Melbourne City have signed former Athletic Bilbao forward Markel Susaeta for the remainder of the A-League season.
City announced the transfer on Thursday following Susaeta s brief stint with Japanese giants Gamba Osaka, who the Spaniard joined in September.
Athletic great Susaeta – a one-time Spain international – is a coup for City following his 507 matches for the LaLiga side, where he sits fifth on the all-time appearances list.
Susaeta had planned to see out his career with Athletic but the 32-year-old left the Basque club at the end of the 2018-19 season, going on to play just 165 minutes of football for Gamba.
I m excited to be joining Melbourne City for the rest of the season and can t wait to get started in Australia, he said.
I m h…
Stoke City have appointed Nathan Jones as the club s new manager after the sacking of Gary Rowett.
Jones has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal at the bet365 Stadium after Stoke agreed a compensation package with Luton Town.
Rowett was sacked on Tuesday after just eight months in charge, leaving them 14th in the Championship and eight points outside the play-offs. His last game in charge was a 1-1 FA Cup draw at League One Shrewsbury.
A joint statement from Stoke chairman Peter Coates and his son, vice-chairman John Coates, said: Nathan is an incredibly driven and passionate individual and we are delighted to have secured his services for Stoke City.
Nathan Jones is the new manager of Stoke City, the Club are delighted to confirm.
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Market: Barrow win
Odds: 10/11 @
Hoping to extend on their recent purple patch in midweek, Barrow will welcome Colchester to Holker Street on Tuesday night.
Starting with the hosts, laying down a real marker over the weekend, there is no doubt that the mood in Barrow s camp should be at a real high. Eventually breezing their way to a routine 3-0 victory at home against Crewe, Pete Wild s men have gained plenty of praise from across League Two since opening the 2022/23 campaign. Although the Bluebirds might have only just clung to their fourth-tier status last season, the Cumbria-based outfit have now taken 10 points from their last four outings. With their stellar run of form highlighted by an eye-catching 2-0 victory at home against Carlisle on October 18th, Ba…
Real Madrid are used to making Champions League history, and they wrote another chapter in the competition s record books on Wednesday.
Karim Benzema gave them the lead against Shakhtar Donetsk in the 14th minute at the Santiago Bernabeu, tapping in after Marlon Santos gave possession away to Vinicius Junior in his own box.
The goal may not have been one to live long in the memory, but it was a landmark one as it brought up Madrid s 1,000th in the Champions League/European Cup.
Madrid, who have won the competition a record 13 times, are the first team to reach four figures in the Champions League, and Shakhtar s play at the back in the first half suggested they could add to that tally before full-time in the Group D encounter.
1000 have become the first…
Uzbekistan international Server Djeparov has won the AFC s Player of the Year award for the second time in four years.
The 29-year-old midfielder clinched the honour ahead of Iran s Hadi Aghily at Wednesday s ceremony in Kuala Lumpur.Al-Shabab player Djeparov, who won the award in 2008, played a key role in helping Uzbekistan to their best-ever Asian Cup finish, placing fourth at the 2011 tournament in Qatar.Nominees Keisuke Honda, Shinji Kagawa, Koo Ja-Cheol and Yeom Ki-Hun were unable to attend the evening and were subsequently ineligible.Aya Miyama won the women s AFC Player of the Year award, as a reward for her role in Japan s 2011 Women s World Cup triumph.Japan won both the men s and women s national Team of the Year honours, while Al Sadd claimed the club award.
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Wolfsburg will not exercise their option to sign Barcelona midfielder Alexander Hleb on a permanent basis before his loan deal expires.
Hleb, 30, joined Bundesliga club Wolfsburg on a six-month loan at the start of the season, and a long-term in the January transfer window was a possibility if all parties were satisfied.
However, the Belarus international has been struggling with injuries since his arrival at the Volkswagen Arena, making only four league appearances.
He will now return to parent club Barcelona when the loan deal ends on December 31.
This is all very sad, Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath told the club s website.
I would really have liked to keep him at Wolfsburg, but his ongoing injury problems simply don t allow it.
Hleb …
New Arsenal signing Granit Xhaka has been compared to Italian maestro Andrea Pirlo by former club defender Johan Djourou.
Arsenal completed the signing of Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be worth £30million, on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old Switzerland international starred in Bundesliga, making 141 appearances for Gladbach after arriving from Basel in 2012.
And ex-Arsenal defender Djourou now playing for Hamburg in Germany likened his countryman to two-time Champions League winner and 2006 World Cup victor Pirlo, who plies his trade with New York City in MLS.
Granit is a great ball player, Djourou told the Mirror. The guy has a magical left foot. He can ping the ball all over the place. He is a strong tackler he is …
Fenerbahce have announced Ismail Kartal will step up from assistant manager to become head coach at the Super Lig champions.
The 53-year-old has been part of the backroom staff at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium since 2010, having spent a decade at the club during his playing career.
Ersun Yanal resigned from the head coach position over the weekend, despite winning Fener s 19th Super Lig title in his sole season in charge.
And his former right-hand man Kartal says he is more than ready for the challenge that lies ahead and is fully focused on helping Fener win back-to-back titles for the first time since 2004-05.
I have worked very hard and waited a long time for this chance, he said. We had great success with Aykut [Kocaman] and Ersun in the past four year…
Celtic bounced back from a second-half scare to take firm control of their Champions League play-off tie against Hapoel Be er Sheva with a 5-2 victory at Parkhead.
Brendan Rodgers side appeared to have one foot in the group stage when a ninth-minute Tom Rogic goal and Griffiths double were just reward for a dazzling display during the opening 45 minutes.
But, not for the first time in his career, Rodgers watched a side under his direction display defensive vulnerabilities and puncture the confidence established through slick attacking work.
Lucio Maranhao scored in the 55th minute to crown a break from a Celtic corner and Maor Melikson struck two minutes later, as seething Hapoel boss Barak Bakhar was seemingly rewarded for spending most of the half-time break al…
West Bromwich Albion are the latest Premier League club to show interest in the Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho.
Talented midfielder played an important role in Portugal’s maiden win at the European Championship in France this summer, while he has already established himself as a key man for his club.
Previously linked with Arsenal, the 24-year-old but the latest reports confirm that the Baggies joined the race for Carvalho as West Brom manager Tony Pulis is looking to close the relatively quiet transfer window with a bang.
Portugal reports that the Premier League side have had the initial proposal worth €25 million rejected by Sporting Lisbon who are not in a rush to sell their prized asset.
Leicester City, Everton and Southampton are a…