Paco Alcacer has joined Borussia Dortmund on a season-long loan deal from Barcelona.

The striker moves to Signal Iduna Park for the rest of 2018-19 for a fee of €2million.

Dortmund have the option to sign the player outright for €23m, plus a further €5m in variables. Barca would be entitled to five per cent of any future profit too, should Alcacer then be sold to another club.

I m really looking forward to playing in the Bundesliga soon, Alcacer, who will wear the number nine shirt, told the club s website.

This is one of the best leagues in the world. With these incredible fans and the famous south stand, BVB has something magical for every footballer.

We re very happy Paco Alcacer has decided in favour of Borussia Dortmund and we fi…

According to Radio Monte Carlo, Goncalo Guedes is said to be close to securing a loan return to Valencia. The 21-year-old found a lot of success with the Spanish club last season, after joining on loan from Paris Saint-Germain where he wasn t considered to be a key member of the first team line-up. Valencia had initially made a permanent bid for Guedes which was rejected by PSG, but now, this second loan deal would include a purchase option.

Guedes joined PSG from Benfica back in 2017 and since then, he s only made a handful of appearances for the French champions. The Portuguese star, who went to the 2018 FIFA World Cup with his home nation, seems to be better suited to the Spanish style of play.

Valencia s next game will come against Atletico Madrid next Monday, follo…

England arrived in South Africa Thursday morning hoping a favourable first-round draw can be the catalyst for a serious World Cup challenge.

Cool, clear conditions greeted some of the most watched performers in the global televised football arena when they landed at Johannesburg international airport with manager Fabio Capello.

I hope the World Cup will be a big success for South Africa and also for my team. Thank you. It is good to be here, the Italian told reporters on the airport tarmac.

Live broadcasts of virtually all Premiership matches mean the stars of Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool are more recognisable to many South Africans than domestic equivalents.

A recent survey here revealed England would be the second most popular tea…

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank believes Ivan Toney can prove people wrong after failing to get on the pitch in either of England s Nations League games over the international break.

Toney was left out of the matchday squad by Gareth Southgate for the 1-0 defeat to Italy and, while he was included in the 23 players chosen for the Germany match, he was not called upon off the bench.

The 26-year-old had been called up for the first time by Southgate after a superb start to the season in which he netted five times in Brentford s first six league games.

And Frank says Toney must use this disappointment to fuel his performances for the Bees, telling reporters: Of course Ivan hoped to come on the pitch.

I think in life and football the way you get success i…

Al Ahly begin their quest for a third consecutive CAF Champions League title against Tanzanian champions Young Africans.

The Egyptians are the most successful club in the competition s history, having won it eight times, but they face a tough tie against the top scorers from the preliminary round.

Young Africans, who will host the first leg on Friday, stormed through the last stage with a 12-2 aggregate triumph against Komorozine, a result that included a 7-0 victory in the home leg in Dar es Salaam.

Al Ahly are back in domestic league action defending the title they won in 2011, with political unrest having prevented the completion of any season since then.

They currently sit fourth in the Egyptian Premier League, having lost three of their opening nine matches.…

Tottenham striker Harry Kane is looking forward to his first pre-season hit-out and claims the MLS All-Star Game will be ideal preparation with the Premier League less than two weeks away.

The MLS All-Stars will take on Tottenham on Wednesday in Denver, Colorado, and both Kane and manager Mauricio Pochettino underlined the importance of the match for the London-based club ahead of their Premier League opener away to Manchester United on August 8.

Tottenham have not played since their post-season friendly against Sydney FC in May and Kane said taking on the best from MLS will be a good test.

It s going to be a tough game and that s what we want, the 21-year-old forward said at Monday s media conference in Denver.

It s not long until the season starts and…

According to reports coming from , Real Madrid are thinking about sending Vinicius Junior back to Brazil.

The talented 18-year-old forward has struggled to break it into the first team at Santiago Bernabeu and Los Blancos are exploring a possibility to send him on a six-month loan back to Flamengo.

Real Madrid beat a string of Europe’s top clubs to the signature of the highly-rated youngster in May 2017 when a €45 million deal was struck with Flamengo.

Vinicius was expected to join the Santiago Bernabeu outfit in 2019 but the player himself decided to exercise a clause in his contract that allowed him to move to Europe a year earlier.

Having failed to land a single minute of competitive action with the first team under Julen Lopetegui, Vinicius Junio…

Lawyers for Ross Barkley say the Everton midfielder was the victim of an unprovoked attack by a stranger after footage emerged of an incident in a Liverpool city centre bar.

Merseyside Police have confirmed they are making enquiries after CCTV cameras captured images of a man being punched in the face.

Barkley s lawyers have confirmed the victim was the 23-year-old England international, who, hours earlier, had played a starring role in Everton s 4-2 Premier League defeat of Leicester City.

Matt Himsworth, managing director of Himsworths Legal, told the BBC: We can confirm that Ross was the victim of an unprovoked attack by a stranger who approached him on Sunday evening.”

Merseyside Police say no report of an assault has been made but that enquiries …

Overjoyed Carlisle boss Paul Simpson was happy for his players to head out and enjoy a beer following their dramatic 5-4 penalty shootout win over Stockport in the Sky Bet League Two play-off final.

After the Wembley showdown ended 1-1 after 120 minutes, the Cumbrians held their nerve to score five faultless spot-kicks to seal promotion and return to League One after nine years away.

“I’m delighted for all the players,” said Simpson. “They’ve shown the desire to really dig in during that second half, because we had to earn the right to take it all the way.

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— Sky Bet League Two (@SkyBetLeagueTwo)

“We had to hang in there a little bit, but I’m so pleased we’ve stuck at it and taken the game all the way.