Crouch: Peter Crouch admits he may be forced to leave Stoke due to a lack of first-team opportunities. He told the club’s official website: “Ideally I’d like to stay at Stoke because I think we’re a top 10 side and I’d like to be a part of that. But I’ve got to be realistic – I’ve featured hardly at all in the Premier League and that’s what I want to be doing. If needs be I’ll have to move on but I’d rather not.”

Olympiakos: Greek leaders Olympiakos set a club record 17 successive league wins by beating Levadiakos 3-1 at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium yesterday. Goals from Ideye Brown, Felipe Pardo and Alejandro Dominquez helped the side, who have dominated Greek football for the past two decades, surpass the 16 consecutive wins during the 2005-06 season.

Afobe: Premier League Bourne-mouth have signed Wolves striker Benik Afobe, the club announced yesterday. The fee, officially undisclosed, is reported to have beaten Bournemouth’s record of eight million pounds ($11.61 million). Afobe missed Wolves’ FA Cup defeat by West Ham on Saturday because he was in talks with the south-coast club, who were promoted to the top flight of English football last season for the first time.

Notts County: Notts County have named Jamie Fullarton as their new manager. Ricardo Moniz lost his job with the League Two side on December 29 and the club have now chosen former Scotland U-21 captain Fullarton as their new boss. The 41-year-old will make the short move across the River Trent, having been a coach at Nottingham Forest.

Mandanda: Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda has revealed he has had several offers from clubs, but wants to stay at the French side. Both Liverpool and Aston Villa were linked with the 30-year-old in the British and French press. He told L’Equipe: “I had very advanced contacts. But I needed reflection and came to the conclusion that the best thing for me was to continue the Marseille adventure.”