The future of Samuel Eto’o continues to be an evolving storyline as Liverpool became the latest top-tier club linked to the aging Cameroon star. Reports have linked him with Ajax, and ESPN reported that Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is considering signing the 33 year old on a short-term deal. Liverpool needs depth behind Daniel Sturridge after the loss of controversial striker Luis Suarez. Rodgers pursued Queens Park’s Loic Remy, but the deal to fell through after the Frenchman took his medical exam.
Manchester City
Manchester City playmaker David Silva has signed a new five-year contract, the club have announced.
The inspirational Spain international, who has won two Premier League titles with City, is now committed to the club until the end of the 2018-19 season.
The 28-year-old has been a key figure at the Etihad Stadium since his arrival from Valencia in 2010.
More transfer talk: Barcelona confirm Thomas Vermaelen still injured; Manchester City sign Mangala
Silva, who has also won the FA Cup and Capital One Cup, told the club’s website, www.mcfc.co.uk: “From the moment I joined the club four years ago it has felt like a second home to me.
“On and off the pitch, I feel incredibly content and fulfilled professionally and personally, so why wouldn’t I want to stay and keep winning trophies with this fantastic team?
“Over the last four years, we have achieved so much together, establishing City as a dominating force in England and now, when I look around this dressing room, I can see no reason why we won’t become one of the top teams in the world.
“It was a straightforward decision to extend my stay here and spend my peak years at Manchester City, a club with unbelievable fans who have always supported me.”
Silva is the third City player to have signed a new contract over the summer after Samir Nasri and Aleksandar Kolarov also agreed new terms.
News of the deal also comes a day after the club completed the £32million signing of Porto defender Eliaquim Mangala.
City’s summer activity has also seen them sign midfielder Fernando, goalkeeper Willy Caballero and defender Bacary Sagna.
England midfielder Frank Lampard, who is to join sister club New York City FC next year, has also agreed a loan move to the Etihad Stadium.
Queens Park Rangers
Glenn Hoddle has been appointed to QPR’s backroom staff, the Barclays Premier League club have announced.
Hoddle is to join coaches Kevin Bond and Joe Jordan in working beneath boss Harry Redknapp in what will be his first tracksuit role since stepping down as Wolves manager in 2006.
“After winning promotion last season, the first aim at QPR is to stay in the Premier League and I’m looking forward to helping play my part as we try to achieve that,” Hoddle said.
Hoddle has been seeking a return to football and was linked with a second spell at Tottenham when Andre Villas-Boas was axed last season, only to lose out to Tim Sherwood.
The 56-year-old former England boss has been working as a pundit during in his absence from the game and in 2008 opened an academy in Spain to improve players released by English clubs.
“I’m really pleased to take up Harry’s offer to come in and work with him, Kevin and Joe,” Hoddle said.
“I have always loved coaching, and I can’t wait to meet the players, get on the training pitch and get to work.”
Celtic
Celtic have signed Belgian defender Jason Denayer on a season-long loan from Manchester City.
The 19-year-old signed for City following two years in the Anderlecht youth team.
His arrival came just over 12 hours after Aston Villa’s Bulgarian international winger Aleksandar Tonev also moved to Celtic Park on a season’s loan.
Centre-back Denayer was with the City first-team squad on their tours of Scotland and the United States. But his path from the club’s elite development squad was further blocked this week when the English champions signed France central defender Eliaquim Mangala in a £32million transfer from Porto.
The deal for Tonev includes an option to sign the 24-year-old next summer. And the winger is looking to follow in the footsteps of former Villa and Celtic hero Stiliyan Petrov and become a Parkhead great.
“Joining Celtic is unbelievable, and I feel really good about it,” he told the club’s website.
Montpellier
Paraguay striker Lucas Barrios has joined Montpellier on loan from Spartak Moscow, the French club said Tuesday.
The 23-times capped Argentina-born Paraguayan will likely be ready to make his debut against Marseille on the second round of matches of Ligue 1.
Barrios is a two-time Bundesliga champion with Borussia Dortmund (2011 and 2012), from where he went to Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande before landing in Moscow.
Celtic
Scottish champions Celtic signed Bulgaria winger Aleksandar Tonev from Aston Villa on a season-long loan on Monday.
Tonev’s move includes an option for Celtic to buy the 24-year-old at the end of the season.
He agreed the switch to Parkhead after speaking to compatriot Stiliyan Petrov, who enjoyed a successful seven-year spell at the Glasgow club before joining Villa in 2006.
“Joining Celtic is unbelievable and I feel really good about it. I can’t wait to meet up with my new team-mates and start playing for Celtic,” Tonev told the club’s website.
“I already knew all about Celtic. Everybody in Bulgaria knows Celtic.
“I spoke to Stiliyan Petrov yesterday and he was very happy for me. He wished me good luck and I hope I can do as well for Celtic as Stiliyan did.”
Tonev has won 15 caps for Bulgaria and Villa hoped he would be a key figure when Paul Lambert signed him from Polish side Lech Poznan in June 2013.
Reading
Former QPR defender Anton Ferdinand signed for Championship promotion hopefuls Reading on Monday.
Ferdinand agreed a two-year contract with Nigel Adkins’ team following his departure from Turkish side Antalyaspor.
The 29-year-old, whose brother is QPR’s Rio Ferdinand, quit English football following the controversy that saw Chelsea star John Terry accused of racially abusing him.
Terry was found not guilty when the case went to Westminster Magistrates Court, but the Football Association later banned him for four matches and he was also stripped of the England captaincy.
However, Ferdinand wasn’t fulfilled by his time in Turkey, where he also played for Bursaspor on loan, and the former West Ham and Sunderland centre-back admitted he was relieved to return to England.
“I’ve been away from English football for a year and had some tough times. Turkey is a fantastic place to go and play football, but certain things off the field didn’t allow me to enjoy my football,” Ferdinand told Reading’s website.
“That chapter is closed now, and I’ve opened a new chapter at Reading and I’m looking forward to it.
“I’ve got things to prove, to myself and everyone. A lot of people have written me off and doubted me because I’ve been away for a year, but I’m here to prove to people that I can offer a lot to English football.
“I want to offer what I can to Reading, and hopefully that means promotion.”
France
Diego Contento completed a move to Bordeaux from Bayern Munich, signing a four-year deal with the Ligue 1 club.
Contento, 24, will be coached by former Bayern full-back Willy Sagnol. “He has had five years in the first-team squad in Munich, even if he hasn’t played all that many games with Bayern,” Sagnol said. “He has played Champions League games against French clubs. We will have a highly motivated guy who will want to show his true level.” Elsewhere, the Paraguay striker Lucas Barrios joined Montpellier on a season-long loan from Spartak Moscow. Barrios, 29, played for Borussia Dortmund from 2009/12, winning two Bundesliga titles, before moving to Gangzhou and Spartak last season.
Germany
During a fairly busy transfer season, Borussia Dortmund is celebrating the one who did not get away. At least, that is the team’s position at the moment. German national-team player Mats Hummels, 25, was part of the winning side at the World Cup in Brazil and is signed through 2017. However, reports have persistently linked him with Manchester United and Arsenal. However, Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp insisted after the team’s 4-0 loss at Liverpool on Sunday that Hummels would not be going anywhere. “He is staying with us,” Klopp told The Guardian.
Poland
Legia Warsaw is appealing their ouster from the Champions League over the use of a suspended player, claiming they deserve to be in the next stage of the competition. Legia were stripped of their place despite beating Scottish champions Celtic 6-1 on aggregate because they mistakenly brought on a suspended player, Bartosz Bereszynski, for the last few minutes of a 2-0 win in a second-leg match. UEFA awarded Celtic a 3-0 win as punishment. As of now, Celtic is scheduled to face NK Maribor of Slovenia in the Champions League playoff round on August 19 or 20.
Italy
Despite causing an outcry by referring to African players as “banana eaters”, Carlo Tavecchio, 71, was elected president of the Italian football federation. He beat former Italy and AC Milan midfielder Demetrio Albertini, winning 63.33 per cent of the 278 votes. His election will be uncomfortable Fifa and Uefa, who are making the fight against racism a priority.
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