Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton will use the depth of his squad for the Carabao Cup first-round clash with Cheltenham.Barton has signalled his intention to involve those players who did not feature in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Mansfield, during which skipper Paul Coutts was sent off.Strikers Brett Pitman (ankle) and Aaron Collins (thigh) are unlikely to be involved and defender Trevor Clark...Full Story »

Chelsea have agreed in principle a club-record deal worth £97.5m (€115m) to re-sign striker Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan. The paperwork is now with club lawyers and once that is formalised, Lukaku will undergo a medical and sign a five-year contract. Inter have previously rejected two offers from Chelsea for the Belgium international, the second of which was worth £85m (...Full Story »

The ex-Tottenham boss came flying off the touchline to contest a dubious goal against his team and was promptly sent packing There is no such thing as a friendly match when Jose Mourinho is involved, and the Roma boss proved as much by receiving a red card when tempers boiled over in Saturday's pre-season clash with Betis. The well-travelled manager has never been afraid to share his opinio...Full Story »

The Blues are on the verge of landing their man, with Thomas Tuchel keen to add a classic targetman to his Champions League-winning squad Chelsea have agreed a deal in principle for Romelu Lukaku, with the Inter man's £98 million ($135m) return to Stamford Bridge set to be officially announced early next week, Goal has learned. The Blues have pursued the Belgian attacker across the summ...Full Story »

Port Vale manager Darrell Clarke admitted he was frustrated by his side’s performance in their Sky Bet League Two opening day defeat to Northampton.Vale started well at Sixfields but fell behind to Benny Ashley-Seal’s close-range finish against the run of play midway through the first half.The visitors were then unable to recover from Lucas Covolan’s red card early in the secon...Full Story »

Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth believes Garath McCleary has a vital role to play this season, after the attacker’s two goals inspired his side to a 2-1 victory over Accrington.McCleary is playing in the third tier for the first time in 13 years, after a stint there in his early days in Nottingham Forest’s first team, and he wasted no time in displaying his enduring quality at Adams...Full Story »

Dave Challinor was satisfied with the performance of his Hartlepool players on a “brilliant day” that saw Gavan Holohan’s late goal snatch a 1-0 win against Crawley on their return to the EFL.Challinor could not hide his delight on the touchline when midfielder Holohan chested down new loan signing Tyler Burey’s cross before firing the ball into the bottom corner in the 8...Full Story »

Garath McCleary’s early double ensured Wycombe began life back in Sky Bet League One with a 2-1 victory over Accrington at Adams Park.Despite relegation from the Championship last season, the Chairboys carried momentum into the new campaign, after ending the previous one strongly.And it was that confidence that allowed them to blow Stanley away in the opening stages.Wycombe led in the nint...Full Story »

According to an exclusive report by La Porteria, Sergio Aguero is looking to leave Barcelona after Lionel Messi’s exit was confirmed. Aguero finally departed Manchester City at the end of last season after a glittering decade at the Etihad. After several weeks of speculation, Aguero put pen-to-paper on a move to Barcelona, linking up with close friend and international teammate Lionel ...Full Story »

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said negotiations to keep Lionel Messi at the club are over and that he does not want to generate "false hope" that the situation could be fixed. Barca announced on Thursday that Messi, a free agent since his contract expired in June, will not rejoin the club because of financial problems. Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Laporta explained that the ...Full Story »

St Mirren boss Jim Goodwin has a full squad to choose from for the cinch Premiership game against Hearts on Saturday.The Buddies came through their opening game draw at Dundee last week unscathed.St Mirren started their league season with a 2-2 draw at Dens Park but will be looking to go one better in their first home fixture.Jamie Walker could miss out for Hearts again.The winger sat out the op...Full Story »

Shrewsbury are sweating on the fitness of Ollie Norburn and Ethan Ebanks-Landell for the League One opener against Burton.Norburn, who spent much of the summer on international duty with Grenada at the Gold Cup, has a chest infection and Ebanks-Landell has been nursing a hip injury, with both men missing the friendly against Exeter.Aaron Pierre has also been away with Grenada and will be assesse...Full Story »

Stoke signing Sam Surridge will be eager to make his Potters debut when they play Reading.Surridge could provide some firepower up top with Steven Fletcher after joining on an undisclosed fee from Bournemouth.The Potters are still without key player Tyrese Campbell who has had surgery on a knee ligament injury.They may also be without defender Harry Souttar as he makes his return back from Tokyo...Full Story »

Cameron Jerome could be handed his Luton debut in their Sky Bet Championship opener against Peterborough.The 34-year-old scored 15 times in 38 appearances for MK Dons last season before signing for the Hatters on a free transfer.Henri Lansbury, the former Arsenal and Aston Villa midfielder, and Allan Campbell, who signed from Motherwell, are also pushing to make their debuts.Luton finished 12th ...Full Story »

Scott Fraser will be fit to make his Ipswich debut against Morecambe.The new arrival has been suffering with a groin problem in pre-season but boss Paul Cook said the former MK Dons midfielder will start against the Shrimps.George Edmundson misses out, though, as he has not been fit since his arrival from Rangers while Jon Nolan has missed the pre-season period with a calf injury.A host of other...Full Story »

Stevenage boss Alex Revell is expected to give some new faces their debut in the Sky Bet League Two opener against Barrow.Forward Jamie Reid arrived from Mansfield, where he scored seven goals last season following a successful spell in the National League with Torquay.Defender Brad Barry is in line to tackle his former club, while Terence Vancooten has signed a new two-year deal to extend his s...Full Story »

Sombre supporters waited outside the club offices as others sat on a grassy roadside opposite, most saying little as they faced up to losing arguably the world's greatest ever footballer. Some Barcelona fans came together near the Nou Camp as they struggle to accept one-club icon Lionel Messi will be departing Barca fans are struggling to come to terms with the news Lionel Messi will go Bar...Full Story »

He slo insisted he doesn't fear the England midfielder spitting his dummy out - Harry Kane style - to force through a move… now Madd has become a dad! James Maddison and partner Kennedy Alexa are preoccupied with their new baby and the England star is happy at Leicester, says Brendan Rodgers Credit: Instagram @kennedyalexa Leicester star James Maddison shared his baby joy on Instagram, a...Full Story »

Scunthorpe will check on new captain Harry Davis as they prepare for the Sky Bet League Two opener against Swindon.Defender Davis, a summer signing from Morecambe, is rated as 50/50 after a recent head injury, so continues to be assessed under concussion protocols, but has been able to resume training.Right-back Ross Millen will miss out with a hamstring injury which saw him forced off during th...Full Story »

Mansfield boss Nigel Clough has decisions to make ahead of Saturday’s League Two opener against relegated Bristol Rovers.The Stags boss has overhauled his squad during the closed-season with keepers Nathan Bishop and George Shelvey, defenders Ryan Burke and Elliott Hewitt and midfielders Ryan Stirk and, after a successful loan spell from Burton last season, Stephen Quinn among the new arri...Full Story »