Sports

France head coach Didier Deschamps has no concerns over Paul Pogba s form despite the world s most expensive player making an underwhelming start to his second spell at Manchester United.

The Premier League club shattered the global transfer record by agreeing a deal worth an initial £89m with Juventus for Pogba but he has so far failed to find his best form at Old Trafford, where he progressed through the youth ranks before joining the Italian champions in 2012.

The 23-year-old missed a pair of gilt-edged opportunities and hit the crossbar during stoppage time in United s frustrating 1-1 Premier League draw against Stoke City on Sunday and is struggling to enjoy a consistent influence over games.

Deschamps now has Pogba back under his charge for France s World …

Carlo Ancelotti has dismissed reports linking Paris Saint-Germain with moves for Andrea Pirlo and Robin van Persie.

The French club have been touted as a potential destination for striker Van Persie, who revealed last week he will not renew his contract with Arsenal.

Juventus midfielder Pirlo, who played under Ancelotti at AC Milan between 2001 and 2009, has also been mooted as a potential target for PSG.

But the Italian coach, who arrived at PSG in December 2011, played down the speculation.

Van Persie is not a target of ours, but I think he is for other clubs, Ancelotti said.

Pirlo is an interesting player for any club, but I have had the chance to coach him for eight years and that is enough.

Ancelotti welcomed the prospect of Marco…

Napoli s Raul Albiol and Jose Callejon know Real Madrid better than most and will do all they can to avoid a loss when they return to their old club in the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday.

The pair left Madrid for Napoli in 2013 after four and two years of respective service to the European champions.

They have sounded a warning to their current team-mates that their old friends will not be going easy on them and Callejion claimed it is vital to return to Italy with a goal.

Not losing here is a good result. We want to score; that would be important for the second leg, he said in Tuesday s media conference.

We want to play as we have done for the last year and a half, feeling comfortable in ourselves.

Raul and I have friends here: …

Chelsea eyeing Koke

Catalan daily newspaper Sport has suggested that Chelsea are hot on the trail of Atletico Madrid hotshot Koke.

The Blues recently signed Filipe Luis from the Spanish giants, but the Brazilian has already returned to Vicente Calderon following a disappointing start to his career in England.

Nevertheless, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is now eyeing another Atletico Madrid star as the latest reports suggest he is keen on luring Koke to Stamford Bridge.

The Blues want the Spain international to try and help them get their season back on track and are readying a January bid for his services.

But, with Barcelona showing interest as well, Chelsea could face stiff competition for the midfielder s signature.

Koke quickly develo…

Two more sides will book their places in the Champions League last eight on Wednesday as Juventus visit Tottenham and Manchester City host Basel.

The clash at Wembley is finely poised after Tottenham fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 in Turin three weeks ago, and promises to be a pulsating affair.

Events at the Etihad Stadium threaten to be a little more sedate after Pep Guardiola s side all-but booked their spot in the quarter-finals with an emphatic 4-0 win in the first leg in Switzerland.

Here are some of the best Opta numbers ahead of another exciting night of Champions League action. 

 The Chaaaaaaampions! 

We re back with a bang  

Best match this week is ___________  

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeagu…

West Brom midfielder Darren Fletcher has admitted he looks back on his departure from Manchester United with regret and hopes his former side win all their remaining games this season – bar one.

Albion are hoping to build on their 3-1 victory over Arsenal with a win against the Red Devils on Saturday at a ground that Fletcher said still feels like home .

The 33-year-old made 223 Premier League appearances in a 12-year spell at Old Trafford, winning four league titles, the FA Cup and the Champions League amongst a glut of honours, and he remained an important part of the squad under David Moyes spell as manager in 2013-14.

Fletcher joined West Brom in February 2015 on a free transfer after falling out of favour under then United manager Louis van Gaal, and he t…

Deportivo La Coruna took control of the Segunda Division play-off final with a 2-0 first-leg win over Mallorca, who saw Marc Pedraza sent off for a shocking challenge on Alex Bergantinos.

The hosts were already a goal to the good at the Riazor when Pedraza slid in hard and left Bergantinos with cuts to his face.

Depor s captain had to be taken from the field on a stretcher and was taken to hospital for treatment, while Pedraza was shown a straight red card.

That dismissal arrived in the 41st minute, shortly after Depor had opened the scoring via Fede Cartabia s superb free-kick, whipped into the top-right corner from an acute angle.

And Quique added a potentially crucial second 11 minutes from time, hooking in Carlos Fernandez s header back across goal.

So it was Arsenal who attempted to seize the initiative. After all, someone had to have the ball.

Under Mauricio Pochettino and Arsene Wenger, the men who brought these rivals again to the forefront of the English game, Tottenham and Arsenal had each played an attractive, exciting brand of football. Jose Mourinho and Mikel Arteta had so far done things a little differently.

Only twice, five years apart, in his opening and closing weeks in charge, did Pochettino s Spurs have less than 35 per cent of the possession in a Premier League match. By contrast, preferring a low block in these biggest of fixtures, Mourinho had already overseen four such occasions in little more than 12 months prior to this weekend.

Arteta could match that, too, ceding 65 per cent of the pl…

Barcelona and Real Madrid have confirmed they will boycott next week s LaLiga summit in Dubai, which Los Blancos have labelled as illegal .

Spanish top-flight clubs have been asked to attend the meeting on December 7 in which a number of topics regarding the league will be discussed.

However, LaLiga s two biggest clubs – who have been embroiled in a long-running battle with league chief Javier Tebas – will not be present in the United Arab Emirates.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Madrid questioned the location of the event and the timing.

We believe the meeting is illegal, given that the clubs are being called to attend the meeting more than 5,000 kilometres away from LaLiga s headquarters, the statement read.

It s completely unjustif…

Serbia will be ready for the must-win showdown with Switzerland to keep their World Cup hopes alive, says coach Dragan Stojkovic.

With just a game to go in Group G, and Brazil already into the last 16, the pair will be vying for the final knockout stage spot alongside Cameroon.

Switzerland lie second with three points, while Serbia are at the foot of the table on one point with an inferior goal difference to the Indomitable Lions.

But victory would see them leapfrog their rivals, and potentially qualify if Cameroon also fail to win, with Stojkovic drawing a dairy-related analogy to indicate his side s plans.

We d really like to talk about their cheese and find their weak spots the holes to get the result, he said.

We knew after the draw was held…