 

Could Allegri take Modric and Rabiot to Real Madrid?

Reports earlier this week claimed that Real Madrid are considering appointing Allegri as their next permanent head coach. The LaLiga giants cut short their agreement with the highly-rated Xabi Alonso and are currently under the interim stewardship of Alvaro Arbeloa, who is unlikely to take on the job on a permanent basis. 

According to Tuttosport, Real Madrid and club President Perez have courted Allegri at various stages of the last seven years, dating back to his time with Juventus. 

Los Blancos  could reportedly  be inclined to make another offer for the current Milan boss as they look to turn to a more experienced figure in the Carlo Ancelotti mould for their next head coach. 

According to Tuttosport’s front page and reports from Calciomercato.com on Thursday morning, Allegri would want to bring both Rabiot and Modric with him if he were to accept an offer from Real Madrid. 

Rabiot, like he has done at Milan, would serve as a trusted midfield reinforcement, while Modric is someone that Allegri would like to bring on in some sort of dressing room role, potentially as an assistant coach should the 40-year-old former Ballon d’Or winner decide to hang up his boots in the near future. 

Reports on Thursday claim that Federico Chiesa and Marco Verratti are in a chance of featuring for the Italy national team during the World Cup play-off campaign at the end of the month, and that they have both been included on Gennaro Gattuso’s preliminary squad list. 

Italy are preparing to take on Northern Ireland in the World Cup play-off semi-final in Bergamo on October 26 and the winner of that tie will go on to face either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina away from home on March 31: A one-legged decider for a spot at the final tournament. 

If they fail to beat Northern Ireland and either Wales or Bosnia, it will be the third consecutive World Cup that Italy have missed out on. The Azzurri last qualified for the World Cup group stages in 2014. 

Verratti and Chiesa on Italy preliminary squad list

According to reports from Tuttosport, Gattuso is highly likely to call up Verratti for the first time in almost three years. 

The former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, currently with Al-Duhail in Qatar, last featured for the national team in the Nations League third place play-off against the Netherlands in June 2023. 

Thursday’s report claims that Chiesa, who has not featured for Italy since the miserable Euro 2024 campaign, is also part of Gattuso’s preliminary squad. He was one of the players that Gattuso spoke to over a dinner in London over the last few weeks according to Thursday’s report. 

The Chiesa case is an exceptional one, and according to Tuttosport, a final decision on his call-up will be made around 10 days before the squad meets up. 

Among the fringe players in with a chance of being called up for the World Cup play-offs at the end of the month are Marco Palestra and Federico Gatti. Nicolo Zaniolo is not expected to be part of the squad.

La Gazzetta dello Sport 

Pavlovic exclusive 

A hardman’s derby 

‘Leao said the right thing: It’s a game of life or feath/ Milan are ready to do well. Allegri has improved me. 

Gattuso keeps Bastoni 

A case of boos for the Inter defender 

The CT has already spoken: He will be called up for the World Cup play-offs 

With goals

Coppa Italia: Semi-final first leg

Lazio-Atalanta, what a reaction, it’s a thrilling draw (2-2)

Juve making moves 

Silva and Tonali: Luxury reinforcements for Spalletti

Corriere dello Sport 

A centre-forward for Juve 

Vlahovic surprise | Training in the group since yesterday: Wants to be on the benign against Pisa 

Dusan returns: From the renewal to the Champions League 

He’s been out for 96 days after the adductor surgery. Last goal in Serie A on October 29. Lucio considers him decisive for the race for fourth place. And Comolli is working on the contract 

Lazio frustrate La Dea 

Coppa Italia, semi-final first leg: Finishes 2-2 in a deserted Olimpico 

Heart and pride: Sarri very nearly gets the win with a high-level second half. Magic from Dele-Bashiru after a through-ball from  Maldini. Pasalic finds the 1-1. Dia puts Mau ahead at the end. Musah restores the  balance. Thousands of Laziali not in the Curva Nord. Return leg in Bergamo on April 22 

Napoli, gold on the bench 

Anguissa and De Bruyne called up for Toro 

Tomorrow, Conte finds two of his fab four again. Lobotka out, McTominay doubtful. Gilmour with Elmas in midfield 

Real Madrid, Allegri solution 

Florentino Pereez courting him for seven years 

They need experience after the flop of Xabi Alonso and the interim Arbeloa

Tuttosport 

Juve-Spalletti cont(r)act 

Talks over the coach’s future have begun. Comolli at training yesterday … 

They’ve started talking about the basis of a renewal in recent days: Now discussing the length and they say that Lucio wants in transfer decisions, regardless of  budget constraints. Interview with the son of Sal Da Vinci, who has met the coach: ‘He’s a Napoli idol, like my dad. I hope he’s not at Juve forever’. And, Vlahovic returns to the group: Already called up against Pisa? 

Modric and Rabiot at Real with Max 

Allegri’s conditions for saying yes to Florentino 

Arbeloa destined to leave and Perez tries again with the Milan coach, who would want to bring the Ballon d’Or winner with him as an assistant and the Frenchman as a reinforcement 

‘Napoli-Toro? 11 shields on the pitch’ 

D’Aversa uses his pride as leverage 

The tecnico demands a big leap in quality tomorrow evening: ‘More concentration, more application, more continuity’. The set-piece trouble 

Verratti in Italy for the World Cup 

Gattuso’s choice heading towards the play-offs 

He would alternate with Locatelli in deep midfield. Among the preliminary call-ups is also Chiesa. Definite call-up for Palestra and Gatti could also return. Zaniolo remains out 

Immovable Atalanta, hit back twice against Lazio 

Coppa Italia semi-final first leg: 2-2

Former Ballon d’Or-winning Milan midfielder Kaka believes that his former Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric has the capacity to ‘go on for another two or three years’ despite turning 40 earlier this season: ‘His being there is good for all of Italian football’. 

Kaka spoke in-depth to La Gazzetta dello Sport ahead of the highly-anticipated Derby della Madonnina between second-placed Milan and league leaders Inter coming up on Sunday evening. 

• Read more: Kaka names one Inter player he would steal for Milan and predicts derby MVP

Kaka praise for Modric: ‘He’s crazy, he could go on for another two or three years’

From one Ballon d’Or winner to another, Kaka had nothing but positive things to say about Rossoneri veteran Modric, who has excelled in his first season in Serie A despite turning 40 in September. 

“Lukita is a force of nature,” said Kaka. “It’s great to see what he’s doing in terms of his enthusiasm, leadership and of course, his technique. I played with him in Madrid and I know what his mentality is like.”

Kaka is unsurprised that Modric still has such a high level of motivation for the game despite his age and the trophies he has previously won in his career. 

“It’s human to lose a bit of motivation when you’ve already had it all. But he’s crazy,” said Kaka. “He still wants to pass on his knowledge, he calls his teammates, he’s always ready to fight. He has energy and personality. His contribution to Milan is important in games and in training and I believe that his being there is good for all of Italian football.” 

Kaka also believes that Modric will be among the star players in the upcoming derby against Inter: “Without a doubt. He’ll make the difference with his experience but also his class. I also like Pulisic a lot and there’s always Leao.” 

Modric joined Milan on a one-year contract at the beginning of the 2025-26 season, but has an option to extend that agreement by a further 12 months. ‘Will he stay or will he go’ was the question posed to Kaka. 

“Science helps athletes in every field, it extends your career, helps you improve recovery times. If we think about how important Luka is for the team now, I think he could go on for another two or three years, but who knows. 

“There’s fitness and then there’s the player’s decision, the needs of his family, the desire to go home. There are a lot of factors that push you to end a career, but as long as I see him on the pitch, I think that he can still play for a long time without any problems.”

Sandro Tonali says that he will ‘look for the positives’ heading into Italy’s World Cup play-off campaign at the end of March, and says that head coach Gennaro Gattuso is his biggest footballing inspiration, even before they started working together.

The Italy international sat down for a feature interview with Sky Sport Italia, discussing all things Italy and Newcastle ahead of a busy few weeks at club and international level. 

• Read more: Tonali sends message to Pickford after wonder save

Tonali on Italy hopes, dinner in London and Gattuso inspiration

It has been a season of ups and downs for Tonali’s Newcastle in the Premier League, sitting in 13th place after 28 matches. 

The season will only get more intense for Tonali and his teammates from here, as they face a daunting March schedule with fixtures against Manchester United, Chelsea and bitter rivals Sunderland in the Premier League, Manchester City in the FA Cup and Barcelona over two legs of the Champions League round of 16. 

Then, Italy face the World Cup play-offs, which will determine whether or not Italy will qualify for the 2026 tournament in North America or miss out for the third cycle in a row. 

“It’s going to be a busy month between the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. There’s also something quite important at the end of March that we’re eagerly awaiting,” Tonali told Sky Sport Italia.  

“It will be one of the biggest games for us, we have to play perfectly. There’s pressure, but I like to look for the positives, that’s the beauty of football,” he said, looking ahead to the World Cup play-off semi-final against Northern Ireland on March 26. 

The Italy national team were last in action against Norway in the World Cup qualifying group stage in November, which means that it will have been more than four months since the last time the squad met up by the time the Northern Ireland fixture rolls around. 

Gattuso had hoped to organise a sort-of emergency training camp for his players at some stage in between the Norway and Northern Ireland matches, but this was not possible for various reasons, scheduling in particular. 

Instead, Gattuso has been on a mini-tour of Italy and the UK, having a series of dinners with his players. 

“We had dinner in London,” said Tonali. “We had a great time because we hadn’t seen each other since November. It’s always nice to get together for a moment outside football. We had fun, we talked about a lot of different things. It was a different experience to usual.” 

Tonali also named Gattuso as his biggest footballing inspiration. 

“I’d say Gattuso. I think he’s been the person who’s instilled the most in me, even before I knew him. When he was playing, I took things from him that I liked. 

“After meeting him, I’ve been able to connect with a genuine person, someone who, if he needs to tell you something, will tell you in a split second. And that’s good for us, we need people who tell us things to our face and who will get in our faces when things aren’t going well. 

“We’ve got a coach who has given us so much, who is giving so much and will continue to give so much more. Not just him, but he and his staff will give everything they have to achieve this goal.” 

Borussia Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac was full of praise for 17-year-old talent Samuele Inacio, who he describes as ‘not just the future of this club, but also of Italian football and of the Italy national team’. 

Kovac claims Inacio is ‘the future’ of Italy

The 17-year-old attacker has recently made his professional debut, coming off the bench at the end of Der Klassiker between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga on Saturday evening. 

The teenager is also at the centre of an ongoing feud between Dortmund and his former club Atalanta. Inacio came through the academy in Bergamo, but left to join Dortmund as a 16-year-old in 2024 with no compensation changing hands between the clubs; a situation which has left La Dea bitterly frustrated. 

Atalanta’s loss is Dortmund’s gain, however, and head coach Kovac has nothing but positive things to say about the emerging teenage talent. 

“We’re happy. Samuele is 17 years old and will definitely do well,” said Kovac (via Kicker). “I was happy with his debut. Against Bayern Munich. Imagine that, not bad! 

Kovac is convinced that Inacio will go on to play a major role in the Italy national team set-up. 

“He’s a great footballer. If he stays fit, he will have a really great career. At just 17, I see a lot of the qualities that a very good player in the future will have. He’s not just the future of this club, but also of Italian football and of the Italy national team. 

“He’s making great progress, he has great heart. He’s a technically very clean player. Italians say ‘fantasista’. As a 10 or an 8, he sees things on the pitch at the age of 17 that others at 30 don’t see.”

Youssouf Fofana could find himself on the chopping block if Milan are able to settle an ongoing dispute with Brazilian side Corinthians and complete the signing of 19-year-old talent Andre Luiz Santos Dias according to reports in Italy. 

Reports over the last few days claim that Milan are attempting to close a deal with the Corinthians board of directors for Brazilian talent Andre for a €17m package including bonuses. 

However, Corinthians President Osmar Stabile is reportedly attempting to stall the deal and according to Calciomercato.com, he is holding out for a fee in excess of €25m. Corinthians head coach Dorival Junior is also said to be against the move and that the player is worth more than the reported €17m price tag. 

That is despite the fact that the documents for Andre’s transfer had been exchanged according to reports in Italy. Milan feel that the deed had been done. 

Reports on Wednesday suggest that Milan could potentially appeal to FIFA given the claims that they already had the documents in place with Coritnthians’s own legal department. 

How do Milan’s dealings for Andre affect Fofana? 

This is a complicated situation and one that could potentially affect current Rossoneri midfielder Fofana as well. 

According to reports from Calciomercato.com, Milan could sacrifice the Frenchman in order to make way for Andre if the deal with Corinthians does come off. 

That is because Massimiliano Allegri would have an excess in his midfield department, which already contains Fofana, Luka Modric, Adrien Rabiot, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Samuele Ricci and Ardon Jashari. 

Reports in January claimed that Galatasaray were interested in a deal for Fofana, and Calciomercato claims that they and a number of unspecified Premier League clubs could be poised to make another attempt in the summer should he become available again on the market. 

Allegri is apparently a big fan of Fofana’s, though, and Wednesday’s report implies that the head coach is not particularly keen to lose a trusted first-team player in favour of an untested teenager, despite the occasional dip in the Frenchman’s form this season. 

Dusan Vlahovic is finally back in training with Juventus after a long four months on the treatment table with an adductor injury, but he may have to wait a touch longer before making his competitive return to action. 

Vlahovic back in Juventus training and aiming for competitive return

Vlahovic has been out of action with an adductor injury since Juventus’s 2-1 win over Cagliari in November.

He had scored three goals and provided one assist in 13 Serie A appearances before suffering his setback. He also had three goals in four Champions League appearances before the end of November. 

The Serbia international elected to have surgery on the adductor issue in London at the beginning of December. He has since undergone a lengthy rehabilitation process and has taken a major step in his comeback journey on Wednesday. 

According to reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport, Vlahovic took part in some of Juventus’s training session on Wednesday afternoon, the first time that has happened in over three months. 

Vlahovic could potentially return to the Bianconeri matchday squad in time to face Pisa on Saturday evening, if not against Udinese in the same kick-off slot a week later.

Former Rossoneri star Kaka has named the one Inter player he would like to ‘steal’ for Milan and has no doubts as to who will have the biggest impact in the upcoming Derby della Madonnina: ‘Modric will make the difference’. 

Ahead of the Derby della Madonnina between Milan and Inter in San Siro this coming Sunday, Kaka sat down for an in-depth interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, discussing all things Rossoneri, Brazil and the upcoming World Cup.

Ahead of Sunday’s highly-anticipated derby, Inter sit at the top of the Serie A table with a 10-point advantage over their next closest rivals, Milan. 

Kaka insists that with 11 league matches of the 2025-26 season left to play, Milan still have everything left to play for. 

“We’re 10 points off them, but I will say that it can be done, and in terms of the Scudetto as well. Of course it looks like a very difficult task looking at the standings, but I’ve seen a lot in football and I will repeat, I believe in it.” 

Which Inter player would Kaka steal for Milan?

Kaka was asked which Inter player he would pick to steal and have play for the Rossoneri instead. 

He said: “Lautaro, but since he’s injured I’ll go with Thuram.” 

And when asked which Milan player he thinks will have the biggest influence in this upcoming derby, Kaka said: “Modric, without a doubt. He’ll make the difference with his experience but also his class. I also like Pulisic a lot and there’s always Leao.”

Former Milan and Real Madrid star Kaka has shared his thoughts on his former head coach Carlo Ancelotti and the Brazil national team approaching the 2026 FIFA World Cup: ‘Given their history, they’re always amongst the favourites. And, Carlo is Carlo.” 

Kaka gave an in-depth interview to La Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday, sharing his thoughts on Milan, the upcoming Derby della Madonnina against Inter and the likes of Luka Modric, Lautaro Martinez and Carlo Ancelotti. 

Kaka on Ancelotti: ‘He’s the right person for Brazil at this moment’ 

Italian tactician Ancelotti is due to take part in his first ever World Cup as a head coach, having been placed in charge of the Brazil national team last May. 

No nation has won more World Cup titles than Brazil (five), with their most recent coming in Japan and South Korea in 2002. They have only gone further than the quarter-final stage once since then, though. 

Kaka believes that, with their history and a strong head coach like Ancelotti in charge, Brazil will always be among the contenders for the World Cup title, even if they are not currently ‘in the top three’. 

“Ancelotti is the right person at this moment for Brazil, which, given its history, is always considered amongst the favourites. Maybe not in the top three, but it’s a good team and Carlo is Carlo,” said Kaka. 

“I’m confident, I’ve been lucky enough to play at three World Cups and I know how exciting it can be. Having a good tournament after so many disappointments would be great for the country.” 

Arrigo Sacchi was critical of the way that Como and Inter approached the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final on Tuesday evening, a game which he felt lacked a ‘spark’. 

Como and Inter played out a 0-0 stalemate in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final on Tuesday evening. This means that the tie will be decided in San Siro when the teams meet for the return leg on April 22. 

Sacchi reacts to Como 0-0 Inter: ‘There were no sparks’

The first leg of the Como-Inter tie was not a thriller by any means: Cesc Fabregas’s side registered the game’s only shot on target across the 90 minutes. 

Sacchi, writing in his La Gazzetta dello Sport column, was critical of the way that both sides approached the game. 

“Immediately, let’s get it clear that it isn’t a question of system or of players, they have nothing to do with it. The issue that should be under scrutiny is the approach.” 

Sacchi explained that neither Como nor Inter played to their usual strengths at the Stadio Sinigaglia last night. 

“First of all, it was a game where teams tried not to concede and to play on the counter attack. 

“I was amazed by Fabregas’s side, which so far, has been praised for its desire and determination to dominate the opponent. There were no sparks this time, though. 

“Inter, who practically have the Scudetto in their hands, and will only lose it if they fall asleep (they are 10 points clear of Milan), are a team that makes solidity and playing forwards two of its strengths. We saw that solidity, especially out of possession, even if Como did scare the goalkeeper Martinez a couple of times, but there was no forward play at all.” 

This Coppa Italia semi-final will not be settled for another six weeks. Inter will host the return leg in San Siro on April 22. 

“To be positive, let’s look at it this way: Como and Inter have saved themselves in view of the second leg,” wrote Sacchi. “Especially the Nerazzurri, who will head into the derby in San Siro on Sunday evening, when Milan will have to play their last card in an attempt to complicate Chivu’s plans.” 

Milan are in the process of discussing a new contract extension with star attacker Rafael Leao according to reports in Italy. 

Gazzetta: Milan and Leao discussing new contract 

According to reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport, there have been discussions between Milan and Leao’s entourage over a potential renewal of his contract. 

The Portugal international joined the Rossoneri in 2019, signing a five-year deal, and then put pen to paper on a five-year contract extension in 2023. As things stand, Leao is tied to Milan until the summer of 2028. 

On his current contract, Leao earns a net salary believed to be in the region of €5.5m per season plus bonuses, which makes him one of the highest earners in San Siro. A new contract would likely see that salary increased as well. 

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, there is also Premier League and Saudi Pro League interest in Leao. 

Leao has recently scored in his ninth Serie A goal of the season, which means that he has already surpassed his league goal tally from last season (eight) in 14 fewer games. Experts suggest that Leao is becoming increasingly more of a leader in the Rossoneri ranks as well. 

He is expected to lead the line for Milan heading into the Derby della Madonnina against rivals and league leader Inter this coming weekend, a game that he has described as a matter of ‘life or death’.

Arsenal and Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori has shared his account of the day that his ‘best friend’ Edoardo Bove suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during a Serie A match for Fiorentina, and says that if he is allowed to ‘continue living his dream, then why not?’. 

Just over a year ago, at the beginning of December 2024, the Serie A match between Fiorentina and Inter was interrupted during the first-half as Bove, on loan from Roma at the time, collapsed on the pitch. 

It was later confirmed that his heart had briefly stopped beating. Bove was rushed to hospital, was admitted to intensive care and was discharged 12 days later. 

Bove later had a removable defibrillator device fitted. In Italy, players are not permitted to play with a defibrillator, but that is not the case in various other countries across the world, including in England. 

After a long year with no football, Bove has recently joined EFL Championship side Watford, where he is legally allowed to play, and has recently made his first competitive appearance since the unsettling scenes at the Stadio Franchi back in December 2024. 

Calafiori recalls Bove collapse: ‘My mother called me in tears’

Next door to Watford’s training ground is Arsenal’s facility, where Calafiori, one of Bove’s closest friends, is based. 

Calafiori recently appeared on the Supernova podcast, where he discussed the beginning of his career, his move to the Premier League and his daily life living in London. 

Calafiori also discussed his experience of watching the Bove incident unfold. 

“Edo is one of my best friends here. I mean within the football industry.  (We know each other) from Roma, I joined at nine years old, he joined at 10. We’re the same age, actually he was born three days before me,” Calafiori said. 

“I wasn’t watching the game, I remember my mum called me in tears. I turned on the TV and saw that the game had stopped. My mum called me: ‘I think it’s Edo, I think it’s Edo’. My mum wasn’t exactly clear-headed in that moment. It was horrible. 

“I can imagine that for Tanya, his mother, and for his family it was much tougher.” 

Bove is now back in professional football in the English second division with Watford. 

“I have to say that I’ve seen him doing a lot better,” said Calafiori. “Obviously from the outside, you think for the first 10 days you’re just happy to be alive. But I also imagine for him, this was the first time that he was doing really, really well at Fiorentina and was starting to feel like a real player, his first time away from Roma. 

“In the end, we live for football. If you can play football, then why wouldn’t you do it. I’ve seen him looking well, obviously he has to do a lot of tests and everything like that. His whole life changed, obviously, but if he can continue living his dream, then why not? He can play here.” 

Milan legend Demetrio Albertini has praised current Rossoneri star for his stance on the upcoming Derby della Madonnina against rivals and league leaders Inter, suggesting that the Portugal international is beginning to talk and act ‘like a veteran’. 

Albertini praises Leao and warns Milan about Inter clash: ‘Definitely the last call’

The Rossoneri will be the home side for the upcoming derby against Inter in Serie A on Sunday evening. Massimiliano Allegri’s side beat the Nerazzurri 1-0 in the reverse fixture back in November. 

Inter are the current runaway leaders at the top of the Serie A table after 27 matches, with a 10-point advantage over Milan, their next closest challengers. 

Despite the difference between the two sides in the league table, Leao was keen to express the importance of Sunday’s match during his post-match interview following Milan’s 2-0 win over Cremonese in the weekend just gone. The Portugal star described the derby as a matter of ‘life or death’. 

Albertini has since praised Leao for the importance that he has given the derby, and claims that after seven years in San Siro, he is beginning to talk and act like an experienced leader. 

“In my time, there was no need for reminders,” Albertini told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “On one hand, we had Maldini, Baresi, Costacurta, on the other, they had Berhome, Ferri, Berti just to name a few. Those guys didn’t need the meaning of the derby explained to them in public statements. 

“Today, with so many more foreign players and with so much changing in squads, I think Leao wanted to warn his teammates, especially the latest arrivals, about the importance of a game like this. Rafa has been at Milan for nearly seven years and is now rightly speaking like a veteran.” 

Leao also advised his teammates to not go out this week, to stay at home and prepare for the derby as best as possible. 

“Oh, well for a professional, that should always be the case,” Albertini laughed. “Maybe Leao didn’t have the right words, but I endorse the basis of his message.” 

Albertini was asked if the week leading up to the Derby della Madonnina is always a ‘special’ one. 

He said: “For me in training, it wasn’t. But that’s because as a professional, out of respect for your coach and teammates as well, you always maintain a certain standard, week after week. What is different is the fans, the city, you really feel it.

“If we’re talking about tactics and training sessions at Milanello, I really don’t think Allegri will treat the derby any differently to how, for example, he did last week preparing for Cremonese. Or how he will do before going up against Napoli or Juventus. 

Albertini was again asked if Leao was right to label the derby a matter of life or death. 

He said: “Well, it’s definitely the last call. If Inter win on Sunday, they’ll already be able to start sewing the Scudetto on their shirts and prepare for the celebrations. That’s why I think the game is much more important for Milan than for Chivu’s team.” 

Still, even if Milan do win on Sunday, Albertinin feels that it is one step too far to ask them to catch Inter and steal the Scudetto from their grip. 

“For me, now, because seven points is still a lot to make up, especially with this Inter side that is going at 1,000 mph in Serie A. 

“But, the Nerazzurri have to be careful not to have any slip-ups. And in football, never say never. I won a Scudetto from -7 with seven games to go in 1998-99, coming back against a great Lazio side. We won them all, they lost two in a row to Roma and Juventus, and then on the penultimate day of the season, we pulled off the decisive overtake.” 

Inter have no interest in letting go of centre-forward Pio Esposito according to Tuesday’s reports, despite contact between Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta and his Nerazzurro counterpart Piero Ausilio. 

Where Inter and Arsenal stand with Italy talent Esposito

Esposito is enjoying an impressive break-out campaign with the table-topping Inter in 2025-26, and has already established himself as an option in attack for Gennaro Gattuso and the Italy national team at just 20 years of age. 

The Nerazzurro academy graduate has been given an increasingly involved role at club level as well, despite the presence of Lautaro Martinez, Marcus Thuram and summer signing Ange-Yoan Bonny in Cristian Chivu’s squad. 

Esposito’s performances this season have attracted the attention of a number of top clubs across Europe, among whom are Arsenal. 

The 20-year-old left a strong impression on the Gunners supporters following their trip to San Siro in the Champions League earlier this season: “How much do Inter want for Esposito?,” some fans pondered on social media after his impressive showing off the bench that night. 

It is not just the Arsenal supporters who were impressed by Esposito that night. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Mikel Arteta is also a fan and has reportedly discussed the Nerazzurro youngster with Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta, who is also from Italy. 

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Berta has also been in contact with Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio to inquire after Esposito’s availability and to ask how much it would cost to lure him away from San Siro. 

According to Tuesday’s report, Inter remain firm in their stance that Esposito is a key player in the club’s long-term project, that he is still under contract until 2030, and that ultimately, he is not up for sale to any club. 

Esposito has been handed an even bigger role within the Inter squad over the last few weeks following an injury to captain Martinez and the drop-off in Thuram’s form. 

Bonny has also picked up a minor muscular injury, which means that the attacking reins will be handed over to Esposito when the Nerazzurri take on Como in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final on Tuesday night.

Lazio head coach Maurizio Sarri feels that there is a lot to learn from Wednesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final opponents, Atalanta, and suggests that La Dea are the clear favourites heading into the midweek cup tie. 

Sarri sat down for his pre-match press conference on Tuesday ahead of the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final between Lazio and Atalanta. 

Lazio have already defeated Milan and Bologna in order to qualify for the Coppa Italia semi-final, and will now have to take on an in-form Atalanta, who beat them 2-0 in Serie A just over two weeks ago, in order to claim a place in the final. 

Sarri on Lazio vs. Atalanta, need for investment and taking inspiration from La Dea

During his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Sarri was keen to make it clear that there is a level in quality between the two Coppa Italia semi-final opponents. 

At the beginning of the season, Sarri described this campaign as being ‘year zero’ for Lazio.

Asked if he still thinks that is the case, Sarri said: “It was clear from the beginning that this is how the situation would be. We have to be patient, on everyone’s part. I’ve done that, it would be nice if everyone did the same.” 

And when asked how important tomorrow’s cup clash against Atalanta is, Sarri said: “It’s not massively important in terms of our future. Next year will have to be ‘year one’ and not ‘year zero’. 

“Tomorrow, we will have to play a very difficult game against a strong, Champions League team. We have to have pride, we’ve reached the semi-finals by eliminating last year’s finalists.” 

Asked what needs to change in order for Lazio to see significant improvement next season, Sarri said: “I spoke with the sporting director just half an hour ago. The decisions are made by the club, but nothing changes. We will have to make investments for ‘year one’. It’s difficult to understand which players will be on the market in a few months’ time, so it’s not easy to plan.” 

Sarri was also asked where the differences between Lazio and Atalanta lie, given that Atalanta seem to perform consistently well year-on-year, while Lazio seem to struggle in that respect. 

“Atalanta has been on a long journey that began 10 years ago, which has led to them conquering Europe and making different levels of investment compared to 10 years ago” said Sarri. 

“Now they can afford players of a certain level and the gap increases. Lazio have to take this path and make investments to return to Europe, with consistency, and have a better economic picture.” 

Reports in Italy claim that Juventus will sit down to discuss a new contract for head coach Luciano Spalletti within the next week, and that his future in Turin is not dependent on qualification for next season’s Champions League. 

Spalletti and Juventus set for new contract talks

Spalletti joined Juventus following the departure of Igor Tudor earlier this season and put pen to paper on an initial contract until the end of the 2025-26 campaign. 

Ever since, Spalletti has insisted that sorting out a longer-term deal is not one of his priorities, especially with the season still underway, however, reports from Corriere dello Sport claim that the coach and the club could sit down to discuss a new deal within the next week: Potentially at the beginning of next week, if not before. 

Corriere dello Sport claims that qualification for next season’s Champions League is not a necessity for Juventus to extend Spalletti’s contract. Instead, the Bianconeri would prefer to have a settled coach and hopefully a settled squad as a result. 

Spalletti and Juventus are reportedly set to negotiate over an annual salary in the region of €4m-€5m.

AFC Bournemouth full-back Alex Jimenez has refused to rule out a potential return to Milan at some stage in the future, despite revealing his frustration at being denied the Rossoneri no.2 shirt during the end of his time in San Siro. 

Jimenez joined Milan on an initial loan deal from Real Madrid in 2023 before having that move made permanent in 2024. The Spaniard made a decent impression during his time in the Rossoneri first-team in 2024-25, but was then sold to AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League during the summer transfer window that followed. 

Jimenez has sat down to give an honest account of his Milan departure in an in-depth interview with Gianluca Di Marzio, released on Tuesday. 

• Read more: Jimenez apologises for calling Allegri a ‘sh** coach’

Jimenez open to Milan return despite shirt number snub

During his talk with Di Marzio, Jimenez revealed that there were several reasons why he decided to leave Milan in the summer of 2025. Among them was the fact that he had asked to wear the no.2 shirt for the 2025-26 but was refused and told that he was not yet mature enough. 

“At the beginning of the season, I asked for the no.2 shirt. I wanted it because of the tradition of great full-backs,” said Jimenez. “They told me no, that I wasn’t ready and that I was too immature. They were wrong. From there, it’s true, I lost concentration and arrived late a few times.” 

Jimenez claims that there were ‘various situations that I didn’t appreciate’ during the end of his Milan spell, and says that he wasn’t given enough ‘responsibility’. 

There was also an unfortunate incident when a screenshot of a text message that Jimenez had sent was leaked online, appearing to show him calling Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri a ‘sh** coach’. 

“It was rubbish, I don’t think Allegri is a ‘sh** coach’ and his history proves that. I was coming out of a game, I hadn’t played and I was angry, I chose the wrong person to send that message to,” Jimenez admitted. 

“From day one, I apologised to Allegri, I didn’t think about what I was writing. He accepted my apology.” 

Still, despite these unfortunate incidents, Jimenez has not ruled out a potential return to San Siro at some stage in the future. 

“I’m focused on Bournemouth now, I’m happy and I’m playing well. But of course, I loved Milan and I will never close the doors to a club that gave me everything. My being here and playing in the Premier League is also thanks to Milan. Only time will tell.” 

Former Milan full-back Alex Jimenez has confirmed that he did send a text message calling Massimiliano Allegri a ‘sh**’ coach’ towards the end of his time with the Rossoneri, has apologised for the incident and has also revealed the reason why he decided to leave San Siro to join Bournemouth in the Premier League over the summer. 

Jimenez sat down for an in-depth interview with Gianluca Di Marzio and Sky Sport Italia, released on Tuesday, discussing his start to life in the Premier League and his turbulent exit from Milan during the summer transfer window. 

Jimenez came through the youth system at Real Madrid before being loaned and later signed permanently by Milan in 2023 and 2024 respectively. 

He made 22 appearances in Milan’s final 24 matches of the 2024-25 season, despite the club’s signing of Kyle Walker that January, and had made a solid impression during his time in the Rossoneri first-team, but was then sold to Bournemouth at the end of the following transfer window. 

“It’s a dream for me to play in the Premier League. I’m happy with how things are going at the moment,” Jimenez told Gianluca Di Marzio.  

“It’s true that the Premier League is more physical than Serie A and LaLiga, but I feel good here. My main quality is my speed and this is the right environment to show that.

“I grew up at the two biggest clubs in the world. Life is more calm here in Bournemouth, there’s less pressure. The fans are always by our side, for better or for worse.

“My relationship with Andoni Iraola is excellent, I’m very happy to have a leader like him and I hope to play under him for a long time.” 

Jimenez on Milan departure: ‘There were various situations I didn’t appreciate, I’ll give you an example’ 

Jimenez was asked what he would say if he could say one thing to the Milan supporters, to which he replied: “Thank you.”

He continued: “It’s the club that launched me in the first team, a team that I loved and still love. I had a great time at Milan, I didn’t want to leave. But when the season started I realised that I wouldn’t be a key player, there were various situations that I didn’t appreciate.” 

When asked to elaborate, Jimenez said: “I wasn’t given the responsibility I thought I deserved, they needed to believe in me more. 

“I’ll give you an example. At the beginning of the season, I asked for the no.2 shirt. I wanted it because of the tradition of great full-backs. They told me no, that I wasn’t ready and that I was too immature. They were wrong. From there, it’s true, I lost concentration and arrived late a few times.” 

Towards the end of the summer transfer window, images circulated on social media that appeared to show Jimenez criticising Milan head coach Allegri. The image in question appeared to show Jimenez calling Allegri a ‘sh** coach’ over a text message. 

Six months down the line, Jimenez has accepted full responsibility for that error in judgement. 

“It was rubbish, I don’t think Allegri is a ‘sh** coach’ and his history proves that. I was coming out of a game, I hadn’t played and I was angry, I chose the wrong person to send that message to. 

“From day one, I apologised to Allegri, I didn’t think about what I was writing. He accepted my apology. 

“All these situations took away from my sense of serenity, and I was the one who told the club to look for solutions (on the transfer market). Milan is a club that I love and I didn’t want to feel bad or negatively impact the team with my bad phase.” 

Jimenez played under three different coaches in just over a year during the end of his Milan spell: Stefano Pioli, Paulo Fonseca and Sergio Conceicao. The 2024-25 campaign was a turbulent one for the Rossoneri, and the team ultimately finished the season in eighth place, missing out on European football altogether for 2025-26. 

“I don’t think it was ever a problem with the coaches, it was a team problem” Jimenez said. “We needed to have more confidence in ourselves. 

“That’s how it is in football, one year you do badly and the next you do well. Look how it is now.” 

The Lega Serie A have confirmed that Roma wing-back Wesley Franca is among the players to be suspended following the conclusion of the 27th round of 2025-26 league fixtures over the weekend just gone. 

Six players have picked up one-match suspensions following the 27th round of Serie A fixtures, including Roma’s Wesley, Fiorentina’s Fabiano Parisi and Bologna’s Remo Freuler. 

Serie A confirm Wesley, Parisi, Freuler, Terracciano, Valenti and Pinamonti bans

Sassuolo striker Andrea Pinamonti was the only player to be shown a straight red card over the weekend, and will now have to serve a one-match ban. That rules him out of Sassuolo’s away trip to face Lazio on Monday night. 

Roma star Wesley picked up his fifth yellow card of the season during Roma’s 3-3 draw with Juventus over the weekend, and will now have to serve a one-match ban when the Giallorossi go up against Daniele De Rossi’s Genoa on Sunday. 

Bologna’s Freuler, Fiorentina’s Parisi, Cremonese’s Filippo Terracciano and Parma’s Lautaro Valenti were also shown their fifth yellow cards of the season over the weekend, and like Wesley, have also picked up one-match bans. 

Freuler will be suspended for Bologna vs. Verona, Parisi and Valenti will both be unavailable for the meeting of Fiorentina and Parma on Sunday, while Terracciano will miss out on a key relegation six-pointer between Lecce and Cremonese.

Tuesday’s reports indicate that Juventus are hoping to hand a new and improved contract extension to captain Manuel Locatelli, following the renewal of Weston McKennie, whose new contract was announced on Monday afternoon. 

The Bianconeri have handed new contracts to two of their ‘priority’ players over the last few weeks: First to posterboy Kenan Yildiz, whose wages have more than tripled from €1.7m to around €6m per season, reflecting his star status within the Bianconeri squad. 

McKennie was also into the final year of his contract this season but has since signed a new deal until the summer of 2030, which was announced on Monday. 

Contract extensions continue to be a hot topic of conversation in Juventus circles, as head coach Luciano Spalletti still needs to settle his long-term future and the club’s highest earner, Dusan Vlahovic, will walk away from the club for free at the end of the season unless an agreement over a new deal is found before then. 

Veteran goalkeeper Carlo Pinsoglio has also been sounded out for an extension to his contract. 

A new Juventus contract for Locatelli?

According to reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus will also seek to agree a new contract with captain Locatelli in the near future. 

Locatelli is currently under contract until the summer of 2028, having penned a five-year extension in 2023. He reportedly earns a net salary of around €3.5m per season on his current deal. 

Locatelli has become an increasingly key player for Juventus this season, particularly following the appointment of Spalletti as head coach, which initially came as a surprise given that Locatelli was regularly overlooked when Spalletti was in charge of the Italy national team

As per La Gazzetta dello Sport, the relationship between Spalletti and Locatelli is said to be in a great place, and both seem keen to extend their long-term futures to Juventus.

Riccardo Calafiori has named Italian legends Leonardo Bonucci, Fabio Cannavaro and Alessandro Nesta in his list of players he would use to build the ‘perfect defender’, and has revealed what he thinks his own best quality is on the pitch: ‘It’s not exactly one specific skill.” 

Calafiori was a featured guest on the Supernova podcast, discussing the start of his career with Roma, life in London with Arsenal and his hopes for the Italy national team. 

During his podcast appearance, Calafiori was also asked to build his perfect defender using traits from various different stars he has played with, against or watched over the years. There were no limitations on the defenders that Calafiori was allowed to pick based on the era in which they played. 

Unsurprisingly, Calafiori named Italian players in the majority of the given categories, but did find space for the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Sergio Ramos. 

Calafiori’s perfect defender

The physique of: “I would say Virgil van Dijk. Because he’s tall and not exactly slow.” 

The anticipation of: “Nesta, I think. Nesta or Cannavaro.”

The slide tackling of: “Always those two (Nesta and Cannavaro), two maestros.” Calafiori admitted that he was a bit too young to see the best of Paolo Maldini in his prime years, but said that “as an icon, I’d put him above everyone.” 

The positioning of: “Bonucci.” 

The heading of: “Sergio Ramos.” 

Right foot: “I said Bonucci before, who else? I don’t know. Also Van Dijk. I’m definitely forgetting someone.” 

Left foot: “Left foot? I’ll say Bastoni.” 

Calafiori was also asked what he thinks is his own best quality. 

He replied: “I think what I like is that maybe I can do a few different things at the same level. It’s not exactly one specific skill, more like that. I think the energy I bring onto the pitch that kind of changes the team, I think that’s it.” 

“The aura?” the podcast producer asked from behind the camera. “Aura, yeah,” Calafiori somewhat reluctantly replied. 

Reports across Europe claim that Iran are increasingly likely to miss out on the upcoming FIFA World Cup in North America, but what does this mean for Italy, who are yet to secure a spot in the final tournament? 

Over the weekend, the United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran, which has since led to a series of retaliatory strikes across the Middle East. 

The ongoing conflict makes it unlikely that Iran will feature at the upcoming 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States. 

“With what happened… and with that attack by the United States, it is unlikely that we can look forward to the World Cup, but the sports chiefs are the ones who must decide on that,” said Mehdi Taj, head of Iran’s football federation (via BBC Sport).

According to updates from the BBC, FIFA still expects Iran to take part in the upcoming World Cup, for which they have already qualified, but rumours of a potential boycott continue to circulate. 

What would happen to Italy if Iran boycotts 2026 World Cup?

Iran have already qualified directly for the 2026 World Cup and have been drawn into Group G along with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. 

Italy, meanwhile, have not secured a spot at the upcoming World Cup, and will instead have to go through the play-off system if they are to qualify. 

Gennaro Gattuso’s Azzurri will take on Northern Ireland in Bergamo on March 26 in the World Cup play-off semi-final, and the winner of that tie will go on to face either Wales or Bosnia away from home in a one-legged decider for a spot in the final tournament. 

Italy are the highest-ranked nation in the world (13th) that does not have a spot at the World Cup locked down. 

If Iran decides to boycott the World Cup,  a spot in the group stages will open up. If there is a boycott this summer, Italy are not expected to benefit directly, though. 

That is because Iran’s spot would go to the next-best team from the Asian (AFC) qualifying system, instead of the highest-ranked team worldwide. In this scenario, Iraq would claim a spot in the World Cup group stages. 

Iraq are still in with a chance of qualifying of their own right and are currently expected to take part in the intercontinental play-offs at the end of March. If Iraq were handed a spot in the World Cup group stages, the UAE would take their place in the intercontinental play-offs instead. 

It was another eventful week for the Italy internationals in the Premier League as Sandro Tonali registered an assist for Newcastle, Gianluigi Donnarumma kept another clean sheet for Manchester City and Michael Kayode was involved at both ends in a hectic 4-3 match between Brentford and Burnley. 

Here is a look at how the Italy internationals got on in England this weekend. 

Italy internationals in Premier League: Week 28 

League leaders Arsenal kept their five-point buffer over Manchester City intact thanks to a 2-1 victory at home against London rivals Chelsea on Sunday afternoon. Riccardo Calafiori was an unused substitute; Piero Hincapie has been preferred at left-back for the last three league matches. 

• Read more: Calafiori on life with Arsenal and the one thing he doesn’t like about London

Manchester City ensured they kept the pressure on the North Londoners with a tight 1-0 win away against Leeds United on Saturday: Donnarumma played his part by keeping his 11th clean sheet from 25 Premier League matches. Only Arsenal’s David Raya (13) has more in England’s top flight this campaign. 

13-time Italy international Wilfrid Gnonto appeared off the substitutes bench for the final 15 minutes of Leeds’s 1-0 loss against Manchester City. 

Sandro Tonali found himself on the losing side of a 3-2 scoreline when Newcastle faced Everton this weekend, but was still involved in the goals with an assist for Jacob Ramsay half an hour in. 

Tonali earned ratings as high as 8/10 from some outlets in the UK for his performance during Newcastle’s loss, despite the collective result being described as a ‘disaster’. The Magpies have now slipped down to 13th place in the Premier League title, and now sit behind their bitter rivals, Sunderland, who were promoted from the Championship at the end of last season. 

Michael Kayode was involved at both ends as Brentford claimed a last-minuted 4-3 win over Burnley in the most exciting Premier League game of the weekend from a neutral’s perspective. 

The 21-year-old, formerly of Fiorentina, caused chaos again with one of his trademark long-throws, which led to Kevin Schade putting Brentford 3-0 up in the first-half. Unfortunately for the Italy youngster, he also recorded an own goal in an attempt to clear Jaidon Anthony’s low cross into the six-yard box 10 minutes later. 

Kayode will have been relieved to see Mikkel Damsgaard score the winner for 4-3 in the 93rd minute after seeing his side’s 3-0 advantage collapse. Brentford are up to seventh in the Premier League and find themselves pushing for a spot in Europe next season. 

Brentford are just five points off reigning champions Liverpool, currently in fifth. Arne Slot’s side picked up a 5-2 win over struggling West Ham, but Federico Chiesa was an unused substitute for this one. Giovanni Leoni is still recovering from his ACL injury. 

Down in the bottom half of the table, things have gone from bad to worse for Tottenham Hotspur, who are currently under the interim stewardship of former Juventus head coach Igor Tudor. 

Italy’s back-up goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicairo has been part of the side that has lost the last four Premier League matches, including Sunday’s 2-1 defeat by Fulham, while Destiny Udogie has missed the last three with a hamstring injury. 

Things are going from bad to worse for the Italy internationals at Nottingham Forest, who lost 2-1 against Brighton this weekend and are now in 17th place, two points behind Tottenham and two points above West Ham and the relegation zone. 

Nicolo Savona is nursing a knee injury that is expected to keep him sidelined until April, while Lorenzo Lucca, who joined the club from Napoli in January, was dropped out of the matchday squad. 

Lucca was also hooked at half-time of Forest’s 2-1 Europa League defeat against Fenerbahce a few days before the Brighton loss. Forest are highly unlikely to activate their option to buy Lucca for around €35m at the end of the season according to the latest updates in Italy. 

Arsenal and Italy star Riccardo Calafiori has given a detailed account of his day-to-day life in North London, has spoken about the main differences between life in the Premier League and Serie A and has revealed the one thing that he doesn’t like about living in the UK: ‘I don’t like how they drive here. They follow the rules too much and are a bit slow.’ 

Calafiori was a featured guest on the Supernova podcast, discussing the start of his career with Roma, life in London with Arsenal and his hopes for the Italy national team. 

Calafiori on life with Arsenal, differences between England and Italy

Calafiori has been based in England for the last 18 months following his transfer to Arsenal from Bologna in the summer of 2024. He has gone on to establish himself as one of Mikel Arteta’s first-choice defenders in a season that sees the Gunners sitting at the top of the Premier League table and aiming for a spot in the Champions League final.

“Ever since the gaffer has been there, we’ve always been there or thereabouts, often finishing second by a hair, but I think there’s been improvement every year,” Calafiori told the Supernova podcast. “I hope this is the decisive year.” 

Calafiori went on to discuss the differences between playing in the Premier League compared to Serie A. 

“Obviously everything is done at the highest levels, even at teams that might be a bit smaller.

“This is all a matter of, and it might be a bit ugly to say, but money, media attention, TV networks that broadcast the matches, so of course it’s normal that it’s followed a bit more compared to other leagues, and so more money and things like that. 

“The attention and care for players is quite different to what I was used to in Italy.” 

At Arsenal, it is often the norm for players to meet in a hotel the night before a game, even before home matches, which took a bit of getting used to. 

“You arrive, have dinner, then everyone either goes to their rooms or you hang out with your teammates and play a few games. And then you go to the game. Like I was saying earlier, something that really surprised me is that the stadiums are empty during the warm-ups.”

There are also differences in training methods between Italy and the UK. 

“In terms of time on the pitch, you train less (in England), very little. You spend a lot of time at the training ground, but (not) in terms of the actual time on the pitch, especially when we’re playing all year and want to get to the final in every competition. The best way to train is by playing as I’ve always said.

“They focus a lot on recovery, so when you go on the (training) pitch, the intensity is obviously high but in terms of minutes, maybe for about an hour maximum, maybe not even that.

“Obviously the culture is completely different. Like, if I think about Italy, training sessions are two hours, the tactics, it’s all different. Football is more tactical in Italy and here they think more about attacking.”

Unlike a lot of his Arsenal teammates, Calafiori has decided to live in central London rather than in the quieter outskirts. 

“I don’t know if you know, but London is enormous. So I live quite far away from my teammates, nobody lives where I live. It’s a London thing. Most of them have families and kids and live in houses nearer the training ground. I’m younger and on my own so I prefer living in the city.” 

Calafiori went on to give a detailed account of a typical day of Arsenal training. 

“Normally we check in by 9.15. It takes about 50 minutes to get there. I don’t drive, but I get around by a driver. I prefer not to drive here. I don’t have a car, but I can drive. I’m quite far away and I don’t like how they drive here. They follow the rules too much and are a bit slow.

“Sometimes you see these big traffic jams for no reason. Unfortunately that’s just how it is here. Everyone has their ways. 

“We have treatment and both meals, breakfast and lunch, so then it’s therapy, gym, video, more gym, indoor, on the pitch, then I get home at around three or four o’clock.” 

Calafiori also has regular check-ins from various members of his family: “They’re always available, let’s say once every two months or so, we manage. They live in Rome and I have a younger sister who’s 19, so I think she needs our parents a bit more than I do.” 

During the season, it is often dark by the time that Calafiori returns home, and as a high-profile individual, there isn’t an awful lot to distract himself with: “You get home and it’s dark and it’s not like there’s much to do, so it’s either playing the guitar or reading a book. Once I left school I lost the habit of reading. I started again two years ago. I really like it. Mostly novels more than anything. I don’t like autobiographies as much.” 

Italy international and Arsenal star Riccardo Calafiori has opened up about the disappointments that he experienced in the early days of his professional career with Roma and the journey that led him to joining Mike Arteta’s table-topping Premier League hopefuls: ‘It was a complicated situation’. 

Calafiori reflects on early stages of his career: ‘Everything was fine during my first year …’

Calafiori is playing a key role in Arsenal’s impressive 2025-26 campaign, in which they lead the Premier League table and are among the favourites to lift the Champions League at the end of the season. 

The Italy international has made 17 starts from a possible 28 in the Premier League, despite missing a big chunk of games over the winter period due to a muscular injury. 

Injuries have been a recurring theme for Calafiori throughout his career. His journey as a professional footballer was almost curtailed as a teenager due to a serious knee issue. 

Speaking in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Calafiori discussed his early injury issue and the role that it played in his leaving his boyhood club, Roma. 

“Everything was fine during my first year, I scored on my debut wearing the shirt of the team that I loved and after being told at 16 that I could not be a footballer due to a serious injury,” Calafiori told La Gazzetta dello Sport. 

“I’m still a Roma fan,” he admitted. “Before, I was a die-hard. The only flaw is that it was during Covid, so there were no fans in the stadium, otherwise I would have gone straight over to celebrate in front of the Curva Sud.” 

Despite being a passionate boyhood Roma supporter, Calafiori only managed to make 10 Serie A appearances for the Giallorossi before being moved on by Jose Mourinho. 

“The transition from the Primavera to the first-team is very fast, you don’t even realise it,” said Calafiori. 

“I started the first six games with Mourinho: That was also going well at the beginning, I was playing as a starter and getting some assists. After the 6-1 win over Bodo/Glimt, I didn’t play anymore and wanted more. 

“I went to Genoa on loan. It was a complicated situation and I only made three appearances, one of which was as a starter. I did worse than before and I didn’t understand why. 

“Inside, I never resigned, but that thought stayed in my head. I was really down at that point. Roma won the Conference League and the guys who played in my place did very well, so there was no more space for me. 

“Then, Roma sold me to Basel and I wasn’t happy at first, but when I accepted the gact that I had to take a step back, I realised that it would be the right place for me. For a young man, it was perfect to find continuity there.” 

Fortunately for Calafiori, his time in Switzerland with Basel was short-lived, lasting just one season before being brought back to Serie A by Bologna, where he would go on to help the team secure an historic spot in the Champions League. 

“My eyes still light up when I talk about Bologna. We’re not just talking about the football, but things on a human level as well. What I experienced and what we experienced in Bologna was incredible, but how could you say no to the Premier League?”

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Thibaut Courtois and Rasmus Hojlund are among the stars to have sent a message of congratulations to Napoli star Romelu Lukaku after his goalscoring return in Serie A over the weekend: ‘The King is back’. 

Messages for Lukaku after goalscoring Napoli return

It has been a difficult season for ‘Big Rom’, who suffered a serious injury to his hamstring during Napoli’s final pre-season friendly of the summer, one week before the start of the 2025-26 Serie A season. 

Belgium’s all-time leading goalscorer has only recently returned to competitive first-team action in the early stages of 2026 and scored his first goal of the season this weekend: A 97th-minute winner in a 2-1 victory over Hellas Verona. This was his first goal since the final day of the 2024-25 season, 283 days prior to the Verona victory. 

Lukaku celebrated on social media with a picture of his celebration and a picture of his late father, who died in September, along with the caption: ‘For you Papa’. 

Several stars from Serie A and beyond have left comments to congratulate or encourage Lukaku following his return to action, including former Napoli teammate and current PSG star Kvaratskhelia, who wrote: “The King is back.” 

Most of Lukaku’s Napoli teammates have left comments as well, including Hojlund, Billy Gilmour, Alex Meret, Sam Beukema, Pasquale Mazzocchi and Miguel Gutierrez. 

Belgium teammate Courtois is also among the stars to have sent a message to Lukaku.

 

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Napoli star Kevin De Bruyne is finally set to make his return to first-team training on Monday after spending the last four months out nursing a serious hamstring injury. 

De Bruyne finally set to return to Napoli training

De Bruyne was among the most high-profile stars to move to Serie A during the summer transfer window, joining Antonio Conte’s side on a free transfer at the end of his 10-year stint with Manchester City in the Premier League. 

The six-time Premier League winner has been limited to just eight Serie A appearances so far this term, though, due to a hamstring injury that has kept him out of action since October 25. 

De Bruyne pulled up while converting a penalty during Napoli’s 3-1 win over league leaders Inter at the end of October, which turned out to be a high-grade hamstring tear, which required surgery and several months of rehabilitation. 

De Bruyne has spent much of those last few months back in his native Belgium while working on his recovery, but he returned to Italy last week and is expected to return to first-team training on Monday according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, 128 days on from his initial injury. 

According to Monday’s report, there is a chance that De Bruyne is even called up to Conte’s squad to face Torino in Serie A on Friday evening. His physical condition is said to be better than expected. 

Napoli’s injury troubles could finally be starting to clear, as Monday’s report claims that Scott McTominay and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa are both close to making their returns to first-team action as well. 

La Gazzetta dello Sport

Straderby 

Milan return to -10 and rise to the challenge on Sunday

Leao believes: ‘A question of life or death’

Pavlovic and Rafa settle it in Cremona, a victory at the very end in Allegri style 

Inter 

Chivu and a crazy journey 

After their loss against the Rossoneri, they’ve won 14 out of 15 Serie A games. Against Como in the Coppa Italia tomorrow 

Si signora 

Roma draw and regret 

Champions League show: Juve from 3-1 down to 3-3 in the last five minutes

Toro upset 

D’Aversa, nice debut with Simeone and Zapata

Corriere dello Sport 

Fino alla fine 

From 1-3 to 3-3 

Juve, Champions League fight: Two-goal comeback against Gasp

What a reaction: Lucio draws level in the 93rd minute and stays -4 away from Roma 

A spectacle at the Olimpico. Magic from Wesley and Conceicao, then Ndicka and Malen score. Boga and Gatti come one and settle it. Spalletti: ‘We live for fourth place’ 

Milan, the beauty arrives in the 89th: ‘Now it’s Inter’ 

They narrowly win 2-0 in Cremona: -10 off Chivu

Pavlovic header: Third goal in Serie A. Leao doubles it: ‘I want to take on the derby on Sunday’ 

Insigne fable: Inzaghi sunken 

Protagonist in Serie B

Lorenzo returns to the goals with Pescara after 5041 days and helps with the comeback against Palermo (2-1): Big celebrations at the Adriatico

Goodbye to Marchesi, the gentleman of football 

Has died at 88 years old 

He was Maradona’s first coach at Napoli and the last for Platini at Juve. He made history as a player with Fiorentina 

Tuttosport 

A Juve core 

2-2: Gatti levels against Roma in the 93rd and keeps the Champions League fight open 

After the exchange of goals between Wesley and Conceicao, Ndicka and Malen score. The Bianconeri seemed to be in disarray, but Spalletti got all of his substitutions right: Boga narrowed the gap, Zhegrova sent the goalscoring defender through on goal. Chico: ‘That reaction was better than my goal’. Lucio: ‘With the upsets we’ve had, this draw could mean a lot. I live for fourth place’. 

A Toro response 

D’Aversa reanimates the Granata: Simeone and Zapata smash Lazio 

A couple of simple moves and well-timed substitutions: The attacking pair finally made their mark and the fans delighted the fans, who stayed away to protest against Cairo. Two big shots against the Serie B fears for the new coach: ‘Great match, well done everyone, even those on the bench. I want the lads to understand that I am here. Cholito and Duvan were impressive’. Vlasic: ‘We will give even more’ 

Leao goal, derby delirium: ‘Milan, life or death’

Milan go to -10 in Cremona: And on Sunday, it’s Inter

Rafa strikes an enti-nerazzurro vein: ‘It’s a personal matter. We don’t go out this week, we stay at home’.