Pato: Alexandre Pato has become the latest high-profile player to move to China after the Brazilian striker linked up with Fabio Cannavaro at Tianjin Quanjian. The 27-year-old signed for Villarreal last summer but made only 11 La Liga appearances this season. Last night Pato, who made his name at Milan and later spent six months on loan with Chelsea, tweeted that he was “very happy to be part of the Tianjin Quanjian family”.
Minor blaze: Manchester United were forced to call firefighters to deal with a small electrical blaze which broke out at Old Trafford yesterday. Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service were called at 6:58am after reports of a fire in the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand. Crews were at the scene for approximately 90 minutes before the minor blaze, involving electrical equipment in a lift motor room, was extinguished.
Dussuyer: Frenchman Michel Dussuyer resigned as coach of Ivory Coast following the exit of the African Nations Cup holders from the tournament. The 57-year-old is the second coaching casualty of the tournament in Gabon after Algeria coach Georges Leekens quit following his side’s surprise first round elimination.
VAN AANHOLT: Crystal Palace have signed Dutch left-back Patrick van Aanholt on a four-and-a-half-year deal from Premier League relegation rivals Sunderland. No financial details of the deal were released, though media reports said Palace had paid an initial fee of nine million pounds, which could rise to £14 million, to lure Van Aanholt to Selhurst Park. Sunderland accepted a bid from Palace on Friday after Van Aanholt submitted a transfer request.
Wilson: Eddie Howe has insisted Bournemouth will not sell Callum Wilson despite a growing queue of suitors keen to prise the striker away from the south coast. “Callum Wilson’s not for sale, he’s a massive part of our plans and our future,” said Howe. “This is the most difficult transfer window I’ve been involved in, the pool of players is so small. We have been looking but we’ll see what happens.”
Montpellier: Frederic Hantz has been relieved of his duties as Montpellier head coach with the club hovering above the Ligue 1 relegation zone. The 50-year-old secured only four points from his last six league games in charge of the southern side, who were thrashed 5-1 at Marseille last week to now sit a point clear of the bottom three.
Serie B: Spezia vs Latina 3-2.