Sporting briefs

Arsenal: Arsenal yesterday completed a £10m deal for French defender Laurent Koscielny from Lorient. Arsene Wenger has tracked the 24-year-old for some time, as Koscielny, who is also eligible to play for Poland, impressed in the French domestic league.

New sponsors: Facebook has denied reports that it is in advanced talks with the FA about becoming the new major sponsor of the England team. The social networking website was reportedly one of four companies pitching for the contract, as English football's governing body hopes to replace its £20 million deal with Nationwide.

Brescia: Brescia are preparing a bid for Hungarian forward Krisztian Nemeth from Liverpool. Nemeth spent last season on loan in Greece with AEK Athens, scoring three goals in 18 games.

Zigic: Birmingham striker Nikola Zigic will report for duty after a mini-break following the World Cup to have time to adapt to the Premier League for the new season. Zigic was part of Serbia's squad in South Africa but will link up with his new team-mates on Monday in time for City's pre-season tour of Hong Kong and China beginning on July 14.

West Brom: West Brom have confirmed their interest in signing striker Frederic Piquionne who played a major role in Portsmouth reaching last season's FA Cup final. The 31-year-old Lyon player spent the 2009-2010 campaign on loan at Fratton Park and scored 10 goals .

Leicester: Former Portugal midfielder Paulo Sousa has been appointed manager of Leicester. Sousa, 39, left his post as manager of Swansea on Monday.

Paletta: Parma have confirmed they have completed the signing of former Liverpool defender Gabriel Paletta, 24. The Serie A club have had their eye on Paletta for some time but the Boca Juniors player's injury problems had prevented any deal being done.

Nadal: Real Mallorca have announced former Spain defender Miguel Angel Nadal will return to the club where he made his name to assist new coach Michael Laudrup next season. Nadal began his career at Mallorca before an eight-year spell at Barcelona.

Champions League: First qualifying round (second leg) - Rudar vs Tre Fiori 4-1 (Rudar through 7-1 on aggregate).

Cricket: Sri Lanka's world bowling record holder Muttiah Muralitharan said he was retiring from Test cricket because he had nothing left to strive for. "I have achieved what I wanted to achieve," the 38-year-old said. Muralitharan will quit Test cricket after the first Test against India starting in Galle on July 18. The off-spinner, affectionately known as Murali, is the most successful bowler in history with record hauls in both Test (792) and one-day (515) cricket.

Baseball: A man trying to catch a foul ball at Rangers Ballpark on Tuesday was hurt when he fell from the second deck of stadium seats to the field-level seats below. Rangers executive vice president for communications John Blake said the man was "able to move all his extremities and was responsive to paramedics" before he was taken to hospital. He was hurt when he leaned out to try and catch a ball fouled by the Rangers' Nelson Cruz. He lost his balance and fell some 30 feet onto the seats below.

Golf: The winner of next week's British Open at St Andrews will earn £850,000. The amount is £100,000 up on the amount America's Stewart Cink received for winning the British Open at Turnberry last year. The total purse goes up £600,000 to £4.8 million. The runner-up will receive £500,000. "The Open sits at the forefront of world golf and it is appropriate that our prize fund reflects that position in the game," Royal and Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson said.

Boxing: World champion Amir Khan was released from hospital after being given the all clear amid fears he had caught malaria while on holiday in Africa. The WBA light-welterweight champion had been rushed to hospital after collapsing at his home in Bolton, on Sunday night. The 23-year-old had a high temperature and was kept in for observation amid fears he had caught the potentially deadly disease having recently returned from a holiday in Egypt and South Africa.