Sporting briefs

Vida: Croatia’s international defender Domagoj Vida signed a five-year contract for the national champions Dinamo Zagreb, arriving from German club Bayer Leverkusen. The 22-year-old started his carrier in his hometown of Osijek, in eastern Croatia. He joined Bayer Leverkusen in 2010 on a five-year deal.

Radu: Lazio defender Stefan Radu has signed a contract extension that will keep him in Rome for a further four years. Radu, whose previous deal ended in June 2012, had been linked with Manchester City and Chelsea earlier this year after solid performances with the Serie A outfit this season. The 24-year-old Romania international joined Lazio from Dinamo Bucharest in 2008.

Vass Case: Stoke’s bid to secure compensation from Brescia for Hungary international Adam Vass has reached the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Swit-zerland. The 22-year-old midfiel-der spent two-and-a-half years at the Britannia Stadium before turning down the offer of a contract in favour of a move to the Italian club in 2007.

Whittaker: Rangers confirmed they have rejected a third bid from Bursaspor for Steven Whittaker. The Turkish outfit tabled an increased offer of €750,000 yesterday. But the Scottish cham-pions are not interested in selling the versatile player and have already turned down previous bids of €400,000 and €650,000. Bursaspor are keen to reunite Whittaker with former club-mate Kenny Miller.

Bosschaart: Experienced Dutch defender Pascal Bosschaart has signed a one-year deal with two-time Australian A-League champions Sydney FC. Central defender Bosschaart, 31, has made more than 350 appearances in the Dutch Eredivisie with Utrecht, Feyenoord and his latest club ADO Den Haag.

Schaars: Dutch international midfielder Stijn Schaars has signed for three years with Sporting Lisbon. The 27-year-old arrives from Dutch first division side AZ Alkmaar on a deal worth €850,000. Schaars becomes Sporting’s second Dutch international recruit for next season after striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel earlier this month signed a five-year deal.