George Pickens Odds and Props: Open the Curtains

Porto forward James Rodriguez has revealed that an offer from Manchester United would be difficult to refuse.

The Colombian winger has seen his stock rise a great deal over the last couple of years and he is now regarded as one of the most promising players in world football.

Rodriguez was recently linked with a move to Old Trafford and he admits an invitation from the Red Devils would be hard to refuse.

“I am only focused on Porto at the moment but I could not reject to play for Manchester United. It would please me,” Rodriguez told Colombian newspaper Nuevo Estadio.

The 20-year-old winger started his professional career at Colombian side Envigado before moving to Banfield in 2008.

After just two years at Banfield, Porto bought 70% of the pl…

Manchester United are the front runners to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, according to the Metro.

The Germany international, who moved to Signal Iduna Park in the summer of 2011, has also been linked with moves to both Arsenal and Manchester City though it is United who are leading the race to secure his services.

Since moving to Dortmund, the 24 year old has racked up one hundred and thirteen appearances for the club, scoring thirteen goals while he was part of their double winning squad and 2012 and that that reached the Champions League final a year later.

He has nine caps for his country and two goals, though he was not part of the German’s squad for their victorious World Cup campaign last summer due to injury.

Gundogan beg…

​Liam Rosenior is convinced he has a first-team future at Hull City despite a frustrating start to the Premier League season.

The defender has only started once in 11 matches for Steve Bruce s side, with Ahmed Elmohamady preferred at right wing-back in Hull 3-5-2 formation.

Rosenior has largely been a regular at the club since his arrival in 2010 and is determined to prove his worth.

I don t want to be viewed as a squad player, he told The Hull Daily Mail. I feel as though I ve got a lot more value than that.

I played more than 30 games last season and not many squad players play that many times.

I want to play regular football here. It s rare in football you find a club where you re this happy.

I feel as though the fans respect me, …

France head coach Didier Deschamps has filed a complaint for defamation against Manchester United great Eric Cantona.

Cantona gave an interview to the Guardian newspaper in the UK in May 2016 where he questioned Deschamps handling of Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa during his tenure in charge of Les Bleus.

Benzema was barred from France s Euro 2016 plans when he was implicated in an attempted extortion targeting his one-time international team-mate Matthieu Valbuena.

France s Court of Cassation, the country s highest appeals court, annulled the validity of the investigation into Benzema s alleged involvement in the blackmail plot in July and he has been available for international selection since Euro 2016.

Deschamps has opted against recalling the Real …

With Cristiano Ronaldo securing his fifth Ballon d Or ahead of Lionel Messi on Thursday, the long-time rivals continued their dominance of the award.

Only once in the last 10 years when Messi finished ahead of Barcelona team-mate Andres Iniesta have the world s leading duet failed to finish in the top two spots in the voting.

Eventually, though, their dominance will have to come to an end. It may not be for a good few years yet, but there will come a time when someone not named Messi or Ronaldo will be posing with the prestigious trophy.

So who could step up to fill the sizeable void? Here are five leading candidates (listed in alphabetical order) to claim the honour at some stage in the future.

And yes, we re aware this high-class shortlist doesn…

Brazil boss Tite has included uncapped pair Claudinho and Raphinha in a 25-man squad for a trio of World Cup qualifiers in September.

The Selecao are quickly back in action after the disappointment of missing out on Copa America glory on home soil, with games against Chile, Argentina who defeated Brazil in the final and Peru coming up next month.

Claudinho receives his opportunity after helping his country secure Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020, including starting in the 2-1 final win over Spain.

The midfielder has made a move to Europe to continue his club career, his signing announced by Zenit not long after the Olympics tournament had concluded.

Raphinha, meanwhile, gets an opportunity after impressing in his debut season with Leeds United. The winger signe…