Sports News

The long-running saga looks to finally be coming to an end after Chelsea confirmed the impending switch on Thursday. Costa has been outcast by Blues boss Antonio Conte since the summer.

Sportsmail columnist Martin Keown answers your questions as we look back at the Carabao Cup third round and ahead to the weekend's action in the Premier League .

Not even the incessant rain could dampen Manchester United's spirits as they trained on Thursday ahead of this weekend's Premier League visit to Southampton.

Real Madrid fell to a 1-0 defeat against Real Betis at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night, leaving them already seven points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona after just five matches.

PETE JENSON: A 1-0 defeat to a team who had gone 19 years without winning at the Bernabeu, and one that left Madrid eighth with almost half as many points as leaders Barcelona.

Gareth Barry has said he has no plans to retire once he breaks one of the Premier League's major longevity records. West Brom's Barry, 36, will pass Ryan Giggs' record of 632 top flight games.

NFF president Amaju Pinnick, who is a friend of the striker's father, has promised 19-year-old Abraham a place in the squad for next year's World Cup, should the Super Eagles qualify.

With Heaton set for several months in rehabilitation following surgery on an injured shoulder, Lindegaard - the former Manchester United keeper - has been signed until the end of the season.

Though they looked sullen, there seemed to be little animosity despite the fact the Brazilian Neymar had reportedly demanded his Uruguayan colleague be sold after claiming the spot-kick against Lyon.

Manchester United have announced record revenues and profits in their latest set of annual figures. The club turned over a staggering £581.2m and banked £80.8m last year.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY SAM MORSHEAD: 'Do you fancy another crack at the Premier League?' I ask, half-expecting a non-committal response. But Warnock doesn't do non-committal.

Haseeb Hameed has become the latest Ashes hopeful to suffer an injury in the Specsavers County Championship clash between Middlesex and Lancashire at Lord's this week.

Martial has been backed to become a 'force' to be reckoned with by United team-mate Lingard. A promising first season at Old Trafford was followed by a frustrating second campaign for Martial.

Tyson Fury may turn out to be a surprise mentor for Rio Ferdinand as the former professional football player makes his switch to the ring. Fury is himself plotting a return to the world of boxing.

Neymar left Barcelona to escape Lionel Messi's shadow, according to former Nou Camp team-mate Jeremy Mathieu. PSG smashed the world transfer record to sign £198m Neymar.

Maja Nilsson, who is the fiancee of £30.7million summer signing Victor Lindelof, has claimed there is a sense of obligation to rent a box, suggesting those without are seen as 'losers'.

Diego Forlan has come out swinging in his defence of Edinson Cavani in the PSG's striker's row with Neymar. He also condemned Dani Alves for his behaviour, calling him 'little boy'.

The Spaniard remains Lukaku's manager but now at international level, with both now having moved on from Everton. Lukaku joined United this summer and has become an instant hit.

Sadio Mane believes Liverpool have the quality and character to pick themselves up from a difficult start to the season and win the Premier League. The club have not won in September.

Barry, 36, will break the all-time Premier League appearance record if he plays against Arsenal for West Brom on Monday. And Wenger admits he tried to sign Barry from Aston Villa in 2009.

England will look to take a step closer to series victory over West Indies when the two meet for the second one day international of the series at Trent Bridge on Thursday afternoon.

The Brazilian, who has won five Bundesliga titles with Bayern, was the subject of a possible deadline-day swoop by Chelsea, despite a deal never materialising, according to reports.

Asked by Jose Mourinho to lead the Manchester United line against weak Championship opposition, Marcus Rashford still performed with his usual diligence and brilliance.

The FA are in crisis after England women’s manager Mark Sampson was sacked because of inappropriate relationships with female players he coached at Bristol Academy.

They may be nicknamed the 'Teddies' but they are proving far from cuddly in this season's SOCS Daily Mail Schools Trophy. St Edward's have inflicted a rare defeat on Rugby School, winning 20-0.

Fans battled outside the ground immediately following Ecuadorean side Barcelona's 1-0 win, forcing police to lock the gates to stop more fans getting involved, according to local media.

Mexican Grand Prix Marketing head Rodrigo Sanchez told reporters that the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in the southeast of capital Mexico City was not damaged.

The crowd of 44,064 that witnessed Arsenal's win over Doncaster in the Carabao Cup was the lowest-ever for a competitive first-team fixture at the Emirates Stadium.

Sanchez, left out of the starting XI for the trip to Chelsea last weekend, played 90 minutes in a low-profile win over Doncaster Rovers on Wednesday night.

Julian Draxler may have been linked with a move away from Paris Saint-Germain during the summer transfer window But the German seems happy enough with life in the French capital.

Rashford claimed a brace as United scored four goals for the fourth time this season, helping the reigning EFL Cup champions to see off Burton Albion on Wednesday.

The motion would have seen England and France sit out the first weekend of games, all teams compete on the second weekend, and France and England play in the third, usually a rest week.

After Billy Vunipola and Joe Marler both voiced their misgivings over proposals to cram the Six Nations into six weeks, Rugby Players' Association chief executive Hopley is the latest to wade into the debate.

CHRIS WHEELER AT OLD TRAFFORD: Two goals inside the opening 17 minutes from Marcus Rashford set United on course for the fourth round on Wednesday night.

Arsenal have picked up the happy habit of drawing minnows on a surprisingly regular basis. The Gunners have been matched up with the lowest ranked team left on the last five occasions.

Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak stopped Aritz Aduriz's penalty before half time and Angel Correa and Yannick Carrasco scored second-half goals to seal an important victory.

'Is this real?' It was a simple question but revealed so much about FIFA 18. The new game feels closer to reality than ever before. EA Sports have continued their dominance.

Charly Musonda admitted he cried tears of joy after scoring his first goal for Chelsea in their Carabao Cup win over Nottingham Forest. Musonda scored the third of Chelsea's five goals on the night.

MATT LAWTON — CHIEF SPORTS REPORTER: Martin Glenn may well be remembered as the FA chief who was too hasty in sacking one England manager and way too slow in sacking another.

Michy Batshuayi‏ called on EA Sports to improve his FIFA 18 rating after scoring his first Chelsea hat-trick on Wednesday night. The Belgian striker fired the Blues to a 5-1 win over Nottingham Forest.

Boss Brendan Rodgers hailed two-goal James Forrest for displaying both sides of the game during Celtic's 4-0 Betfred Cup win over Dundee at Dens Park.

PETE JENSON: Cristiano Ronaldo returned from his five-game ban and Real Madrid failed to score for the first time in 74 matches as the Spanish champions were beaten 1-0 by Betis.

The 5-1 win set up a fourth round clash at home to Everton, but, despite facing Premier League opposition, Chelsea could field a similarly youthful squad after the Nottingham Forest rout.

Sunderland's starting eleven at Goodison Park on Wednesday night had made more appearances for Everton than the entire Everton side.

Gary Mackay-Steven broke his silence on his dramatic bridge plunge on Wednesday and vowed to put the 'silly' incident behind him.

Borussia Dortmund leapfrogged Bayern Munich back into top spot in the Bundesliga following a 3-0 win at Hamburg. Midfielder Shinji Kagawa struck opener in the first-half

Police are facing a challenge after Wednesday night's Carabao Cup draw set Tottenham and West Ham up for a midweek clash at Wembley Stadium.

Ronaldinho may be 37 years of age but the Brazilian footballing icon continues to prove that class is permanent, doing so once again with a brilliant futsal goal on Wednesday..

Arsene Wenger believes Jack Wilshere gained both confidence and fitness following an impressive showing in Arsenal's Carabao Cup third-round win over Doncaster.

Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha stays sharp with extra one-on training sessions as he continues his road to recovery. He has not played since their opening-day defeat to Huddersfield Town.