Football rumours: Manchester City close to £86m Josef Gvardiol deal

Edinson Cavani scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain broke the Ligue 1 points record with a 4-0 win at Gazelec Ajaccio.

PSG had already equalled the previous record of 89, set by themselves in 2013-14, but Cavani s treble moved them onto 92 points with two games left to play.

Cavani scored the only goal of a low-key first half but doubled his tally four minutes into the second, with Angel Di Maria providing the assist for both.

A third followed two minutes short of the hour mark before Zlatan Ibrahimovic got in on the act with a late fourth.

The result, combined with Toulouse s 1-0 victory over the already-relegated Troyes, sees Gazelec drop into the relegation zone, although Reims  defeat by the same scoreline in Marseille ensures just one point se…

Bayer Leverkusen have confirmed that former Ajax and Borussia Dortmund boss Peter Bosz has been appointed as the Bundesliga club s next coach.

Leverkusen sit ninth in the Bundesliga table heading into the winter break and, despite securing a third win in four league games by beating Hertha Berlin on Saturday, Heiko Herrlich has been relieved of his duties.

And the club have revealed that Bosz, whose successful 2016-17 campaign with Ajax led to a short-lived stint at Dortmund, which came to an end in December 2017, will take over in the new year, having signed a contract until 2020.

Heiko Herrlich gave our team an important boost last year after a very difficult season, Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voller said in a statement.

Until the end we had…

Ange Postecoglou shrugged off the difficulty of the challenge facing his Australia team on Sunday and insisted having to beat Chile by two goals to guarantee Confederations Cup progress was perfect .

It appears a near impossible task for the Socceroos, against a team ranked fourth in the world and described by veteran midfielder Tim Cahill as the best in the tournament .

But Postecoglou believes the scenario of having to win plays nicely into his players hands.

He said: It s why we re here, we wanted to be alive when the last game came around, we weren t at the [2014] World Cup.

We didn t want this to be a dead rubber. We ve made it hard for ourselves but nothing changes for us, we try to win every game we play, regardless of the opposition and the circu…

Pep Guardiola seems desperate to reinforce his centre-back options before the transfer deadline early next month, and it appears his primary targets are Ruben Dias of Benfica and Sevilla s Jules Kounde.

Media reports on Friday suggested that City have offered approximately €55million, plus Nicolas Otamendi, for Dias having apparently had a similar offer turned down for Kounde last week.

Sevilla sporting director Monchi confirmed the club had received an offer for the talented Frenchman, though he did not reveal the club that bid – which was rejected – came from.

City had previously seemed focused on Napoli s Kalidou Koulibaly, while Kounde s partner at Sevilla, Diego Carlos, was also said to have been considered.

But with no progress on those deals…

Tottenham have reached an agreement to sign forward Carlos Vinicius on loan from Benfica until the end of the season, the Portuguese giants announced on Thursday.

The initial £2.7million (€3m) loan deal for Carlos Vinicius also includes a purchase option of £41m (€45m), though the amount paid for the loan will be deducted if exercised.

Tottenham have been desperate to sign a back-up for star Harry Kane, following previous links to Napoli s Arkadiusz Milik and Torino captain Andrea Belotti.

Jose Mourinho s Spurs have now turned to Brazilian Carlos Vinicius, who only joined Benfica from Serie A side Napoli last year.

Carlos Vinicius scored 18 goals in 32 Primeira Liga appearances last season, while he netted 22 in all competitions.

The 25-year…

Napoli defender Juan Jesus says it is “difficult to comprehend” the decision not to punish Inter Milan’s Francesco Acerbi over allegations of racism.

Brazilian Jesus accused Italy international Acerbi of an abusive comment relating to skin colour during a 1-1 draw between their clubs earlier this month.

But the case was dismissed by a Serie A sports judge on Tuesday due to a lack of evidence.

I sincerely hope that this (for me) sad matter can help the world of football to reflect on an issue that is both serious and urgent.

Click here to read the full statement:

— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli)

Jesus feels “very bitter” about the verdict and believes his complaint may have been treated differently if he had not respon…

Veteran defender Bruno Alves could leave Fenerbahce due to their expulsion from the UEFA Champions League, according to his father.

Fenerbahce were crowned champions of Turkey for the 19th time after finishing nine points clear of arch-rivals Galatasaray last season but they will not compete in Europe s premier club competition due to a two-year UEFA ban for match-fixing.

The club s absence from the Champions League has opened the door for Bruno Alves potential departure, with boyhood team and Portuguese giants Porto a possible destination.

Washington Alves the 32-year-old Portugal international s father and representative said a move away from Turkey could be on the cards, though a return to Porto would prove difficult due to his wage demands.

Fenerbahc…

The report on the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups is expected to be handed to FIFA s Adjudicatory Chamber in September.

Football s governing body previously announced that an investigation, led by former United States attorney Michael Garcia, who heads the investigatory chamber of FIFA s Ethics Committee, would be complete by June 9.

The FIFA ethics committee has now revealed that the findings from the inquiry will be handed over in the first week of September.

A statement on FIFA s official website read: In response to enquiries regarding the investigation into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, the investigatory chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee has released the following statement: We expect to deliver our report to …

Manchester City have confirmed the signing of centre-back John Stones from Everton on a six-year deal.

The England international moves for a fee Everton have described as a club-record deal  with reports suggesting it is in the region of £50million.

Stones move was expected after UEFA confirmed earlier on Tuesday that City had listed the Barnsley-born 22-year-old in their squad for the Champions League play-off tie with Steaua Bucharest.

We are delighted to announce the signing of John Stones

— Manchester City (@ManCity)

I m absolutely delighted to sign for City and now the deal s done I m looking forward to the next stage in my career,  Stones told City s official website.

I ve obviously seen what s going on here at the Etih…

Everton have joined neighbours Liverpool in the race to sign Samuel Eto’o, .

The former Cameroon international is currently without a club after leaving Chelsea, where he scored twelve goals in thirty-five appearances in all competitions last season – his one and only campaign with the club.

Toffees boss Roberto Martinez is keen to bring in competition for £28m signing Romelu Lukaku while Brendan Rodgers has been on the lookout for a new forward since a deal to bring in Loic Remy from Queens Park Rangers collapsed last month.

London pair Queens Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur have also been linked with Eto’o, who has won a whole host of honours during his career so far.

He has lifted league titles with Barcelona and Inter Milan, as well as…