DAN referee pundit Luca Marelli claims that Christian Pulisic’s goal for Milan against Sassuolo shouldn’t have been disallowed, but the Neroverdi deserved a penalty kick for a Strahinja Pavlović foul.

Milan’s 2-2 home draw against Sassuolo saw referee Valerio Crezzini in the spotlight as he navigated several tricky incidents, with his decisions coming under criticism from the Italian media.

USMNT international Pulisic had a goal disallowed in the second half, with Milan already leading 2-1.

Referee controversies in Milan vs. Sassuolo

The American put the ball inside an empty net after Arijanet Muric palmed away a Pavlovic header from point-blank range. The referee, however, had spotted a Ruben Loftus-Cheek push in the build-up right behind Pavlovic.

“It’s a field assessment because there was contact. Loftus-Cheek placed his hands, but I don’t see any push,” said DAZN’s referee pundit Luca Marelli (via Calciomercato.com).

“Crezzini barely blew the whistle. This contact is below threshold; there isn’t a real push. This goal shouldn’t have been disallowed.”

Marelli spotted another mistake from the Milan-Sassuolo referee, claiming that the visitors should have been awarded a penalty kick for a Pavlović foul in the dying minutes, with the result set to 2-2.

“Pavlovic didn’t touch the ball, but with his right leg, he hit Cheddira’s left leg. VAR were too hasty. It was a penalty, and VAR should have intervened,” Marelli said.

Milan remain the Serie A table leaders with 32 points, but they will be overtaken by Napoli if the Partenopei beat Udinese away today.

Davide Bartesaghi is Football Italia’s MOTM in Milan’s 2-2 draw against Sassuolo, but Andrea Pinamonti was impressive for the Neroverdi, providing two assists.

Milan 2-2 Sassuolo: Player Ratings

Milan: Maignan 6.5; Tomori 5, Gabbia 5 (60′ De Winter 5), Pavlovic 5.5; Saelemaekers 6.5 (90′ Athekame N/A), Loftus-Cheek 6.5, Modric 5.5, Rabiot 6, Bartesaghi 8 (90′ Estupinan N/A); Pulisic 5.5 (73′ Ricci 5.5), Nkunku 6. Coach: Allegri 5.5.

Best Milan player: Bartesaghi 8 – First two goals in Serie A. A day he’ll not forget, but it wasn’t enough to secure all three points.

Lowest Milan rating: Tomori 5 – Lost track of Laurienté when the Frenchman scored the equaliser, and even later on, when he could have scored the third one for Sassuolo. Gabbia and De Winter were also equally disappointing.

Milan coach: Allegri 5.5 – Milan once again dropped points against a newly promoted side at San Siro. The Rossoneri boss didn’t have many options in attack, which is why Pulisic’s substitution will make people talk in the coming days.

Sassuolo: Muric 6.5; Walukiewicz 5.5, Idzes 5.5, Muharemovic 6, Candé 5.5 (60′ Doig 6.5); Thorstvedt 6, Matic 6.5, Koné 7.5; Volpato 6 (86′ Moro N/A), Pinamonti 7.5 (86′ Cheddira), Fadera 5.5 (60′ Laurienté 7.5). Coach: Grosso (suspended) 7.

Best Sassuolo player: Pinamonti 7.5 – Two fantastic assists to inspire Sassuolo’s big draw at San Siro. He now has four goals and three assists in 15 Serie A matches this term. Still looking for consistency, but also underrated. Koné was also brilliant today, besides his goal.

Lowest Sassuolo rating: Fadera 5.5 – He helped the team defensively, but took a big risk in the first half when he lost possession just outside the box.

Sassuolo coach: Grosso 7 – Just one loss in the last five games. The game plan was excellent, including leaving Laurienté on the bench to hurt Milan in the second part of the match. Sassuolo have 21 points, practically safe already, and it’s not even Christmas. Oh, and don’t forget they were without Berardi today.

Massimiliano Allegri insists he would have replaced Christian Pulisic even if Milan didn’t play in the Supercoppa next week, but feels it was ‘too easy’ for Sassuolo to score goals in a 2-2 draw.

Milan were held to a 2-2 draw by newly promoted side Sassuolo at San Siro on Sunday.

The Rossoneri already dropped points against Cremonese and Pisa, two other teams coming from Serie B, earlier this season.

Davide Bartesaghi scored his first two goals in Serie A, but Ismael Koné and Armand Laurienté helped a brave Sassuolo return home with one point in their pocket.

“I think we played a good game, we attacked well, and Sassuolo are always dangerous because they have quality in attack, so if you don’t recover the ball immediately, you are forced to track back for 90 minutes,” Allegri told DAZN.

“We played a good game, but in the end, we even risked losing it. Now we focus on the Supercoppa.

“The lads played a good game, regardless of the players’ characteristics. For now, we are still the table leaders, and our target is to qualify for the Champions League,” the Italian tactician continued.

“We know there’s a lot of work to do, and obviously, we must start conceding fewer goals. I can’t absolutely blame the lads today.”

Milan will face Napoli in Saudi Arabia in the Supercoppa Italia semifinal next Thursday.

Allegri replaced Pulisic in the second half and said he would have done the same even if Milan didn’t play the Partenopei next week.

“I would have done it anyway. Christian had joined us in Turin after a fever and then trained. He played well for 72 minutes, but at that moment, we needed one more midfielder. Loftus-Cheek held firm up front, but we had to defend better, especially for the second goal. We had to follow Laurienté, and it was too easy for them to score.”

Christopher Nkunku provided the assist for Bartesaghi’s second goal.

Allegri explains Pulisic’s substitution

“Today he played a good game, as in Turin. He was decisive for the second goal; he had a chance in the final minutes,” argued Allegri.

“He was very good. We know the team’s quality, we know we can’t win every game, and we must give consistency to the results. Today, we could have lost the match, but we took home a draw. Today it seems that we’ve thrown two points away, but in the end, it will prove to be useful.”

Matteo Gabbia was subbed off with a suspected knee injury in the second half.

“Let’s see. Hopefully it’s nothing serious. We’ll see tomorrow, but De Winter and Odogu will be ready to play,” concluded Allegri.

Napoli director Giovanni Manna insists they must remain ‘positive’ during an injury crisis after Champions League setbacks, but demands ‘more determination’ from Lorenzo Lucca.

It kicks off at the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine at 14.00 GMT.

See how all today’s five Serie A games unfold on the Liveblog.

The Partenopei are flying high in Serie A at the top of the table alongside AC Milan, but the lack of options for squad rotation are starting to take their toll.

They looked exhausted in the midweek Champions League defeat to Benfica, which left them scrambling just to secure a place in the play-offs.

Napoli running out of steam

“Quite simply, we are playing with the same figures repeatedly, because there are few alternatives, it becomes difficult to rotate,” Manna told DAZN Italia.

“We proved that we were superior over our opponents with a series of head-to-head wins, it can happen that you feel fatigued and if you are not at 100 per cent in the Champions League, you will struggle.

“There are many matches, we hope to get as many players back as possible. It is a tough game today, a very physical one, so we must be positive.”

The injury list just keeps growing, as Juan Jesus has joined Billy Gilmour, Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa, Kevin De Bruyne, Alex Meret and Romelu Lukaku on the treatment table.

At least Stanislav Lobotka and Miguel Gutierrez are back for a spot on the bench, while the only change to the starting XI is Leonardo Spinazzola.

Is there a reason why Napoli give their best in Serie A and yet are struggling so badly in the Champions League?

“If I analyse the Champions League games, the only one we got really badly wrong was in Eindhoven,” insisted Manna of that 6-1 loss.

“We were down to 10 men with Manchester City for over an hour, we deserved more against Eintracht, we beat Qarabag and Sporting. Our energy levels were depleted against Benfica, but we still created scoring opportunities.

“I remain very positive, I feel the work that the coach and players are doing is clear for all to see. Now we’ve got to keep focused and try to bring home the points.”

Despite the injury crisis, ex-Udinese striker Lorenzo Lucca can barely get on the pitch, as Rasmus Hojlund is the first choice centre-forward.

There have also been reports that Napoli could try to sign Udinese midfielder Arthur Atta, although he is out of action today.

“I am hardly the first to notice Atta’s talent and everyone knows he’s destined for a great career,” replied the Napoli director when pushed on this player.

“Aside from the transfer gossip, he is a player beyond our range right now. Udinese always had a great scouting network to find talented young players with big prospects.

“As for Lucca, he needs to speed up the process of settling in and show more determination on the field. We are convinced he has the right characteristics to play for Napoli, but he must understand this is a different club to Udinese, he needs to show determination every single day in training and on the pitch.”

Gian Piero Gasperini confirms Roma will have Evan Ndicka and potentially Paulo Dybala starting against Como on Monday. ‘We have all the ingredients to do well.’

It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday at 19.45 GMT.

The Giallorossi are badly in need of a boost in Serie A after back-to-back defeats against Napoli and Cagliari, both with 1-0 results.

Gasperini forced into some changes

Zeki Celik was sent off in Sardinia and is therefore suspended, which makes holding on to Ndicka for a little longer before Africa Cup of Nations duty all the more important.

“Ndicka is there tomorrow, for the rest we’ll see in the next games. Morocco appealed to FIFA for Neil El Aynaoui, so we await their response,” explained Gasperini in his press conference.

“Those teams who played on Saturday and Sunday could use their players, but seeing as we are scheduled for Monday, we could have a problem, despite the fact it is the same round of fixtures.”

Como are coming off a 4-0 defeat to Inter, yet before that had been flying high in the table and pushing for European places.

“It will certainly be a tense match, as Como are no longer a surprise, both for the investment made and the quality in the squad. They are very pleasant to watch, so tomorrow will be a game between two teams who want the maximum result,” continued Gasperini.

“Cesc Fabregas has given Como a precise identity that aims for results via good football, with attacking wingers who can also cut inside.”

Roma had perhaps a much better start to the campaign than many expected, but have since run into problems, especially with the lack of goals.

Evan Ferguson netted twice in Thursday’s Europa League win away to Celtic, but his Serie A performances remain shaky.

“The start was better than even the rosiest predictions, as I came here with the hope to do well and the belief this was the right atmosphere to do my work.

“We must be ambitious and not arrogant, keep solid and united. We have all the right ingredients to mix together and do well, with the club, the fans, the possibility of building a new stadium and boosting investment.

“As for Ferguson, he needs to be a player who is of use to Roma, that is the most important thing. He was the other day and that is what counts, Roma first and foremost, above everyone and everything.”

Dybala has been used as a False 9 on several occasions, but he continues to struggle with a history of injury problems.

“We’ll see tomorrow if he is there from the start, as he had a positive moment, but today’s football does not all for you to be anything less than 100 per cent. I have no doubts about Paulo when he is in good shape.

“When he has been healthy, he always played whole games, including several in a row.”

His fitness record is believed to be one of the main reasons why Roma are in no rush to renew his contract, while Lorenzo Pellegrini is also in the final seven months of his deal.

“With regards to contract renewals, it is purely an economic issue,” assured Gasperini.

“Therefore, I cannot get involved in that.”

Milan director Igli Tare keeps the door open for Mike Maignan’s contract extension and trusts Christopher Nkunku and Santiago Gimenez, but refuses to rule out the signing of a new centre-forward in January.

Milan host Sassuolo at San Siro on Sunday. You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s five Serie A games on the Liveblog.

Milan vs. Sassuolo – Tare’s pre-match quotes

“We’ve started with a fantastic group. Every day we work together, we realise it’s one of the best groups we’ve ever worked with,” Tare told DAZN before kick-off.

“They have determination and desire, and you can see it with results on the pitch. We know there’s work to do and we need consistency, but we are happy for now.”

With the January transfer window just around the corner, Tare was inevitably asked to provide updates on Milan’s negotiations, starting with the future of Maignan.

Tare on Maignan’s contract extension

The goalkeeper’s contract runs out in June and according to reports in Italy, he’s asked for a new €8m-a-year contract.

“We’ve never discussed the figures, I’ve never heard these numbers, but it’s easy to talk about Mike because he’s a fantastic lad, he’s a leader and a man of the group,” Tare replied.

“We are happy with him, he likes to stay at Milan and Milan want to extend. Today we have a game we want to win, then we’ll have time to discuss the matter.”

Former Chelsea striker Nkunku starts alongside Christian Pulisic in attack today, while Rafael Leao and Gimenez are injured.

Will Milan look for a new centre-forward in the winter transfer window?

“It’s hard to find players who can make a difference in the January window, but we’ll keep our eyes open to see if there’s something that can improve the situation of the team,” Tare said.

“If there’s a chance, we’ll take it, but the team is improving. Nkunku sent important messages in the second half against Torino. Today it’s a big chance for him to show the real Nkunku we all expect.

“As for Gimenez, he has this physical problem; we are waiting for him, but he’s also an important player for this team.”

Milan are the joint-Serie A table leaders alongside Napoli with 31 points. The Partenopei will play later today, away at Udinese.

Multiple sources confirm Juventus’ interest in Davide Frattesi, but Inter will likely ask for Khephren Thuram when, and if, negotiations begin.

Tuttosport newspaper reported earlier this week that Frattesi’s agent Beppe Riso had resumed talks with Juventus as the Inter midfielder seeks more playing time in the second part of the season.

Frattesi seeks Inter exit

The best Italy goal-scorer during the Luciano Spalletti era, Frattesi, will be glad to reunite with the ex-Azzurri boss, but negotiations between the two clubs might not be so easy.

Inter expert Pasquale Guarro and Gazzetta, in fact, claim that the Nerazzurri will likely ask for Khephren Thuram if Juventus knock on their door for Frattesi.

Inter eager to reunite the Thuram brothers

The move would allow the Nerazzurri to reunite the two Thuram brothers at San Siro, as Marcus has been playing for Inter since 2023.

According to Guarro, Khephren Thuram was already an Inter target last summer, alongside Roma’s Manu Kone and Atalanta’s Ederson.

The Nerazzurri ended up signing 22-year-old Andy Diouf last summer, but the Frenchman has only collected 150 minutes of football on the pitch this season.

Juventus fans might’ve forgotten that he still plays for them, but Arkadiusz Milik today returned to training with the full squad for the first time in 550 days.

The striker arrived from Olympique Marseille on loan in 2022 and then made the move permanent for a total €8m in the summer of 2023.

He made 75 competitive appearances in the Juventus jersey, scoring 17 goals and providing two assists.

The most recent of those games was the 2-0 Serie A victory over Monza on May 25, 2024.

Juventus rediscover Milik after 18 months

Milik sustained a knee ligament injury in June 2024 and has not set foot on the pitch since, as his recovery had repeated setbacks.

The 31-year-old Poland international might finally be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, because today he took part in a training session with his teammates for the first time in well over a year.

It wasn’t a full session, he was only partly in the exercises with the other players, but it was already a huge achievement after 550 days of being separated from the group.

Raffaele Palladino feels the last two Atalanta victories over Chelsea and Cagliari showed ‘the right spirit’ and reveals Gianluca Scamacca almost didn’t play tonight.

It has been an ideal few days for La Dea, who beat Chelsea 2-1 in the Champions League, then held out under pressure to secure an identical result in Serie A against Cagliari.

Scamacca is finally finding his fitness after almost a year out dealing with a knee ligament injury, as he has now scored four goals in his last three competitive matches, including tonight’s double.

“It was certainly a difficult match against a good Cagliari side, who have players with pace that can hit us on the counter,” Palladino told Sky Sport Italia.

“We played a great first half, creating many chances and not running any risks. We took the lead and the only regret is that we didn’t take our other opportunities to double our lead, because if you leave these games open, then anything can happen.”

Atalanta finding their feet under Palladino

It felt for a while as if there might be another stalemate when Gianluca Gaetano equalised, but Scamacca completed his brace just six minutes later.

“In the second half, we started to lose intensity and stamina, I think due to the many games we’ve played in the last 20 days. The thing I liked most of all is that when we conceded the equaliser at the 81^st minute, we could’ve collapsed mentally, but instead we kept pushing to win it, that tells me the spirit is there in this group.”

He also revealed something unexpected about his star striker’s performance tonight.

“Scamacca had a fever, he grit his teeth and wanted to be there to help the team. I told him when I was a player, my best performances were when I was running a temperature, and he smiled. He gave his all for us.”

Since taking over from sacked Ivan Juric, this will be the first time Palladino has had a whole week to prepare for a match against Genoa.

“Winning helps you to win,” noted the coach. “We had four home wins in front of our fans in all competition, so creating that enthusiasm in Bergamo is fundamental.”

This was the final match for Ademola Lookman and Odilon Kossounou of 2025, as they will be off on international duty for the Africa Cup of Nations.

There were also concerns during the second half when Berat Djimsiti pulled up clutching the back of his right thigh with an adductor issue.

“Obviously, we are losing two important players, it’s a pity we also lost Djimsiti today and we’ll have to see what the tests say. I will have to find different solutions, but having a week to prepare is a huge bonus,” continued the coach.

“I really haven’t had much time to work with these players on the training field when there’s a game every three days and travel too, all you have time for is recovery. Now we can concentrate on training and proposing new tactical ideas.”

While Atalanta have excelled in the Champions League and are currently in the top eight, this was only their second Serie A victory in the last 11 rounds.

“I need to drill the mentality into these lads that when times are difficult, we need to push even harder, believe even more in our capabilities, and I saw that both against Chelsea and tonight. Not everyone can go behind at home to Chelsea and turn it around, not everyone can concede a late equaliser when exhausted and push on to win it anyway.

“I congratulated the players for their efforts this evening.”

Gianluca Scamacca is rediscovering his form with Atalanta just in time to play for Italy in the World Cup play-offs, while Charles De Ketelaere calls him ‘a real centre-forward.’

The centre-forward has not been the same since the serious knee ligament injury he sustained in pre-season 2024, but after setbacks in the recovery process, he seems to finally be back to his best.

He bagged both in Atalanta’s 2-1 victory over Cagliari at the New Balance Arena in Bergamo this evening, around a temporary Gianluca Gaetano equaliser.

The first was an improvisation, redirecting Davide Zappacosta’s wayward effort with a back-heel flick, while with the second he reacted quickly to a volley gone wrong.

Scamacca and De Ketelaere respected Cagliari

“We expected it to be difficult, we should’ve scored more goals in the first half, Cagliari are tough and equalised, but we managed to bring it home,” Scamacca told Sky Sport Italia.

“We always try to give our all, but when there are so many games close together, we can lack sharpness sometimes. We’re on the right track, though.”

Rediscovering his form could also be boon to the Italy squad going into the crucial 2026 World Cup play-offs in March.

“Absolutely, but I am totally concentrated on Atalanta, because we have many objectives.”

Scamacca now has five Serie A goals and one in the Champions League this season, netting four goals in his last three competitive appearances.

However, Atalanta will now be without both Ademola Lookman and Odilon Kossounou, who are heading off to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations.

“Those who play will be ready and give their best,” assured Scamacca.

While Atalanta are flying high in the Champions League, this was only their fourth Serie A win in 15 rounds, along with seven draws and four defeats.

“We needed points to climb the table, and fortunately we got the result. It is better to play badly and get three points than the other way around,” noted De Ketelaere on Sky Sport Italia.

“We must be humble, take it one game at a time and keep going. You can see Scamacca is a real centre-forward, as the first goal he was in the right place, on the second he reacted well.”

Lorenzo Lucca returns ‘home’ to face his old club Udinese, but even though he’s not going to get much playing time at Napoli, he is not on the transfer market yet.

The centre-forward first made his mark with the Friulani and will visit his former teammates wearing the Napoli jersey.

He’ll be on the bench, because the hierarchy is rock solid now and Rasmus Hojlund has taken over the role, leaving the Italian with only a handful of minutes per match.

Lucca depends on other players

All this is awaiting Romelu Lukaku, who as Antonio Conte pointed out recently, is not back yet and it’s not clear when he’s likely to be at 100 per cent.

Until that time comes, Lucca is going nowhere, because Napoli need someone to rely on in a campaign full of injury uncertainty.

They will discuss it over the next few weeks, and if the Belgian should be available for selection, then Lucca could start to look around for a different solution until June.

There’s no point talking about it right now, but at least Lorenzo will be back on familiar territory and perhaps find something to smile about during a disappointing season.

Atalanta director Luca Percassi acknowledges the win over Chelsea was their third greatest European night, but now they must ‘battle for every point’ against Cagliari.

It kicks off at the New Balance Arena in Bergamo at 19.45 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s three Serie A games on the Liveblog.

The Bergamo boys are wearing their Christmas Match kit, which will then be auctioned off to raise funds for charity, as it has been for 15 years now.

It arrives just days after their Champions League 2-1 comeback victory over Chelsea, which propelled them into the top eight with a view of going straight into the Round of 16.

However, in Serie A they are still playing catch-up and won only one of their last 10 games.

Percassi marks European milestone for Atalanta

“It is going to be a very difficult match against a team that showed last week how dangerous it can be, they are well set out with good players, so it certainly will be tough,” Percassi told Sky Sport Italia.

The panel put it to the director that the victory over Chelsea was the third best night for the club in Europe, after the Europa League Final triumph and their 3-0 Champions League win away to Liverpool.

“I fully agree! It was a magical night.”

Nonetheless, Percassi shrugs off suggestions La Dea are doing anything other than battling for every point domestically, let alone taking European qualification for granted.

“It would be a terrible error for Atalanta to give less than 100 per cent in Serie A, as our objective as always is to secure safety as soon as possible, then build from there.”

The Supercoppa Italiana Final Four is coming up next week, so check the location, kick-off times, and the prizes at stake for Napoli, Inter, AC Milan and Bologna.

The format of the tournament remains the same after last season, so rather than be a traditional clash between the winners of the Scudetto and the reigning Coppa Italia holders, it is expanded to four teams.

All the matches take place at the Al-Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Supercoppa Italiana 2025 schedule

The trophy holders therefore face the runners-up of the other competition, then the winning teams take on each other for the Final.

That means Napoli face AC Milan in one semi-final on Thursday December 18, kicking off at 20.00 GMT.

Bologna then play against Inter in the other semi-final on Friday December 19, also at 20.00 GMT.

The winners of these two matches then go head-to-head on Monday December 22, again at 20.00 GMT.

There is no extra time, so if two teams are level after 90 minutes, they go straight to a penalty shoot-out.

According to Calcio e Finanza, the total prize pot for the tournament is €22.5m, with the winners getting €9.5m plus a further €1.5m to play a friendly against the team that takes the Saudi Super Cup.

The two losing semi-finalists should get €2.4m each, while the beaten Finalist can expect €6.7m.

AC Milan won it last season, beating Inter 3-2 in the Final.

Minister for Sport Andrea Abodi warns that the Lega Serie A must clamp down on insults between players after the Mario Hermoso and Michael Folorunsho controversy.

The Minister spoke to reporters at a political event and was asked several questions on the current Calcio landscape.

Although he did not specifically name anyone, it was evident he was talking about last week’s ugly clash between Cagliari midfielder Folorunsho and Roma defender Hermoso.

Abodi wants action against unacceptable insults

“If a coach does not think he must also be an educator, then something really isn’t adding up,” said Abodi.

“It also doesn’t add up when a professional on the field makes a violent and unacceptable insult towards the mother of an opponent. When that happens, it cannot just end with a pat on the back.

“Aside from simple politeness, that is anti-sporting behaviour, it is against the rules of the sport. And we have seen too often that people hide behind the interpretation of the rules.

“The behaviour of professionals must be exemplary.”

Hermoso and Folorunsho were spotted having an intense argument at one point during Cagliari’s 1-0 win over Roma last week.

Hermoso later complained that Folorunsho had taken ‘trash talk’ too far and made comments about the player’s mother, but there has been no disciplinary action taken.

This is because although there is very clear video footage of what was said, including ‘your mother is a w***e and she needs to die,’ video evidence can only be used by the Disciplinary Committee for certain incidents.

That does include blasphemy, which is the worst type of swearing in Italian football, but not vile insults like this.

“I am not being a spoilsport here, but I do believe that considering the media visibility that players have, this carries with it a sense of responsibility,” continued Minister for Sport Abodi.

“There also has to be a disciplinary mechanism that can take action and make people realise this is not ok, because if they are allowed to insult like this, then they feel authorised to continue doing it.

“Insults we see in Serie A then will prompt even worse insults in the third division or the under-15 teams. Every gesture can be read as educational or damaging.”

Niclas Füllkrug has not made the right Premier League impact, so West Ham United and his agents are trying to find him a new club in January, offering him to AC Milan and Roma.

However, the Serie A sides have not seemed particularly interested in taking up these proposals, as he has scored zero goals for the Hammers this season and is struggling to deal with the shift from the Bundesliga.

Even being in dire need of a striker, Roma coach Gian Piero Gasperini still has his heart set on Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee.

Füllkrug has been a flop for West Ham

We will see if things change, but in the meantime there are more pros than cons on the idea of bringing Füllkrug to Italian football.

The first issue is his age, as he will celebrate his 33^rd birthday in February and West Ham paid €27m to sign him from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2024.

Moving to another new league he is unaccustomed to in January would be risky, so the most likely destination is a return to Germany mid-season.

Luciano Spalletti is ‘happy’ to ‘feel the strength’ of John Elkann but pushes the team to ‘give substance’ to the owner’s ‘passion.’

• More from Spalletti’s press conference – Spalletti confirms permanent Juventus changen and Italiano suggestion

Juventus are preparing to visit Bologna at the Stadio Dall’Ara tomorrow, but the eve of the game has been shaken by the news that minority shareholders Tether have made an offer to buy a majority stake from Exor.

Spalletti’s response to Elkann’s message

Minutes before Spalletti’s pre-match press conference, Elkann released a statement through the Juventus website insisting that the club was not for sale: “We’ll continue to support our team and look to the future to build a winning Juve,” said the club owner.

“Even though I arrived only recently, it makes me happy to feel the strength and passion that John Elkann and family have for this club,” Spalletti said (via Ilbianconero.com).

“It is clear that it is up to us to give substance and concreteness to this passion, honouring the last and building a future on the same level, or even a better one, as John Elkann himself told us when he came to visit us.”

Spalletti and Elkann met on Friday

The Italian tactician revealed he had spoken to Elkann on Friday: “Yes, and I saw him too, a few hours ago, just yesterday,” he said.

“Sometimes, he sends me his thoughts, and I’m glad about it. In this case, he mentioned the future as well and clearly, as I said when I arrived, the objective is to always aim for the top when you are part of this kind of club.”

Tether’s offer to buy Juventus is worth €1.1 billion, but according to several sources, the club’s actual value is closer to €2 billion.

Regardless of the club’s worth and Tether’s offer, however, Elkann and his family are unwilling to sell the club, as the Juventus owner clarified.

Juventus currently sit 7th in the Serie A table with 23 points, three below their next rivals, Bologna.

• Read more – ‘Make Juventus great again’ – What’s behind the €1.1bn offer to buy the club

Juventus chief John Elkann explains ‘our history and values are not for sale’ after parent company Exor rejected a takeover bid from Tether.

While Tether are already minority shareholders, yesterday they announced a €1.1 billion offer to take over all the remaining shares held by the Agnelli family holding company Exor.

This was rejected outright and now Exor President Elkann, an heir to the Agnelli family fortune, released a video where he explained their reasoning.

Wearing a Juventus hoodie, he outlined their refusal for the present and the future.

Elkann makes it clear Juventus not for sale

“Juve have been part of my family for 102 years, in the real sense of the word, because over the course of a century, we’ve seen four generations make it bigger, stronger, protected it during difficult moments and celebrated in the many happy times.

“That is not all. Juve are part of a much, much bigger family. The Bianconeri family. It is made up of millions of fans in Italy and around the world, who love Juve the way they love those closest to them.

“It is precisely thinking about this passion, this history of love that unites us for over a century, that as a family we continue to support our team and look to the future to build a winning Juve.

“Our Juventus, our history, our values, are not for sale.”

While there had been reports in recent years that Exor were frustrated at the amount of money going into stabilising Juve coffers, especially in the wake of the accounting scandal over inflated transfer fees, they never really seemed amenable to the idea of selling the club.

Tether were only founded in 2014 and are a cryptocurrency company, who currently have an 11.52 per cent stake in Juventus and one member on the board of directors, Francesco Garino.

Denzel Dumfries hasn’t played a competitive match since November 9 and is not expected to return to action before January 2026, but next week he’ll have a specialist visit abroad, reports Gazzetta.

Inter defender Dumfries is not expected to play again in 2025 and will have a specialist visit abroad next week to receive a clear diagnosis.

Dumfries’ injury explained

The Netherlands international was subbed off after 56 minutes during Inter’s home game against Lazio on November 9 and has not returned to action since.

Dumfries had suffered a suspected sprain in his left ankle, and even if he joined his national team during the break last month, he was not involved in matches against Poland and Lithuania.

The right-back returned to Italy for treatment, and it was believed that he would have recovered for the derby against Milan on November 23, but that wasn’t the case.

Dumfires to miss Supercoppa Italiana Final Four

Gazzetta reports that Dumfries has been training in the gym and has tried to increase the workload, but the pain is still there.

Even MRI scans and other tests have not highlighted any particular damage to the injured ankle, so Inter have decided to change their approach, arranging consultations with several orthopaedic specialists focusing on ankle problems.

Next week, he’s expected to fly abroad for a specialist visit, but Dumfries is highly unlikely to return to action before January 2026, missing next week’s Supercoppa Final Four.

Milan striker Santiago Gimenez continues to train separately, even if, according to Gazzetta, the Rossoneri doctors believe the Mexico international has fully recovered from an ankle injury.

Milan striker Gimenez has missed one and a half months of action due to an ankle injury that even prevented him from playing with the Mexico national team in November.

Gimenez continues to train separately

The former Feyenoord star continues training separately at Milanello even if, according to Gazzetta, the club’s medical staff believe the striker has clinically recovered from his ankle issue.

The pink paper explains that, technically, there isn’t a diagnosis for the Mexican striker and that Milan have never released an official statement regarding his injury.

Even Massimiliano Allegri hasn’t entirely clarified Gimenez’s issue as the Italian tactician keeps telling the media that he hopes the 24-year-old will return to action “soon.” Today’s press conference made no exception.

According to the report, the striker’s perception of pain and mental discomfort also play a role in his slow return to action.

Gimenez’s return date still unclear

As of today, his return date remains unclear as the striker could even miss next week’s Supercoppa Italiana Final Four in Saudi Arabia.

Milan are looking for a new striker in the January window, but Gimenez is not considering leaving the club as his agent recently confirmed.

Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri says his players must ‘respect’ Sassuolo and feels Christopher Nkunku should ‘smile more.’

• Read more – Pulisic ‘diabolical’ in front of the goal, says Milan coach Allegri

Allegri’s Milan host Sassuolo at San Siro on Sunday. The Rossoneri are the Serie A table leaders, level on 31 points with Napoli.

Milan-Sassuolo: Allegri’s pre-match press conference

Allegri previewed tomorrow’s game at a pre-match press conference, primarily providing injury updates: “Leao won’t be available tomorrow, but will recover for the Supercopppa. Fofana has recovered, but I’ll leave him at home because he hasn’t trained at all. Athekame has been called up, Gimenez is working, and we hope to have him back as soon as possible,” Allegri said via Milan News.

“Sassuolo can make you struggle at any time, so we must have great respect and order in the defensive phase. If we wander around the pitch, they will cause trouble for you, and the game will become more complicated. Tomorrow we need a serious performance under every aspect; technically, physically and mentally.”

Christopher Nkunku started against Torino, but hasn’t yet scored in ten Serie A appearances.

“He must be more serene, because we all wanted him here,” Allegri said.

“His teammates and the club trust him. I told him he has to smile more. If he does so, things will improve. He’s an important player with technical skills, and I’m convinced he’ll do excellent things.

“He has worked a lot. In Turin, we scored the third goal because he attacked the near post well, freeing he space for Pulisic. He has extraordinary technical qualities and can score goals.”

Allegri has been repeating that Milan’s main objective is to qualify for the Champions League, while Inter and Napoli are the favourites for the Serie A title.

“If I’m not wrong, they finished first and second last season, so normally they are the favourites,” he said.

“We’ve changed many players, and we’ve welcomed excellent players. We are at Milan, so we must have the ambition and the desire to give our best, knowing that we must return to the Champions League. Tomorrow, we need to make a further step forward. We are table leaders, but we still need many to reach our main target, which is to qualify for the Champions League.”

Is it an advantage for Milan not to be involved in any European competition?

“I’d be happy if I could play one game every three days and in the Champions League, because we work for this,” insisted Allegri.

“There are all these rumours about the advantages or disadvantages. I believe the advantage is to have a strong team with strong players, a strong club and an environment that can support physically, mentally and technically a game every three days; otherwise, you can’t be in a top team. I like to play in the Champions League, and we are working for this. I don’t think that playing one game every three days leads to worse preparation, but it’s possible.”

Santiago Gimenez is still injured and hasn’t yet scored in Serie A. Does it mean Milan will look for a new centre-forward in January?

“I must find solutions internally in a group of players who are offering it to me,” insisted Allegri.

“The club will keep an eye on the market, but we must focus on tomorrow’s game. Once we’ve done it, we’ll focus on the Supercoppa.”

Is Ardon Jashari ready to replace Luka Modric if the Croat needs to rest ahead of next week’s Supercoppa?

“Jashari has really improved. Tomorrow’s game is the closest one, so I’ll base my assessments on tomorrow’s match,” noted Allegri.

“After tomorrow’s game, we’ll see the dead ones, the ones who are alive and those who are wounded.”

Milan have won all their big games this season, but dropped points against teams in the bottom half of the table. Fikayo Tomori has had drops in focus, but Allegri refused to blame the Englishman.

“It’s not about Tomori. We all have it as a team. We conceded two goals against Torino, Pisa, Parma and Cremonese,” he said.

“There are situations we must improve; we can’t be two goals down after 12 minutes. It happens sometimes, but we must try to avoid it.

“This is a team that never complains about the work and what we ask them. They have a clear target, they want to seize the opportunity to stay at Milan and leave something important recorded in Milan’s history,” concluded the coach.

“We must remain focused without listening to what is being said. The target is to be in the top four on May 25 because, I repeat, Milan must play in the Champions League next season.”

La Gazzetta dello Sport notes that Tether’s offer to buy Juventus is below the actual club’s value which is ‘realistically’ between €1.8 and 2 billion.

• Read more – ‘Make Juventus great again’ – What’s behind the €1.1bn offer to buy the club

Crypto giants Tether, a minority Juventus shareholder, announced an €1.1 billion offer to acquire a majority stake in the club on Friday, but the Agnelli family replied through a spokesperson that the club is not for sale.

Juventus’ financial issues in recent years

Gazzetta examines the Bianconeri’s financial situation, describing the Serie A giants as a ‘sleeping giant’ with considerable assets, including a club-owned stadium and training centres worth €450m, but also a poor financial situation with losses of nearly one billion in the last eight years that forced club owners to make cash injections for over €900m.

When Andrea Agnelli became the club’s President in May 2010, Juventus’ stock market capitalisation was €162m, and it peaked to €1.5 billion in 2019, driven by the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo a year earlier. Currently, Juventus are valued at €915m on the Milan stock exchange.

Football Benchmark’s latest report gives Juventus a value of €1.651 billion; according to Forbes, the club’s worth is slightly higher at €1.9 billion. Realistically, according to Gazzetta, the range lies between €1.8 billion and €2 billion.

With their statement, however, Tether assigned to Juventus an equity value of €1.1 billion. Considering the financial debt of around €300m, the enterprise value would be €1.4 billion, according to the crypto giants, below market estimates.

Don’t forget that, back in 2022, Elliott sold Milan, who didn’t have a club-owned stadium, to RedBird for €1.2 billion, while more recently, Atletico Madrid’s majority stake was acquired by Apollo with an enterprise value of €2.5 billion.

Four Juventus four capital increases in recent years

Even if Juventus have solid assets, they’ve been falling short financially in recent years, accumulating €999m in losses between 2014-15 and 2024-25. Juventus have not been profitable for the past eight seasons, requiring four capital increases.

The last one worth €98 was completed just a few weeks ago, when Exor and Tether subscribed their stakes, 65.4% and 11.5% respectively, for a total of €77m, while the remainder came from institutional investors.

However, there have been positive signals in recent months as, last season, the deficit was cut to €58m compared to €199m from the previous financial year.

The updated business plan targets break-even by the end of the 2026-27 campaign, but that will largely depend on results on the pitch, with access to the big Champions League prize money, and the increase of the players’ worth.

Football Italia transfer expert Alfredo Pedullà provides the latest transfer updates on Serie A-linked Mauro Icardi, Joshua Zirkzee, Kobbie Mainoo and Napoli striker Lorenzo Lucca.

Milan will be looking for a new striker in the January transfer window, and Pedullà argued in his latest YouTube video for Football Italia that the Rossoneri should sign another striker next month, regardless of Santiago Gimenez and Christopher Nkunku, who have failed to match expectations this season.

Other media have linked Mauro Icardi, a former Inter captain, with a move to Milan. Pedullà says that the Argentine, whose Galatasaray contract expires in June 2026, was not offered to Milan through official sources, but perhaps other intermediaries held informal talks with the Rossoneri.

Icardi has offers from four countries

Icardi has important offers from Mexico, Brazil, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Icardi isn’t yet 36, but he wants to wait. The request is a €10m salary.

As for Zirkzee, the Dutchman is a priority target for Roma coach Gian Piero Gasperini, but Manchester United must sign another striker because Zirkzee has had more playing time recently, and the Red Devils are only open to selling the player for an appropriate transfer formula, which means not a loan with an option to buy.

Mainoo’s situation is different because he’s younger than Zirkzee and is not getting much playing time at Old Trafford. The English midfielder is Napoli’s priority target in midfield for the January window.

Last but not least, the Partenopei won’t give away Lucca in the January window; they might allow him to leave on loan, but it will also depend on Romelu Lukaku’s fitness once he returns to action.

Tuttosport newspaper reports that Juventus are ready to make a new offer to extend Kenan Yildiz’s contract as the striker’s father, Engin, has landed in Turin.

Juventus are expected to continue talks over Yidiz’s contract extension in the coming days, according to Tuttosport.

The Turin-based paper claims that members of the Yildiz family have landed in Italy, and not just to spend holidays together.

Juventus set to resume Yildiz contract talks

The striker’s father Engin, in fact, is expected to meet with club directors for contract negotiations, helped by a well-known intermediary, Jorge Mendes.

Yildiz’s contract expires in June 2029, but the Bianconeri’s No.10 has now become a key player in the team, and his €1.5m salary does not reflect his status at the Allianz Stadium.

Yildiz’s salary request to Juventus

According to the report, Yildiz’s salary request is €6m per season, a sum that Juventus are eager to match, possibly including easily achievable bonuses.

Yildiz, 20, has grabbed six goals and six assists in 20 appearances across all competitions this season.

According to Il Corriere dello Sport, Milan are among the clubs interested in Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus who will be looking for more playing time in the second part of the season.

Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus is the latest striker linked with a move to Milan in the January transfer window.

The Rossoneri will be looking for a new centre-forward next month, and Italian media have already mentioned several targets for the Rossoneri, including Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee, West Ham’s Niclas Füllkrug and Sassuolo’s Andrea Pinamonti.

Gabriel Jesus linked with Milan move

According to Corriere dello Sport, Milan’s owners are unwilling to make a big investment in a new striker in the January window, but possible departures of Santiago Gimenez and Ruben Loftus-Cheek would help the Rossoneri finance the purchase of a new man in attack.

Gimenez’s transfer stance

Football Italia, however, understands that Gimenez is not considering leaving the club in the winter transfer window, at least for now.

If the situation were to change, Gabriel Jesus would be one of the Milan targets, according to Corriere dello Sport.

The 28-year-old has recently returned from an injury and wants to play consistently in the second part of the campaign, something he might not be given at Arsenal, given Mikel Arteta’s options in attack.

According to the report, Gabriel Jesus wants to have a chance to return to the Brazil national team for the 2026 World Cup, so he’ll be looking for more playing time next month.

The 28-year-old would earn just above €3m from January until the end of the season. The Brazilian’s contract at the Emirates Stadium runs out in June 2027.

The Agnelli family is unwilling to sell Juventus despite a €1.1 billion offer from minority shareholders Tether, so we take a closer look at the blockchain-enabled platform and its CEO, Paolo Ardoino.

Tether announced an offer to buy a majority stake in Juventus from Exor on Friday night, but received a firm reply from the Bianconeri owners: “Negotiations are not underway regarding the sale of a stake in Juventus,” a spokesperson for the Agnelli family told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

How do Tether make money?

Founded in 2014, the Tether cryptocurrency has grown massively over the last few years and its CEO, Paolo Ardoino, is a life-long Juventus supporter. Tether already holds an 11,52% stake in Juventus and is represented in the Juventus board of directors by Francesco Garino.

As reported by Gazzetta, the main difference between Tether and other popular cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, is its lower volatility.

 

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Un post condiviso da Tether Operations Limited (@_tether_)

Tether’s value is pegged to the US dollar, and its users appreciate it for its stability rather than the hope of profiting from market speculations.

Gazzetta explains that Tether has ‘built its success on its effectiveness in supporting international transactions without the involvement and costs of various intermediaries, such as banks.’

The company is headquartered in El Salvador and reported profits exceeding €13 billion in 2024. Tether’s core focus lies in cryptocurrencies, blockchains and technological innovation, including artificial intelligence.

As previously mentioned, its CEO, Paolo Ardoino, is a life-long Juventus supporter who has become increasingly popular among Bianconeri supporters on social media, especially X, thanks to his motto ‘Make Juventus great again.’

https://t.co/rQLpUYieMP

— Paolo Ardoino (@paoloardoino) December 12, 2025

Gazzetta notes that the relationship between Tether and Exor has never been particularly solid. At times, Ardoino’s social media activity aimed to look for a collaboration with Exor, but other times, the Tether CEO has criticised the club and the team.

Exor unwilling to sell Juventus

The abrupt public bid is unlikely to strengthen relations between the two sides, particularly given that Exor had already indicated, before Tether’s proposal, that it had no intention of selling the club in response to rumours of a potential offer from a Saudi investor.

This past November, Juventus owner John Elkann said: “We remain fully committed to Juventus and are proud to be its controlling shareholder for over a century. We are and have always been open to constructive ideas from all stakeholders who share our ambition and passion for the club.”

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario wants to join Inter next summer, but the Nerazzurri don’t want to pay more than €20m to sign the Italy international.

Italian goalkeeper Vicario is eager to join Inter next summer, according to the latest report of Gazzetta dello Sport.

Vicario wants Inter move

The pink paper had reported in November that Vicario wanted to leave Spurs at the end of the season and that the Nerazzurri were interested in securing his services.

Vicario is grateful to Tottenham but wants to return to Serie A in the summer, so the Nerazzurri will have to negotiate with Spurs, as the goalkeeper’s contract runs out in June 2028.

Vicario a long-time Inter target

According to the report, however, Inter are unwilling to invest more than €20m to sign the former Empoli and Cagliari goalkeeper who was already a Nerazzurri target in 2023, before the 29-year-old completed a permanent move to North London.

Vicario has kept nine clean sheets in 22 Tottenham appearances this season.

He’s Italy second-choice keeper behind Gigio Donnarumma and has five international appearances to his name.

A spokesperson for the Agnelli family has confirmed that negotiations over a potential takeover of Juventus are ‘not underway’ following a €1.1 billion takeover offer from minority shareholders, Tether. 

On Friday evening, Tether officially announced that they had lodged an offer to purchase Exor’s majority stake in Juventus. Exor is the holding company owned by the Agnelli family, which has been in control of the football club since 1923. 

Tether, who currently own a minority stake of just over 10%, have offered a price of €2.66 per share, which equates to around €1.1 billion for Exor’s 65.4% stake in the club. 

Tether has announced that it intends to make a public offer for the remaining shares at the same price.

What Agnelli family says about Tether’s Juventus takeover proposal 

“Negotiations are not underway regarding the sale of a stake in Juventus,” a spokesperson for the Agnelli family told La Gazzetta dello Sport. The spokesperson also referred to Tether’s takeover proposal as ‘press rumours’. 

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, a lifelong Juventus supporter, insists that the takeover attempt is sincere. 

“Today, Tether has sent an official proposal to Exor to purchase their entire stake in Juventus,” he wrote in a tweet on X on Friday. 

“From the beginning, our goal has always been to support the team and bring it back to the glory that it deserves. As part of our commitment, if this transaction goes through successfully, Tether will invest €1 billion into the club.” 

Tether, minority shareholders of Juventus, have announced that they have submitted an offer to purchase Exor’s majority stake in the club and that they intend to purchase the remaining shares to assume full ownership. 

Tether announce plans to purchase Juventus in full

Tether, a cryptocurrency stablecoin, initially purchased a minority stake in Juventus in February 2025. CEO Paolo Ardoino is a life-long Bianconeri supporter. 

Tether increased their stake in the club in April, and it was reported at the time that they currently possess 10.12% of the club’s shares and 6.18% of the club’s voting rights. 

Tether has announced on Friday evening that they have tabled a ‘binding all-cash proposal’ to purchase Exor’s shares in the club. Exor is the holding company owned and controlled by the Agnelli family, who have owned Juventus since 1923. 

Currently, Exor holds 65.4% of the shares in Juventus. According to reports from Calcio e Finanza, Tether has offered a price of €2.66 per share, which equates to a total of around €1.1 billion.

Tether has announced that it intends to make a public offer for the remaining shares at the same price. 

What Tether said about Juventus proposal

“Tether has submitted a binding all cash proposal to Exor to acquire its entire stake in Juventus Football Club,” a statement on Friday evening read. 

“Subject to regulatory approvals, Tether intends to make a public offer for the remaining shares at the same price, fully funded with its own capital and supported by a long term commitment to the club.

“This proposal reflects a belief in Juventus as more than a football club. For generations, Juventus has stood for discipline, ambition, and the quiet strength of those who rebuild and move forward, season after season. It is a club that has shaped Italian sporting identity and earned the loyalty of supporters around the world.”

“For me, Juventus has always been part of my life,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. “I grew up with this team. As a boy, I learned what commitment, resilience, and responsibility meant by watching Juve face success and adversity with dignity. Those lessons stayed with me long after the final whistle.

“Our interest in Juventus comes from deep admiration and respect. Juventus is a symbol of Italian excellence with a truly global presence, built over generations through hard work, ambition, and the unwavering loyalty of its supporters. These values mirror how we have built Tether, with patience, independence, and a focus on long term resilience.

“Tether is in a position of strong financial health and intends to support Juventus with stable capital and a long horizon. Our goal is to contribute positively to the club’s future, to support sporting performance at the highest level.

“This proposal is made with humility and a deep sense of responsibility toward the club, its supporters, and its legacy. We believe Juventus’ story is still being written, and that its next chapters can be defined by strength, continuity, and ambition.”

Tether’s statement continued: “The proposal contemplates the acquisition of Exor’s shareholding, representing 65.4 percent of Juventus’ issued share capital. Completion of the transaction would be subject to Exor’s acceptance, the execution of definitive documentation, and receipt of required regulatory approvals. Following completion, Tether intends to proceed with a public tender offer for the remaining shares at the same price per share.

“In the event that the transaction completes, Tether is prepared to invest 1 billion Euros in the support and development of the Club. 

“Tether operates with a long term investment philosophy supported by a strong balance sheet and a focus on building resilient, globally relevant institutions. Further updates will be provided in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.”

Reports in Italy claim that Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek is considering the possibility of a move away from San Siro during the January transfer window to boost his chances of being selected in Thomas Tuchel’s England World Cup squad. 

Could Loftus-Cheek leave Milan in January?

The former Chelsea midfielder has been a valuable role player under Massimiliano Allegri this season, featuring in a number of different roles including a brief stint in the attacking line of a 3-5-2 in the absence of Rafael Leao earlier this season. 

But, despite being called up to the England national team squad in October, Loftus-Cheek has struggled for opportunities as a starter in Milan following the signings of Luka Modric, Adrien Rabiot and Samuele Ricci over the summer. 

The Englishman started all of Milan’s first three league matches of the season, but has only started one of their 11 league games since then. 

With Milan not involved in European competition this season, and having also been knocked out of the Coppa Italia, Serie A is currently Loftus-Cheek’s only chance of minutes in the Milan line-up. 

Now, according to reports from Calciomercato.com, Loftus-Cheek is considering the possibility of leaving Milan in January in order to increase his game time ahead of the World Cup in the summer. 

There have been suggestions that Napoli could be poised to offer a temporary solution, given that they are in the midst of a midfield injury crisis with Kevin De Bruyne, Stanislav Lobotka, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Billy Gilmour all currently unavailable. 

There had been reports over the summer that Lazio were also interested, but it remains to be seen whether they will make an approach during the winter window. 

Calciomercato claims that there have also been enquiries from a number of unspecified Premier League clubs, and that there could also be potential opportunities for Loftus-Cheek in the Bundesliga. 

Evan Ferguson scored his first ever goals in European competition with a brace for Roma against Celtic in the Europa League on Thursday night, but it has not all been smooth sailing for the Brighton loanee in the Italian capital. 

From his year-long goal drought to rumours of a potential recall, here’s a look at how things have gone for him at the Stadio Olimpico and what the future might hold for the Republic of Ireland international. 

Why has Ferguson struggled for consistency at Roma? 

Ferguson joined Roma on loan with an option to buy, rumored to be for a fee in the region of €40m towards the end of the summer transfer window. 

This is his second consecutive loan stint away from Brighton after an underwhelming spell with West Ham in the second half of the 2024-25 season, during which he failed to score a single competitive goal. 

Roma, whose only other natural option at centre-forward is Artem Dovbyk, had been in dire need of attacking additions during the summer transfer window. 

Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini made that clear on several occasions: “This is no excuse; it’s just the reality, and we can’t be hypocrites. Take a look at who left and who is missing. It’s just counting,” he said after a pre-season friendly against Kaiserslautern over the summer, just a few weeks before the start of the Serie A season. 

In the end, Roma did make more additions before the close of the summer transfer window, Wesley, Daniele Ghilardi, Jan Ziolkowski and a loan deal for Kostas Tsimikas among them, but their only other attacking addition was Leon Bailey on loan from Aston Villa. Due to injury, the Jamaica international has only managed eight competitive appearances since joining Roma in August, only one of which was as a starter. 

This means that Ferguson and Dovbyk have been Gasperini’s only natural options at centre-forward this season. 

And with no clear first choice, Gasperini has often rotated his options at centre-forward, with Paulo Dybala, Tommaso Baldanzi and Matias Soule all having been tried in false nine roles at various stages of the 2025-26 season. 

It is easy to forget that Ferguson has only recently turned 21, and moving abroad, arriving late in the summer transfer window, and then having to adapt to a new culture, club, league, and style of play, and having the pressure of needing to bounce back after a tough 2024-25 season is not to be underestimated either. 

Could Ferguson’s recent goals be the turning point at Roma? 

Ferguson finally claimed his first competitive goal in Giallorossi colours on November 23, coming off the bench to grab Roma’s second in an eventual 3-1 win away against Cremonese in Serie A. 

This was his first competitive goal in over a year, dating back to Brighton’s 2-2 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on October 26, 2024. 

The 21-year-old has since added a European brace to his personal tally for 2025-26, tucking away two very well taken finishes in the first half of a 3-0 Europa League win over Celtic on Thursday night. 

It wasn’t just his finishing, but his movement and overall centre-forward play that earned him rave reviews for his performance at Celtic Park. 

Football Italia expert Alfredo Pedullà agrees that Ferguson’s performance against Celtic could be the perfect springboard to revitalise his Roma career. 

What to make of the recall rumours? 

For several months already, outlets in Italy have suggested that Roma could potentially look to terminate Ferguson’s loan deal ahead of schedule given his previous struggle for goals and consistency at the Stadio Olimpico. 

Brighton head coach Fabian Hürzeler did not deny those rumours when he spoke at his pre-match press conference on Friday. 

“Evan is our player, that’s why he will always be an option,” he said. “Of course, now at the moment he is on loan but we follow him, we are pleased how he performed yesterday. Of course we all follow him, so definitely he might be an option.” 

"Evan Ferguson is a player for us and he is always an option"

Fabian Hurzeler discusses the possibility of recalling Evan Ferguson from his loan at Roma and how he hopes that Mohamed Salah 'is not available' for Brighton's away trip against Liverpool pic.twitter.com/5BNG3BgIrq

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 12, 2025

So, it remains to be seen whether Ferguson will see out the rest of the 2025-26 campaign at the Stadio Olimpico, or whether he will return to Brighton, or perhaps be sent out on loan elsewhere. 

What is becoming clear is that the run-up to Christmas and the January transfer window will be pivotal. If the Irishman is able to add another couple of goals to his record before then, it starts to look like a completely different situation. 

And, if goals do start to become more of a regular occurrence, it begs the question, would Roma be able to find a guaranteed improvement, fit and ready to play, during the January transfer window with a tight budget and financial fair play regulations still to adhere to? It would certainly take quite the pull from Gasperini and Ricky Massara. 

Napoli have strong interest in 17-year-old Argentine talent Milton Pereyra, who is considered the present and future at Boca Junior, but the Partenopei still have a long way to go before bringing the teenager over to Europe. 

Where Napoli stand in pursuit of 17-year-old Milton Pereyra

Pereyra has excelled with Boca Juniors and is considered one of the brightest prospects that Argentinean football currently has to offer. 

There have been rumours circulating from Argentina that Napoli are ready to pounce on the promising teenage talent. Football Italia understands that Napoli are pursuing Pereyra, but have not yet finalised a deal. 

In fact, it is likely to take several more months before a deal goes through, given that the Partenopei have other, more pressing priorities heading into the January transfer window. 

There is not currently an expectation that Pereyra will be in Italy by the end of the calendar year, given that Napoli are still making their evaluations on the 17-year-old. Napoli continue to monitor him, but are not at the stage of finalising a deal just yet. 

They appreciate his profile, and will continue to track his progress, but for now, Pereyra is a player that the Partenopei will circle back to. There are other priorities for now.

Arne Slot has confirmed that Federico Chiesa should be in a position to return to the Liverpool squad over the weekend after recovering from a bout of illness that kept him out of his side’s 1-0 Champions League win over Inter on Tuesday night. 

Will Chiesa feature in Liverpool vs. Brighton?

The former Juventus and Fiorentina winger had been suffering with flu-like symptoms earlier in the week, which kept him out of the travelling Liverpool squad to take on Inter in San Siro. With Mohamed Salah out of the squad for disciplinary reasons and Cody Gakpo also unavailable midweek, many thought there could have been an opportunity for Chiesa to impress on home soil. 

Speaking during his pre-match press conference on Friday, head coach Slot confirmed that Chiesa should return to the matchday squad to face Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday. 

“Federico is not ill anymore. He trained yesterday and he trained today again, so I assume he’s ready to be in the squad tomorrow again,” Slot told the press. 

He also confirmed that Gakpo is still suffering with a muscular injury, and with Salah not expected to feature, there could still potentially be a chance of increased minutes for the Italian this weekend.

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca is still frustrated by Tuesday’s loss against Atalanta in the Champions League: ‘If you review the first goal, they had one player inside the box, and we had seven players.’

Italian coach Maresca once again examined Atalanta’s win over his Chelsea side during a press conference on Friday.

La Dea secured a memorable 2-1 comeback victory in Bergamo earlier this week thanks to goals from Gianluca Scamacca and Charles De Ketelaere.

The Blues will host Everton in the Premier League tomorrow.

Maresca comments on Atalanta 2-1 Chelsea

“The reason why we dropped points, again, because this is football. Bournemouth away, we drew. Leeds away was a bad day for us, for all of us,” Maresca said via Football London.

“Atalanta game, again, it’s a game that for me, we were in the game, we were winning, we were okay. And we conceded, if you review the first goal, they had one player inside the box, and we had seven players. So we have seven against one, and we conceded the goal. So big mistakes are things that we need to improve.”

Maresca has also won the Premier League coach of the Month award for November, but didn’t leave much room for celebration: “It’s December now,” he said.

Atalanta are currently the best-ranked Serie A club in the Champions League and have mathematically qualified for the knockout playoff already.

However, two more wins in the remaining two matches of the league phase will grant La Dea a spot in the Round of 16.

Atalanta have earned 16 points in 14 Serie A games this season and will host Cagliari in the next league game tomorrow.

Lautaro Martinez is confident that promising Inter striker Francesco Pio Esposito will become a ‘pillar’ of the Nerazzurri and the Italy national team: ‘He’s serious and humble.’

Pio Esposito returned to Inter last summer after a two-season loan spell at Serie B side Spezia.

Lautaro: Pio Esposito will ‘become a pillar of Inter and Italy’

A product of the Inter Academy, Esposito has netted three goals and provided three assists in 18 appearances across all competitions this season and even made his senior Italy debut, netting three times in five games with the Azzurri.

“I know him quite well because he comes from the youth sector,” Lautaro told Gazzetta.

“He’s a serious and humble lad. Let’s leave him calm, and he’ll become a pillar of Inter and the Italy national team. Bonny also has strength and quality and is helping us.”

During the same interview, Lautaro argued that the Nerazzurri had suffered an “injustice” in their latest Champions League match against Liverpool: “If you lose due to a referee’s mistake, there’s not much you can do,” he said.

Football Italia transfer expert Alfredo Pedullà insists Kobbie Mainoo is the player Napoli ‘appreciate the most’ in view of the 2026 January transfer window.

Napoli will be looking for midfield reinforcements next month, given that several key players will be forced to the sidelines with injuries for several weeks.

Kevin De Bruyne, Billy Gilmour, Frank Anguissa and Stanislav Lobotka are currently on the treatment table and are expected to miss many games for the Partenopei.

Latest Mainoo updates for Napoli

In his latest YouTube video for Football Italia, transfer expert Pedullà noted that Napoli director Giovanni Manna recently confirmed what we’ve been reporting for over a month about the Partenopei’s interest in Manchester United midfielder Mainoo.

“Mainoo’s name emerged from England in August, but there was no room to negotiate in the summer,” Pedullà said.

“Mainoo is the player Napoli are following more closely and appreciate the most.”

Mainoo, 20, has only made 11 appearances across all competitions this season, providing one assist. The England international has only collected 273 minutes of football on the pitch.

Currently, Eljif Elmas, Scott McTominay and Antonio Vergara are the only three central midfielders available for Napoli.

The Partenopei will visit Udinese in their next Serie A match on Sunday.

Venezia have opened talks with Spezia left-back Giuseppe Aurelio, who wants to leave his club next month.

Aurelio is expected to leave Spezia in the next transfer window.

The left-back, born in 2000, wants to embark on a new experience and clearly considers his time with the Ligurian club to be over.

Aurelio has scored two goals and provided one assist in 12 Serie B matches this season.

In recent days, several Serie B clubs have made inquiries, but Venezia have stepped up the pressure and want to give Giovanni Stroppa another quality addition.

The squad from the lagoon is already very competitive. The goal is to reach Serie A without going through the play-off, and nothing will be left to chance in order to raise the team’s quality level.

Talks for Aurelio are underway, and Venezia are serious about it.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, West Ham striker Niclas Fullkrug is one of the names Milan will consider in the January transfer window, as the German wants to leave his club.

West Ham striker Fullkrug is one of the players on Milan’s agenda for the January transfer window, and the Rossoneri will consider a possible deal in the coming weeks.

Fullkrug on Milan’s agenda for January

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Fullkrug is unhappy at West Ham, where he has only started in five matches out of 15 and played just 28 minutes in the last two months.

The 32-year-old hasn’t found the net in nine appearances across all competitions this season.

The Italian newspaper reports that Fullkrug can leave on loan next month, even if West Ham paid €30m to sign him just 16 months ago, and the striker has also attracted interest from the Bundesliga.

Milan will be looking for a classic centre-forward in the January transfer window, and the only exception could be Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee.

Luka Modric is ‘waiting’ for Italy at the 2026 World Cup as missing out on qualification for the third time in a row ‘would be a tragedy.’

Italy will have to go through the playoffs to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

The Azzurri will meet Northern Ireland in the semifinal and the winner between Wales and Bosnia Herzegovina if they progress to the final.

“It would be a tragedy for you to miss a third World Cup in a row,” Modric told Gazzetta.

“I hope Italy qualify because all the best teams will be at the next World Cup and Italy are one of the best, so they have to be there.

“The playoffs are always difficult, but I wish Italy the best of luck in qualifying. I’ll be waiting for you.”

Modric’s Croatia will be in Group L with England, Ghana and Panama, while, if Italy qualify, they’ll meet Canada, Switzerland and Qatar in Group B.

“England are one of the strongest national teams around, but we don’t underestimate anyone. We’re in a difficult group, and we have to prepare well,” said Modric.

“The World Cup is still a long way off, and right now we need to think about the present and about Milan because we want to keep going down this path.”

• Read more – Modric ‘surprised’ by Allegri, Milan the ‘biggest Italian club’

Tuttosport newspaper reports that Davide Frattesi’s agent has held preliminary talks with Juventus as the Inter midfielder seeks more playing time.

Juventus have reportedly resumed talks with Beppe Riso, the agent of Inter midfielder Frattesi.

The Italy international has been struggling with playing time this season, falling down Cristian Chivu’s pecking order.

Frattesi seeks more playing time

According to Tuttosport, the midfielder’s representative recently held talks with the Old Lady, who had already set her sights on the 26-year-old in previous years.

The Turin-based paper reports that Frattesi’s agent met Juventus representatives at the club’s headquarters.

Even if those directly involved described the meeting as a courtesy visit, it’s highly possible that the two parties made an initial approach ahead of the January transfer window.

Frattesi has only collected 480 minutes of football across all competitions this season, providing two assists in Coppa Italia against Serie B side Venezia.

Strong bond between Frattesi and Spalletti

However, his contract expires in June 2028 and Inter will be reluctant to sell the midfielder to a direct rival, so their asking price won’t be below €35m.

Frattesi is open to leaving Inter next month and is on good terms with Luciano Spalletti. The Inter midfielder was the best Italy scorer during the Tuscan coach’s tenure, finding the net seven times.

Fabio Capello argues that Antonio Conte is unable to convey ‘strength’ and ‘calmness’ to his Napoli team in the Champions League: ‘It’s a psychological issue.’

Napoli are the Serie A table leaders, level on 31 points with Milan, but the Partenopei are the lowest-ranked Serie A club in the Champions League.

The Partenopei have lost three games from three away from home in Europe this season, conceding 10 goals far from the Stadio Maradona.

Their latest loss came against José Mourinho’s Benfica on Wednesday.

“Maybe Conte isn’t able to transmit that calmness and strength to the players the way he does in the league,” Capello told Gazzetta.

Capello on Conte and Napoli’s ‘psychological issue’

The former Italian coach feels that Napoli’s poor results in the Champions League are not determined by tactical problems.

“I don’t think so. If you dominate in Italy or England, leagues where Conte has won, it means you’re providing something positive in terms of your playing system,” he argued.

“In my opinion, it’s more of a psychological issue.

“When you play in European competitions, you have to be convinced of your strength, find a certain calmness and take risks without being afraid to be bold,” he continued.

“Maybe, Antonio, judging by the results he gets in Europe, isn’t able to transmit this to the team.”

Napoli will visit Copenhagen and host Chelsea in the last two league phase games in January 2026.

The Partenopei will need at least one victory to secure a spot in the knockout playoff.

In the last Champions League round, Inter lost to Liverpool at home, while Juventus and Atalanta beat Pafos and Chelsea, respectively.

Capello: Easier to recover for Premier League teams

“In the last matchday, I saw that we struggled to cope with the opponents’ intensity. Inter, for example, had difficulties against Liverpool in terms of aggression, even if they would have deserved a draw,” Capello concluded.

“Also, maybe other teams have more well-equipped squads than ours. Manchester City, for example, replaced Haaland and Foden within 20 minutes, introducing players of equal quality (Reijnders and Marmoush).

“Above all, Premier League teams are more accustomed than ours to handling a double schedule, and they find it less tiring to recover because they are used to always playing at a very high pace, so when they play at a slightly lower tempo, they are already at the level of our maximum.”

Italy have stepped even further clear of Spain, but are still locked in a battle with Germany for an additional spot in next season’s Champions League after the conclusion of Thursday night’s Europa and Conference League ties. 

It was a step in the right direction for Italy’s hopes of securing an additional Champions League spot for 2026-27, as all the Serie A representatives secured victories on Thursday night.

Fiorentina beat Dynamo Kyiv 2-1 in the Conference League early kick-off, before Roma’s 3-0 victory away against Celtic and Bologna’s 2-1 comeback victory against Celta Vigo in the Europa League. 

These add to Juventus’s 2-0 win over Pafos and Atalanta’s surprise 2-1 win over Club World Cup victors Chelsea in the Champions League earlier this week. Inter were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool in San Siro, while Napoli fell to a 2-0 defeat away against Jose Mourinho’s Benfica. 

Where Italy stands in race for extra Champions League spot

The situation leaves Italy in third place in the UEFA seasonal association coefficient rankings. This is what is used to determine which two nations receive an additional Champions League spot. 

The UEFA tables are expected to be officially updated on Friday, but figures provided by Sky Sport Italia show that Italy will be in third place on 11.071 points, behind Germany in second on 11.660 points and England in first with 13.166 points. 

Spain are in fourth with 10.609 points, with Portugal slightly behind them in fifth on 10.600 points. 

Gian Piero Gasperini insists that patience is the key for Evan Ferguson and Roma’s young players after their 3-0 victory away against Celtic in the Champions League on Thursday evening: ‘You play against different sorts of teams in Europe compared to Italy’. 

The Giallorossi got back to winning ways with a 3-0 victory away against Celtic in Europe on Thursday evening: An own goal from Liam Scales sending them ahead after six minutes, which was added to by a first-half brace from Evan Ferguson. Those were the Irishman’s first goals in European competition. 

You can see how the action unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog.

Gasperini reacts to Celtic 0-3 Roma: ‘It’s never easy to win away’

“It’s never easy to win away, on these beautiful, historic pitches,” Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia after full-time.

“Pisilli, Ferguson and all the other changes put in good performances. They give us an option to expand the squad. This is a moment in which we need to make important assessments, and we have to make them in games that matter.

“Playing here isn’t easy. They were coming off a series of victories. You have to play against different sorts of teams in Europe compared to in Italy. As a result, you can end up against very strong strikers. It’s a different type of football in Europe.”

Gasperini was asked what he made of Ferguson’s performance. The 21-year-old is on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion with a hefty option to buy, but there have already been suggestions that Roma could look to terminate his deal ahead of schedule. A brace this evening is a step in the right direction, though. 

“During the game. he did what he often does in training. He’s a young lad and we have to be patient,” Gasperini said. “His second goal was beautiful. His performance was great, and it’s important that he plays with this spirit and shows his qualities.”

And on Roma’s potential business in the January transfer window, Gasperini added: “We have to be patient. These young guys could come good. Maybe it’s better that way rather than relying on the market. We’ll talk about the January window moving forwards, now, we have several important games to play.”

How will Roma cope with losing Neil El Aynaoui and Evan Ndicka for the Africa Cup of Nations? 

“We’ll know (when they’ll leave) tomorrow, both for El Aynaoui and Ndicka. We would like to have them with us for the game against Como, but either way, we will have other matches where we’re left without two key figures. We’ve seen tonight that they’re both important. I’m happy for Pisilli in midfield, he’s growing and doing well. I’m happy for him.”

Evan Ferguson and Matias Soule were among the standout performers during Roma’s 3-0 victory over Celtic in Glasgow in the Europa League on Thursday evening, a result which has sent the Giallorossi into 10th place in the league table. 

An own-goal from Liam Scales six minutes in followed by a first-half brace from Evan Ferguson were enough for Roma to claim a comfortable victory, despite a missed penalty from Arne Engels and each side having a goal ruled out for offside in the second half. 

Click here to see how the action unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog.

Celtic 0-3 Roma: Player ratings! 

Celtic: Schmeichel 6; Trusty 5, Scales 4.5, Tierney 5 (Donovan 6); Yang 5.5 (Ralston 5.5), McGregor 5.5, Engels 5, Tounekti 6; Hatate 6 (Balikwisha n/a), Maeda 5 (Bernardo 6), Nygren 5 (Iheanacho 6). 

Best Celtic player: Kelechi Iheanacho 6 – Celtic’s game only really got going in the second half, when they were already 3-0 down and after a triple substitution at the break. Iheanacho, recently returned from injury, was a bright spark for the hosts when he came on and looked determined to get his name on the scoresheet. He will be frustrated to have seen his effort ruled out for offside 65 minutes in. Who knows, there might have been enough time left for Celtic to make Roma start feeling uneasy at that point.

Coach: Wilfrid Nancy 5 – A night to forget on his first European match in charge of Celtic. Enormously frustrating for him to see his side go 1-0 down through a set-piece six minutes in, and it then seemed difficult for the hosts to match Celtic’s intensity. Too many slip-ups on the ball and in their own half, which Roma were able to punish. 

Roma: Svilar 6; Mancini 7, Ndicka 6, Hermoso 5 (Ziolkowski 5.5), Celik 6.5, El Aynaoui 6, Pisilli 6 (Angelino n/a), Rensch 6; Soule 7 (Dybala 6), El Shaarawy 6 (Pellegrini 6); Ferguson 7.5 (Bailey 6.5). 

Best Roma player: Evan Ferguson 7.5 – A really well deserved brace for the Irishman, his first ever goals in European competition, who applied two very well-taken finishes to claim his first-half double. It was an energetic and battling performance from the Giallorossi loanee, who now has three goals in his last five appearances across all competitions. Only two of those have been starts. 

Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini 7.5 

Despite making wholesale changes and leaving out big names in Paulo Dybala and Manu Kone, Roma were right at it from the off, played with great intensity and did not panic after taking such an early lead in the sixth minute. It was the near-perfect first-half performance, the only fault being the penalty that Mario Hermoso gave away in the dying moments. It was a task in game management in the second half, and Roma will have been relieved to have seen Kelechi Iheanacho’s goal ruled out for offside. Overall, a great response after their disappointment against Cagliari in Serie A over the weekend.

Bologna battled to an impressive 2-1 comeback victory on a rainy night in Galicia on Thursday against Celta Vigo.

Football Italia’s Player of the Match was Bologna hero Federico Bernardeschi.

Celta Vigo 1-2 Bologna – Player Ratings

Celta Vigo: Radu 5.5; Rodriguez 5, Starfelt 5.5, Ristic 6; Carreira 5.5, Beltran 6, Morbia 6, Mingueza 6.5; Swedberg 7, Iglesias 5.5, Zaragoza 7

Best Celta Vigo player: Williot Swedberg – Looked really dangerous and helped create Zaragoza’s goal. Contributed in both attack and defence and gave a really good showing of himself.

Lowest Celta Vigo rating: Javi Rodriguez – Sloppy to give away the penalty that brought Bologna back into the game.

Coach: Claudio Giraldez 5.5 – His side offered little to no answers to Bologna‘s dominance other than to hope for the best. Completely outmatched in midfield and this is where the game was lost.

Bologna: Ravaglia 5.5; Holm 7, Heggem 6.5, Lykogiannis 6.5, Miranda 7; Moro 7.5, Pobega 6.5; Bernardeschi 8.5, Fabbian 6, Rowe 6.5; Castro 6

Best Bologna player: Federico Bernardeschi – Led by example from the wing today, showing his experience and composure to propel his side to all three points. Scored twice and was a constant threat on the right flank.

Lowest Bologna rating: Ravaglia – Player of the Match at the weekend against Lazio, he’s only the lowest rated here by process of elimination. Maybe could have done better for Zaragoza’s opener.

Coach: Vincenzo Italiano 7.5 – Made some solid changes and set up his team very well to dominate Celta Vigo. The La Liga side are no pushovers, beating Real Madrid at the weekend, and Italiano made them look very weak.

Roma are closing in on a spot in the Europa League knock-out rounds after a largely dominant 3-0 victory away against Celtic in Glasgow on Thursday evening: A Liam Scales own goal and a first-half brace from Evan Ferguson sending Gian Piero Gasperini’s side on their way to victory.

Roma had slipped to two consecutive defeats in Serie A prior to kick-off, their last victory in any competition coming in the 2-1 victory over Midtjylland in November. Gasperini gave Evan Ferguson the nod up front, alongside the club he supported growing up, with Paulo Dybala, Manu Kone and the returning Angelino named among the substitutes.

You can see how the action unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog.

Zeki Celik won Roma their first corner of the game five minutes in. Gianluca Mancini initially tried to claim that it was his header from Matias Soule’s delivery that took it past Kasper Schmeichel, but replays showed that it was actually a Liam Scales own-goal that sent the Giallorossi into an early lead in Glasgow.

The Giallorossi were the dominant force in the first half, registering eight shots in the opening 45 minutes, three of which were on target. Soule, Stephan El Shaarawy and Nicolo Pisilli all had a go midway through the first period. 

Their lead was doubled 10 minutes before the interval, Zeki Celik was freed on the right-hand side of the area and supplied the perfect low ball in for Ferguson, who just had to steer it in inside the six-yard box for 2-0. 

Gasperini’s side would claim their third on the stroke of half-time following a wonderful passage of possession in the final third. Soule was involved again, providing a brilliantly improvised ball in from the edge of the area, which Ferguson was able to turn in from 10 yards out. 

It looked as though the first half’s action was done after that, only for Mario Hermoso to bring down Arne Engels in the area on the following attack. 

There were several minutes of protests and delays from the Giallorossi, which saw El Shaarawy and Soule booked, but that might just have worked out in their favour as Engels struck the left upright when he was finally cleared to take the spot-kick. 

The hosts elected to make three changes at half-time, and saw an immediate shift in momentum: Kelechi Iheanacho, recently returned from injury, looked bright and determined. 

The Nigerian thought he had clawed one back, prodding home in similar fashion to Ferguson in the first half, but he was eventually flagged for a slight offside. 3-0 Roma it remained. 

Roma would also see another chalked off before full-time. Leon Bailey thought he had claimed his first Giallorossi goal with a well taken finish into the far corner inside the area, but he was also punished for an offside in the build-up. 

Tonight’s result sees Roma climb up to 10th place in the Europa League table, just one point outside the all-important top eight with two games against Stuttgart and Panathinaikos left to play before the end of the league phase.

Celtic 0-3 Roma

Scales OG 6’, Ferguson 36’, 45+1’, 

11-12-2025 20:00

MatchDay 6

Celtic Park

Celtic

Roma

0 - 3

Player statistic

1st half

		6'		Liam Scales
		36'		Evan Ferguson (Assist: Zeki Celik)
Arne Engels		45+5'
		45+1'		Evan Ferguson (Assist: Matìas Soulé)
		45+3'		Mario Hermoso
		45+4'		Stephan El Shaarawy
		45+5'		Matìas Soulé

2nd half

		78'		Evan Ndicka
		88'		Jan Ziolkowski

Match statistic

57

Possession %

43

9

Total shots

12

2

Shots on target

5

5

Shots off target

5

2

Blocked shots

2

4

Corners

4

3

Offsides

8

10

Fouls

9

Celtic

Roma

Starting lineups

1

Kasper Schmeichel

Goalkeeper

6

Auston Trusty

Defender

63

Kieran Tierney

Defender

46'

5

Liam Scales

Defender

42

Callum McGregor

Midfielder

41

Reo Hatate

Midfielder

77'

27

Arne Engels

Attacker

8

Benjamin Nygren

Attacker

46'

38

Daizen Maeda

Attacker

46'

13

Hyun-jun Yang

Attacker

62'

23

Sebastian Tounekti

Attacker

99

Mile Svilar

Goalkeeper

2

Devyne Rensch

Defender

5

Evan Ndicka

Defender

23

Gianluca Mancini

Defender

22

Mario Hermoso

Defender

80'

19

Zeki Celik

Defender

8

Neil El Aynaoui

Midfielder

61

Niccolò Pisilli

Midfielder

85'

11

Evan Ferguson

Attacker

69'

18

Matìas Soulé

Attacker

69'

92

Stephan El Shaarawy

Attacker

69'

Substitutes

47

Dane Murray

Midfielder

24

Johnny Kenny

Attacker

12

Viljami Sinisalo

Goalkeeper

31

Ross Doohan

Goalkeeper

14

Luke McCowan

Attacker

17

Kelechi Iheanacho

Attacker

46'

28

Paulo Bernardo

Midfielder

46'

51

Colby Donovan

Midfielder

46'

56

Anthony Ralston

Defender

62'

10

Michel-Ange Balikwisha

Attacker

77'

4

Bryan Cristante

Midfielder

95

Pierluigi Gollini

Goalkeeper

12

Konstantinos Tsimikas

Defender

87

Daniele Ghilardi

Defender

17

Manu Koné

Midfielder

70

Giorgio De Marzi

Goalkeeper

43

Wesley

Defender

7

Lorenzo Pellegrini

Midfielder

69'

21

Paulo Dybala

Attacker

69'

31

Leon Bailey

Attacker

69'

24

Jan Ziolkowski

Defender

80'

3

Angeliño

Defender

85'

Bologna fought back from 1-0 down to win 2-1 against Celta Vigo on a very rainy night in Galicia.

The hosts took the lead after an incisive counter attack, with Bryan Zaragoza putting the La Liga side 1-0 up heading into the half-time interval. However, a second half penalty came shortly after a disallowed Bologna goal and Federico Bernardeschi converted it confidently.

With more life in them after the equaliser, Bologna went after the winner and were rewarded when Bernardeschi doubled his tally with a calm finish.

Bologna must now focus on their remaining two games as they face Celtic and Maccabi Tel Aviv in January.

Celta Vigo 1-2 Bologna – First half counter stuns dominant Rossoblu

For much of the first half, Bologna were the better side.

Vincenzo Italiano’s men were dominant in possession and spent much of the first forty-five minutes inside Vigo’s half. However, the Galician side’s defence were resolute, aside from a minor scare that allowed Jonathan Rowe to poke the ball wide after a dangerous piece of pressing from the Englishman.

In fact, Bologna’s press looked good for most of the half, except for when it allowed Vigo to spring forward and take the lead, much against the run of play.

However, Italiano’s side suffocated Vigo and the La Liga outfit really struggled to get the ball out of their half. However, unlike Bologna, they capitalised on their first chance of the game, to lead heading into the break.

Bernardeschi inspires second half comeback

Bologna thought they had equalised around the hour mark when a nice ball from Moro found Bernardeschi out on the right, who squared the ball for Pobega to score. However, Moro’s ball was judged to have been offside and Bologna were back to square one.

However, minutes later, the Rossoblu got their lucky break. After a foul in the box, the referee blew for a penalty before the offside flag went up, judging Pobega to have been offside before he was fouled.

A quick VAR check put this right, however, and Bernardeschi comfortably equalised from the spot.

With renewed spirit, it was not long until the experienced Italian found himself through on goal once again and calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net to put his side in the lead.

Vigo, looking tired from defending for a majority of the match, had nothing more to offer and Bologna saw out the rest of the match for a vital three points.

Relive all the action, as it happened, on our Liveblog.

Duván Zapata is back at the centre of Torino’s plans. He started against Milan, produced a strong performance and scored, a goal that didn’t change the result but confirmed his condition is finally where it needs to be.

On Monday, emissaries from a Turkish club, early signs suggest Beşiktaş, were in Turin to explore a possible move ahead of the January window.

Zapata regains place at Torino amid interest

A few weeks ago, given the forward’s struggle to return to full rhythm, nothing could be ruled out.

Now the picture has shifted. Torino are convinced they’ve got Zapata back and intend to rely on him, part of an attacking depth chart that should not trigger movement in January.

However, the overall situation still requires monitoring, especially with Ngonge failing to provide the impact the club expected.

For now, Torino enjoy the return of a fully fit Zapata. Next step, a delicate trip to face a brave Cremonese side.

Fiorentina were able to put their Serie A misfortunes behind them to claim their third Conference League victory of the campaign with a 2-1 win at home against Dynamo Kyiv on Thursday evening: Moise Kean, Mykola Mykhaylenko and Albert Gudmundsson with the goals.

Paolo Vanoli and his Viola side were nine games without a win across all competitions ahead of kick-off. He turned to Edin Dzeko to partner Kean at centre-forward, the Bosnian also taking the captain’s armband in the absence of Luca Ranieri. There were also wholesale changes in midfield, with Amir Richardson, Hans Nicolussi Caviglia and Cher Ndour coming in to start. 

Click here to see how the action unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog.

Fiorentina had their fair share of chances in the opening quarter: Dzeko rose well in the area after six minutes but wasn’t quite able to keep his header under the bar. 

The hosts couldn’t believe they hadn’t scored 17 minutes in when Dzeko was allowed to fire off a powerful half-volley in the area following a corner. His effort looked goal-bound but was accidentally blocked by Kean on the edge of the six-yard box. The Italian then saw his shot saved by the feet of goalkeeper Ruslan Neshcheret. 

Fiorentina would find the lead a minute later. It was a centre-forward’s dream for Kean, who was unmarked in the area and just had to time his jump and aim his header in the right direction after a perfect delivery in from the right flank from Dodo. 

It took a second-half screamer for Dynamo Kyiv to draw level. Mykhaylenko, afforded slightly too much time from 25 yards out, unleashed a thunderbolt which rocketed past David De Gea and into the right-hand corner of the net. 

It was Vanoli’s second-half substitutions that got him out of trouble this evening: He made three of them two thirds of the way through, Gudmundsson, Christian Kouame and Fabiano all introduced. 

Gudmundsson’s impact was immediate. He had three shots within the space of a few minutes before putting La Viola back into the lead. 

Kean steered Parisi’s cross on goal, drawing a fantastic save out of Neshcheret, but the keeper was still on the floor when the Icelander popped up in the middle of the area to poke home the rebound. 

Fiorentina should have put the game beyond any doubt with two minutes of regular time left to play, but Kean’s shot found the goalkeeper’s legs when he burst into the area almost one-on-one.

This evening’s result temporarily sends Fiorentina up to seventh place in the Conference League standings, albeit with the majority of this week’s fixtures still left to play.

Fiorentina 2-1 Dynamo Kyiv

Kean (F) 18’, Mykhaylenko (D) 55’, Gudmundsson (F) 74’. 

11-12-2025 17:45

MatchDay 5

Artemio Franchi Stadium

Fiorentina

Dynamo Kyiv

2 - 1

Player statistic

1st half

Moise Kean (Assist: Dodô)		18'
Cher Ndour		43'

2nd half

		51'		Vladyslav Dubinchak
		55'		Mykola Mykhaylenko (Assist: Oleksandr Pikhalyonok)
Albert Gudmundsson		74'
Albert Gudmundsson		83'
		85'		Aliou Thiare
Eddy Kouadio		90+3'
		90'		Kostyantyn Vivcharenko

Match statistic

41

Possession %

59

20

Total shots

9

8

Shots on target

2

7

Shots off target

3

5

Blocked shots

4

5

Corners

5

3

Offsides

1

13

Fouls

10

Fiorentina

Dynamo Kyiv

Starting lineups

43

David de Gea

Goalkeeper

2

Dodô

Defender

86'

5

Marin Pongracic

Defender

26

Mattia Viti

Defender

67'

15

Pietro Comuzzo

Defender

24

Amir Richardson

Midfielder

27

Cher Ndour

Midfielder

80'

14

Hans Nicolussi Caviglia

Midfielder

66'

29

Niccolò Fortini

Midfielder

9

Edin Dzeko

Attacker

67'

20

Moise Kean

Attacker

35

Ruslan Neshcheret

Goalkeeper

18

Oleksandr Tymchyk

Defender

66

Aliou Thiare

Defender

44

Vladyslav Dubinchak

Defender

71'

34

Vladyslav Zakharchenko

Defender

91

Mykola Mykhaylenko

Midfielder

10

Mykola Shaparenko

Midfielder

8

Oleksandr Pikhalyonok

Midfielder

77'

22

Vladyslav Kabaev

Midfielder

77'

39

Eduardo Guerrero

Attacker

71'

9

Nazar Voloshyn

Attacker

Substitutes

91

Roberto Piccoli

Attacker

6

Luca Ranieri

Defender

18

Pablo Marí

Defender

1

Luca Lezzerini

Goalkeeper

7

Simon Sohm

Midfielder

30

Tommaso Martinelli

Goalkeeper

23

Eman Kospo

Defender

99

Christian Kouamé

Attacker

66'

10

Albert Gudmundsson

Attacker

67'

65

Fabiano Parisi

Defender

67'

8

Rolando Mandragora

Midfielder

80'

60

Eddy Kouadio

Defender

86'

77

Vladislav Blanuta

Attacker

20

Oleksandr Karavaev

Defender

51

Valentyn Morgun

Goalkeeper

74

Denys Ignatenko

Goalkeeper

15

Valentyn Rubchynskyi

Midfielder

32

Taras Mykhavko

Defender

14

Vasyl Burtnyk

Defender

7

Andriy Yarmolenko

Attacker

71'

2

Kostyantyn Vivcharenko

Defender

71'

5

Oleksandr Yatsyk

Midfielder

77'

16

Shola Ogundana

Attacker

77'

Evan Ferguson is given the nod to lead the line for Roma as they take on Celtic in Glasgow in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

Kick-off at Celtic Park is due at 20.00 GMT (21.00 CET).

You can follow all the action as it unfolds, and from Celta Vigo vs. Bologna, on the Football Italia Liveblog.

The Giallorossi have slipped to two consecutive defeats in Serie A over the weekend, including a disappointing 1-0 loss away against Cagliari on Sunday. Their 2-1 Europa League victory over Midtylland at the end of November is their last win in any competition.

Ferguson comes in to lead the line alongside Matias Soule and Stephan El Shaarawy against Celtic this evening. Paulo Dybala starts among the substitutes, as do Leon Bailey, Manu Kone and Kostas Tsimikas. Angelino has been declared fit enough for a spot among the substitutes.

Celtic vs. Roma: Confirmed line-ups 

Celtic: Schmeichel, Trusty, Scales, Tierney, Yang, McGregor, Engels, Tounekti, Nygren, Maeda, Hatate.

Subs: Sinisalo, Doohan, Balikwisha, McCowan, Iheanacho, Kenny, Bernardo, Murray, Donovan, Ralston.

Roma: Svilar, Mancini, N’Dicka, Hermoso; Celik, Pisilli, El Aynaoui, Rensch; Soule, El Shaarawy; Ferguson.

Subs: De Marzi, Gollini, Angelino, Cristante, Pellegrini, Tsimikas, Kone, Dybala, Ziolkowski, Bailey, Franca, Ghilardi.

11-12-2025 20:00

MatchDay 6

Celtic Park

Celtic

Roma

0 - 3

Player statistic

1st half

		6'		Liam Scales
		36'		Evan Ferguson (Assist: Zeki Celik)
Arne Engels		45+5'
		45+1'		Evan Ferguson (Assist: Matìas Soulé)
		45+3'		Mario Hermoso
		45+4'		Stephan El Shaarawy
		45+5'		Matìas Soulé

2nd half

		78'		Evan Ndicka
		88'		Jan Ziolkowski

Match statistic

57

Possession %

43

9

Total shots

12

2

Shots on target

5

5

Shots off target

5

2

Blocked shots

2

4

Corners

4

3

Offsides

8

10

Fouls

9

Celtic

Roma

Starting lineups

1

Kasper Schmeichel

Goalkeeper

6

Auston Trusty

Defender

63

Kieran Tierney

Defender

46'

5

Liam Scales

Defender

42

Callum McGregor

Midfielder

41

Reo Hatate

Midfielder

77'

27

Arne Engels

Attacker

8

Benjamin Nygren

Attacker

46'

38

Daizen Maeda

Attacker

46'

13

Hyun-jun Yang

Attacker

62'

23

Sebastian Tounekti

Attacker

99

Mile Svilar

Goalkeeper

2

Devyne Rensch

Defender

5

Evan Ndicka

Defender

23

Gianluca Mancini

Defender

22

Mario Hermoso

Defender

80'

19

Zeki Celik

Defender

8

Neil El Aynaoui

Midfielder

61

Niccolò Pisilli

Midfielder

85'

11

Evan Ferguson

Attacker

69'

18

Matìas Soulé

Attacker

69'

92

Stephan El Shaarawy

Attacker

69'

Substitutes

47

Dane Murray

Midfielder

24

Johnny Kenny

Attacker

12

Viljami Sinisalo

Goalkeeper

31

Ross Doohan

Goalkeeper

14

Luke McCowan

Attacker

17

Kelechi Iheanacho

Attacker

46'

28

Paulo Bernardo

Midfielder

46'

51

Colby Donovan

Midfielder

46'

56

Anthony Ralston

Defender

62'

10

Michel-Ange Balikwisha

Attacker

77'

4

Bryan Cristante

Midfielder

95

Pierluigi Gollini

Goalkeeper

12

Konstantinos Tsimikas

Defender

87

Daniele Ghilardi

Defender

17

Manu Koné

Midfielder

70

Giorgio De Marzi

Goalkeeper

43

Wesley

Defender

7

Lorenzo Pellegrini

Midfielder

69'

21

Paulo Dybala

Attacker

69'

31

Leon Bailey

Attacker

69'

24

Jan Ziolkowski

Defender

80'

3

Angeliño

Defender

85'

Bologna are in Galicia tonight for match day six of the Europa League league phase, where they will face off against La  Liga side Celta Vigo.

The match kicks off at 20:00 GMT (21:00 local time).

You can follow all the action, as it happens, on our Liveblog.

Vigo vs Bologna – Lineups

Bologna have lined up with Jonathan Rowe starting on the wing, Santiago Castro as the centre-forward. Moro wears the captain’s armband and Ravaglia returns to the goal after his impressive performance against Lazio at the weekend.

11-12-2025 20:00

MatchDay 6

Estadio de Balaídos

Celta

Bologna

1 - 2

Player statistic

1st half

Bryan Zaragoza (Assist: Williot Swedberg)

17'

2nd half

		66'		Federico Bernardeschi
		74'		Federico Bernardeschi (Assist: Nicolò Cambiaghi)
		84'		Emil Holm
Ionuț Radu		87'
Javi Rueda		90+2'
Ilaix Moriba		90+6'

Match statistic

50

Possession %

50

3

Total shots

15

1

Shots on target

4

1

Shots off target

8

1

Blocked shots

3

0

Corners

5

0

Offsides

1

12

Fouls

15

Celta

Bologna

Starting lineups

13

Ionuț Radu

Goalkeeper

2

Carl Starfelt

Defender

32

Javi Rodríguez

Defender

3

Óscar Mingueza

Defender

66'

5

Sergio Carreira

Defender

8

Fran Beltrán

Midfielder

79'

6

Ilaix Moriba

Midfielder

21

Mihailo Ristić

Midfielder

19

Williot Swedberg

Midfielder

67'

7

Borja Iglesias

Attacker

67'

15

Bryan Zaragoza

Attacker

46'

13

Federico Ravaglia

Goalkeeper

22

Charalampos Lykogiannis

Defender

2

Emil Holm

Defender

33

Juan Miranda

Defender

14

Torbjørn Heggem

Defender

80

Giovanni Fabbian

Midfielder

11

Jonathan Rowe

Midfielder

67'

6

Nikola Moro

Midfielder

88'

4

Tommaso Pobega

Midfielder

88'

10

Federico Bernardeschi

Attacker

80'

9

Santiago Castro

Attacker

80'

Substitutes

20

Marcos Alonso

Defender

1

Iván Villar

Goalkeeper

22

Hugo Sotelo

Midfielder

29

Yoel Lago

Midfielder

14

Damián Rodríguez

Midfielder

12

Manu Fernández

Midfielder

39

Jones El-Abdellaoui

Attacker

23

Hugo Álvarez

Midfielder

46'

17

Javi Rueda

Defender

66'

9

Ferrán Jutglà

Attacker

67'

10

Iago Aspas

Attacker

67'

16

Miguel Román

Midfielder

79'

20

Nadir Zortea

Defender

26

Jhon Lucumí

Defender

30

Benja Domínguez

Attacker

25

Massimo Pessina

Goalkeeper

82

Matteo Franceschelli

Goalkeeper

28

Nicolò Cambiaghi

Attacker

67'

7

Riccardo Orsolini

Attacker

80'

24

Thijs Dallinga

Attacker

80'

21

Jens Odgaard

Attacker

88'

19

Lewis Ferguson

Midfielder

88'

{rsn-live-v2}

Paolo Vanoli turns to Edin Dzeko to accompany Moise Kean in attack for Fiorentina’s Conference League clash at home against Dynamo Kyiv on Thursday evening.

Tonight’s game at the Stadio Artemio Franchi kicks off at the earlier time of 17.45 GMT.

You can follow all the action as it unfolds, and from Celtic vs. Roma and Celta Vigo vs. Bologna in the Europa League, on the Football Italia Liveblog.

It has been a tough few months for La Viola, who are winless in their last nine matches across all competitions. They were beaten 3-1 by Sassuolo in Serie A over the weekend, and have also lost their last two matches in the Conference League: 1-0 at home against AEK Athens and 2-1 away against Mainz.

Dzeko is called in to replace Albert Gudmundsson in attack this evening. Wholesale changes have been made in midfield, with Amir Richardson, Hans Nicolussi Caviglia and Cher Ndour coming in for Simon Sohm, Nicolo Fagioli and Rolando Mandragora.

Luca Ranieri and Pablo Mari are also rested at the back, with opportunities for Marin Pongracic and Mattia Viti instead.

Fiorentina vs. Dynamo Kyiv: Confirmed line-ups

Fiorentina (3-5-2): De Gea; Pongracic, Comuzzo, Viti; Dodô, Richardson, Nicolussi Caviglia, Ndour, Fortini; Kean, Dzeko.

Subs: Lezzerini, Martinelli, Ranieri, Sohm, Mandragora, Gudmundsson, Pablo Marì, Kospo, Kouadio, Parisi, Piccoli, Kouamé.

Dynamo Kyiv (4-3-3): Neshcheret; Tymchyk, Zakharchenko, Thiare, Dubinchak, Pikhalyonov, Mihaylenko, Shaparenko; Voloshyn, Guerrero, Kabalev.

Subs: Morgun, Ihnatenko, Vivcharenko, Yatsyk, Yarmolenko, Burtnyk, Rubchynskyi, Ogundana, Karavaiev, Mykhavko, Blănuțăon.

11-12-2025 17:45

MatchDay 5

Artemio Franchi Stadium

Fiorentina

Dynamo Kyiv

2 - 1

Player statistic

1st half

Moise Kean (Assist: Dodô)		18'
Cher Ndour		43'

2nd half

		51'		Vladyslav Dubinchak
		55'		Mykola Mykhaylenko (Assist: Oleksandr Pikhalyonok)
Albert Gudmundsson		74'
Albert Gudmundsson		83'
		85'		Aliou Thiare
Eddy Kouadio		90+3'
		90'		Kostyantyn Vivcharenko

Match statistic

41

Possession %

59

20

Total shots

9

8

Shots on target

2

7

Shots off target

3

5

Blocked shots

4

5

Corners

5

3

Offsides

1

13

Fouls

10

Fiorentina

Dynamo Kyiv

Starting lineups

43

David de Gea

Goalkeeper

2

Dodô

Defender

86'

5

Marin Pongracic

Defender

26

Mattia Viti

Defender

67'

15

Pietro Comuzzo

Defender

24

Amir Richardson

Midfielder

27

Cher Ndour

Midfielder

80'

14

Hans Nicolussi Caviglia

Midfielder

66'

29

Niccolò Fortini

Midfielder

9

Edin Dzeko

Attacker

67'

20

Moise Kean

Attacker

35

Ruslan Neshcheret

Goalkeeper

18

Oleksandr Tymchyk

Defender

66

Aliou Thiare

Defender

44

Vladyslav Dubinchak

Defender

71'

34

Vladyslav Zakharchenko

Defender

91

Mykola Mykhaylenko

Midfielder

10

Mykola Shaparenko

Midfielder

8

Oleksandr Pikhalyonok

Midfielder

77'

22

Vladyslav Kabaev

Midfielder

77'

39

Eduardo Guerrero

Attacker

71'

9

Nazar Voloshyn

Attacker

Substitutes

91

Roberto Piccoli

Attacker

6

Luca Ranieri

Defender

18

Pablo Marí

Defender

1

Luca Lezzerini

Goalkeeper

7

Simon Sohm

Midfielder

30

Tommaso Martinelli

Goalkeeper

23

Eman Kospo

Defender

99

Christian Kouamé

Attacker

66'

10

Albert Gudmundsson

Attacker

67'

65

Fabiano Parisi

Defender

67'

8

Rolando Mandragora

Midfielder

80'

60

Eddy Kouadio

Defender

86'

77

Vladislav Blanuta

Attacker

20

Oleksandr Karavaev

Defender

51

Valentyn Morgun

Goalkeeper

74

Denys Ignatenko

Goalkeeper

15

Valentyn Rubchynskyi

Midfielder

32

Taras Mykhavko

Defender

14

Vasyl Burtnyk

Defender

7

Andriy Yarmolenko

Attacker

71'

2

Kostyantyn Vivcharenko

Defender

71'

5

Oleksandr Yatsyk

Midfielder

77'

16

Shola Ogundana

Attacker

77'

Former Swiss international Gökhan Inler reveals Arsene Wenger wanted to sign him at Arsenal, but Udinese rejected the Gunners’ approach.

Former Udinese midfielder Inler, now a director for the Bianconeri, could have joined Arsenal as a footballer.

The ex-midfielder revealed the Gunners’ interest during his latest interview with The Italian Football Podcast.

“Of course, during this time, I had an agent. I didn’t have so much information as I was concentrating on the pitch. Yes, the rumours were there. Behind the scenes, now I understand what happens behind the scenes, but before, you don’t know what’s going on,” Inler said.

“But yeah, it could be, I read about this. But I can say, and many people don’t know about this, but in my first year at Udine, I had an offer from Arsenal. However, the club said no, Inler is part of our project, so I stayed here four years.

“Yes, Arsene Wenger wanted me, correct. As I said, I didn’t know what was going around, but I was also a Swiss national team player with Johan Djourou and Philippe Senderos were Arsenal players. That’s why I saw the coach with the national team, but in the end the club decided to keep me, and I had a great four years with Udinese.”

Inler won the Premier League title with Leicester City in 2015-16 and opened up about his rapport with Jamie Vardy during the same interview.

A former Swiss midfielder, Inler played for Udinese and Napoli in Serie A, scoring 15 goals in 259 appearances in Italy’s top flight.

Inler, 41, made his senior Switzerland debut in February 2006 and scored seven goals in 89 international matches.

Inler was appointed as Udinese’s Head of the Technical Area last summer. The 41-year-old played 162 games with the Bianconeri as a footballer, scoring nine goals.

During his time in Italy, Inler won two Coppa Italia titles and one Supercoppa Italiana with Napoli.

Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero believes Bianconeri players feel the ‘weight of the past’ and that playing for the Serie A giants is ‘not for everyone.’

Del Piero examined Juventus’ 2-0 win over Pafos last night. Weston McKennie and Jonathan David provided the goals for the Bianconeri in the second half, but the Cypriots had many chances to take the lead in the first half.

Former Juventus coach Capello even argued that the Bianconeri had “luck on their side” as they claimed their second victory in the competition this season.

Del Piero: Juventus players feel the ‘weight of the past’

“The weight of the past, in terms of the club’s successes, is there, but there’s also the weight of the recent past, because this team was born from what happened last season, with some big changes in key players,” Del Piero told Sky Sport Italia.

“Players with personality were replaced by young players, and the Juventus environment is not for everyone. It’s more complex.

“We’ve seen players from other clubs being freer in their heads. Difficulties are objective and daily,” Del Piero continued.

“They won today, but they must go to Bologna on Sunday and concede two goals, who knows? You are always on the brink.

Spalletti must ‘create certainties’ at Juventus

“My question for Spalletti was about this. There’s an emergency in defence because he wants a right-footed defender to play as a right centre-back. He’s been changing a lot, and he’s had no certainties tactically or even in terms of players’ characteristics, except for Yildiz. Where do you create certainties? How do you create them? It all becomes more difficult in the heads of everyone, especially those who don’t play regularly.”

Juventus sit 17th in the Champions League standings with nine points, so, technically, they need just one more victory to earn a spot in the knockout playoff.

Juventus will host Benfica and visit Monaco in January 2026 in the last two games of the league phase of the Champions League.

Juventus legend Claudio Marchisio is full of praise for his ex-Juventus teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, saying young players should look to him, rather than Leo Messi, as the example to follow to reach the top.

Cristiano Ronaldo joined Juventus in the summer of 2018 and would spend three years at the Allianz Stadium.

Marchisio, a Juventus legend and former Italy international, played with the Portuguese superstar for a few weeks before he terminated his contract with the Old Ladu by mutual agreement at the end of the 2018 summer transfer window.

Marchisio opens up about Ronaldo’s Juventus move

When Gazzetta asked about Ronaldo’s arrival in Turin seven years ago, Marchisio replied: “What shall I say? There was a lot of agitation. Juventus are accustomed to big champions, but I still remember the day he was expected to step into the dressing room for the first time.

“I remember Barzagli and me waiting. We had previously welcomed big champions such as Carlos Tevez, but with him it was different, we were like: ‘Is he really coming?’ A superstar.

“If there’s something I can tell young players, it is to follow his example,” continued the ex-midfielder.

“If you want to try to become a top player, follow his example, not Messi. Ronaldo was already a top player, but he had to build and work even more to become what he was. The other is blessed by the Lord; he has so much quality that he might not even need to train.”

Marchisio, a product of the Juventus Academy, spent almost his entire career with the Bianconeri, scoring 37 goals in 389 games.

The former Italian midfielder won seven Serie A titles, three Supercoppa Italiana and four Coppa Italia during his time at the club.

Marchisio also won the Russian League with Zenit St. Petersburg in 2018-19.

Safe to say that Luciano Spalletti was delighted with Jonathan David’s performance in Juventus’ 2-0 win over Pafos as the Juventus coach hugged and kissed the Canadian after replacing him in the second half.

David scored his third goal for Juventus on Wednesday night, contributing to a 2-0 win against Pafos in the Champions League.

David finalised a counter-attack at minute 73 and was replaced a few seconds later, but this time Spalletti showed all his gratitude towards the Canadian.

Spalletti, in fact, hugged and kissed David as soon as the striker left the pitch, making room for Vasilije Adzic.

Just a few weeks ago, Spalletti had pushed David and Lois Openda to show a different attitude on the pitch, and the Canadian’s response seems to have struck with the Italian tactician.

30 novembre, #Spalletti su #David e Openda: “Servirebbe un po’ più la faccettina di ca**o”

10 dicembre, David segna in Juve-Pafos: Spalletti lo sostituisce, lo abbraccia e… scatta il bacio pic.twitter.com/pfvMzXrEgx

— calciomercato.it (@calciomercatoit) December 10, 2025

Scott McTominay gave José Mourinho his Napoli shirt after Benfica’s 2-0 Champions League win last night: ‘I benched Paul Pogba [at Manchester United], it’s the least he could do,’ said the Portuguese coach.

Benfica coach Mourinho reveals Napoli star McTominay, one of his former players at Manchester United, gifted him his Napoli shirt after last night’s Champions League encounter, won 2-0 by the Portuguese side.

What Mourinho said about McTominay

“I gave him his debut; I put Pogba on the bench for him. The least he could do was give me his shirt,” Mourinho said at a post-match press conference via TMW.

“He was sad because he had lost, but this is Scott; this is the nature of winning players. He spoke to me for five minutes, but he was down in the dumps. He’s very happy at Napoli; he’s having a good moment. We have a strong bond; he’ll still remember me when he’s 70.”

Mourinho mentioned McTominay even during his post-match interview with Prime Video Italia.

“I told the kids I introduced in the final minutes will be the next McTominay,” said the Portuguese.

“I had many in Rome, from Bove to Volpato and others. This kid, Neto, is 17, and I had to be the first one to play him because this guy will make history, trust me.”

McTominay’s Champions League debut under Mourinho

McTominay made his Champions League debut under Mourinho in 2017 in an away 1-0 win over Benfica.

The Scotland international made 31 appearances under the Special One at Manchester United.

Last night’s defeat in Lisbon leaves Napoli 23rd in the standings with seven points. Their last two games in the league phase will be against Copenhagen and Chelsea.

Napoli’s results have been much better in Serie A as they are the joint-table leaders with Milan, having won the last three matches.

Bologna are short of options in defence, so Jhon Lucumí might be forced to start as they visit Celta Vigo in the Europa League Round 6.

It kicks off at 21:00 CET (20:00 GMT) at the Estadio Balaídos.

Bologna coach Vincenzo Italiano has few options in central defence as Nicolò Casale and Martin Vitik are injured, while Lucumì is not fully fit.

Tuttosport and other reputable Italian media claim that the latter is still expected to start tonight, but if Italiano is forced to rest him, Charalampos Lykogiannis will be moved into a centre-back position.

Scotland international Lewis Ferguson also has a minor fitness issue, so he could be rested, making room for Tommaso Pobega and Nikola Moro in central midfield.

Thijs Dallinga is favourite over Santiago Castro in attack having already scored twice and delivered one assist in five European appearances this term.

Lukasz Skorupski is injured, so Tommaso Ravaglia will start in goal for Bologna.

Celta Vigo vs. Bologna – where to watch on TV

The match will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 6 in the UK and Ireland and on Paramount+ in the USA. Football Italia will provide live updates for this game and Celtic-Roma via a Liveblog.

Celta Vigo vs. Bologna – probable line-ups

Celta Vigo (3-4-2-1): Radu; Damian Rodriguez, Starfelt, Marcos Alonso; Sergio Carreira, Fran Beltran, Ilaix Moriba, Oscar Mingueza; Iago Aspas, W. Swedberg; Borge Iglesias.

Bologna (4-2-3-1): Ravaglia; Holm, Heggem, Lucumí, Lykogiannis; Moro, Pobega; Bernardeschi, Fabbian, Dominguez; Dallinga.