Sporting briefs

LUCHO: Marseille midfielder Lucho Gonzalez is on the brink of a return to former club Porto after the two clubs reached agreement on principle for the sale of the unsettled Argentine to the defending Portuguese champions.

MOTTA: Inter midfielder Thiago Motta will remain at the San Siro until the end of the season, according to club coach Claudio Ranieri. Motta has been strongly linked with a move to PSG but Ranieri is reluctant to see the Italy international leave. “I requested the club for Motta to stay and he will stay,” Ranieri said.

JELAVIC: Everton have been in touch with Rangers regarding Nikica Jelavic but it seems no official bid has yet been made. Everton boss David Moyes made his move for Jelavic, 26, after Diniyar Bilyaletdinov completed his transfer to Spartak Moscow for an undisclosed fee.

DIAKITE: QPR have completed the signing of Nancy defensive midfielder Samba Diakite. Nancy had indicated late Sunday that the 23-year-old was on his way to Loftus Road and the Rs have now confirmed the Malian’s signature.

OLIVEIRA: Fiorentina have completed the signing of attacking midfielder Ruben Oliveira from Lecce. Oliveira passed a medical before penning a deal that will keep him with the Viola until 2014.

SLOVAKIA: Vladimir Weiss has quit as the coach of Slovakia’s national team. The 47-year-old, whose contract ran till 2014, will continue as the coach of Slovan Bratislava. Weiss guided Slovakia to the last 16 of the 2010 World Cup.

LAKIC: Hoffenheim will not be continuing their pursuit of Wolfsburg striker Srdjan Lakic as he is too expensive. Lakic became a target for Hoffenheim after they sold Vedad Ibisevic to Stuttgart, but they are not willing to invest more than the money they earned from that deal, believed to be around €5m.

AFRICA CUP: Group B – Ivory Coast vs Angola 2-0; Sudan vs Burkina Faso 2-1. Standings: Ivory Coast 9; Sudan, Angola 4; Burkina Faso 1.

LA LIGA: Osasuna vs A. Madrid 0-1.

MFA DIV. THREE: Marsa vs Mdina 0-2; Mġarr vs Qrendi 1-0.