David Villa wants Barca move: press

Barcelona keen on Pjanic

A report in La Gazzetta dello Sport suggests that Barcelona are weighing up summer move for Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic.

The Bosnia international is not entirely satisfied with his situation at the club and could decide to leave Olimpico at the end of the season.

Pjanic has failed to adapt to the physical style of football in Italian Serie A and is pondering a switch to another top European league.

La Gazzetta dello Sport understands that Barcelona are ready to take advantage of the situation and attempt to sign the player at the end of the season.

Barcelona boss Tito Vilanova believes Pjanic would be a good addition to the squad at Camp Nou and is likely to instruct the club officials to launch an assault on the 22-ye…

Bayern Munich centre-back Holger Badstuber has returned to training after a lengthy injury nightmare.

The Germany international has not played for the Bundesliga champions since suffering a cruciate ligament tear in his knee against Borussia Dortmund in December 2012.

A recurrence of the same injury last May forced Badstuber into another stint on the sidelines, but there may be light at the end of the tunnel for the 25-year-old after he joined his team-mates for training on Thursday.

In a further boost for Pep Guardiola s side, forward Xherdan Shaqiri stepped up his recovery from a hamstring problem, and is close to a full return to training.

The 22-year-old is targeting a return in the DFB-Pokal final against Borussia Dortmund on May 17.

I hope I m ready f…

Atletico Madrid claimed the Europa League title after defeating Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in an all-Spanish final in Bucharest.

A year after scoring the winner in Porto s Europa League triumph, Colombian striker Radamel Falcao starred for the victors by producing two superb individual goals in the first half.

An equally brilliant clincher from Diego late on ensured Atletico regained the trophy they last won in 2010.

Atletico were on the front foot straight from kick-off, impressing with some incisive link-up play in the attacking third.

The opener arrived after seven minutes, with Falcao bending a sublime effort past Gorka Iraizoz into the top corner.

Bilbao were slow to respond to the setback, and were faced with further danger when Diego dragged a s…

Andrea Pirlo is close to agreeing a new two-year deal with Juventus, .

The veteran midfielder, who helped guide his side clinch a third successive Serie A table this season had been linked with a move away from the club, but now looks likely to remain in Turin.

In his three years with the Old Lady, the 34 year old has made 119 appearances in all competitions, scoring fourteen times while he was named by his peers as the best player in the Italian top flight in 2012/13.

Internationally, the former AC Milan and Inter man has been capped 108 times and was this week named in Cesare Prandelli’s 30-man provisional squad for this summer’s World Cup finals in Brazil.

The Azzurri face England in their opening group game in Manaus on June 14th, and can be …

Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly wants to avoid Napoli in the next round of the Champions League in the hope of a potential final against his former club.

Two-time European champions Chelsea beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 on Tuesday to progress to the quarter-finals in a 2-1 aggregate victory.

Meanwhile, Napoli lead 2-0 in their last-16 tie against Eintracht Frankfurt ahead of the second leg next week and have emerged as one of the tournament s favourites given their 15-point lead in Serie A.

Koulibaly left the Partenopei for Chelsea at the start of the season and is keen for any reunion to be delayed until June.

I hope to meet them as far away as possible, Koulibaly told Sky Sports. Maybe in the final in Istanbul would be better.

What a comeback!…

Ronald Koeman has demanded Barcelona s attitude in away matches improve after the they went down 2-1 to Cadiz in LaLiga.

Barca had lost just one of their previous eight fixtures in all competitions heading into Saturday s clash with Cadiz, who had already claimed the scalp of champions Real Madrid this term.

The only defeat in that run came at the hands of Atletico Madrid in Barca s last away outing in LaLiga, however, and their poor form on the road under Koeman continued as Alvaro Gimenez and veteran forward Alvaro Negredo clinched another famous win for Cadiz, who had just 17.9 per cent possession.

Cadiz moved up to fifth, while Barca sit 12 points behind leaders Atleti, who overcame Real Valladolid 2-0, with their tally of 14 points from 10 league matches …

Andros Townsend could be on the move for the second time in just a couple of months.

With Newscastle United being dropped to Championship last season, the England winger is likely to leave for another spell in the top tier as several clubs including Manchester City and Liverpool are keen on his services, according to .

Townsend missed out on a place in England squad for the Euro 2016 despite putting in several top-class performances towards the end of the 2015/16 season.

The 24-year-old is targeted by Crystal Palace, Southampton and West Ham, who have already expressed strong interest according to Telegraph, but the player himself is happy to wait and explore all of his options before making a final decision.

Citizens and Reds have also been thrown in th…

Competition: La Liga

Market: Girona to beat Athletico Bilbao

Odds:

La Liga is back this weekend with another massive round of games. Spain s top league has been one that has continued to surprise and excite this year with the league table remaining incredibly tight. With this in mind, Girona host Athletic Bilbao in a mid-table battle.

Girona have been in fairly good form this season and they will be looking to continue their rise. After 21 matches they have won seven, drawn seven and lost seven, while they have scored 29 goals and conceded 29 times. In their last five they have managed to win once, draw twice and lose twice, which has seen them onto 28 points. Girona are currently 11 points clear of the relegation zone and they will feel they a…

Bayern Munich misfit Lukas Podolski should shut up and concentrate on his football, the German champions general manager Uli Hoeness has warned.

German international Podolski is unhappy at being second-string striker behind Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni, and has been repeatedly linked with a big-money move away from the Munich giants.

I m happy the transfer window is closed because now Lukas will be able to concentrate on his job at Bayern, Hoeness told a TV station here.

He must stop complaining about his lot, being in a bad mood and lamenting his difficult fate. There are things in the world more difficult than being a Bayern player, the straight-talking Hoeness added.

In July Podolski held talks with coach Jurgen Klinsmann, pledging his future afte…

Manchester City have re-affirmed their interest in Germany striker Lukas Podolski whose club Bayern Munich are keen to sign Russian midfield ace Andrei Arshavin, according to reports.

German sports agency SID say unsettled Bayern star Podolski, who scored two goals for Germany in last Saturday s World Cup 2010 qualifier, is once again being courted by City who expressed an interest in him during the summer.

With a new Arabian owner at the helm, Manchester City are keen to boost their squad and Podolski, 23, is frustrated at being kept on the bench at Bayern despite scoring 30 goals in 56 appearances for Germany.

And Munich newspaper TZ say Bayern are interested in signing attacking midfielder Arshavin, one of the stars of Euro 2008, who is keen to leave UEFA …