Football news

England winger David Bentley is in talks with Aston Villa over a transfer to Martin O'Neill's team after being told he can leave Tottenham.

Bentley only moved to White Hart Lane from Blackburn in a 16-million-pound transfer last year but has fallen out of favour with Spurs boss Harry Redknapp.

The 24-year-old former Arsenal trainee is keen to find regular first team football and could be part of a swap deal, with Redknapp looking to exchange Bentley and Jermaine Jenas for Villa winger Ashley Young.

"I'm in talks with Villa at the moment," Bentley said.

"I really don't want to say much more. But we'll see what happens. I'm hopeful of sorting it out as soon as possible."

Alan Shearer left in limbo

Alan Shearer is likely to find out if he will be appointed Newcastle manager on a permanent basis in the next few days.

Shearer has been left in limbo since his eight-match spell as interim manager ended in relegation from the Premier League at the end of the season.

The former England striker wants to take charge for the long-term, but owner Mike Ashley's decision to put the club up for sale brought a halt to negotiations.

However, with Newcastle due to return for pre-season early in July, managing director Derek Llambias said: "There could be some movement regarding Shearer this week.

"We will not be making any decision, though. That is not up to us, that is down to the groups who are buying the club."

No charges for Ronaldo after crash

Cristiano Ronaldo has received more good news after the Portugal winger was told he will not face any charges after writing off his Ferrari sports car in a crash.

The Manchester United star, who should finally complete his long-desired move to Real for £80m later this month, demolished his Ferrari when it hit a roadside barrier near Manchester Airport in January.

Ronaldo escaped uninjured and spoke to police at the scene before making his way to the training ground.

After investigating the incident, Manchester police decided not to take action against the 24-year-old, who also provided a written statement following the crash.

2010 World Cup - recession resistant

Next year's World Cup is proving recession resistant, unlike most other sporting events, with North American companies buying just as many ticket packages as they did for the 2006 tournament.

Interest in the packages, including tickets, concessions and parking, for the tournament in South Africa has soared in the past month in the US and Canada, said Keith Bruce, president of SportsMark, the exclusive sales agent within North America for the event.

"We received double or even triple the number of inquiries," Bruce said.

The global recession has hit sports all over the globe, causing US sports leagues in some cases to cut jobs and curtail spending, or even cancel a season in the case of Arena Football.

Gerrard - the one-club footballer

Steven Gerrard told reporters his current contract with Liverpool could be the last in his career. The Reds skipper will be 33 when his deal comes to a close in 2013.

"I will be 33 at the end of my contract in 2013 and I don't know if I will go any further," Gerrard said.

"If I do retire, then I will know that from the start to the end of my career I only had one club. And I don't want to think about wearing any other shirt in the future."

Martinez takes over at Wigan

Wigan Athletic named Roberto Martinez as their new manager late on Monday after the Premier League club agreed compensation terms with his former club Swansea City.

Wigan said the 35-year-old Spaniard had agreed a three-year deal to replace Steve Bruce who left the club to take over at Sunderland at the start of the month.

Martinez should have been in place last week before a hitch involving his Swansea backroom staff who will join him at Wigan.

Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins said a compensation agreement had now been reached for Martinez, assistant manager Graeme Jones, chief scout Kevin Reeves and goalkeeping coach Inaki Bergara.

Ballardini wants competitive Lazio

Davide Ballardini, the new coach of Coppa Italia winners Lazio, wants to make his side more competitive than they were last season.

"It's a very stimulating challenge for me. I want to make a plan that allows us to become more competitive," Ballardini said.

"Lazio have great potential, but they will have to show it in daily application. I will not speak about how Lazio will play, but we have clear ideas on how to lift the quality of the players that we have at our disposal."

Ballardini also spoke about his predecessor, Delio Rossi.

He said: "I know Delio... I like him as a person and how he works. His four years here show he was very capable."