Spurs in the driving seat to snatch £17m-rated Bentley July 30, 2008 Tottenham have stepped up their attempt to sign David Bentley from Blackburn after banking £20m from the sale of Robbie Keane. Talks have resumed between the two clubs about England midfielder Bentley, who has made no secret of his desire to leave Blackburn for a bigger club. However, Spurs are not thought to have yet [...]
Barry will be next signing, says Benitez July 30, 2008 Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez will redouble his efforts to sign Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry after welcoming his other principal target, Tottenham striker Robbie Keane, to Anfield yesterday. Benitez was forced to sell fringe players Peter Crouch, John Arne Riise and Scott Carson to fund the £20.3m deal for Keane, and admitted further sales would [...]
Scolari extends winning run July 30, 2008 Chelsea will head to Russia this week for the latest leg of the pre-season preparations with a 100 per cent record after ending their tour of Asia on a winning note yesterday. Striker Nicolas Anelka and fullback Ashley Cole scored in a 2-0 victory against a Malaysian League Select team as the Blues made it [...]
No excuses, it was just a bad day at the office July 29, 2008 Sometimes in sport you just have to hold your hands up and accept you’re going to come across the odd bad day at the office. Unfortunately for me, that day arrived just when I least wanted it to and it spelt the end of my Senior Open Championship hopes. A two over-par 73 on Thursday [...]
Fired-up Cook plots England’s revenge July 29, 2008 Opening batsman Alastair Cook says England have banished the memories of their second Test drubbing by South Africa and are in the mood to gain revenge. A 10-wicket humiliation at Headingley last week left the hosts 1-0 down in the series ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston, starting tomorrow. England have gone one down [...]
Ryder Cup dream left in tatters for Donald July 29, 2008 Luke Donald’s hopes of gate crashing Europe’s Ryder Cup team seem to have diminished after he withdrew from next month’s US PGA Championship with injury. The 30-year-old is currently out of the automatic qualifying places and was in need of a decent showing at Oakland Hills to stand any chance of earning a wild card [...]
Olympic row brewing with Beijing shrouded in a haze July 29, 2008 The Beijing Olympics may be only 10 days away but event organisers are still facing a headache over rising pollution levels as the world’s top athletes descend on the city this week. As the sun rose above the city skyline, Beijing’s chronic pollution problem was all too evident yesterday as a mixture of vehicle exhausts, [...]
Fabregas denies remarks and commits to Arsenal July 29, 2008 Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas last night quashed reports that he plans to leave after becoming frustrated by a lack of silverware. The 21-year-old, who helped Spain win Euro 2008 last month, yesterday denied making remarks linking him with a move to Real Madrid. “I have not spoken to any media so it’s frustrating to read [...]
Inter call off Lampard chase as Kenyon demands loyalty July 29, 2008 Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard looks set to stay at Stamford Bridge after Inter Milan appeared to end their pursuit of the player. Inter say the £11m signing of Sulley Muntari from Portsmouth will be their last purchase of the summer, while the Blues have reiterated their determination to keep Lampard. “Muntari will be our last [...]
Levy furious as Reds sign £20m Keane July 29, 2008 Furious Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy hit out last night after being “forced” to sell striker Robbie Keane to Liverpool for a club record £20.3m. Spurs agreed a deal worth a guaranteed £19m, plus £1.3m depending on clauses – almost three times what they paid Leeds for Keane in 2002, and £1.7m more than they earned [...]