Neymar received little sympathy from Strasbourg players in the French Cup. Paris Saint-Germain won 2-0, but the Brazilian limped off with an injury, having been the victim of some heavy challenges. The £200m signing was on the receiving end of three fouls in quick succession from Anthony Goncalves during the second half and, in typical Neymar fashion, responded by producing a brilliant flick over the head of his marker before eventually succumbing to injury. After an hour played, the 26-year-old was forced to limp off the pitch in tears as his club confirmed he had suffered a ‘reactivation of the lesion of the fifth right metatarsal’, but his reputation for showboating and embarrassing players…

Crystal Palace reportedly want to take James McCarthy on loan from Everton. The 28-year-old suffered a double leg fracture a year ago and has only just returned to fitness. McCarthy has been trying to force his way back into the Everton starting line-up but has not made any appearances since returning from injury. Marco Silva has preferred the midfield pairing of Andre Gomes and Idrissa Gueye. The Republic of Ireland international only has 18 months left on his contract and his understood to be eager to be playing regular first team football again. The Daily Mail report that Palace are interested in taking him on loan as Roy Hodgson looks…

Liverpool flop Lazar Markovic could finally be able to end his Anfield nightmare after being linked with Mexican side Club America. Serbian Markovic joined the Reds in the summer of 2014 for £20million but has spectacularly failed to live up to his price tag. He has had loan spells at Fenerbahce, Sporting Lisbon, Hull City and Anderlecht as he’s looked to revive his failing career. Markovic appeared set for a permanent move to the Belgian club last summer but the deal fell through at the last minute with Anderlecht manager at the time Hein Vanhaezebrouck saying the winger was solely to blame. However, this is something Markovic disputes. The 24-year-old last played…

West Ham are close to sealing a deal for Celta Vigo striker Maxi Gomez, according to reports. According to Sky Sports, the Hammers will pay £40million for the 22-year-old but the move will not go through until the summer. The Uruguayan forward, once dubbed ‘the new Luis Suarez‘, has risen to prominence in LaLiga after a string of fine performances for Celta Vigo. The 22-year-old has netted nine goals and added a further five assists in 19 matches this term. West Ham were keen on adding Gomez this month, but due to Celta’s precarious league position they were unwilling to let him leave without a replacement. He will instead remain with the LaLiga…

This is one way to get the crowd going. “Gol per il Napoli,” he screamed. “The scorer…” “wearing the number nine, Gonzalo!” before waiting for the fans inside San Paolo’s 60,000-seater stadium to shout back “Higuain!” It’s the voice of Daniele ‘Decibel’ Bellini, the club’s stadium announcer and huge Napoli fan. He came to fame when new Chelsea signing Higuain scored for Napoli in a Champions League game against Borussia Dortmund in 2013, with Bellini belting out the striker’s name nine times in tribute to his shirt number. The video was a viral hit, but his trademark style actually started when Edinson Cavani was scoring for fun in Naples. Cavani, now…

Join talkSPORT for a round up of all the latest transfer news and gossip from Wednesday’s newspapers and online… Liverpool are reportedly interested in 19-year-old Abdulkadir Omur – the highly-rated Trabzonspor midfielder who has been dubbed ‘The Turkish Messi’. (iNews) Arsenal and Manchester City have joined the race for Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye. (Sky Sports) But the Toffees would prefer not to sell to a Premier League rivals and are waiting for another offer from Paris Saint-Germain. (Daily Mail) Arsenal, West Ham and Newcastle have all made bids to sign 21-year-old Monaco and Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans on loan. (Daily Star) But reports from his native Belgium claim Tielemans is…

talkSPORT.com looks at key moments in football history, where events could so easily have taken a different course and asks, what if? Ahead of Arsenal vs Manchester United – live on talkSPORT – we ponder what if Dennis Bergkamp scored THAT penalty in 1999? What happened? United and Arsenal were battling on all fronts domestically in the 1998/99 season. The former were on the verge of sealing the treble, but the latter were looking to win a second successive League and Cup double. Both teams were evenly matched throughout the campaign, but in the end United pipped the Gunners to the Premier League crown by a point on the final day…

Paul Pogba has been reinstated to Manchester United’s leadership group and will be considered for the captaincy after being stripped of the armband by Jose Mourinho earlier this season. Exactly four months to the day after Pogba was dropped as one of United’s vice-captains, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed the France midfielder could skipper the Red Devils should Antonio Valencia, the club captain, and second-choice Ashley Young be unavailable. United’s caretaker manager also backed Pogba, 25, to become a full-time captain in the future. “He’s definitely captaincy material,” Solskjaer said of Pogba. “He’s a leader. You’ve seen the videos from France’s World Cup win.” The video in question emerged following the…

Willian believes Chelsea startlet Callum Hudson-Odoi can become “one of the best players in the world”. The Chelsea winger also said the 18-year-old is “going nowhere” and his future is with the Blues. Hudson-Odoi has been subject of a £35million from Bayern Munich and he handed in a transfer request to try and force the move. The winger has reportedly agreed to stay with Chelsea until at least the summer but Germany is believed to be his favoured destination. Willian, though, says his teammate is going to stick around at Stamford Bridge. “He’s going nowhere – he’s a special talent, a very good player and is staying with us,” Willian…

Arsenal and Tottenham target Ante Rebic has revealed his desire to play in the Premier League. The Eintracht Frankfurt forward was a key player in Croatia’s run to the World Cup final in the summer, featuring in every game but one for his national side. And his performances attracted interest from the Premier League, with Manchester United also strongly linked with the forward. It has been reported that the fee of £35million would be enough to snap up the Croat, and his recent comments suggest he wants a move to England’s top-flight sooner rather than later. As reported by the Mail, Rebic said: “I can’t deny many clubs, some from…