Birmingham City have announced the appointment of former Newcastle United boss Chris Hughton as the club s new manager.
A statement on the Birmingham website said Hughton agreed to terms with the club on Wednesday with the 52-year-old to begin work immediately.
Acting chairman Peter Pannu felt that Hughton was the perfect candidate to take charge at St Andrew s and he is now looking forward to sharing the new man s ambition, the statement read.
Pannu was particularly impressed by Hughton s vision and footballing theories of garnering youth and playing attractive and effective football.
Hughton began his coaching career at Tottenham Hotspur, with stints as an assistant manager and caretaker coach at the club between 1993 and 2007, before moving to beco…
Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott has backed the club s pursuit of England midfielder Owen Hargreaves.
Hargreaves, 30, barely played for former club Manchester United since 2008, with persistent knee and hamstring problems meaning he was released by the Old Trafford outfit when his contract expired at the end of last season.
But his career might still lie in Manchester, with City keen to take on the midfielder after the off-season departure of Patrick Vieira and the fact that Yaya Toure will be away at the African Nations Cup right throughout January.
City are hopeful of signing Hargreaves to provide back-up to Nigel de Jong in the defensive midfield position, and Lescott feels it would be a good acquisition to what is an already talent-packed squad.
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Frank de Boer has told his Ajax side to show no fear when they come up against a star-studded Barcelona attack on Wednesday.
The Dutch champions welcome the Spanish giants to the Amsterdam Arena in the UEFA Champions League knowing a defeat could see them eliminated from Group F.
Barcelona won the reverse clash 3-1 a fortnight ago and boast a stellar forward line of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.
However, coach De Boer believes his team should take confidence from a 2-1 victory over the Catalans in Amsterdam in last season s group stages.
You always have to show respect [to your opponents] but that doesn t mean you need to fear them, he said.
We showed last year [against Barcelona] that we can play against top teams. I want to see confid…
Uruguay s president Jose Mujica has branded FIFA s four-month ban on Luis Suarez as an assault on the poor .
Suarez was handed the sanction banning him from all football-related activity, as well as a nine-match international suspension for biting Italy s Giorgio Chiellini.
The incident, which has cast a shadow over the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, occurred during Uruguay s 1-0 win on Tuesday, a result which saw them qualify from Group D in second place behind Costa Rica.
It is the third time Suarez has been found guilty of biting an opponent, after similar incidents involving Ajax s Otman Bakkal in 2010 and Chelsea s Branislav Ivanovic last year.
Former Argentina captain Diego Maradona has come out in support of the Liverpool forward and, on his television …
Monaco boss Leonardo Jardim s return to the Estadio Jose Alvalade ended in a 2-1 friendly defeat to former club Sporting CP.
Jardim swapped Lisbon for Monaco in 2014 and his Ligue 1 champions were beaten by first-half goals from Bruno Fernandes and Bas Dost in the Portuguese capital.
Monaco named a strong line-up that included starts for in-demand teenage sensation Kylian Mbappe and promising midfielder Thomas Lemar, but Benjamin Mendy – linked with a move to Manchester City – was left out of the squad along with former Sporting player Joao Moutinho.
Dost, the subject of interest from Newcastle United earlier in the transfer window, set up Fernandes opener before adding a towering header, with substitute Guido Carrillo s stoppage-time strike providing the …
Real Madrid forward Jese Rodriguez may be forced to leave Santiago Bernabeu this summer, .
The 23-year-old had fallen behind Lucas Vazquez and Borja Mayoral in the pecking order and with Alvaro Morata returning to the club, he has been deemed surplus to requirements.
Knowing that there are quite a few top clubs interested in his services, Real Madrid are ready to entertain offers for their academy graduate.
Los Blancos coach Zinedine Zidane has informed Jese that he is not in his first team plans for the new campaign, and everything suggests that the talented footballer will be leaving soon.
Having shown a great deal of potential playing for Real Madrid B, the forward was promoted to the first team set-up at the start of the 2013/2014 season.
Jes…
Eight-time CAF Champions League winners Al Ahly have one foot in the final of the 2019-20 tournament after defeating Wydad Casablanca 2-0 in the first leg of their semi-final.
Heading into Saturday s clash with five wins from their last six fixtures in all competitions, Al Ahly put in a commanding display at Venue Stade Mohamed V.
Pitso Mosimane faced his biggest challenge since taking over at Al Ahly, yet his team passed with flying colours.
Mohamed Magdi Kafsha opened the scoring in the fourth minute, following a defensive error from the hosts, who were handed a chance to draw level when Mohamed El Shenawy brought down Gbagbo Magbi in the box.
Badie Aouk, however, saw his penalty saved, and Al Ahly made sure of the win when Ali Maaloul drilled home from…
Tottenham forward Fernando Llorente insisted he was happy at the Premier League club amid links with a move away.
Llorente has struggled for game time at Spurs since arriving from Swansea City in August 2017.
The Spaniard was linked with a switch in January but ended up staying at Tottenham, and the 33-year-old said he was content at the club.
The truth is I m very satisfied here in Spurs, I haven t thought about leaving, Llorente told The Independent.
I m at a great club, I still have a contract, and my intention is to win trophies here.
Right now, I m enjoying a good moment, and I hope I can keep scoring goals and everything keeps going well.
Llorente is up to seven goals this season and netted in Spurs 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund…
Hat-trick hero Harry Kane was happy with the ruthlessness shown by England as they easily swept aside Albania 5-0 at Wembley Stadium to put themselves on the verge of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.
Five first-half goals from the Three Lions sealed the victory on Friday, meaning that Gareth Southgate s team need just a point from their final game in Group I against the lowest-ranked team in the world, San Marino, on Monday.
Kane has come in for some criticism at club level this season after scoring just once in 10 Premier League appearances for Tottenham, but he was back to his best for his country, scoring a perfect hat-trick, with a header followed by one with his left foot and one with his right.
Speaking to BBC Radio Five Live after the win, Kane said: …
Inter director Beppe Marotta is bullish about retaining the bulk of the Italian champions squad for the 2021-22 season, saying 90 per cent will be confirmed .
Title-winning head coach Antonio Conte was replaced by Simone Inzaghi already this off-season, with reports his departure was due to the club s need to cut operating costs.
That situation has also led to questions about Inter s transfer business this off-season and ability to retain their squad, with Achraf Hakimi already being sold to Paris Saint-Germain for €60m while Ashley Young has left for Aston Villa.
“We start from a squad that won the Scudetto and will 90 per cent be confirmed for this season, so that is a very important foundation to build on, Marotta told DAZN.
“We’ll now work to …