Soft play: Motherwell manager Mark McGhee revealed in-form striker Louis Moult almost missed their 1-1 Premiership draw with Partick Thistle yesterday after being injured by a soft toy. McGhee said: “We never really got going. One of the things was that Moult had not trained all week. He hurt his hamstring when he stood on his child’s toy... so that was a worry all week.”

Garre: FIFA announced that Manchester City did not break any regulations with the signing of teenager Benjamin Garre. The world governing body confirmed it had receive a complaint from Argentinian club Velez Sarsfield over Manchester City’s signing of 16-year-old Garre in July but found there is no case to answer. Velez alleged there was an approach for Garre when he was still 15, breaching FIFA’s rules on the transfer of minors.

Villa double: David Villa scored twice as New York City FC edged closer to securing a place in the MLS Cup play-offs for the first time with a 4-1 victory over Chicago Fire. Villa put the icing on the cake with a long-range strike late on. New York City’s play-off berth could be confirmed this weekend, depending on results elsewhere.

Vertonghen: Manager Mauricio Pochettino has hinted that defender Jan Vertonghen will be the next Tottenham Hotspur player to sign a new contract this autumn. Vertonghen’s current deal expires in 2018 and the Belgian has been negotiating fresh terms since early this year. “In the next few days maybe one more will appear and then we will see what happens,” Pochettino said. Asked if Vertonghen would be that player, he added: “I cannot give names but maybe yes... it is a centre-back.”

Veseli: Albania full-back Frederic Veseli has joined Empoli in Serie A. The 23-year-old was a free agent after a previous spell with FC Lugano, in the Swiss League, came to an end in summer. Veseli has signed a two-year contract with Empoli for his first stint in the Italian league. Prior to FC Lugano, Veseli was on the books of Manchester City.

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