Manchester City completed the signing of talented youngster Patrick Roberts from Championship side Fulham yesterday.
The 18-year-old, who has represented England at Under-16, Under-17 and Under-19 levels, made his Fulham debut against City in 2014 and made 22 appearances for the London side.
Roberts, a forward or winger, arrives at the Etihad Stadium for a fee reported to be in the region of £11 million.
Dempsey hat-trick puts US in semis
Clint Dempsey recorded his first hat-trick for the United States in a dominant 6-0 win over Cuba on Saturday that put the Americans into a CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-final against Jamaica.
Dempsey opened the scoring with a header in the fourth minute and the defending champions built a 4-0 lead by half-time.
Dempsey added two more in the second half to give him a tournament-leading six goals.
“That’s always great to do but you can’t do it without your team-mates,” Dempsey said of his hat-trick.
“Today we came out and played well and finished our chances.”
Vlaar knee setback
Former Aston Villa captain Ron Vlaar will be out of action for another three to four months after the free agent defender revealed he had gone under the knife again.
The 30-year-old had been hoping to find a new club this summer having allowed his contract at Villa Park to expire, but another setback on his left knee appears to have halted his career prospects in the short term.
An end-of-season MRI scan showed the Dutch international had torn his medial meniscus, as he did in January, and having a similar procedure twice in six months to try and remedy the issue has left Vlaar facing an extended spell on the sidelines.
“On hearing this news it was a defining moment, I was stunned and I struggled to keep my composure,” he said.
“It’s hard to swallow.”
Mourinho admits to Stones bid
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has admitted his club have made a bid for John Stones and says any deal for the defender is in Everton’s hands.
The Toffees are believed to have rejected a bid of around £20m for the 21-year-old, who played in Everton’s 3-1 Asia Trophy final defeat to Arsenal on Saturday.
Mourinho said: “We made a bid because we like the player, we don’t make bids for players we don’t like – but I respect Everton.
“It’s up to them – everything is in their hands.
“I don’t speak about him (Stones) because he’s not my player. We’ve made the bid and the bid is there. Everton have the power to accept or refuse the bid.”
Guardiola wants to keep Goetze
Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has dismissed reports Mario Goetze could be on his way to Juventus, insisting the Germany international is very much part of his plans.
Speaking at a press conference in Shanghai, where Bayern are preparing for a friendly against Inter, Guardiola denied suggestions that Goetze was on the verge of joining the Serie A champions.
“Mario’s got a contract here, he’s my player and he’s a great player too,” Guardiola said.
“In my mind, he is going to be a Bayern Munich player all season.
“He’s a top player, but I know that it’s not only the coach who decides here. It depends on the club.”
Napoli planning Romagnoli swoop
Napoli have opened talks for Roma defender Alessio Romagnoli, with a €28m bid ready.
The Italy U-21 defender is a reported target of Napoli’s Serie A rivals Milan who had several bids for the centre-back rejected this summer, with Roma determined not to lose the player for any less than €30m.
Mediaset reported yesterday that the Partenopei had spoken with Romagnoli’s agent to discuss the availability of the player, who is believed to still favour a move to Milan.
The report said that Napoli are ready to offer €28m for the defender, but Roma’s demand for €30m is unlikely to be lowered.
FIFA payment good business – FAI chief
The head of Ireland’s FA (FAI) said he wishes he got more than the five million euros FIFA paid Ireland to avoid a legal case over a controversial World Cup playoff defeat in 2009.
Ireland were dragged into the FIFA corruption storm last month when it was revealed that the FAI received the payment following complaints over how FIFA handled the defeat to France.
“I will say it again, it was a good business deal and used entirely by us to develop Irish football. I wish we could have got more,” FAI chief executive John Delaney told the association’s annual general meeting on Saturday.
Ireland were knocked out by France in a two-legged play-off to qualify for the 2010 South Africa tournament, with the decisive goal in the second leg coming after a handball by Thierry Henry.