Bundesliga club RB Leipzig signed French teenager Dayot Upamecano from sister club Salzburg yesterday with a contract to 2021, the club said.
The 18-year-old defender, who last season won the Austrian double with Salzburg, a club that like Leipzig is owned by energy drinks maker Red Bull, will further reduce the average age of one of the youngest clubs in the German league.
Promoted Leipzig has stunned the Bundesliga with their attacking football this season, leading the standings late last year before losing the top spot to Bayern Munich in the final game before the winter break in December.
The league in Germany resumes on January 20.
Celtic withhold Gers’ ticket cash
Celtic have withheld £35,000 worth of ticket cash from Rangers to cover the cost of repairing a trashed Parkhead toilet.
Gers supporters were caught on camera wrecking cubicles and urinals, shattering sinks, destroying toilets and pulling down parts of ceiling following their side’s humiliating 5-1 derby defeat back in September.
But four months on, the Hoops say they are yet to receive payment for the damage.
Now they have taken the unusual step of holding back sums due after they received 7,500 tickets for the reverse fixture at Ibrox on Hogmanay.
Howe says no move for Chelsea’s Terry
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe maintains there have been no moves to bring in Chelsea defender John Terry on loan.
The Cherries had been linked with a temporary deal for the Blues veteran, who has not been a regular for Antonio Conte’s Premier League leaders this season.
While Howe is an admirer of the 36-year-old former England skipper, he says no deal is currently under consideration.
Howe said: “I admire John Terry greatly as a footballer. He was one of my favourite central defenders but there has been no discussions and no meeting, nothing.”
Isak – Sweden’s youngest scorer
Teenager Alexander Isak celebrated his first start for Sweden by becoming his country’s youngest-ever scorer in a 6-0 friendly thrashing of Slovakia in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Having made his debut against Ivory Coast in the first match of Sweden’s winter tour on Sunday, the AIK striker crowned his second cap with a slick goal after 19 minutes.
Aged 17 years and 113 days, he comfortably beat Erik Dahlstrom’s record from over a century ago. Dahlstrom was 18 years and one day old when he scored against Finland in Stockholm in 1912.
Conte, Ibrahimovic claim awards
Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte was named Premier League Manager of the Month for December yesterday, becoming the first to win the award three months in a row.
The 47-year-old Italian, who joined Chelsea in the close season, won all six league games last month to equal the Premier League record of 13 consecutive wins in a single campaign.
Their record run was halted in a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham last week.
Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was named Player of the Month, having scored five league goals in December.
Real claim record with last-gasp draw
Real Madrid set a Spanish record of 40 matches unbeaten in all competitions after they came back from two goals behind to snatch a 3-3 draw at Sevilla with a last-gasp equaliser from Karim Benzema in the King’s Cup late Thursday.
Real trailed 3-1 in the 77th minute of their last-16 second leg tie but captain Sergio Ramos reduced the arrears from the penalty spot in the 83rd minute.
Real had equalled arch-rivals Barcelona’s long unbeaten run with a 5-0 rout of Granada last Saturday.
Arsenal teen gets Algeria call-up
Arsenal’s Algerian midfielder Ismaeil Bennacer has been called up to play in the African Nations Cup finals after a knee injury ruled Saipher Taider out of the tournament, the country’s football federation said yesterday.
The 19-year-old Bennacer won his first cap for Algeria last year in Nations Cup qualification and is yet to make a league debut for the Gunners.
Bologna midfielder Taider, 24, hurt his knee in training earlier this week.
Defender Ramy Bensebaini is recovering from a knee injury suffered in Algeria’s warm-up win over Mauritania on Tuesday, the federation added.
Algeria play their opening Group B match in Franceville tomorrow against Zimbabwe.