Krkic: Bojan Krkic will make his return from injury in Stoke’s pre-season friendly against Brentford today. The 24-year-old former Barcelona playmaker was one of Stoke’s stand-out players until injuring his cruciate ligaments at Rochdale in the FA Cup in January. The Spaniard is now close to fitness, though, and will face the Bees today, along with captain Ryan Shawcross who has struggled with a back problem throughout the summer.
Schipplock: Hamburg have reached an agreement for the transfer of striker Sven Schipplock from Hoffenheim. The 26-year-old has signed a three-year contract with Hamburg after making 84 Bundesliga appearances and scoring 16 goals for Hoffenheim. Schipplock found the back of the net only three times in 25 appearances last season, although only eight of those were in the starting XI.
Berghuis: Watford are set to make their 10th signing of the summer with the addition of Dutch forward Steven Berghuis from AZ Alkmaar. Berghuis agreed personal terms with Watford last week but the transfer was held up while the clubs negotiated a fee. Reports said AZ Alkmaar have now accepted a bid close to £4.6 million for the player and that Berghuis will be in London today to undergo a medical.
Pantic: Chelsea have completed the signing of Partizan Belgrade midfielder Danilo Pantic – and immediately sent the teenager out on loan. Pantic has joined Vitesse Arnhem – the Dutch club with which Chelsea have a partnership deal – until the end of the season. Pantic, 18, has represented Serbia at youth level, and helped his country to the semi-finals of the European Under-19 Champion-ships last summer.
Broadfoot: Rotherham United defender Kirk Broadfoot has been banned for 10 matches after a misconduct charge against him was found proven by the English FA. The incident occurred during a Championship clash between the Millers and Wigan on March 14 of this year. It is reported that the incident involved James McClean, recently transferred to West Brom, with Broadfoot unhappy at the award of a free-kick which he felt the Republic of Ireland international had dived to win.