Chelsea legend and assistant manager Gianfranco Zola has urged the hierarchy to give sufficient time to Maurizio Sarri after he was appointed as the Blues’ new head coach. The 59-year-old was recruited by the Blues earlier this month after an extended transfer saga and Zola believes that he board should offer the tactician with some leverage to make an impression.

He said: “As long as the people at the club support the club, have a little bit of patience with him, I'm sure they will get what they are expecting. I like the way his teams play football. They are very organised, very good defensively but also play very good football.I've always liked coaches that promote this type of football.I believe this is the type of philosophy this club is looking for at the moment. I think it can be a very good marriage. Maurizio can give the club exactly what it is looking for.”

Ajax head coach Erik ten Hag has confirmed that the club are indeed interested in securing the signature of Southampton midfielder Dusan Tadic. The Serbia international has been an influential player for the Saints over the years but he is now understood to be eyeing a return to the Eredivisie where he enjoyed fruitful spells with FC Twente and Groningen.

Speaking to De Telegraaf, Ten Hag admitted that Tadic is one among the prime targets for Ajax but they are unlikely to make any announcement regarding the players until they reach a financial agreement with the Saints, he said: “It is no secret that we are interested (in signing Tadic). But I also learned that we must have signatures first before it is final. He clearly showed (against Switzerland) why he is a more than a suitable player for us. He can take Ajax by the hand. Ajax reports via the official channels when everything is complete. But as long as the signature is not set, it will not happen.”

Arsenal legend-turned-pundit Ian Wright is reportedly pleased with the Gunners’ decision to appoint Unai Emery as the new head coach. The north London club were initially leaning towards signing former Gunner Mikel Arteta as the next Gunners boss but made a late decision to bring Emery on-board.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Wright was excited by the prospect of Emery who he believes is a better option than Arteta, who has no managerial experience, he said: “I'm very pleased with that. Obviously it came as a bit of a shock. I feel everybody was getting ready to digest Arteta, even though he is inexperienced when it comes to the level we are going to need. But Emery - very happy with that. I think it's a massive, massive decision they had to make. As much as I've given them stick, I still have to commend them on hopefully getting the right guy because it's a job I wouldn't want to do. Replacing Arsene Wenger after 22 years is a massive job in itself.”

French outfit Lyon have confirmed that they have ended negotiations with Liverpool regarding the proposed transfer of Nabil Fekir. The France international was widely expected to join the Reds following a medical and a leaked introductory video but in a surprise change of events, the move has now been cancelled.

“Olympique Lyonnais informs that the tripartite negotiations with the Liverpool club and Nabil Fekir for the transfer of the captain of OL have not succeeded and that Olympique Lyonnais has decided to put an end to this negotiation tonight at 20:00. Although the club Liverpool has been the priority of a possible transfer of Nabil, and subject to other proposals consistent with the interest of Nabil and OL and from ambitious clubs, Olympique Lyonnais is delighted soon to be able to count on the presence of his captain who is a leading rookie for this season 2018/2019 during which the club will play the Champions League being in the 3rd hat of the draw,” the statement read.

If recent World Cups are any indicator, then backing the established stars of global football to be tournament top scorer just don't pay.

While you can, of course, bet each-way in the market with most bookmakers offering a quarter of the outright odds for four places, it is worth considering some fresher faces to step up instead of the usual suspects. Which new names on the global stage could be World Cup top scorer?

Gabriel Jesus (Brazil)

While Manchester City fans will know Gabriel Jesus and what he can do in front of goal well, the 2018 World Cup in Russia is the first major senior tournament he's played at. He did win a gold medal at the Summer Olympics on home soil in Brazil two years ago as part of their under-23 team.

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has admitted that the Red Devils need to achieve more success under his management in order to be completely beyond the Sir Alex Ferguson days. After being able to win the Europa League and the EFL Cup in his first campaign at United, Mourinho is on course to lifting more honours in his second campaign is the club have made it to the final of the FA Cup.

Mourinho’s team will be taking on Chelsea in this final, but the key objective of the team remains the Premier league. However, United have been quite disappointing on this front and they are set to finish in second place for the 2017-18 campaign.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that he would consider the opportunity a new club, should his managerial reign with the Gunners come to an end. The 68-year-old has been regularly linked with a summer exit from the north London club as they face the prospect of missing out on Champions League for the second season on the bounce.

Real Madrid star Luka Modric has been named in the FIFA ’18 Team of the Year squad. The Croatia international was voted on the team by the media, athletes and members of the EA Sports FIFA community.

The annual list of best XI in the world also had Belgium international Kevin De Bruyne and Frenchman N’GoloKante in the midfield. The three made the final cut out of a group of 15 nominees. Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta, Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben, PSG’s Marco Verratti, and Juventus’ Paulo Dybala were nominated in the midfield category but the trio of Modric, Kante and De Bruyne won.

Russian official Alexei Sorokin has assured Arsenal fans that they will have nothing to fear during next month’s Europa League quarter-final tie against CSKA Moscow. The Gunners will play the first-leg of the last-eight stage in their home turf before heading for the decider in Moscow.As a result, the Gunners’ official website had published warning about the anti-British sentiments in the city, amid the political tension between the two nations.

However, speaking on TASS, Sorokin appeared to play down any safety concerns for the visiting supporters, the chief of the World Cup organising committee said: "We will ensure security in equal measures to all, from dignitaries to fans. It is a shame that the games will be played in such circumstances. There are absolutely no grounds for such warnings. To us, there is no difference which country people come from or what our diplomatic relations with them are."

Armenia international Henrikh Mkhitaryan has admitted that there was a secret conversation between him and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang prior to their January moves to Arsenal. Mkhitaryan arrived from Manchester United in a swap agreement involving Alexis Sanchez whilst Aubameyang arrived shortly after, on a club-record deal from Borussia Dortmund.