Chelsea fail in bid for Willian July 18, 2012 SHAKHTAR Donetsk manager Mircea Lucescu has confirmed the club have rejected a bid of £26m from Chelsea for Brazilian playmaker Willian. “I told Willian he can leave, but only if the right offer is made,” said Lucescu of the one-time Arsenal target. “He’s a great player. Willian was the biggest investment Shakhtar have made in [...]
Hamilton stay predicted July 18, 2012 FORMULA ONE: McLaren remain confident that Lewis Hamilton will sign a new long-term contract with them this summer. “I’m expecting we will [agree terms],” said team principal Martin Whitmarsh.
Lawes suffers fresh injury July 18, 2012 RUGBY UNION: England and Northampton forward Courtney Lawes is a doubt for the start of the season after undergoing surgery on an elbow injury. “Courtney is rehabbing well,” said a club spokesman.
Maiga close to West Ham move as strengthening plans continue July 17, 2012 WEST Ham are close to securing the signing of Mali striker Modibo Maiga from French club Sochaux for a fee of around £4.5m. Should the proposed move be finalised, it could conclude manager Sam Allardyce’s lengthy search for a striker during which Liverpool’s Andy Carroll and Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku were linked with the club, and would [...]
GEMILI TARGETS SUB-10 SECOND RUN AT LONDON 2012 July 17, 2012 TEAM GB sprint sensation Adam Gemili believes he is close to breaking the 10-second barrier and aims to do so at London 2012. The 18-year-old, who secured 100m gold at the World Junior Championships in a time of 10.05 seconds, said: “I will go [to the Olympics] and execute my race plan and, if I [...]
Woods targets end to Major drought and world No1 spot July 17, 2012 RESURGENT former world No1 Tiger Woods is convinced he will add to his haul of 14 Majors as he aims to end his four-year drought tomorrow at the Open. Victory at Royal Lytham and St Anne’s would cap a return to form this year following his spectacular fall from grace and could restore him to [...]
I’ll keep outlook sunny even if it rains at Open, insists McIlroy July 17, 2012 NORTHERN Ireland’s Rory McIlroy has vowed to “knuckle down” and avoid a repeat of last year’s strop if inclement weather hampers his Open challenge again. McIlroy insists he will be more positive regardless of conditions when play starts tomorrow at Royal Lytham and St Anne’s. “Those comments were just pure frustration,” said the 2011 US [...]
700,000 tickets for London 2012 still not on sale July 17, 2012 LONDON 2012 chiefs have admitted that hundreds of thousands of tickets remain unsold and 400,000 are yet to even go on sale with just nine days to go until the Olympics start. The startling confession raises the prospect of empty seats despite previously overwhelming demand, as time is running out for spaces to be filled [...]
World’s best England to beat an underdone South Africa July 17, 2012 ENGLAND have proved over recent matches that they’re very, very good in home conditions. We’ve got a team that’s equipped to cope with any eventuality. The players are all playing well and I predict, with some confidence, that they’ll win the Test series against South Africa, which starts tomorrow. Victory over three matches should underline [...]
Positive drugs test ends Tour for Schleck July 17, 2012 LUXEMBOURG’S Frank Schleck will take no further part in this year’s Tour de France after failing a drugs test. Schleck was in 12th place, nine minutes and 45 seconds behind British leader Bradley Wiggins, but will leave the Tour after testing positive for the diuretic Xipamide in a test undertaken on 14 July. “Earlier today, [...]