Chelsea close on shock deal for £3m Djilobodji August 31, 2015 CHELSEA are poised to address their defensive worries with the surprise signing of unheralded Senegal international Papy Djilobodji from French club Nantes. The 26-year-old centre-back, who has 12 caps, is expected to complete a £2.7m transfer today after the off-form Premier League champions failed to prise top target John Stones from Everton. Djilobodji is in [...]
Manchester United and Manchester City account for over a third of all Premier League transfer spend August 31, 2015 Manchester will be the source of a third of all Premier League transfer expenditure so far this summer, following the record-breaking deals struck for Kevin de Bruyne and Anthony Martial by City and United respectively. Read more: Van Gaal's Manchester United spending soars past £200m mark Over £247m will have been spent by the two [...]
Mourinho and Arsenal set to face familiar foes August 28, 2015 CHELSEA manager Jose Mourinho faces a reunion with the club where he made his name after his team were grouped with Porto on a day of mixed fortunes for English clubs in the Champions League draw. The Blues will also meet Ukrainian title winners Dynamo Kiev – a fixture that necessitates a 2,600-mile round trip [...]
Stuart Lancaster: No risk in taking wildcard Sam Burgess to Rugby World Cup 2015 August 28, 2015 England head coach Stuart Lancaster insists the selection of Sam Burgess does not represent a gamble after naming the rugby league convert in his 31-man World Cup squad yesterday. Burgess switched codes less than a year ago and only made his international debut in England’s opening warm-up match against France at Twickenham earlier this [...]
Bolt undecided on 2017 title defence in London August 28, 2015 SIX-TIME Olympic champion Usain Bolt admitted he is undecided on whether he will defend his twin sprint titles at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London after securing 200m gold in Beijing yesterday. Bolt won his fourth successive 200m world crown by defeating American rival Justin Gatlin, just as he did in the 100m on [...]
Ohuruogu puts brave face on difficult final August 28, 2015 DEFENDING champion Christine Ohuruogu refused to be downbeat despite her bid to become the first British women to win three world titles ending in disappointment yesterday in Beijing. The 31-year-old trailed home last in the 400m final at the World Athletics Championship after her tactic of trying to keep pace with winner Allyson Felix’s fast [...]
Us Open 2015: Andy Murray set for showdown with bad boy Nick Kyrgios August 27, 2015 Britain’s Andy Murray will begin his quest for a third grand slam title with an opening round clash against controversial Australian Nick Kyrgios at the US Open, which starts on Monday. World No37 Krygios was fined $10,000 earlier this month after making a lewd comment about French Open winner Stan Wawrinka’s girlfriend as the pair [...]
Rugby World Cup 2015: Danny Cipriani accepts England squad omission August 27, 2015 Omitted fly-half Danny Cipriani was magnanimous after being left out of England’s squad for the Rugby World Cup although admitted he would have liked more game-time to prove his worth. Cipriani was a replacement for both of England’s warm-up matches against France, and missed out on selection at full-back as well as his more accustomed [...]
Europa League: Koeman blames fortune after European return ends in failure August 27, 2015 Southampton boss Ronald Koeman rued his side’s luck after a 1-0 defeat to Danish champions Midtyjlland last night scuppered their hopes of reaching the Europa League group stages. Former Celtic striker Morten Rasmussen scored the decisive goal shortly before the half-hour mark with an angled drive following an error by striker Jay Rodriguez who was [...]
West Ham: Saleven Bilic releases captain Kevin Nolan August 27, 2015 West Ham have dissolved the contract of captain Kevin Nolan and released him on a free transfer after he slipped down the midfield pecking order at Upton Park. New Hammers boss Slaven Bilic had started the 33-year-old, who joined in 2011 and led the club back into the top-flight the next season, in just one [...]