Cole: Arsenal said yesterday they had held informal talks with fellow Premier League side Chelsea over the possible transfer of England left back Ashley Cole to Stamford Bridge. Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein said: "There have been certain discussions going on but there is not much more I can say at this stage. As we speak he is our player and unless something changes he will remain our player."

McCarthy: Blackburn Rovers have signed South Africa striker Benni McCarthy from Porto. McCarthy, who joins for an undisclosed fee, has signed a four-year contract. McCarthy, 28, helped Porto to their Champions League title in 2004 but had been trying to engineer a move to England since manager Jose Mourinho left to take over at Chelsea.

Zagallo: Mario Zagallo wants to continue his career in football despite being fired as Brazil's technical co-ordinator earlier this week. The 74-year-old, who was told on Wednesday he would not be part of the set-up under new coach Dunga, said he was open to offers. "I'm not even thinking about retiring," the former Brazil player and coach said. "Football's in my blood."

High risk: Asian Football Confederation president Mohammed bin Hammam has told Lebanon to move their Asian Cup qualifiers to a neutral venue if the safety of visiting teams is at risk. Bin Hammam told reporters yesterday that he was hopeful Lebanon's two remaining home qualifiers would proceed as scheduled.

In Germany: Today's League Cup quarter-finals - 3.30 p.m. Hamburg vs Hertha Berlin; 6.15 p.m. Schalke vs Bayer Leverkusen.