Rangers have stepped up their bid for a new striker by submitting a formal offer for Preston’s Joe Garner.
Preston boss Simon Grayson has confirmed the Champion-ship outfit received a bid from the Glasgow giants for the 28-year-old over the weekend.
Gers manager Mark Warburton will be keen to get business concluded soon with last year’s top scorer Martyn Waghorn currently sidelined with injury.
The Englishman is on the hunt for a new striker and defender, and it appears he is now closing in on both his targets, with reports claiming former Arsenal centre-back Philippe Senderos has arrived in Scotland for talks.
Iniesta to miss start of La Liga season
Barcelona’s midfield maestro Andres Iniesta will be out for two weeks after sustaining a knee injury in Sunday’s 2-0 Spanish Super Cup first leg win at Sevilla.
The Barca captain was forced off in the first half barely 10 minutes after Jeremy Mathieu was also substituted.
Barca said in a statement that Iniesta would be out for at least two weeks, missing the first two La Liga games of the season at home to Real Betis on Saturday and at Athletic Bilbao the following weekend.
Fener set to opt for Advocaat as coach
Fenerbahce look set to name Dutchman Dick Advocaat as coach following the sacking of Vitor Pereira, reports said.
Yesterday, Advocaat quit just three months into his job as assistant to Netherlands coach Danny Blind.
The Turkish sports newspaper Fanatik said Advocaat had confirmed his appointment, saying he thought he would not return to club management but that Fenerbahce had made him “an unbelievable offer”.
Advocaat’s last job as a club coach was with English Premier League Sunderland where he resigned last October.
Libya to host WCup qualifiers in Egypt
Libya will host their three World Cup qualifiers over the next 15 months in neighbouring Egypt, the country’s football association said.
Previously Libya, who are banned from holding international matches at home because of the north African country’s tenuous security situation, had hosted the majority of their home matches in Tunisia but they are now sharing the same group with their neighbour as they seek a place at the 2018 tournament in Russia.
Libya, coached by former Spain manager Javier Clemente, start the group competition away in the Democratic Republic of Congo in October.
Guinea is the other team in their group.
Podolski ends his international career
Germany’s World Cup winner Lukas Podolski announced his retirement from international football yesterday, bringing to an end a glittering 12-year career.
Podolski retires as Germany’s third highest capped player with 129 appearances, behind only Lothar Matthaeus and Miroslav Klose, having scored 48 goals.
“Everything has its time – and my time with the DFB (the German Football Federation) is over,” Podolski said in a statement.
The 31-year-old said he has informed coach Joachim Loew of his decision.
Podolski, who currently plays for Galatasaray, was an unused substitute in the 2014 World Cup final when Germany edged Ar-gentina in extra-time to claim a fourth title.
City staff evacuated from aircraft
An aircraft carrying Manchester City staff and media to a Champions League match was evacuated before take-off after reports of smoke in the cabin.
Passengers were ordered to leave the chartered plane as it was being prepared to fly from the airport to Romania ahead of today’s clash between City and Steaua Bucharest.
The flight was being operated by Romania-based charter airline company Carpatair.
A spokesman for Manchester Airport said: “It appears that there was a smell of smoke in the cabin after (the passengers) boarded, so they were taken back to the departure lounge.”
No players were on board, according to reports.
Osvaldo linked with Stade Rennes move
The much-travelled Dani Osvaldo could add another chapter to his career if he accepts the offer of Ligue 1 club Stade Rennes before the transfer deadline on August 31.
Osvaldo, 30, is a free agent after a short spell in the Portuguese league with Porto.
Before he also played for Southampton, Juventus, Inter and Boca Juniors.
L’Equipe reported that Italy striker Osvaldo is in talks with Stade Rennes and prepared to sign a one-year contract with an option for another season.