Boateng: Young Milan forward Kingsley Boateng has agreed a season-long loan with Catania. Boateng, 19, had a good pre-season with Milan and attracted interest from other Serie A clubs Genoa and Sampdoria. However, the Italy U-20 international, has now opted for Catania.
Palacios: Stoke midfielder Wilson Palacios has been ruled out for “a few weeks” after undergoing a minor surgical procedure having pulled out of the team which was beaten 1-0 by Liverpool. The Honduras international was named in manager Mark Hughes’s starting line-up and took part in the pre-match warm-ups before he was withdrawn from the team and replaced by Marc Wilson. At the time Stoke said Palacios was ill.
Hazard Jr: On-loan Chelsea forward Thorgan Hazard scored both goals as Zulte-Waregem defeated 10-man Mons 2-0 to earn a share of the Belgian League lead. Hazard, the younger brother of Blues star Eden, opened the scoring with a third-minute penalty and then secured the points with a 90th-minute second.
Quagliarella: Fabio Quaglia-rella is being linked in the media with a move to Qatar club Al-Gharafa. The Juventus forward, who is likely to move outside the Serie A this summer, also had talks with Sunderland and Southampton but Zico’s Al-Gharafa have emerged favourites to land Quagliarella’s signature as they’re prepared to table a €7m offer to get their man.
Keane: Robbie Keane netted a second-half hat-trick as Los Angeles Galaxy beat Real Salt Lake 4-2 and move within four points of the MLS Western Conference leaders. Keane cut inside to slide home his first in the 56th minute, three minutes after Joao Plata had given Real the lead. He then turned the ball home acrobatically from the edge of the six-yard box to make it 2-1. Omar Gonzalez added a third eight minutes later and Keane completed his hat-trick with a neat lob.
Fener shock: Fenerbahce were given a wake-up call ahead of their Champions League qualifier against Arsenal as they started the new season with a shock 3-2 loss at new boys Konyaspor on Saturday. Fener looked set for the perfect warm-up as they went 2-0 up through Joseph Yobo and Emre Belozoglu. They then took their eye off the ball in dramatic fashion, though, as Konya scored three goals in the last 14 minutes to secure a dream start to life in the top flight.