He has only been in charge since July 2019 but Frank Lampard s reign as Chelsea boss is seemingly under considerable threat. 

Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester City – a game in which Lampard said his side were taught serious lessons – was the Blues  fourth Premier League defeat since the start of December, when they fleetingly topped the table.

Only relegation favourites West Brom (five) and Sheffield United (six) have suffered more in the same period. 

The loss leaves them on 26 points – three fewer than they had at the same stage last season – with history showing the west London outfit have never finished higher than sixth when amassing no more than that number of points after 17 games. 

It marks a sorry transformation in fortunes …

In a fresh twist of a long transfer saga, Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar has offered his services to Real Madrid, according to .

Neymar, who left Barcelona to join PSG in 2017 for a world-record transfer fee, has recently been trying to jump-start a return to the Camp Nou, but no deal has been agreed so far. The Brazilian has been frustrated by the apparent lack of effort from Barcelona to get it done, but now it seems he s come to appreciate the difficulty of an agreement being found, given that the relationship between the two clubs has seriously deteriorated over the last few transfer windows.

Though still holding the Catalan club as the first choice among possible destinations, the 27-year-old forward has opened the door to a possible move to their arch-rivals Real…

Spain head coach Vicente Del Bosque has put the pressure straight on Brazil after joining the hosts in the Confederations Cup final.

Del Bosque s team defeated Italy 7-6 on penalties after the semi-final in Fortaleza finished 0-0 following 120 minutes but despite Spain being the reigning world, European and Confederations Cup champions, their head coach argued they will be the underdogs when they take on Brazil on Sunday.

Brazil defeated Uruguay 2-1 in the other Confederations Cup semi-final to reach the final at Rio de Janeiro s Maracana and Del Bosque believes the tournament hosts pedigree will give them an edge against Spain.

Brazil are the favourites, Del Bosque said after Thursday s victory.

They have five World Cups, three Confederations Cups, we re going t…

Aston Villa are interested in signing Franck Kessie from Barcelona in the January transfer window, according to . The report in the Spanish publication has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham and Inter Milan are also keen on Kessie.

Kessie has struggled to make a huge impact at Barcelona since his move on a free transfer in the summer of 2022 after leaving AC Milan at the end of last season. The 25-year-old Ivory Coast international midfielder has had injury problems and has not been at his best at Camp Nou in the first half of the season.

The former Atalanta star has made three starts and three substitute appearances in the UEFA Champions League for Barcelona so far this season, scoring one goal in the process. Kessie has made two starts and five substitute appearan…

Liverpool picked up their first opening-day win since 2008, beating Stoke City 1-0 in the Premier League curtain raiser at Anfield.

With suspended striker Luis Suarez in attendance, Daniel Sturridge gave the hosts the lead just before half-time, having seen an earlier effort disallowed for offside.

Liverpool kept the pressure on in the second half, but they found Asmir Begovic in superb form, ensuring that the nerves among the home fans would remained frayed.

A penalty in the dying stages looked to have denied Liverpool the win, but debutant Simon Mignolet dived low to his right to claw away Jon Walters effort.

Brendan Rodgers handed full debuts to Mignolet, Kolo Toure and Iago Aspas, while Erik Pieters made his Stoke bow. Mark Wilson was called into Mark Hughes …

Edwin van der Sar has tipped Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen to be a success in the Premier League if he completes his move to Tottenham.

The 21-year-old Denmark international was reported to be in London on Thursday ahead of a move to White Hart Lane.

Eriksen has been linked with moves away from the Amsterdam Arena over the past few seasons after impressing for the Eredivisie side.

Van der Sar who is now marketing director at Ajax admitted it would be a big blow to lose Eriksen, but knows he has the quality to succeed in England.

He s a very good player and I would be sorry if he were to leave us,” he said. “He has great quality.

(He) is two-footed, is very quick, gives you a lot of pace on the ball and his corners and free-kicks are very good.

…

Manchester United are ready to make a big money move for Everton midfielder Ross Barkley, .

The Red Devils have already been strongly linked with a move for Toffee’s striker Romelu Lukaku, but could also bid for Barkley as they look to add to their midfield.

The Liverpool born England international is could cost as much as £45m, with Lukaku valued a touch more at £50m.

Barkley broke into the Everton first team in the 2011/12 campaign and has so far racked one hundred and five Premier League appearances, the majority of which have come in the last three seasons.

He has also had loan spells with Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United while internationaly he has racked up twenty-one caps for his country scoring twice.

United face Everton at O…

LA Galaxy’s Robbie Rogers believes he may not have made it as a professional footballer had he revealed his sexuality earlier in his career.

The 26-year-old came out as gay in February, shortly after leaving English club Leeds United.

The USA international has enjoyed a stellar career both at home and abroad featuring for the likes of Heerenveen, Columbus Crew and Leeds.

He has also earned 18 caps for his country, making his debut against Sweden in 2009.

However, although he feels that nowadays he would likely be afforded the same chances in the game, he admits that growing up with the extra baggage of coming out as gay could have affected the opportunities he was given in football.

He told BBC Radio 5Live: When I was growing up I don t think I would have…

Isco paid tribute to Zinedine Zidane for his role in developing his talents after signing a new five-year Real Madrid contract.

The Spain international joined Madrid from Malaga in 2013 and has enjoyed an immensely successful time at the Santiago Bernabeu, winning 11 trophies with the club.

It was announced on Thursday the 25-year-old had agreed a new deal which will tie him to the club until 2022, rewarding him for becoming a key player in Zidane s squad.

Isco has not always had everything his own way at Madrid, however, with James Rodriguez s arrival in 2014 providing him with competition and forcing the Spaniard to accept a squad role.

But with James loan move to Bayern Munich in the close-season, Isco s success in their duel was apparent and the Valen…

The 34-year-old was said to be considering the deal, and he has now disclosed that the role on offer differs from his current position and requires careful consideration.

Thanks to everyone for the kind wishes. The contract extension the club has offered me is a different role and I hope everyone will understand I want to take the time to consider it carefully before making a decision, Terry wrote in an Instagram post.

In April, outgoing manager Guus Hiddink stated he had been giving the Chelsea captain work experience during his spell on the sidelines with an Achilles problem.

Terry has been involved in four Premier League title triumphs, five FA Cup wins and Champions League glory in 2011-12.

Despite reported interest from across the globe, the centre…