Chelsea secured the future of one of their brightest young talents by handing a new five-and-a-half-year contract to right-back Reece James.
The 20-year-old s breakthrough into Frank Lampard s first team this season is one of several success stories among a richly gifted crop of homegrown academy graduates at Stamford Bridge.
Full international honours are next on the agenda for England Under-21 defender James, with the experiences of his esteemed team-mates suggesting caps might not be too far away.
Even if the decision to give youth its head was in part informed by Chelsea s player registration ban during the previous transfer window, the success of his young stars means Lampard s faith has unquestionably been vindicated.
A Blue since the age of eight …
West Ham insist Marko Arnautovic is not for sale despite the forward s apparent interest in pushing through a proposed £35million move to the Chinese Super League.
The Hammers released a statement on Thursday confirming their intention to hold the Austria international to the five-year deal he signed in July 2017.
Arnautovic s agent and brother, Danijel, had only hours earlier revealed to talkSPORT that his sibling s great desire was for the London club to accept the fantastic offer from an unnamed Chinese club.
West Ham, though, are determined to keep the influential 29-year-old and are adamant he will not be allowed to leave.
Marko Arnautovic has a contract and we fully expect him to honour it, the club s statement read.
He is not for …
Jurgen Klopp thinks Napoli can go all the way to the Champions League final if they can maintain their current level of performance.
The Liverpool manager has already felt the force of Luciano Spalletti s in-form side this season, losing 4-1 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on matchday one of the Champions League group stage.
Napoli sit top of Group A with five wins from five games, and also lead Serie A by five points after beating Sassuolo 4-0 on Saturday.
When questioned at a press conference ahead of Tuesday s return fixture at Anfield whether Napoli can reach the Champions League final, Klopp said: I think if they can play like they play at the moment, they have a good chance to go to the final I think Napoli is the team in form in Europe, they play real…
Raheem Sterling ended his goal drought as Manchester City edged closer to the Champions League knockout stages by grinding their way to a 4-1 victory over Club Brugge.
Second-half substitute Sterling, who has become a peripheral figure at the Etihad Stadium since declaring his openness to a move away, struck for the first time since August in what ended up being a comfortable victory for Pep Guardiola s side, who moved top of Group A.
Phil Foden put City ahead inside the opening quarter of an hour, but an own goal from John Stones restored parity two minutes later and the hosts struggled to create further chances in the first half.
However, unlike in their 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace at the weekend, City found a way to break down a low block and secured all…
West Bromwich Albion midfielder Zoltan Gera has suffered a serious knee injury, scans have revealed.
Gera was forced off in the 21st minute of Saturday s 3-1 Premier League defeat at home to Tottenham.
The 32-year-old will undergo further medical tests this week to determine the extent of the damage and allow the planning of his rehabilitation.
The Hungary captain returned over the close-season to the club for which he made over 150 appearances between 2004 and 2008, after signing from Fulham on a free transfer.
Baggies manager Roy Hodgson told West Brom s official website: Zoltan has done really well since coming into the team three games ago and his performances quickly justified how highly we rate him.
We still don t know for sure how long h…
Arsenal club secretary David Miles believes Arsene Wenger s side can beat AC Milan in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Arsenal defeated Milan in the competition in 2008, in the process inflicting the Rossoneri s first ever home defeat to an English club.
The Gunners will meet the seven-time European champions in February and March next year after Friday s draw in Nyon.
I would suggest that it s probably the pick of the round. It s going to be a fantastic two games, Miles told Sky Sports.
If I m being honest, there are maybe some other teams we would have preferred but of course what we mustn t forget is the last time we played AC was in the 2008 knockout rounds, we went through and won 2-0 in the San Siro.
Our recent history against Milan…
Carlo Ancelotti expects Saturday s Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid to follow a similar pattern to the 2014 showpiece.
Madrid, coached by Ancelotti, came from a goal down to equalise in the 93rd-minute of that game at Lisbon s Estadio da Luz, going on to win 4-1 in extra-time.
The Italian departed after a trophyless 2014-15 campaign, but his successor Rafael Benitez only lasted until January before being replaced by Zinedine Zidane.
Zidane served as Ancelotti s assistant when Madrid claimed La Decima and he can now emulate his former mentor by beating Atletico and securing Los Blancos 11th European Cup at San Siro.
Ancelotti, due to take over at Bayern Munich in the off-season, believes the former France star s tenure repre…
Lille midfielder Rio Mavuba has informed the club chiefs that he wants to quit this summer, .
The experienced midfielder, who represented France at the 2014 World Cup, seems to have become unsettled at Grand Stade Lille Metropole and he has asked to leave the club in the summer transfer window.
L Equipe has suggested that les Dogues will not stand in his way and plan to sign Nice s Didier Digard as a replacement.
Mavuba has spent last six and a half years at Lille and everything suggests the time has come for him to look for a new challenge.
The 30-year-old has made a total of 217 Ligue 1 appearances for les Dogues, scoring 4 goals and lifting the 2010/2011 league title.
He was previously linked with AS Roma, but it remains to be seen if his for…
While Arturo Vidal is known for his tattoo fixation and distinct style off the pitch, less focus is centred on his philanthropy.
The Chilean midfielder married those two facets via social media, unveiling his new tattoo, of an insulin pump.
Freshly inked next to a tattoo of his champion racehorse, naturally named Il Campione, the Bayern Munich star got the insulin pump body art as a tribute to his son, Alonso, who suffers from Type 1 diabetes.
The photo with his son was posted on Twitter along with a plea to Chilean president, Michelle Bachelet, calling for greater accessibility to insulin pumps for youths with Type 1 diabetes, as part of the AUGE healthcare plan.
Mrs. President Bachelet all Chilean children with Type 1 diabetes deserve an insulin pump #…
Chelsea striker Diego Costa conceded he had hope of returning to Atletico Madrid during the transfer window but revealed the deal fell through due to minor details .
Costa was heavily linked with a return to the Vicente Calderon in the off-season, where he won the LaLiga title under Diego Simeone in 2013-14 before joining Chelsea in a £32million deal.
While the decision was eventually made to stay at Stamford Bridge, Costa revealed he was deeply considering the switch back to Spanish football.
The truth is that I had hope of returning [to Atletico], the Spain international told Movistar Plus ahead of the side s friendly with Belgium.
I won t lie, because everyone knows what I m going through with the language, some things.
There was …