Manchester United: Ireland defender John O'Shea and Scotland midfielder Darren Fletcher have extended their contracts with Manchester United until 2009, manager Alex Ferguson said yesterday. "We are delighted, it represents our vision of all the young players in the club being with us for a long period of time," Ferguson said. He added that 20-year-old Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, another of the squad's young guard, was close to signing a new deal.

Cassano: Roma striker Antonio Cassano has been ruled out of action for up to 20 days after injuring his ankle, the Serie A club said. The 23-year-old Italian international went down under a heavy tackle by team mate Samuel Kuffour during a training match. He will miss Serie A matches against Empoli, city rivals Lazio and Inter, as well as Roma's first UEFA Cup Group E match against Norwegian side Tromso on October 20.

Nakamura: Celtic manager Gordon Strachan faces a struggle to coax Japan's Shunsuke Nakamura to stay in Scotland for two Glasgow derbies in November. Nakamura is due to play for Japan in a friendly against the Ivory Coast on November 16. Celtic have a League Cup quarter-final against Rangers on November 9 and face them again in the league 10 days later. Strachan said that he had been unable to speak to Japan's manager Zico.

Sanz: Former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz should be confirmed as the new owner of Parma in the next few days after handing over a cheque for 20 million euros, the Serie A club has announced. Parma have been searching for a buyer since their parent company, Italian food group Parmalat, collapsed in December 2003 amid an accounting fraud scandal. If the deal goes through, Sanz would become the first non-Italian owner of a Serie A club.

Camoranesi: Italy international Mauro Camoranesi has extended his contract with Juventus until June 2009, the Serie A club said yesterday. The 29-year-old midfielder, whose previous deal expired in June 2007, is a first team regular for the Azzurri and the Italian champions.

In England: League Two - Cheltenham vs Grimsby 0-3; Northampton vs Oxford 1-0.

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