Football news

Pescara playmaker Marco Verratti is set to complete his transfer to Paris St Germain next week, according to his agent.

The 19-year-old, who proved crucial in helping Pescara gain promotion to Serie A last season, is set to move to the Ligue 1 for a reported €14m transfer deal this summer.

“Verratti’s intention is to say yes to PSG,” Donato Di Campli said.

“He should sign his contract either at the start of next week or at the end of this week.”

Verratti is under contract with Pescara until June 2016 and is set to sign a five-year deal with the Parisians.

Maradona sacked as Al Wasl coach

Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona was sacked as coach of United Arab Emirates side Al Wasl just over a year after he was appointed to the job, the club announced last night.

The 51-year-old had looked to be in a precarious position after failing to win a trophy last season.

His cause had not been helped when the board of directors that had hired him resigned following the previous campaign and their replacements took the decision to fire him after a meeting yesterday.

Kagawa heads to Man. United

Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa left his home country yesterday for Britain to join Manchester United, vowing to secure a starting slot when the Premier League kicks off in August.

“It is a big challenge for me. I have nothing but a positive mind now,” the 23-year-old told re-porters ahead of his departure on a flight from Osaka.

“First, I want to display what I have at the training camp and prepare myself so that I can firmly gain a position in time for the opening game,” Kagawa said.

Kagawa is to attend a team practice and hold a news conference in Britain tomorrow.

Drogba in China on Saturday

Didier Drogba will arrive in China on Saturday to take up his new role at Shanghai Shenhua, his club said, amid high hopes he can reignite the 13th-placed team’s season.

Drogba announced last month he had signed with the big-spending Chinese club until 2014.

The Ivory Coast international will arrive on Saturday morning and meet fans at a match against third-ranked Beijing Guoan that evening, Shenhua said.

A Shenhua official told AFP that Drogba would not play on Saturday, however.

Shenhua play away at Guang-zhou Fuli on July 21 but Drogba might only take to the field for the first time in a friendly match against Manchester United on July 25.

Park could become new QPR skipper

Manager Mark Hughes is considering making Park Ji-sung his new captain after signing the experienced mid-fielder from Manchester United this week.

Hughes is currently without a skipper after Joey Barton was stripped of the armband following his antics against Manchester City on the final day of last season.

The Rs’ boss says he has plenty of candidates to take over as captain but admits Park is a contender.

“Ji will come into my thinking in terms of a new captain for the club,” he said.

“I’ll have to see who steps up and who is a natural fit for it. I’m sure people will want the role and to show me they are the right for it and that includes Ji.”

Chelsea table bid for Brazil’s Oscar

Chelsea have made a move to beat Tottenham to the signing of Brazilian ace Oscar after tabling an offer for the playmaker.

Spurs were thought to be leading the chase to sign the Internacional hot-shot with new boss Andre Villas-Boas identifying Oscar as one of his top targets.

But Chelsea now appear to have stolen a march on their Premier League rivals by tabling a €25 million bid for the Brazil international, who will represent his country at the Olympics.

One of Oscar’s agents, Carlos Meinberg Neto, has confirmed Chelsea have made an offer for the 20-year-old, but says no agreement has been reached between the clubs as yet.

Wilshere warned

Jack Wilshere has received a warning from UEFA disciplinary chiefs after comments he made on Twitter suggesting he had bet on an Arsenal team-mate to score.

UEFA’s regulations forbid players from gambling on football matches in which their teams are involved and the England midfielder has now received an official warning.

The 20-year-old had said on Twitter that Arsenal team-mate Emmanuel Frimpong was “worth a cheeky £10” to be the first scorer at long odds in the Champions League match against Olympiakos in December.

Wilshere, who was in the middle of a long injury absence, then said after a near miss by Frimpong: “Frimmy nearly won me some money there!”