Jose Mourinho has scoffed at the idea of football s controversial handball rule being changed to allow referees to take a subjective view of incidents.

Tottenham boss Mourinho was furious when Newcastle United were awarded a stoppage-time penalty against his team last Sunday, with Eric Dier having his back turned when Andy Carroll s header struck him on the arm.

Referee Peter Bankes gave the spot-kick following a VAR check and after consulting a pitchside monitor, with Dier the latest player to suffer under the handball rule amendments introduced to the Premier League this season. Newcastle capitalised to snatch a 1-1 draw.

The rules now dictate that players will be penalised when defending if the ball strikes them on a hand or arm that is away from the body or …

West Ham are on the verge of signing centre-back Kader Mangane from Rennes, .

The Hammers have just returned to the Premier League after spending one season in the Championship and they have been very busy in the summer transfer window.

Jussi Jaaskelainen, Mohamed Diame and Stephen Henderson have all arrived to Boleyn Ground, but the recruitment looks likely to continue.

According to L’Equipe, West Ham are in advanced talks with Rennes to sign defender Kader Mangane.

The Senegalese international is widely regarded as one of the best defenders in French Ligue 1 and he could leave les Bretons are spending four years at Stade de la Route de Lorient.

Mangane joined Rennes in a €2 million deal from Lens in August 2008 and has since amassed 102 Lig…

Mikel Arteta hailed “superb” Kai Havertz after his performance in Arsenal’s Community Shield penalty shoot-out win over Manchester City.

Having joined from London rivals Chelsea in the summer, Havertz was deployed as Arsenal’s central striker as a last-gasp Leandro Trossard equaliser took the game to penalties.

Cole Palmer had put City ahead before Trossard’s effort took a huge deflection off Manuel Akanji, the 1-1 draw meaning a shoot-out was required at Wembley – Arsenal going on to lift the Shield after a 4-1 success.

Havertz has primarily been recruited to play in an advanced midfield role for the Gunners but, with Gabriel Jesus injured, the Germany forward reverted to a central role.

He was a thorn in the side of the City defence for much…

Portuguese daily newspaper that Benfica winger Nicolas Gaitan is edging closer to leaving Estadio da Luz in the summer.

The 27-year-old recently extended his deal with the Eagles, but his release clause was lowered to €35 million.

Benfica appear ready to cash in on their prized asset, although they are referring all interested sides to said clause.

Spanish giants Valencia lead the chase at the moment, with los Che doing plenty of business with the Portuguese club of late.

However, Manchester United, Cheslea and Monaco are also keeping close tabs on the highly rated footballer, which is enough to suggest he is unlikely to remain at Estadio da Luz beyond the summer.

Nico Gaitan has been with Benfica since 2010 and has so far managed 30 goals and…

suggests that Hamburg are ready to step up their interest in Tottenham star Rafael van der Vaart.

The Dutchman has been constantly linked with a move to the side over the summer transfer window but it looked as though the deal had fallen through recently.

It is of course the club where van der Vaart played from 2005-2008 and the fans would surly love to have him back.

However, the Holland international stated last month that he was happy at Spurs and wanting to help them mount a challenge to finish in the top four of the English Premier League.

That said though, he may now have some concerns over his future after finding himself on the bench in the North London sides opening match of the season against Newcastle.

If Hamburg did want to sign the…

Chelsea s 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Southampton on Saturday left the defending Premier League champions on their lowest top-flight points total after eight games since the 1978-79 season.

That damning statistic is just one of many that make grim reading for Jose Mourinho:

Southampton became the first team to score three or more goals at Stamford Bridge against a Jose Mourinho team in the Premier League.

Chelsea have conceded at least two goals in seven of their eight Premier League games this season (the other game was a 2-0 win against Arsenal).

Chelsea have conceded as many goals in their last four PL home games (seven) as they had in the previous 17 at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have eight points from eight games. No team h…

Tito Vilanova has backed under-fire goalkeeper Victor Valdes as the Barcelona coach looked forward to Sunday s clash with Osasuna.

The Catalan giants go into the encounter following the 3-2 first-leg win of their Super Cup tie against Real Madrid, but their task of lifting the first domestic silverware of the season has been made more difficult because of Valdes error, which gifted the capital side a late second goal.

However, speaking at a press conference, Vilanova insisted Valdes error has been blown out of proportion and reminded critics of the goalkeeper s role in helping the side to three successive Liga crowns between 2009 and 2011.

It surprises me that Victor is being doubted, even though we have won three Liga titles thanks to him, the Barca coach said…

Former Bayern Munich star Lothar Matthaus has likened Thiago Alcantara to Diego Maradona and feels the Spain international has become a key figure at the Allianz Arena this term.

Thiago joined Bayern from Barcelona in 2013, but initially struggled to make an impact due to ongoing injury problems.

He has been in sublime form this campaign, though, scoring six goals and adding as many assists, leading Matthaus to draw parallels between Thiago and Argentina legend Maradona.

Thiago reminds me of Maradona in the way he moves and twists his body. He has become the heart of Bayern s game this season, Matthaus wrote in his column for Sport Bild.

He is a classic number 10 with an amazing technique, he always keeps his calm and has a perfect sense of position.…

Southampton striker Graziano Pelle has put Juventus on alert by saying that he misses his home country, .

The thirty year old has attracted interest from the Italian champions who by their own standards have struggled so far this campaign.

Pelle moved to St Mary’s in the summer of 2014, and has since racked up sixty-one appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring twenty-five goals.

Prior to his switch to the Premier League, he spent to seasons in the Netherlands with Feyenord having had a four-year spell at AZ Alkmaar between 2007 and 2011.

In Italy, he has played for Lecce, Crotone, Lecce, Cesena, Parma and Sampdoria while he also has four goals in nine senior appearances for his country.

Italy host Romania in a friendly intern…

Australia coach Bert van Marwijk finalised his squad for upcoming friendlies against Norway and Colombia, with four potential debutants included.

Van Marwijk trimmed his squad from 29 to 26 as the uncapped quartet of Andrew Nabbout, Dimitri Petratos, Aleksandar Susnjar and Danny Vukovic retained their spots.

The three players to be cut from the initial list were Mitchell Langerak, Alex Gersbach and Jamie Maclaren.

I am looking forward to the chance to get together with the players and work with them for the first time and to get to know them, Van Marwijk said.

We must ensure that we get the maximum possible out of the next two weeks in camp, because our time is limited.

Here s Bert van Marwijk s final squad to face Norway and Colombia.