Defender Sebastian De Maio has joined Fiorentina on loan from Anderlecht, the Serie A club said yesterday, after playing only four games and spending less than two months at the Belgian club.
The 29-year-old moved to Anderlecht in July from Serie A side Genoa, where he had spent three seasons, and played two league matches and two Champions League qualifiers.
Fiorentina, fifth in Serie A last season, kick off their season at champions Juventus tomorrow.
Belgian media quoted De Maio’s agent as saying that he was leaving Anderlecht for family reasons and denied he had problems settling in at the club.
Rodgers urges caution after CL win
Brendan Rodgers insists Celtic still face a big task to qualify for the Champions League despite their convincing 5-2 win over Hapoel Be’er Sheva.
“For us, we are not getting carried away,” Rodgers said after watching his side recover from a second-half blip with two late strikes after the Israeli team had pulled back two goals.
“There is still a massive job to do out there.
“There is a three-goal advantage but our mentality will be that it’s goalless and we just have to get the job done next week.”
West Ham’s Ayew faces four months out
West Ham United’s record signing Andre Ayew faces four months on the sidelines after injuring his thigh on his debut, club co-owner David Gold said yesterday.
Ayew was replaced 30 minutes into West Ham’s 2-1 defeat by London rivals Chelsea on Monday, and Slaven Bilic’s side are now likely to be without their high-profile recruit until the New Year.
“Sad news,” Gold wrote on his official Twitter handle. (@davidgold). “Ayew has injured his quadriceps and will need surgery.
“He will be out for four months. Good luck Andre.”
Benteke set for Palace transfer
Liverpool have agreed to sell Belgium striker Christian Benteke to Premier League rivals Crystal Palace, the BBC reported last night.
The clubs have agreed a fee of £27 million plus extras that could see the deal rise to more than 30 million.
The BBC said the 25-year-old Benteke was travelling to London to have a medical and finalise personal terms.
Former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers signed the player from Aston Villa at the start of the 2015-16 season but the Belgian never won a regular starting place under him or his successor, German Juergen Klopp.
Benteke made a total of 14 league starts for the Anfield club and another 15 appearances from the bench, scoring nine goals.
‘Strange’ Fonte rumours anger Puel
Southampton manager Claude Puel insists captain Jose Fonte has not been affected by transfer rumours linking him with a move tonight’s opponents Manchester United.
The defender was an integral part of Portugal’s Euro 2016 triumph this summer and is thought to be a transfer target for a number of European clubs, including Jose Mourinho’s side.
“There is no problem with Jose (Fonte), it is just strange that this rumour comes just before the game at United,” Puel said.
“There is a possibility that he may travel with us to Old Trafford.
“But he is a very good professional and he has played well in training sessions this week and it is important to have Jose with us, I hope, for the United game.”
Best is yet to come, says Benitez
Rafael Benitez promised there is more to come from Newcastle after seeing them finally launch their Championship promotion drive.
After successive defeats by Fulham and Huddersfield, the Magpies belatedly opened their account with a 4-1 victory over Reading at St James’ Park.
Asked how much better it can get, the Spaniard said: “Much better. How much is difficult to quantify, but I’m sure that we will improve.
“There will be some bad games, for sure, but we will improve. Hopefully these three points will give us a little bit of confidence for the next games.”
Van Persie left out of 36-man Dutch squad
Netherlands coach Danny Blind has overlooked record goalscorer Robin van Persie in his preliminary 36-man squad as the national side aim to make amends for their failed Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.
Netherlands host Greece in a friendly on Sep. 1 and meet Sweden in Stockholm five days later in their first World Cup qualifier.
Van Persie, the 33-year-old Galatasaray striker who has scored a record 50 goals in 101 internationals, has again been overlooked, while PSV Eindhoven midfielder Jorrit Hendrix has received a first call-up.
Uncapped quartet Mitchell Dijks, Rick Karsdorp, Timo Letschert and Bart Ramselaar have also been included by Blind.