Aston Villa have confirmed the arrival of Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given on a five-year contract.
The 35-year-old Republic of Ireland international completed a medical at Villa Park over the weekend before finalising his move on Monday for an undisclosed fee, becoming Alex McLeish s first signing as club manager.
Given joined City in 2009 but found himself play second fiddle behind Joe Hart last English Premier League season, and the lure of first-team football was something that attracted him to the Midlands club.
Aston Villa is a huge football club and I m really excited to be joining, Given told the club’s official website.
I m looking forward to training and playing with the players here. They re a good bunch of lads, very talented and I k…
Brazilian defender Lucio has put an end to the speculation linking him with a move away from Inter by extending his deal at Giuseppe Meazza.
The Brazil international was linked with a number of top European clubs this summer as he had one year left on his deal.
The speculations mounted as the player looked unable to reach an agreement with club chiefs over the new deal, but it appears that the two parties have eventually agreed on a new contract.
The club have revealed that Lucio has signed a two-year extension until June 2014, thus putting an end to the speculations.
The 33-year-old was initially offered a one-year extension, but his agent managed to persuade Inter chiefs into offering his client a contract until June 2014.
Lucio has been an int…
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero declared on Friday he will not leave the club until they win the UEFA Champions League.
Just two days after City lost 2-1 at home to CSKA Moscow, with Fernandinho and Yaya Toure getting sent off, Aguero stayed positive, claiming he will keep extending his contract at the Etihad Stadium until they taste continental success.
Aguero signed a five-year deal in August, which will keep him at the club until June 2019.
Not only will I stay the four years to make it eight here in total, I ll stay beyond that — until we win it [the Champions League], the Argentine striker said.
Aguero insists City can recover from collecting just two points in their first four matches in Group E to overhaul CSKA and Roma to qualify for the …
Paul Pogba has declared that four Serie A titles are not enough to satisfy him as champions Juventus prepare to host Carpi on Saturday in their first match since clinching this season s Scudetto.
Juve defeated Fiorentina 2-1 in a thrilling encounter last Sunday, before sealing their fifth consecutive title when closest rivals Napoli lost to Roma the following day.
Massimiliano Allegri s men have now won five straight titles, four of which have come since Pogba s move to Turin from Manchester United in 2012.
But in-demand Pogba is not finished yet when it comes to his title tally and reiterated his commitment to Juve as he prepares for a crucial period that will see him take part in the Coppa Italia final against AC Milan on May 21 before representing hosts Franc…
Algeria have allowed Leicester City star Riyad Mahrez to leave camp in order to finalise a transfer before the window closes.
Mahrez has been linked with moves to Roma, Manchester United, Barcelona and Arsenal, and the 2015-16 Premier League winner is now nearing an exit from Leicester.
As Algeria prepare for a World Cup qualifier against Zambia, the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) confirmed on Wednesday that it has granted the 26-year-old attacker permission to formalise his playing future.
Mahrez has featured in all three Premier League fixtures for Leicester this season, setting up two goals.
AUTORISÉ À ALLER OFFICIALISER SON TRANSFERT VERS SON NOUVEAU CLUB
— Les Verts d Algérie (@LesVerts)
Algeria – bottom of Group B with …
Turkiye Gazetesi has learned that Fenerbahce are readying bid for Liverpool winger Lazar Markovic.
The Canaries haven’t enjoyed the best of starts to a new league campaign and they are set to make one last-ditch attempt to reinforce their ranks before the transfer window closes on Friday.
According to Turkiye Gazetesi, Fenerbahce plan to bring Liverpool midfielder Lazar Markovic back to Sukru Saracoglu.
The Serbian footballer managed two goals and three assists in 21 outings for the Canaries during the 2015/2016 campaign and he is reportedly interested in returning.
Markovic was deemed surplus to requirements at Anfield, but he did not receive any offers before the transfer window closed in England.
…
It is all change in the England squad, with two players dropping out, and Emile Smith Rowe earning a first senior call up from Gareth Southgate.
Smith Rowe has been in excellent form for Arsenal this season, but was not initially included in Southgate s squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Albania and San Marino.
The midfielder, who was handed Arsenal s number 10 shirt for 2021-22, has appeared in every Premier League game for the Gunners this term.
His tally of 15 chances created ranks him second in Arsenal s squad, behind Bukayo Saka (19). He has provided two league assists and scored four goals, meaning he is the club s joint-top scorer in the top flight alongside captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Welcome to camp, !
— Engl…
Jurgen Klopp confirmed Liverpool were interested in signing Borussia Dortmund sensation Jadon Sancho when he was at Manchester City, but the Premier League champions would not sell to the Reds.
Sancho left City for the Bundesliga in August 2017 and has been a revelation in Germany, scoring seven goals and setting up another nine in 22 league matches this season.
The 18-year-old earned his first senior England caps towards the end of last year and already looks as though he is set to become a mainstay, such is the talent he has shown early in his career.
Sancho arguably would not be in such a position had he stayed at City, however, as he decided to leave in search of greater exposure to first-team football.
Had things gone differently, he could have even …
Pep Lijnders believes it is nothing new that Liverpool s owners are open to new investment and says Fenway Sports Group (FSG) are acting in the best interests of the club.
It was reported on Monday that FSG are looking to sell Liverpool 12 years after taking over.
Boston-based FSG responded by stating they would consider new shareholders but are fully committed to the success of Liverpool, both on and off the pitch .
Lijnders says the management team and players will not be affected by off-field issues ahead of Wednesday s EFL Cup third-round tie against Derby County at Anfield.
The Liverpool assistant manager said at a pre-match press conference on Tuesday: Everybody who has seen us over the past few years, everybody who knows us as a club knows we have…
Bayern Munich have confirmed Sadio Mane sustained an injury to his right fibula head, though did not rule the Senegal star out of the FIFA World Cup.
Mane went off injured during Bayern s rout of Werder Bremen on Tuesday.
Julian Nagelsmann subsequently revealed Mane had suffered a suspected shin issue and would be assessed further on Wednesday, though reports in France and Germany claimed the 30-year-old former Liverpool attacker would not return to fitness in time to feature for Senegal in Qatar.
On Wednesday, Bayern confirmed the nature of Mane s injury, with the problem sustained at the top of his right fibula, with the Bundesliga champions ruling him out of their clash with Schalke on Saturday.
Bayern stated: Mane suffered an injury to his right fibul…