A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Manchester United may move for Real's Diarra
MANCHESTER United are considering making a €16 million offer for the Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra.
The Spanish club’s manager, José Mourinho, has claimed he wants to retain the former Arsenal, Chelsea and Portsmouth player but Diarra is believed to be keen on a move to Old Trafford.
Reports in Spain have said Diarra has asked for a new contract despite playing only a bit-part first-team role. The 25-year-old could then use the lack of a new deal from Madrid to seek a return to England.
Madrid have publicly stated there will be no transfer activity at the Bernabéu this month. However, they would almost certainly accept €16 million, which is €3.5 million more than was originally reported as United’s valuation of the France international.
Diarra’s playing time at Madrid has been severely restricted by the arrival of Sami Khedira from Stuttgart last summer.
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Sidwell rejects Wolves move
WOLVERHAMPTON Wanderers were left disappointed last night after Steve Sidwell pulled out of a proposed move to Molineux at the last minute and elected to join Fulham instead.
The 28-year-old watched Wolves defeat champions Chelsea on Wednesday and the Midlands club were confident that a deal was in place to bring the player from Aston Villa.
Fulham, however, emerged as a more attractive proposition after they offered Sidwell a long-term contract as well as the chance to move closer to his family home in Surrey.
** ASTON Villa have confirmed the loan signing of Tottenham defender Kyle Walker until the end of the season. The England under-21 defender arrived at Villa’s training ground at Bodymoor Heath yesterday before undergoing a medical and completing the formalities of his move. He will be available to face his former club, Sheffield United, in Saturday’s FA Cup clash at Bramall Lane.
Ancelotti retains Blues' confidence
CARLO Ancelotti continues to enjoy the backing of the Chelsea hierarchy, despite the Blues’ worst run of Premier League results for 15 years. But billionaire owner Roman Abramovich is currently resisting any urge he might have to axe Ancelotti, with the club confident the former AC Milan boss is still the right man to turn things around.
The Italian’s cause has been aided by the fact that despite the champions’ dramatic slump from top spot to fifth place following one win in nine, most of their rivals have been unable to pull clear.
PHIL Brown yesterday returned to management with Preston on an 18-month contract, as the Championship strugglers, who sacked Darren Ferguson last month, seek to avoid relegation.
Ryan signs new deal with Sligo
SLIGO Rovers midfielder Richie Ryan has signed a new contract with the club, ending the uncertainty regarding the future of the PFAI’s Player of the Year for 2010, reports Emmet Malone. “It’s great to sign,” Ryan said yesterday. “It’s a relief as it has been a stressful time, to be honest. Last season is in the past now,” he continued. “We’ve signed a lot of players from last season already and we have to start the hard work again to win more trophies.”
City set to complete Dzeko signing
MANCHESTER City look set to complete the €32 million signing of Edin Dzeko from Wolfsburg after the striker passed his medical yesterday. The Bosnian frontman is now awaiting the granting of a work permit after agreeing personal terms. Dzeko is unlikely to be involved in Sunday’s FA Cup tie at Leicester given his limited preparation time. And it is more likely that he will be officially unveiled next week with his debut possibly coming in next weeks encounter with Wolves, when City could again go top as Manchester United are not in action until 24 hours later. The 24-year-old has been tracked by many of Europe’s biggest clubs over the past couple of seasons after proving to be a potent goalscorer at Wolfsburg, but City look set to seal his signature.
Cassano sets up late Milan winner
DEBUTANT Antonio Cassano set up a late winner to give leaders AC Milan a 1-0 victory at Cagliari yesterday while Parma thumped Juventus 4-1 away as Serie A returned from its mid-season break with a bang yesterday. Cassano, bought from Sampdoria to replace the soon-to-depart Ronaldinho, came on in the second half and played in Sierra Leone youngster Rodney Strasser for a vital 86th-minute winner.
On-loan Parma winger Sebastian Giovinco scored twice in a shock success over his parent club Juventus, who slipped eight points behind Milan in the title race. The defeat was a first in 19 games in all competitions for fifth-placed Juve, who were down to 10 men when Brazilian Felipe Melo was sent off after 17 minutes.Second-placed Lazio drew 0-0 at Genoa.
Leonardos Inter Milan reign began with a 3-1 home win over Napoli. Thiago Motta opened the scoring after just three minutes, but Napoli equalised through Michele Pazienza. Esteban Cambiasso restored Inter’s lead with Motta’s second sealing the victory.
