Football news

Left-back Enda Stevens will officially link up with Aston Villa next week and activate the three-year contract he agreed with the club in the summer.

The Ireland Under-21 international was allowed to remain with Shamrock for the first half of the campaign and compete in the Europa League before moving to Villa in January.

And boss Alex McLeish is hoping Stevens can quickly adjust to the demands of the Premier League and provide competition for Stephen Warnock.

He said: “It will be nice to have another body in the squad and Enda is a player who has got some potential. He’s a young player, there was a wee bit of interest in him and we decided to sign him.”

Ancelotti set for PSG unveiling

Paris Saint-Germain announced yesterday that they will hold a press conference this afternoon in which it is expected that Carlo Ancelotti will be confirmed as the club’s new coach.

Former Milan and Chelsea boss Ancelotti has been in talks with the Ligue 1 leaders in the French capital since Wednesday, after being lined up to replace Antoine Kombouare.

PSG are thought to be keen to confirm the Italian as their new coach in time for him to fly out to the Middle East with the first-team squad on Sunday for a four-day winter training camp in Qatar and Dubai.

FC Sion take FIFA to court

Swiss club FC Sion revealed yesterday that they have launched a legal action in Zurich against FIFA as their off-field battle with world football’s governing body continues.

The club’s action is against FIFA’s executive committee, who recently threatened to expel the Swiss Football Association (ASF) and all member clubs unless they punished Sion before January 13 for breaching player recruitment rules.

Sion have accused FIFA of “unacceptable blackmail” for attempting to force the ASF to take action that would “run contrary to their own rules and to Swiss law.”

Sammon free to face Stoke

Wigan striker Conor Sammon will be available to face Stoke in the English Premier League tomo-rrow after the English FA upheld his appeal against a red card.

The 25-year-old forward was shown a straight red by referee Phil Dowd during the first half of Wigan’s 5-0 defeat by champions Manchester United on Monday after catching Michael Carrick in the face with his hand.

However, the contact appeared to be accidental and the FA accepted Sammon’s appeal, meaning he will not have to serve a three-match ban.

Gilardino agrees Genoa move

Genoa are on the verge of completing the signing of Alberto Gilardino from Fiorentina after the striker agreed personal terms with the Marassi outfit.

“We have an agreement with Gilardino,” Genoa chief Enrico Preziosi was quoted as saying yesterday.

“All that is missing is the signature of Fiorentina.

“Perhaps Gilardino wanted a change of scenery and Fiorentina too. We want to take this opportunity.”

Reports claim that the former Parma and Milan man will sign a four-and-a-half year contract worth €1.6m every season.

Fiorentina are expected to receive €8m for Gilardino’s transfer.

Osvaldo row in the past – Lamela

Erik Lamela has put his altercation with Roma team-mate Pablo Daniel Osvaldo behind him.

The two Roma players clashed in the changing rooms after trading insults following the Serie A defeat at Udinese.

“The disagreement with Pablo is part of the past now,” Lamela told La Roma in an interview. “He apologised for the incident.

“However, one thing is for certain, I never said: ‘You are not Maradona’ to him as was written in the newspapers.

“To be honest, I don’t understand where such rumours come from…”

Milan consider Molinaro option

Milan have identified Cristian Molinaro, of Stuttgart, as a potential replacement for Taye Taiwo who could leave the club in January, Il Corriere dello Sport reported yesterday.

The Nigerian international joined Milan in the summer following the end of his contract with Marseille but has struggled to adapt to the Italian game.

His agent recently said that Taiwo will make a decision on his future next month as other clubs have expressed an interest in his services.

The 28-year-old Molinaro, who has appeared for Italy, is currently playing his football for Bundesliga side Stuttgart after leaving Juventus in January 2010.