Napoli head coach Rafael Benitez has rated captain Marek Hamsik as more tactically intelligent than Liverpool s Steven Gerrard.

Hamsik was critical to Napoli s 4-2 win away to Chievo on Saturday scoring the Neapolitans first and third goals from his attacking midfield position behind striker Gonzalo Higuain, who scored once and set up the visitors second goal.

The Slovakian midfielder s 13th minute strike gave Napoli the lead before his second goal on 64 minutes wrestled back the advantage after Chievo had twice equalised.

Benitez, who managed Liverpool from 2004-2010 with Gerrard as his captain, was asked after the game how Hamsik compared to the 33-year-old English midfielder.

Hamsik is very important because he slots in at the right time but Gonzalo Higuain al…

Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan have made an offer for Lukas Podolski.

Podolski s club Galatasaray have confirmed a bid is being considered for the 31-year-old former Bayern Munich and Arsenal forward.

Reports suggest the offer is worth around €7million.

Beijing Guoan have made an important offer for Podolski, Gala board member Levent Nazifoglu told Anadolu Agency. 

We are evaluating the proposal and the prospect of moving is up to the player.

Galatasaray chairman Dursun Ozbek has previously stated that the club would need to sell players if they wanted to fund any potential signings.

Podolski joined Galatasaray in July 2015 on a three-year deal and scored the winning goal in the Turkish Cup final against fierce rivals Fenerb…

Genoa have completed a loan deal for Benfica forward Adel Taarabt as the club seeks to end a dismal run of form and climb into the top half of Serie A.

The Rossoblu have lost four of their last five domestic matches and failed to score in three of those, but coach Ivan Juric will hope the arrival of playmaker Taarabt enhances his side s attacking threat.

Morocco international Taarabt started his career at Lens, before making a name for himself when Tottenham Hotspur loaned him out to Queens Park Rangers in the English Championship.

Taarabt scored 33 league goals in 150 appearances for the Hoops but was later loaned out to Fulham and then to Milan before eventually signing a five-year contract at Benfica in 2015.

Since joining the club, the 27-year-old has…

Bayern Munich pair Thomas Muller and Joshua Kimmich have gone into isolation after testing positive to COVID-19.

The German champions announced the news on Saturday, with Muller and Kimmich having both been in the starting XI for Friday s 4-0 Bundesliga win over Bayer Leverkusen.

Bayern said the pair had tested positive on Saturday, were asymptomatic, doing well and isolating at their respective homes.

The Bundesliga outfit are due to face Czech club Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League at Allianz Arena on Tuesday.

The positive tests come after Bayern pair Manuel Neuer and Leon Goretzka were withdrawn from Germany camp last week after their own infections.

Kimmich has started every game in all competitions this season for Bayern, netting two goa…

Julian Nagelsmann may shuffle his pack for Bayern Munich s Champions League game against Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday, with the depleted Bavarians set to host Borussia Dortmund four days later.

Bayern have started their Champions League campaign with back-to-back wins over Inter and Barcelona, and lead the duo by three points at the top of Group C.

Should they record another European win at the Allianz Arena next time out, Bayern will have won their first three Champions League matches for a fourth season in succession.

On the domestic stage, however, Bayern trail surprise pace-setters Union Berlin and Freiburg after an inconsistent run of results, and host rivals Dortmund on Saturday.

With Thomas Muller and Joshua Kimmich set to miss the Plzen match after c…

Borussia Monchengladbach have announced that youngster Patrick Hermann has signed a two year extension to his contract.  The 19 year old will now stay at the Borussia Park Stadium till June 2014.

Uchtelfangen born Hermann signed for Gladbach two years ago from FC Saarbrucken. He rose through the youth ranks and broke into the first team last season. During the second half of the 2009/10 Bundesliga season, he made thirteen appearances for Gladbach, who eventually finished twelfth in the league.

Hermann has also been capped by Germany at U-17, U-18 and U-19 levels. The contract also includes an automatic one year extension clause should the young midfielder play a certain amount of games for Gladbach.

[Source:- Borussia Monchengladbach]

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Wolfsburg have beaten off competition from the English Premier League to land Danish international defender Simon Kjaer, the German first division side announced on Thursday.

The 21-year-old, who has spent the last two seasons at top Italian side Palermo, has signed a four-year contract. No fee has been announced but the deal is believed to be worth 12 million euros.

Wolfsburg, the 2009 Bundesliga champions, lured the highly regarded young Dane in the face of rival interest from Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. Italian giants Juventus were also interested in the player.

This transfer means I have the chance to play for a top club, Kjaer told the Wolsburg website.

I think this is the right step for me. First, I need to secure a regular place in th…

Ajax midfielder Riechedly Bazoer has stressed that he never considered leaving the Eredivisie leaders for Napoli this January.

The Amsterdam side accepted a big-money offer from the Serie A outfit earlier this month, but the move fell through because Bazoer was not open to a move to the Stadio San Paolo.

Ajax fans do not have to worry about me potentially leaving, the Netherlands international told the club s official website.

An offer from a big foreign club does not distract me. I am feeling very well at Ajax. Things are well and I am a first-team regular. Plus I still have plenty of room for improvement here at Ajax.

When my brother, who is also my representative, told me Napoli s offer, I immediately told him that I wanted to stay here.

Aj…

Newcastle United are readying a last minute move for Swansea City striker Bafetimbi Gomis,.

The North East side have been busier in the transfer market than any of their Premier League rivals this month but remain on the lookout for a new striker as they search for the goals that can pull them away from trouble.

Gomis has hit just five league goals for a struggling Swansea City side so far this season, and has sixteen for the club in all competitions since signing from Lyon in the eighteen months ago.

Newcastle have also been linked with moves for Chelsea’s Loic Remy who spent the 2013-14 campaign on loan at St James’ Park and Saido Berahino of West Bromwich Albion.

Steve McClaren’s side currently sit eighteenth in the Premier League, two point…

Niko Kovac said Arjen Robben is highly motivated for Bayern Munich s clash with Ajax in the Champions League and backed the 34-year-old to continue his outstanding form this season.

Robben, who won the Eredivisie s Young Player of the Year award and the league title with Ajax s rivals PSV Eindhoven between 2002 and 2004, has scored three goals in five league games this season.

Bayern coach Kovac has plenty of options on the wing, with Franck Ribery, Serge Gnabry and James Rodriguez all vying for a place in his starting line-up, but he indicated that Robben would get the nod against Ajax on Tuesday.

He knows Dutch football of course, Kovac told reporters. He will probably play tomorrow.

Arjen is highly motivated. He had 96 games for his country. He s fro…