Lennon: Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon is likely to be out of action for several weeks after suffering a suspected torn hamstring during his side’s 1-0 win over Sunderland yesterday. Lennon limped off during the first half at White Hart Lane and Spurs boss Harry Redknapp fears he will be missing over the Christmas period and into the new year.

Tigana: Former France international Jean Tigana has been appointed coach of Shanghai Shenhua, the Chinese Super League club have confirmed on their website. Tigana has had a varied coaching career, starting off at French side Lyon in 1993 before enjoying spells at Monaco, Fulham, Besiktas and Bordeaux. Fellow Frenchman Nicolas Anelka will play under Tigana and is due to arrive in China next month after leaving Premier League side Chelsea.

Ayew: Marseille’s Ghana international midfielder Andre Ayew has extended his contract until 2015. The 21-year-old attacking midfielder was named Marseille’s player of the season for 2010-11 and was crowned BBC African Footballer of the Year on Friday. Ayew is a graduate of the OM academy and has been named in the Ghana squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in January and February.

Racist abuse: The president of France’s Professional Football League, Frederic Thiriez, yesterday called for an investigation into claims Auxerre’s Kamel Chafni was racially abused by a linesman. Chafni, a Morocco international, was sent off following an altercation with the assistant referee, Johann Perruax, in the 55th minute of Auxerre’s 1-0 loss at Brest. As he left the pitch the midfielder told TV cameras he had been the victim of racist abuse.

Babbel: Hertha Berlin sacked Markus Babbel as coach yesterday, with six months left on his contract. Hertha announced they had split with Babbel yesterday evening with speculation mounting former Eintracht Frankfurt coach Michael Skibbe, currently in charge of Turkish side Eskisehirspor, is set to replace him.

Valencia: Ajax’s Dutch international defender Gregory van der Wiel has agreed a January transfer window move to Spain’s Valencia. “I am going to sign a contract for five years,” he said. Ajax sporting director Danny Blind had said that an agreement between the two club was close at hand with the fee expected to be in the region of nine million euros.

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