Forest closing in on Mancienne deal

Erling Haaland will remain a Borussia Dortmund player next season, the German club s sporting director Michael Zorc has claimed.

The likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Champions League finalists Manchester City have been strongly linked with a move for the 20-year-old Norwegian striker.

Haaland joined Dortmund from Salzburg midway through the 2019-20 season and has scored a flood of goals for the Bundesliga side.

His double helped Dortmund beat RB Leipzig 4-1 in the DFB-Pokal final in Berlin on Thursday, and BVB chief Zorc has stressed he will be going nowhere in the near future.

Haaland is reported to have a clause allowing him to leave for a set price in the region of €75million at the end of next season, while his contract runs until 2024.

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Hans-Joachim Watzke has slammed the suggestion that Borussia Dortmund have issued Erling Haaland an ultimatum over his future as total b***s*** .

Haaland, who joined Dortmund in January 2020 from Austrian club Salzburg, is one of the most sought-after talents in European football.

Since the Norway forward made his Dortmund debut just over two years ago, he has netted 79 goals in all competitions.

He marked his two-year anniversary with a goal on Tuesday, though Dortmund nevertheless suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to St Pauli in the DFB-Pokal.

It means that, for the first time since 2006-07, neither Dortmund nor Bayern Munich will contend in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals, while none of the winners from across the previous 26 years are left in this season s com…

Chelsea forward Timo Werner admits to having mixed emotions as he approaches the conclusion of the worst and unluckiest season of his career.

The Germany international joined Chelsea from RB Leipzig last June for a fee in the region of £45million (€50m) with a reputation of being one of the most prolific attackers in Europe.

He scored 34 goals and supplied 12 assists in 45 appearances in all competitions for Leipzig in 2019-20, departing as the club s all-time leading scorer with 95 goals in total.

Werner has not been able to scale the same heights in his maiden campaign in English football, though, the 25-year-old scoring 12 times in 51 appearances in 2020-21.

— Timo Werner (@TimoWerner)

However, Werner has also contributed 15 assi…

Skipper Millie Bright said England “gifted” the Netherlands their goals and were “not ruthless enough” after the Lionesses were beaten 2-1 in Utrecht in their second Nations League group game.

The hosts took the lead in the 34th minute when Georgia Stanway was closed down near her own box, the ball went to Danielle van de Donk and she teed up a Lieke Martens finish, which it appeared would have been ruled out for offside if VAR had been in operation.

After Alessia Russo’s 64th-minute equaliser, England were then punished after losing possession again in the 90th minute as Alex Greenwood gave the ball away and Martens fed substitute Renate Jansen, who rifled past Mary Earps.

Defeat in Utrecht.

— Lionesses (@Lionesses)

Bright told ITV:…

Celtic F.C. manager Neil Lennon admits it is unlikely Georgios Samaras will sign a new deal with the Scottish Premier League champions in the summer.

The Greece international, whose current contract at Parkhead will expire at the end of the season, joined Celtic from Manchester City for an undisclosed fee rumoured to be between £1 million and £3 million in July 2008.

Since arriving in Glasgow, Samaras has helped Celtic win six trophies (Scottish Premier League: 2007/08, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14, Scottish League Cup: 2009, Scottish Cup: 2011, 2013), while bagging 73 goals in 249 appearances in all competitions for the club.

The Greek ace also played a pivotal role in the club s Cinderella run in the UEFA Champions League in 2012/13, which came to an e…

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman admits that it will be difficult to keep star midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin at the club.

The France international is reportedly a target for Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United, and there is a chance he could be leaving in January after missing out on a summer move.

And the interested sides have now received a major boost as Saints boss Ronald Koeman confirmed that Schneiderlin might not remain at St Mary s for much longer.

Keeping Morgan here will not be easy. We will have to see what happens, the Dutch coach said at a press conference ahead of the Monday s clash with Aston Villa.

Morgan Schneiderlin, 25, has been with the Saints from 2008 and he helped the club climb from League One to the Premier Lea…

Former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has paid tribute to the departing Arsene Wenger, thanking him for making his childhood dream come true .

The 68-year-old announced on Friday that he will depart the Gunners at the end of the season, having won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups in almost 22 years with the London club.

Giroud was signed by Wenger in 2012 and enjoyed five-and-a-half fruitful years under his compatriot before joining Chelsea earlier this year.

And the 31-year-old took to Twitter on Saturday to thank his former manager for improving him as a player.

Giroud said: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to make my childhood dream come true.

A huge respect for your resilience and your full commitment to the Arsenal over t…

Luciano Spalletti retains belief that Roma can overturn their first-leg deficit against Lyon to progress to the Europa League quarter-finals.

Roma have stuttered in recent weeks with four defeats in their last six games in all competitions, including a 4-2 defeat in France last week.

Spalletti bemoaned some lapses in concentration in that loss and acknowledged they must be better if they are to qualify for the last eight.

However, he remains confident Roma have the quality to complete an aggregate win.

We can t afford to make bad decisions, he told a media conference ahead of Thursday s clash at the Stadio Olimpico.

Qualification is there for us to reach out and grasp. We cannot be afraid. I m absolutely convinced that our players will want to b…

Middlesbrough have raided Championship rivals Bristol City to sign defender Aden Flint.

The 28-year-old was linked with a move to Brighton and Hove Albion in the January transfer window, but will now remain in English football s second tier.

A centre-back with an eye for goal, Flint joined City in 2013 and only signed a contract extension with the club in March.

He becomes Middlesbrough s second new addition in the transfer window, following on from the arrival of Paddy McNair from Sunderland, after penning a four-year deal to become part of manager Tony Pulis squad.

On a personal level, it s fantastic to have seen Aden mature and grow to become one of the best centre-halves in the division, Bristol City boss Lee Johnson told the club s website.

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi celebrates his 30th birthday on Saturday, another milestone for the record breaker.

Since making his Barca debut aged 17 Messi has been the scourge of defenders in Spain and across the globe, racking up 568 goals for club and country.

In the process the forward has collected 29 trophies but international honours with Argentina still elude him.

To celebrate Messi s milestone birthday, we take a look at 10 of his best goals throughout a sensational career that still has plenty more to come.

Albacete (H): May 1, 2005

Even at 17, Messi had the confidence of a veteran. Having already had one goal wrongly ruled out for offside an audacious chip from the edge of the box Messi s confidence was far from knocked …