Football news

Celtic have signed Sweden international defender Daniel Majstorovic on a two-year contract from AEK Athens, the Scottish Premier League club confirmed yesterday.

Majstorovic becomes Neil Lennon’s eighth major signing of the summer. He played from the start in his country’s 3-0 win over Scotland last week.

Honduras international Emilio Izaguirre is also set to join Celtic in a deal believed to be worth £600,000.

The 24-year-old Motagua left-back, who played for his country in the World Cup, arrived in Glasgow at the weekend and was having a medical yesterday ahead of finalising a deal with the Glasgow side.

Clubs were in for me – Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger claims he had offers from other clubs over the summer. The long-serving Frenchman on Saturday underlined his enduring commitment to the Gunners by signing a new three-year contract at the Emirates Stadium.

“I love the club and I don’t see myself going anywhere else,” Wenger said.

“I believe I have one way only to show my commitment to this club – by signing a contract I have been offered.

“I get offers but I always keep a note in my job that I go to the end of my contract. I wasn’t ready to talk and for me it is important to focus and not talk about other clubs or opportunities that I have.”

Real pushing Werder to sell Ozil – press

Spanish giants Real Madrid plan to make a new offer to Werder Bremen for Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil after an earlier bid was rejected, Spanish sports newspapers said yesterday.

Real, under new coach Jose Mourinho, plan to offer €14 million for the 21-year-old midfielder, five million more than previously, the daily Marca reported.

Another sports daily, AS, said “the idea is to reach a figure of between the 10 million offered by Real and the 16 (million) which the German team is demanding”.

Werder sports director Klaus Allofs said on Friday that the club had rejected an offer from Real as “unacceptable”.

MacDonald deserves chance – Petrov

Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov has urged the club’s American owner Randy Lerner to appoint Kevin MacDonald as the full-time replacement for Martin O’Neill.

MacDonald took over as caretaker manager after O’Neill’‘s shock resignation and he made the perfect start with a 3-0 destruction of West Ham on Saturday.

Petrov revealed the players are right behind MacDonald. “The way he prepared us for the game showed us that he wants to hold onto that job – and I hope we can help him take that job,” said Petrov.

“We are behind him. He has been at the club a long time, done a great job with the youth and he has the opportunity to do it now.”

Hoeness blasts Dutch physio over Robben

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has accused Dutch physiotherapist Dick van Toorn of needing glasses for failing to spot that Arjen Robben had a serious injury before and during the World Cup.

Dutch winger Robben has been told by Bayern club doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt that he faces eight weeks on the sidelines after it was discovered on his return to pre-season training he had a serious muscle tear.

“We have in Muller-Wohlfahrt the best sports doctor in the world. If Mr Van Toorn cannot recognise the injury then he should buy himself some glasses,” Hoeness told Bild.

“It was negligent of the Dutch to let Robben play for even a single second at the World Cup. He played injured during the tournament and we are now paying the cost. We are demanding compensation.”

Fiorentina mulling Misimovic approach

Fiorentina coach Sinisa Mihajlovic is interested in signing another player from the Balkan region, Wolfsburg’s Zvjezdan Misimovic.

The 27-year-old Bosian playmaker could become surplus to requirements at the Bundesliga club if Wolfsburg finalise the signing of Brazilian midfielder Diego from Juventus.

According to reports in Italy, Fiorentina are in the market for an attacking midfielder capable of filling the void left by Stevan Jovetic who will miss the first half of the season after rupturing his cruciate ligaments.

Mihajlovic has reportedly already been in contact with Misimovic, although he faces strong competition from Russian champions Rubin Kazan.

Zanetti, Cambiasso set for Argentina recall

Inter duo Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso will be given the chance to revive their international careers under Argentina’s interim boss Sergio Batista.

Both players were surprisingly overlooked by former Argentina coach Diego Maradona ahead of the World Cup earlier this summer.

“They are two players who have great experience in the Selecion,” Batista was quoted as saying.

“They can still give a lot.”

However, it remains to be seen how long the window of opportunity stays open. Batista is only an interim appointment until December.