Antonio Conte hailed Harry Kane s amazing performance after the England captain played his part in Tottenham s 5-1 thrashing of Newcastle United.

The Spurs boss labelled Kane, who recorded an assist during an influential display, an example to his team-mates as Tottenham went fourth in the Premier League.

Spurs scored four goals between the 43rd minute and the 63rd minute on Sunday, responding strongly after going behind to Fabian Schar s first-half free kick.

Kane turned provider for the hosts second goal of the contest when he teed up Matt Doherty, recording his 40th Premier League assist in the process.

Half of those assists have come in the 64 games he has played since the start of last season, with his first 20 coming in 210 appearances.

20/…

Radja Nainggolan wants to prove Inter wrong after returning to former club Cagliari.

Nainggolan re-joined Cagliari on a season-long loan deal on Monday, having been deemed surplus to requirements by new Inter head coach Antonio Conte.

The 31-year-old, who only signed for the Nerazzurri from Serie A rivals Roma in a €38million transfer last season, spent four years at Cagliari before moving to the Italian capital in 2014.

After struggling to make much of an impact at Inter due to injuries and inconsistent form, Nainggolan said: I want to thank the president [of Cagliari Tommaso Giulini] because he was immediately clear with me and he did something almost impossible.

Sopra ogni cosa.

— Cagliari Calcio (@CagliariCalcio)

He convinced m…

France manager Didier Deschamps has denied advising Kylian Mbappe to leave Paris Saint-Germain and Ligue 1 at the end of the season.

Mbappe has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid at the end of the current campaign when his contract at PSG expires, with little sign of the 22-year-old sensation signing an extension at the Parc des Princes.

In an interview with RMC Sport, Deschamps was adamant that he did not suggest that Mbappe should leave the French top flight for another country.

It s bull***t to say that I said [Mbappe] had to leave France, he exclaimed.  I never said that, neither for him nor for anyone else.

This is not to denigrate Ligue 1. Compared to the requirements of the France team, which is the top international level, the …

Five former football officials have been indicted by the Office of the General Attorney of Switzerland (OAG) on charges of fraudulently misleading the organising committee for the 2006 World Cup.

Ex-German Football Association (DFB) officials Wolfgang Niersbach, Theo Zwanziger and Horst Rudolf Schmidt, along with former FIFA secretary general Urs Linsi, are alleged by Swiss prosecutors to have fraudulently misled the members of a supervisory body of the DFB organising committee for the 2006 World Cup in Germany (OC WC 2006) in April 2005 about the true purpose of a payment of around €6.7million .

Zwanziger, Schmidt and Linsi are accused of committing fraud, in which Niersbach is alleged to have been complicit. All four have denied the claims.

Fraud proceedings …

Japanese club Vissel Kobe have confirmed that Andres Iniesta has already arrived in the country in order to begin training with his new club. The 34-year-old Spaniard s surprise switch to the other side of the world caught a lot of people off guard, with many believing that he d play out the rest of his days at the Nou Camp. Alas, that wasn t meant to be, and now he s preparing for what will likely be the final chapter of his legendary career.

Iniesta had a legendary career in European football where he picked up many trophies, although the finest moment of his career came internationally in the 2010 World Cup final when he scored the winning goal for Spain in injury time against The Netherlands to ensure that they won their first world championship.

The J1 League is cu…

Ciro Immobile has surpassed Silvio Piola as Lazio’s all-time top scorer in Serie A after netting a 144th league goal for the club.

Piola set the record in a nine-year stretch between 1934-1943, scoring 143 goals in 227 appearances.

After spending time with Juventus, Genoa, Torino, Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla, Immobile found a long-term home at Lazio in 2016.

Immobile scored his record-setting 144th goal in his 201st appearance, converting a match-winning penalty in Lazio s 1-0 win over Venezia to move up to fifth on the Serie A table.

The side against whom he has scored the most Serie A goals against for Lazio are Sampdoria, having netted 12 times in just 10 league meetings with I Blucerchiati.

Seventy-seven of his goals have come in the Stadi…

England s so-called golden generation never quite delivered on the pitch, but there might still be hope for success in the coaching arena.

Sven-Goran Eriksson s side were beaten in the quarter-finals of three consecutive major tournaments from 2002 to 2006 despite being considered among the favourites.

However, with many of these involved now long since retired, management beckons.

And Wayne Rooney will join a number of former team-mates in taking on a coaching role after agreeing to move to Derby County as player-coach in January.

We take a look at other members of that England team who have taken to the touchline.

Delighted to announce I’ll be joining as player coach in January

— Wayne Rooney (@WayneRooney)

GARY NEVILL…

Newcastle have completed their swoop for Leicester frontman Harvey Barnes after a protracted pursuit.

The 25-year-old wide-man, who has been in the Magpies’ sights for sometime, has signed a five-year contract after the two clubs agreed an undisclosed fee which it is understood could eventually amount to £38million.

Newcastle said in a statement: “Newcastle United are delighted to announce the signing of winger Harvey Barnes for an undisclosed fee.

Harvey s here!

— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC)

“The 25-year-old has signed a five-year contract.”

Barnes, who travelled to Tyneside last week to undergo a medical, is the third addition to a squad which finished fourth in last season’s Premier League with AC Milan midfielder Sandro …

Manchester United have triggered the one-year extension clause in Antonio Valencia s contract, which will tie him to the club until June 2018.

Last week, the club announced that Marouane Fellaini had extended his stay at Old Trafford by a further 12 months, and on Tuesday Valencia followed suit.

Having joined United from Wigan Athletic in 2009, the Ecuador international has made 271 appearances, scoring 21 goals.

Initially signed as a winger, Valencia has established himself as United s first-choice right-back, making 23 starts across all competitions under Jose Mourinho this season.

His major honours at Old Trafford include two Premier League titles, in 2011 and 2013, as well as the 2010 League Cup and last year s FA Cup triumph.

…

According to multiple sources, Chelsea are strongly back in the race for the services of Southampton s Romeo Lavia, after they submitted an offer of £48 million, with add-ons included.

Chelsea had several offers for the 19-year-old midfielder rejected by Southampton. Then Liverpool moved into the frame, only to be turned down as well, with their last offer to date worth up to £45m.

Chelsea s new offer is obviously the closest to the Saints reported £50m valuation of the player, and now it s up to the Saints to decide whether to accept, or hold out for the full asking price. They aren t likely to give an answer quickly, given the possibility that Liverpool may yet move again.

As for Lavia, he s reportedly made his feelings clear he wants to leave Southampton f…