Champions League last 16: Draw in full

Udinese forward Luis Muriel has confirmed reports that AC Milan and Internazionale are interested in his signature.

The Colombian, who is currently on loan at Lecce, has been in scintillating form this season, and has been the subject of admiring glances from major European clubs.

The 20-year-old was linked to Milan and Inter among other clubs and he now admits that Milan duo are showing interest in his services.

“I know from my agent that Udinese have received official offers from Inter and Milan,” the youngster told Colombian radio station RCN Mundo.

“However, I am just concentrating on helping Lecce avoid the drop this season. I’m focused on finishing the campaign well and then returning to Udine.”

The young Colombian joined Udinese …

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp hopes Chelsea win the UEFA Champions League this season.

If the Blues win the competition then Tottenham, who are currently fourth in the Premier League, would miss out on qualification.

A UEFA rule states that a team must be able to defend their title even though an extra place in the competition is not awarded to that side s country.

The Stamford Bridge side claimed a 1-0 victory in the first leg of their semi-final tie with Barcelona but must hold that slender lead at Camp Nou, where the European champions have not lost since 2010.

I ll be rooting for Chelsea, Redknapp said.

I haven t even thought about (missing out if Chelsea win the competition). If Chelsea stay in it they ve got a Champions League final to pr…

The contract currently binding Marco Reus to Borussia Dortmund expires at the end of the season, but the experienced winger says he cannot imagine himself playing for any other club and hopes to get an extension sorted soon.

Reus rose through the youth ranks at Dortmund, but at the age of 15, he left for Rot Weiss Ahlen where he earned his first senior contract. He joined Borussia Monchengladbach later and having spent three years there, he returned to Dortmund at 22 and has so far made a total of 375 appearances in all competitions, scoring 159 goals and producing 120 assists. He s been captaining the team for five years now, helping them to two German Cups and three Super Cups.

He s also been named the best German football player twice, scoring 15 goals in 48 caps as …

Fernando Torres on Saturday said that Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez was the inspiration behind his goal-scoring exploits which helped Spain to Euro 2008 glory.

Torres netted 33 times in a blistering first season for Liverpool breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy s record for goals scored by a foreigner in a debut Premier League campaign.

The 24-year-old said that Benitez s relentless quest for improvement since he joined from Atletico Madrid has been a catalyst for his career.

There are days when you think: My God, this guy (Benitez) doesn t let you breathe , Torres told the club s website.

At a club like Liverpool, you can t sit back after scoring 20-odd goals and say: Well, that s it. After you score 20, Benitez is at you during the next training session …

Under-fire Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is convinced he retains the full support of the club and his players amid a difficult run of results.

Madrid head to Sevilla on Saturday having failed to win any of their previous three LaLiga matches, suffering losses to Valencia and Deportivo Alaves either side of a draw with Villarreal.

Los Blancos have never endured a winless run of four league games under Zidane, and the champions are already seven points adrift of pacesetters Real Sociedad – though arguably the greater concern is second-place Atletico Madrid.

Diego Simeone s men are unbeaten this term and, although a point behind La Real, they have two games in hand on them and one on their city rivals.

Tuesday s 2-0 defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk increase…

Inter dropped points for just the third time this season as they played out a frustrating goalless draw with Roma in a forgettable Serie A encounter.

The build-up to the game was dominated by a controversial Corriere dello Sport headline in which the words Black Friday were placed in between images of Inter striker Romelu Lukaku and Roma defender Chris Smalling, former Manchester United team-mates, with the publication s strident denial that their front page was racially insensitive merely drawing more criticism.

On the pitch there were few talking points, although Inter will rue Roma goalkeeper Antonio Mirante making fine saves in each half to deny Lukaku and Matias Vecino.

A point means Inter are unbeaten in eight games but champions Juventus can reclaim top sp…

Swansea City have completed a deal for 19-year-old midfielder Matt Grimes from Exeter City for an undisclosed fee.

Grimes has penned a four-and-a-half-year contract at the Liberty Stadium and will be available for the Premier League match against West Ham on January 10.

The England Under-20 international had been the subject of intense transfer speculation after a string of impressive performances for League Two outfit Exeter.

He only made his professional debut in August 2013 and has featured 25 times in all competitions this season.

Grimes arrives at a time when Swansea boss Garry Monk is short on option in the centre of midfield, with Jonjo Shelvey facing a four-match suspension and Ki Sung-yeung heading for the Asian Cup with South Korea.

Ex…

German media outlet have rejected a big money offer for star player Shinji Okazaki.

The Japanese striker has been in scintillating form ever since he joined from Stuttgart in the summer of 2013 and his impressive displays did not go unnoticed.

According to Bild, Premier League newcomers Leicester City submitted a €10 million proposal for his services, but Mainz decided to reject the bid.

While the offer was definitely tempting for the Bundesliga side, club manager Christian Heidel did not want to rob coach Kasper Hjumland of his best player.

Meanwhile, Leicester City have agreed a transfer fee with HNK Rijeka for Croatia international striker Andrej Kramaric, but it remains to be seen if the hotshot will be granted a work permit.

The Foxes cou…

RB Leipzig boss Marco Rose does not understand criticism of Erling Haaland s performances for Manchester City, quipping: If you don t want him, send him to me.

Leipzig travel to the Etihad Stadium for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against City on Tuesday, having recovered from a goal down to clinch a 1-1 draw in last month s first leg.

Rose s men contained Haaland – who he coached during a one-season spell in charge of Borussia Dortmund – on that occasion, but the Norwegian has hit an astonishing 28 goals in 26 Premier League appearances this term.

Despite those returns, some have suggested Haaland is unsuited to Pep Guardiola s possession-based style of play, with former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher questioning whether the strik…

Juventus and Atletico Madrid will face off at the Serie A giant s training ground on Sunday after security concerns led to the cancellation of a pre-season friendly in Tel Aviv.

The teams had been due to meet at Bloomfield Stadium on Sunday, but heightened tensions in the Gaza Strip raised doubts over whether the match could take place in Israel.

Earlier on Saturday, it was announced that the contest had been cancelled, but Juventus have now revealed the match has been moved to Italy.

Originally scheduled to take place in Tel Aviv, the game between the two footballing giants will now be played in Turin at the Juventus Training Centre in Continassa, read a statement from Juve.

The friendly, which will serve as both teams final outing before they begi…