West Ham manager Slaven Bilic said he will not let Simone Zaza take any penalties.
Zaza arrived on loan from Juventus with his inauspicious contribution for Italy at Euro 2016 still fresh in the memory.
The 25-year-old was brought on as a substitute in the quarter-final against Germany to take a penalty in the shoot-out, but after a stuttering run-up, he blazed his effort over the crossbar.
Hammers fans can breathe a sigh of relief, however, as manager Bilic has no intention of taking spot-kicks away from regular taker Mark Noble.
“Will Zaza take penalties? No, no. We have a good penalty taker already, a great one,” said Bilic.
Gabbiadini deal
The agent representing Manolo Gabbiadini said the Napoli striker is close to signing a new deal with the Serie A club.
Gabbiadini was linked with a move to Everton in England this summer but the transfer never materialised and it now appears that the 24-year-old will be committing his future to Napoli.
Agent Silvio Pagliari said: “We’re close and we’re settling the final details. Napoli want to invest in Manolo, and we’re happy about the ‘no’ to the offers which came in for him.”
Luiz – a deadline day decision
Antonio Conte admits Chelsea’s interest in taking David Luiz back to Stamford Bridge was only ignited when his availability became known on transfer deadline day.
Luiz’s £34m move from PSG to the club he first joined in 2011 was the biggest surprise of the summer.
Conte said: “I told you that this transfer market was very difficult for us to reach our targets, but at the last minute, on the last day, there was this situation which was good for me and the club to improve the squad.
“For this reason, we bought David Luiz and I’m very happy.”
Lifetime ban
Former FIFA vice-president Jeffrey Webb has been banned from all football-related activities for life and fined one million Swiss francs ($1.02 million).
The 51-year-old from Cayman Islands was once considered a future leader of FIFA but that prospect ended when he was arrested in Switzerland last May by local police acting on behalf of the United States Department of Justice.
Webb, who ran the CONCACAF confederation which governs football in the Caribbean and North and Central America, pleaded guilty to racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering in November.
He has been provisionally suspended by FIFA since his arrest but the adjudicatory chamber of its ethics committee has now handed him its most serious sentence.
Phelan is manager of the month
Hull City manager Mike Phelan has been named the Premier League manager of the month for August after guiding the promoted club to an impressive start in England’s top flight.
Hull began the season with wins over defending champions Leicester City and Swansea City before losing 1-0 to Manchester United. They started the weekend fifth in the standings.
The 53-year-old Phelan took over as caretaker manager in July following Steve Bruce’s resignation and has not yet been handed a permanent position.
Schalke coach bemoans bad luck
Schalke coach Markus Weinzierl felt there was nothing but bad luck between his side and a draw against Bayern Munich on Friday night.
Goals from Robert Lewan-dowski and Joshua Kimmich in the final 10 minutes at the Veltins-Arena earned Bayern Munich a second win out of two Bundesliga matches this season, and condemned Weinzierl to his second straight defeat as Schalke coach.
“It’s a pity because it was a very engaged performance from us,” Weinzierl said after the 2-0 defeat to the champions.
“We were no worse than Bayern and we gave them a lot of challenges. The only difference was the effectiveness. We were unlucky that Klaas-Jan Huntelaar’s shot only hit the crossbar… but that’s football.”
Fabinho signs new Monaco contract
Brazilian defender Fabinho has signed a new five-year contract with Monaco.
The right-back was linked with Manchester United in the summer transfer window but Ligue 1 Monaco were determined he would stay at the Stade Louis II.
Their resolve was rewarded when Fabinho agreed new terms for an extended stay with the principality side.
The 22-year-old began his career with Rio Ave in Portugal before having a season-long loan spell at Real Madrid.
He signed for Monaco initially in July 2013, spending two 12-month loan spells at the club prior to joining on a permanent basis last year.