Sunderland have signed defender Ondrej Celustka on a season-long loan from Turkish Super Lig outfit Trabzonspor.
The 24-year-old right-back becomes Sunderland s 10th acquisition of the transfer window as Paolo Di Canio goes about reshaping the squad ahead of his first full season at the Stadium of Light.
A former Czech Republic Under-21 international, Celustka bolsters a defence that conceded 54 goals last season as the Wearside club finished just three points, and one place, above the relegation zone.
Celustka joined Trabzonspor from Slavia Prague in 2011 and quickly established himself as a regular at the Huseyin Avni Aker Stadium
The former Slavia Prague and Palermo man will likely compete with Phil Bardsley the club s only other senior right-back for a place …
Portugal head coach Fernando Santos does not believe Julen Lopetegui s sacking will have an impact on Friday s World Cup blockbuster in Sochi as he expects more of the same from Spain.
Spain s World Cup preparations unravelled on Wednesday after Lopetegui was relieved of his duties having agreed to replace Zinedine Zidane at European champions Real Madrid.
Former captain Fernando Hierro will step into the dugout for the Group B showdown at Fisht Stadium, however, Santos and the Euro 2016 champions are not anticipating any surprises from their neighbours.
It is going to be the opening game between two great teams, Santos said during Thursday s news conference. We are going to have Fernando Hierro.
I m not going to say good luck but I hope they have a…
Journalist Ben Jacobs has told that Chelsea are not interested in signing Gavi from Barcelona in the summer transfer window.
The reporter has said that the midfielder wants to stay at Camp Nou, and that former La Liga and UEFA Champions League winners Barcelona are not worried about losing the Spanish star on a free transfer at the end of the season.
Jacobs said: Chelsea are not chasing Gavi. Admittedly, almost everyone in world football appreciates him, but Chelsea’s meeting with Ivan de la Pena, Gavi’s agent, was about Luis Enrique. De la Pena represents Enrique, too, who is a candidate for the Chelsea vacancy and wants to manage in the Premier League.
The Gavi links remind me of the Neymar ones with Chelsea. It is true that Todd Boehly met Nasser Al-K…
Holders Swansea City fell at the first hurdle of this season s League Cup as 2011 winners Birmingham City beat them 3-1 on Wednesday.
Championship outfit Birmingham grabbed early second-half goals from Dan Burn, Matt Green and Tom Adeyemi to delight the home crowd at St Andrew s after their Premier League opponents had the better of the first period.
Wilfried Bony scored in injury time for Michael Laudrup s side, but it was a case of too little, too late for the visitors.
There were 10 changes from the Swansea side that beat Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday, with Jonjo Shelvey the only man to keep his place as close-season recruits Alejandro Pozuelo and Bony started.
Birmingham manager Lee Clark, on the other hand, made just five alterations from …
Milan may have underestimated some Serie A opponents during their recent downturn in form, according to assistant coach Mauro Tassotti.
Assistant coach Mauro Tassotti has acknowledged that Milan may have taken some of their recent opponents too lightly contributing to their run of one win in six Serie A outings.
Sunday s victory over rock-bottom Parma ended their five-match winless run in the top flight, but the three points still only leaves Filippo Inzaghi s side eighth in the table.
With Milan five points off the final European spot, Tassotti told reporters on Friday that it was fundamental for the club to be challenging among the frontrunners again.
Perhaps we underestimated some of our opposition and we cannot allow ourselves to do that with any…
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea: The evolution of Marcos Llorente since the Anfield night that changed his
Things aren t always as they seem.
A tired old cliche it may be, but for Marcos Llorente such a notion is one that ultimately he believes literally changed my life .
The date was March 11, 2020, back at a time when the world was changing, or about to change, for everyone due to the coronavirus pandemic. For Llorente things changed because of a Diego Simeone masterstroke.
Atletico Madrid were losing 1-0 to Liverpool at Anfield in the Champions League last-16 second leg, which left the teams locked at 1-1 on aggregate.
With 56 minutes gone, Llorente entered the fray for Diego Costa. To most observers this was Simeone trying to close the door, put on a defensive-minded midfielder, head to extra time, maybe sneak a goal on the counter or win on penalties.
…
Dortmund line up Pjanic move
German newspaper that Borussia Dortmund are weighing up a summer bid for AS Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic.
Ever since star midfielder Mario Gotze agreed a switch to Bayern Munich, the Millionaires have been searching for his replacement.
BVB have been keeping close tabs on Kevin De Bruyne, Bernard and Isco, but with none of the three players a realistic target at the moment, they have turned their attention elsewhere.
According to Sport Bild, Borussia Dortmund have decided to pursue their interest in AS Roma star Miralem Pjanic.
The Bosnia international is regarded as an important member of the squad at Stadio Olimpico, but he could become available for €14 million.
As a result, the Millionaires are set to…
As for the visitors, although Holland may still be enjoying a resurge under Everton boss Ronald Koeman, the Oranges will be needed an immediate response after watching Portugal lift the inaugural UEFA Nations League crown over the summer. Still tipped as a leading contender to end their four-year wait to earn a spot at a major European tournament, there does remain some minor defensive issues that need resolving in Amsterdam. Suffering a 3-2 loss at home against Germany in their second Group C appearance back in June, Friday s guests have managed to record just a single clean sheet in their last five contests and Koeman will also be calling on his side to make some vast improvements on their travels. Remarkably, Holland have failed to win any of their last six matches on the road, a run…
South Korea s Suwon Bluewings and Seongnam Ilhwa powered into the last 16 of the AFC Champions League on Wednesday as Japan s Gamba Osaka took a giant step towards joining them.
Suwon made the grade by beating China s Henan Jianye 2-0, with a first-half strike by Brazilian Jose Mota and a second in the dying minutes from Kim Dae-Eui enough to secure their passage from Group G.
Seongnam maintained their unbeaten record in Group E with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Beijing Guoan in the Chinese capital, with Colombian Mauricio Molina getting the decisive goal with 16 minutes remaining.
It gives Korea three teams in the knockout rounds after Jeonbuk Motors qualified on Tuesday alongside Japan s Kashima Antlers.
The fourth Korean club, defending champions Po…
Barcelona drew 1-1 with Valencia and saw their advantage at the top of La Liga cut to just two points on Saturday, with Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid closing in.
Former Manchester United and England defender Gary Nevilla has been appointed as Nuno Espirito Santo s replacement as Valencia coach, but interim boss Voro was the mastermind of the draw with the Catalan giants.
After an entertaining first half at Estadio Mestalla, Luis Suarez opened the scoring for the visitors in the 59th minute when he latched onto Lionel Messi s pass and converted for the 13th time in as many Liga appearances this term.
However, Valencia salvaged a point four minutes from the final whistle when Paco Alcacer showed a great touch to bring down a long ball forward on his chest before …