sports news 5 jan 2015 Barcelona have sacked sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta and will discuss the future of coach Luis Enrique at an emergency board meeting on Wednesday. The swift action follows the teams defeat in the first game of the new year against David Moyes Real Sociedad although is also a direct consequence of the Court of Arbitrations decision to uphold FIFAs one-year transfer ban on the club for illegal signing of under-age players. Leicester are in discussions about taking Andrej Kramaric on a permanent deal after Chelsea failed to confirm that he would return to west London. Sam Allardyce has admitted that Winston Reid has no future at West Ham and expects the 26-year-old defender to leave the club when his contract ends in the summer. Ched Evanss move to Oldham Athletic is still set to collapse despite the club confirming that they remain in talks with the PFA and other representative bodies. Tony Pulis has begun major changes to his backroom staff at West Brom with coaches Rob Kelly, Keith Downing and Dean Kiely all leaving the club. Norwich City manager Neil Adams has resigned with immediate effect and will take a break from the game until the summer. Despite having a fine strike force with the likes of Diego Costa, Loic Remy and Didier Drogba, Chelsea appear keen on bolstering their front line with striker Andrej Kramaric. However Leicester City at the bottom of the Premier League are desperate to find a striker to fire them to safety. Sportsmails Matt Barlow gives you the lowdown on the 23-year-old from HNK Rijeka. Roberto Martinez insists Everton have not received any offers for Ross Barkley despite long-term interest in the midfielder from Manchester City. Johan Cruyff has told Louis van Gaal he has no right to complain about the hectic holiday season programme in the Premier League when he chose to go and work there. The architects who designed Beijings Birds Nest stadium and Bayern Munichs Allianz Arena are looking at ways to increase the capacity of Stamford Bridge. Roberto Martinez insists Everton have not received any offers for Ross Barkley despite long-term interest in the midfielder from Manchester City. Alaba returns to Bayern training The 22-year-old has been out since November following a knee ligament tear, but made his return to practice early alongside some other recovering team-mates Official: Arsenal forward Podolski joins Inter on loan The World Cup winner has been vocal about his desire to either play more this season or leave and has secured a chance to try his hand in Serie A under Roberto Mancini Puyol leaves Barcelona The former Spain centre-back has quit his post following the sacking of sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta earlier on Monday Manchester City striker Guidetti nears permanent Celtic move The Swede has been on loan with the Scottish champions, for whom he has scored 11 goals so far this season, and could join them for good in a €3.8 million (£3m) deal The Man Utd reject & AC Milan misfit on an Asian Cup mission Goal examines three key players carrying Japans hopes at the tournament, with Maya Yoshida joining the AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund men in the spotlight Liverpool in pole position if Milner quits Manchester City The Reds are huge admirers of the midfielder whose contract expires this summer, although the Premier League champions remain optimistic of agreeing a new deal Boateng: Bayern aiming for Champions League final The World Cup-winning defender has disclosed that Pep Guardiolas man are eager for a return to the showpiece event, which will be held in Berlin, having missed out last season Manchester City target Barkley wont be sold in January - Roberto Martinez The Everton midfielder is a long-term target for Manuel Pellegrinis side but the Spaniard is adamant that he will keep his best players at least until the end of the season Enzo Perez revels in dream Valencia debut The 28-year-old was pleased to have made his debut for los Che in Sundays victory over Real Madrid and praised the fans for their support following his move from Benfica Barcelona terminate Zubizarreta contract The clubs former goalkeeper has been sacked as sporting director after more than four years in the role Tevez might stay at Juventus, says Allegri The coach feels that the striker could go back on his recent comments in which he suggested he would not extend his contract in Turin beyond next summer Leicester swoop to hijack Chelseas Kramaric move Nigel Pearsons side have agreed a deal worth €11.9 million (£9.3m) for the Croatia international forward, who is set to undergo a medical and finalise personal terms on Tuesday El Shaarawys Real Madrid performance must become the norm - Inzaghi The Rossoneri coach has confidence that the 22-year-old can build upon his two-goal display against los Blancos and begin to perform to a high level with frequency Fletcher backs Di Maria to be key for Manchester United The Argentina international came off the bench to score a fine goal against Yeovil Town on Sunday and his team-mate believes that he will have a big impact in 2015 Manchester City continue Nastasic talks with Schalke The 21-year-old defender has been frozen out of the first team this season but an agreement to take him to Gelsenkirchen could hinge on a compromise over the structure of the deal Im a sucker for a hopeless cause, Australia coach Ange Postecoglou In one of his most candid interviews ever, Goal goes one-on-one with the Socceroos coach as he prepares to lead the men in green and gold on home soil Tottenham deny mischief making Lloris sale report The 28-year-old was linked with a big-money move to Real Madrid in overnight reports but the club have rejected the idea of cashing in on one of their star players Hes a boy I want to keep - Blanc keen for Rabiot stay The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder has been heavily linked with a loan move to Tottenham but the ex-Manchester United defender wants to retain the services of the 19-year-old Ronaldo names his all-time greatest XI The former Selecao striker has chosen the players he regards as the best to have graced the game Udinese - Roma Betting: Back Garcias men to march on in Tuesdays tussle The visitors can maintain their title challenge with a win over Andrea Stramaccionis side and our tipster is backing Rudi Garcias men to pick up maximum points on their travels Oh no, what is this? - Liverpool wont be able to deal with me, declares Akinfenwa EXCLUSIVE: The 16-and-a-half-stone striker, who is regularly referred to as the worlds strongest footballer, hopes to write his name into Wimbledon and FA Cup legend on Monday Messi misses training with stomach illness The Argentine, who did not start Sundays defeat to Real Sociedad, missed Mondays session with the first team along with Rafinha Mancini confirms interest in Shaqiri The Inter boss is keen to bolster his squad in January and has not ruled out a move for the versatile Switzerland international Who is Salon dOr judge Daniel Johnson? Goal introduces the celebrity stylist from England who cuts the hair of the biggest Premier League stars Salon dOr 2014: Vote for your favourite footballer hairstyle Ronaldo, Balotelli or Hamsik? Its time to choose the best football haircut for the last year Betting Special: Could Carver replace Pardew as next Newcastle boss? With no outstanding candidate for the position and Mike Ashley intent on appointing a head coach rather than manager, Al Hain-Cole thinks the current caretaker could get the nod Everton - West Ham Preview: FA Cup offers respite from Toffees league woes The hosts have lost their last four matches on the trot to fall to 13th in the Premier League and face one of the seasons surprise packages in the seventh-placed Hammers Every country is jealous of Germany EXCLUSIVE: Having won the World Cup in the summer and boasting the dominant force of Bayern Munich, Horst Hrubesch thinks nobody can touch the nations coaching system Lazio - Sampdoria Betting: Piolis men to get 2015 off to a winning start at the Stadio Olimpico Having enjoyed a fantastic 2014, Al Hain-Cole expects Sinisa Mihajlovic to begin the new year with a setback at a stadium where the Blucerchiati rarely come away with anything Ramsey and Flamini in line for return against Stoke The two Arsenal midfielders have both struggled with injury in recent months but could both make a comeback against the Potters at the Emirates Stadium this weekend Official: Cerci joins AC Milan on loan The 27-year-old is heading back to Italy to work under Filippo Inzaghi as part of the deal which saw Fernando Torres return to Atletico Madrid Burnley - Tottenham Hotspur Betting: Spurs can shade cup clash against the Clarets Theres more FA Cup action on Monday as Mauricio Pochettinos men travel to Turf Moor, where our tipster expects them to record a narrow victory Bielsa blasts Marseilles unjustifiable cup shock The current Ligue 1 table-toppers led Grenoble three times across 120 minutes but suffered defeat on penalties, leaving the head coach and captain Andre Ayew furious Ajax showed disrespect to Barcelona - Zubizarreta The clubs transfer chief was left angered at the way the Dutch champions announced the signing of young goalkeeper Andre Onana without their approval Van Gaal confirms injuries to Shaw and Rafael The two defenders were both withdraw during the clubs FA Cup clash with Yeovil Town but the Dutchman was pleased with the way his side played against the League One outfit AFC Wimbledon - Liverpool Betting: Back goals at both ends when Rodgers Reds take on the Dons The Premier League side are hoping to avoid a shock FA Cup exit and our tipster is backing the strikers to dominate when they take on Neal Ardleys League Two side on Monday Sneijder would cost Juventus €20m in January The Dutchman has been linked with a move away from Galatasaray in recent weeks, with Turin mooted as a possible destination, but his agent considers it unlikely Moyes: I knew Messi would be rested The coach understands why Luis Enrique left the Argentine and other stars on the bench in their defeat to Real Sociedad, and praised his teams brilliant defending Henderson can be Liverpools new Gerrard - Rodgers The midfielder was made vice-captain at the start of the season and his manager sees no reason why his education cant continue following the 34-year-olds summer exit Juventus - Inter Preview: Nerazzurri waiting on Podolski clearance The Germany international has joined the San Siro side on a loan deal from Arsenal but has yet to receive the green light to make his debut for Roberto Mancinis men AC Milan - Sassuolo Preview: Rossoneri look to build on Madrid win Pippo Inzaghis men will be brimming with belief after recording an impressive 4-2 victory over the reigning European champions during the winter break Transfer Talk: Liverpool make move for Bayern starlet Shaqiri The Switzerland international is frustrated with his lack of game time at the Allianz Arena and the Reds are now hoping to lure him to Anfield Xavi: Real Sociedad loss a missed opportunity for Barcelona The Blaugrana could have overhauled Real Madrid at the summit of the Primera Division with a win at Anoeta but they succumbed to a killer own goal from Jordi Alba Walcott joy at Arsenal return: Its nice to blow the cobwebs away The winger got 75 minutes of action under his belt 12 months after suffering knee ligament damage against north London rivals Tottenham No regrets over benching Messi, insists Barcelona boss Luis Enrique The Blaugranas Liga title hopes were hit by a 1-0 defeat in San Sebastian but the Catalan coach explained that he did not want to take any risks with the Argentines fitness Luis Enriques Messi mistake costs Barcelona dear COMMENT: The Asturian coach left the Argentine out of his starting line-up and saw his side fail to capitalise on Real Madrids defeat at Valencia earlier on Sunday Van Gaal: Nobody could ask any more of Manchester United The Dutchman heaped praise on his sides professionalism after defeating Yeovil on Sunday, arguing that they are meeting expectations at the moment Pepe philosophical after Valencia defeat: Madrid were never going to win every game The Blancos bid for a 23rd consecutive victory in all competitions came to halt at Mestalla but the defender remains upbeat about their Liga title hopes
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 18:01:37 +0000