Ljungberg: Neil Lennon revealed Freddie Ljungberg was expected to arrive in Glasgow last night with a view to signing for Celtic. Lennon said: “Ljungberg is coming in tonight. It is not a trial or anything like that. It’s so that we can have a look at him and he can look at us.”
Costa: Former Brazil international midfielder Eduardo Costa has agreed to a six-month loan spell with Brazilian side Vasco da Gama from French strugglers Monaco. The 28-year-old has fallen out of favour with coach Guy Lacombe since suffering a knee injury.
Blackburn: New Blackburn boss Steve Kean has stripped Christopher Samba of the club captaincy after the defender expressed his desire to leave Ewood Park. Samba missed yesterday’s 2-0 home defeat to Stoke with an ankle injury and Kean said while he would have played if he had not failed a late test, he would not have worn the armband.
Young: Manchester United are believed to be close to agreeing a deal for Aston Villa winger Ashley Young, according to reports. The former England under-21 man has reportedly turned down a new five-year deal with Villa to put his contract talks on hold until the summer.
Boxing: Japan’s Daiki Kameda defended his World Boxing Association (WBA) flyweight title on points against Romania’s Silvio Olteanu yesterday. In a split decision three judges scored it 116-112, 115-113 for Kameda, while the other counted it 110-118 for the challenger. It was the 21-year-old Kameda’s second defence of the title he won from Denkaosen Kaowichit of Thailand in February, stretching his record to 19 wins, including 11 KOs, against two defeats.
Basketball, NBA: LeBron James notched a triple-double and star-studded Miami shone in the NBA’s Christmas Day spotlight with a 96-80 victory over the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. James scored 27 points with 10 assists and 11 rebounds for the 31st triple-double of his career and his third since his move as a free agent to Miami prior to this season. Chris Bosh added 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Heat and Dwyane Wade chipped in 18 points despite being slowed by a sore knee.
Cricket: South Africa captain Graeme Smith has had his Test cap stolen. Smith discovered the cap was missing when he arrived in Durban ahead of the second Test against India, which began yesterday. In a plea to his followers on Twitter, he wrote: “Realise this is a long shot, but had my test cap that I’ve used since my first test for proteas stolen on travel up to durbs!” He added in a second tweet: “Cap means a lot to me so if you know anything please give me a shout......thanks.”
Rugby Union: Wales’ record international try-scorer Shane Williams could be fit for the Six Nations opener against England in Cardiff on February 4. The Ospreys wing has been sidelined since dislocating his shoulder during Wales’ home loss to world champions South Africa last month. Williams subsequently underwent surgery and was ruled out for an initial period of 10-12 weeks but the Ospreys said there is a chance that the former world player of the year, who has scored 51 tries in 75 Tests for his country, might feature ahead of the Six Nations.