Cornet: French league leaders Lyon have signed teenage hot property Maxwel Cornet from Metz. The 18-year-old moves with immediate effect to the Ligue 1 front-runners and has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal. Cornet has been out of favour with Metz this season, having told club officials in the summer he would not be renewing his contract that was due to expire in May.

Mukhtar: German youth international Hany Mukhtar has joined Portugal’s Benfica, signing a five-year deal to 2020 after more than a decade at Hertha Berlin, both clubs said yesterday. The 19-year-old joined Hertha’s youth teams in 2002.

Punished: Crisis-hit Greek club OFI Crete were plunged further into the mire after they were deducted six points for failing to honour the contract of former player Aleksander Pesic. OFI were punished after Pesic took his case to FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee, which recommended the sanction to the Hellenic Federation. The 22-year-old Serbian striker, who now plays for Toulouse, made 13 appearances for OFI between 2008-2010.

Tamas: Steaua Bucharest have signed Romania centre-back Gabriel Tamas as a free agent in an attempt to bolster their defence following Pole Lukasz Szukala’s move to Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad earlier this month. Tamas, a keen supporter of Dinamo, Steaua’s bitter rivals, had promised he would only play for Dinamo in his native country. Tamas had three spells at Dinamo between 2002 and 2009.

No deal: Leicester manager Nigel Pearson’s hopes of landing Wigan midfielder Shaun Maloney have fallen by the wayside. The Foxes had agreed a fee with Wigan for Maloney, understood to be just over £1m after an initial bid was rejected. But Maloney failed to agree personal terms.

In England: League One – Preston vs L. Orient 2-2. League Two – Cheltenham vs Morecambe 1-1.

Scottish Championship: Rangers vs Hearts 0-0 (abandoned after 25 minutes due to snow).

Lega Pro: Group A – Monza vs Renate 0-1. Group B – Matera vs Juve Stabia 3-1.