Fernandez set for Montpellier role

Dieter Hecking on Wednesday tendered his resignation as coach of struggling Bundesliga club Hanover 96, who have claimed just one point from two league games.

The 44-year-old s position was already under threat when the club finished just 11th last season and were eliminated from the German Cup by third division Treves.

Hecking becomes the second Bundesliga coach to leave this month after Norwegian Jorn Andersen became the first ever top flight coach to be sacked prior to the beginning of the season by newly-promoted Mainz.

A former German second division player, Hecking made his name as a coach by helping his former club Aachan return to the top flight in May 2006.

He left Aachan in September 2006 to join Hanover.

The club finished eighth in the…

Juventus have joined AC Milan in the race for Colon midfielder Lucas Mugni, while Catania are also reportedly interested.

According to Goal.com, AC Milan see the 20-year-old as a valuable addition to their squad for the long term and have already contacted his club to discuss a potential move.

However, they face stiff competition from Juve, who are ready to make a 2.7-million euro offer for the creative midfielder.

Juve sporting director Fabio Paratici sees Mugni as the perfect signing for the future after receiving glowing reports from the club s head scout.

Mugni is a product of the Colon youth academy and has developed into an important first team member for the Santa Fe outfit since making his official debut in 2010.

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Ondrej Celustka is relishing the chance to play in the Premier League after sealing his move to Sunderland.

The 24-year-old defender became manager Paolo Di Canio s 10th signing of the close-season on Tuesday when he agreed a season-long loan from Trabzonspor.

Celustka spent two years in Turkey after moving there from Slavia Prague in 2011.

He made 55 appearances in the Super Lig and reached the Turkish Cup final last season, but could not resist the lure of the English top flight.

Every match against clubs from the top of the Premier League table is like the Champions League, he told www.idnes.cz.

The whole world is following this competition and together with the German Bundesliga, they are the best leagues in the world.

Celustka was impressed afte…

Marco Silva s managerial career has seen him take charge of five clubs in the past five years, but the Everton boss insists he is at Goodison Park for the long haul.

After three years cutting his teeth at Estoril, Silva s coaching journey has taken him to Sporting CP, Olympiacos, Hull City and Watford.

He impressed in Greece, winning a league title, and enhanced his reputation trying to keep Hull in the Premier League in 2017.

That earned him a chance with Watford and the early signs were promising, but after links with Everton and one win in 11 matches he was sacked in January.

Silva reappeared in Merseyside last month and has set his sights on building a legacy with the Toffees.

Everton as a club perform better when they have some stability, wh…

Nabil Fekir s future will not be decided until after the World Cup, according to Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas.

The France international has been strongly linked with a move to Liverpool, their new signing Fabinho calling on the forward to join him at Anfield.

A fee of £60million has been mooted for the 24-year-old, who scored 18 Ligue 1 goals in the 2017-18 campaign, but Aulas denied a deal with Liverpool is close for Fekir.

The transfer is at a standstill, there is no way forward, Aulas said.

The deal will certainly not close during the World Cup and I do not think there is any change before the World Cup.

We have not set a base price because we have not discussed this yet.

Having completed moves for Fabinho and RB Leipzig mid…

Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 3/4 @

With a Europa League semi-final spot still hanging firmly in the balance, Bayer Leverkusen will make the trip to Royale Union on Thursday night.

Starting with the hosts, putting in a rugged display as they claimed a first-leg 1-1 draw away in Germany last week, Royale Union will be desperate to spring a real Europa League upset here. Picking up some perfect momentum over the weekend as they claimed a 2-1 victory at home against Seraing while on domestic duties, Karel Geraerts side are unbeaten in each of their last nine appearances across all competitions a run that stems all the way back to March 2nd. Extending on their European adventure last month as they claimed a remarkable 6-3 aggregate victory against Union Berlin, …

Please, Mr Matic, get out to the ball, said an anguished Rio Ferdinand as BT Sport replayed Oliver Burke s winning goal for Sheffield United at Old Trafford.

It came after a passage of lacklustre Manchester United play that Ferdinand insisted would not have been allowed in yesteryear , in which players ambled back, stood stock still or pointed in vain before Burke fired in a shot via Axel Tuanzebe s knee.

He took his shot just in time – there was one Manchester United player sprinting back to challenge in a desperate attempt to lift his ailing side. No prizes for guessing who that was.

Bruno Fernandes will celebrate one year as a United player on Saturday. His transfer from Sporting CP for an initial fee of £47million in January 2020 came after a similar abje…

Chelsea announced an extra friendly game to their end-of-season tour of America as they will play Manchester City at Yankee Stadium in New York.

The clubs are already set to face each other in St Louis, at the Busch Stadium on May 23, but have now announced the additional fixture two days later.

The games are part of both clubs plans to increase popularity in the USA, and for Chelsea it marks a return to the venue they played at last year, the home of the New York Yankees.

The club is excited to be playing a double-header in the US this May and thrilled to be returning to Yankee Stadium, Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay told the club s official website.

We were delighted to take part in the first-ever football game there, and we received sensational …

After sacking Stuart Pearce earlier on Sunday, Nottingham Forest have acted quick to appoint Dougie Freedman as their new manager.

Championship club Nottingham Forest have acted swiftly to replace Stuart Pearce by appointing Dougie Freedman as the club s new manager.

Forest sacked Pearce who only took the reins in the close-season on Sunday after a run of just three wins in 17 Championship games, taking the club from the top of the league to 12th in the table.

Pearce has subsequently been offered a different role at the City Ground with Freedman taking over in the dugout.

Freedman, who enjoyed a two-year playing spell at Forest between 1998 and 2000, has been out of work since being leaving Bolton Wanderers last October.

The 40-year-old started hi…