Swansea City defender Stephen Kingsley has signed a new four-year contract with the club.
The 21-year-old signed for Swansea from Scottish Championship side Falkirk in June 2014 and made four Premier League appearances last season after returning from a loan spell with Crewe Alexandra.
Kingsley previously had a stint at Yeovil Town and is delighted to have finally had a taste of top-flight action.
The left-back s previous contract was due to expire at the end of 2016-17, but he is now tied to the club until June 2020.
The last six months have been a whirlwind, Kingsley told the club s official website.
Everything has happened so quickly. But this is just the start for me. I am just looking forward to getting into the new season and trying to pus…
Bundesliga side Hamburg have been dealt a blow with the news that goalkeeper Rene Adler has suffered an injury while on international duty.
The 28-year-old is to miss Hamburg s pre-season trip to Austria as he aims to recover from the slight knee ligament tear which occured while featuring in Germany s 4-2 win over Ecuador last month.
Adler also suffered bruising to the same knee and will undergo a two-week rehabilitation programme as he targets a return to action in time for his side s Bundesliga opener against Schalke on August 10.
In Hamburg, I m in the best possible place to speed up the recovery process, Adler told the Bundesliga website.
In Adler s absence, it will be between Jaroslav Drobny and Sven Neuhaus to battle it out for the goalkeeping position.…
Simon Kjaer s long-expected Lille exit has been confirmed with the Denmark international moving to Fenerbahce on a four-year deal.
The former Wolfsburg man had been linked with Premier League side Liverpool after Lille failed to qualify for Europe, having been one of Rene Girard s standout performers last term.
Kjaer was a regular feature in Girard s back line and has now made the switch to Istanbul with Fener, who will feature in the UEFA Champions League again this season.
The Turkish giants were banned from two editions of UEFA club competitions in 2013 for match-fixing.
Fener who finished three points off Turkish Super Lig winners Galatasaray last season recently appointed Vitor Pereira as their new head coach.
Pereira succeeds Ismail Ka…
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has called on his side to keep their unbeaten run at the Etihad alive on Sunday.
Current Premier League leaders Manchester United travel to last season s champions, looking for revenge following that dramatic season finale in May.
City are currently three points behind their rivals, and a win at the Etihad would put Roberto Mancini s side on top of the table.
But Toure understands the difficulty they will confront when they go against United, facing a strikeforce of Wayne Rooney and a player they reportedly tried to sign themselves in the summer, Robin van Persie.
We respect United but we are at home and confident against anyone on our own pitch, Toure told reporters.
These are the games, personally, I love…
Barcelona defender Eric Abidal has promised that he will not to return to action too soon following his liver transplant earlier this year.
The Frenchman underwent the procedure in April and has been working his way back to health since.
Football is not the chief priority for the the 33-year-old left-back, who has said that his priorities lie with his family.
My wish is to return and at the moment I m very happy because I feel great, he told TV3.
I want to play, but I have a family and I m not going to take any risks. The first priority for me is them, and then myself.
If I can play then perfect, and if not I can be with my family and the people who love me.
Abidal was first diagnosed with cancer in March 2011 but made a return at th…
Manchester United have won three Premier League games in a row for the first time this year as they beat Leicester City 1-0 at the King Power Stadium on Thursday.
Although United s performance was by no means flawless, victory moved them up to fifth in the table, with the nightmares of their first two games of the season seemingly a distant memory.
United were fully deserving of the first-half lead that was given to them by Jadon Sancho at the end of an incisive move – though their level dropped significantly after the restart.
Leicester were encouraged and carried greater threat, but clear-cut chances remained at a premium as United s solid backline helped guide the visitors to another win.
United looked sharp right from the start and almost went ahead…
Chelsea defender Nathan Ake has vowed to repay the club s faith in him after signing a new five-year deal.
The 18-year-old committed his future to the Premier League side on Thursday after impressing during a breakthrough 2012-13 campaign, which saw him make six first-team appearances.
And the youngster, who joined the London club from Feyenoord in 2011, is ready to show that the belief in him is warranted.
I m very happy that Chelsea is rewarding me with a new contract for my effort and development the last years, he told the club s official website.
I would like to thank everybody at the club for everything they did for me. Thanks to them I have come so far. I won t let them down and will keep on working as hard as I can.
The versatile player made his de…
Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has said that his team s recent run of seven consecutive victories has given the club the confidence to challenge for the Serie A title.
The Italy number one has been missing from that run with a back injury that appears set to rule him out till 2009.
However, the 30 year-old told Juventus website that his absence, along with other key players David Trezeguet and Mauro Camoranesi, has demonstrated the squad s strength.
The last few games have shown that I m not indispensible. My teammates have reacted in the best way to a difficult period.
Continuing this way and with (Alessandro) Del Piero as he is (in such form), you can start to dream and push for all our objectives, including the championship.
Del Pi…
Elseid Hysaj s agent has claimed the Napoli right-back could join Chelsea should Maurizio Sarri replace Antonio Conte at Stamford Bridge.
Sarri has been heavily linked with the FA Cup winners in recent weeks after being replaced by Carlo Ancelotti, despite overseeing Napoli s concerted Serie A title challenge in 2017-18.
Hysaj, 24, is also a reported target for Chelsea and was coached by Sarri at both Empoli and Napoli.
Speculation continues to mount that Chelsea will part with Conte in the off-season and Hysaj s agent Mario Giuffredi has suggested the Albanian s future could depend on where Sarri ends up next.
He has a €50million release clause. I think only Premier League clubs can afford him, so his fate depends on Sarri, he told Radio CRC.…
Lothar Matthaus rates Kai Havertz as a potential Ballon d Or winner and the excitement surrounding the midfielder is entirely justified, according to Bayern Leverkusen team-mate Daley Sinkgraven.
Bayern Munich, Liverpool and a number of other top European sides have been linked to Havertz since he struck 17 goals during an exceptional 2018-19 Bundesliga campaign.
His list of admirers includes former Germany captain Matthaus, who on Monday tipped the 20-year-old to eventually join a very big club, and new Leverkusen signing Sinkgraven.
The latter moved to the BayArena from Ajax in June and has been impressed with Havertz.
I knew about him. Now I ve spent [several] weeks with him and, indeed, he s a very good player, Sinkgraven told Omnisport.
You…