Gignac rejects West Ham

French giants Marseille have revealed striker Andre-Pierre Gignac has rejected a January switch to England.

The experienced forward has been heavily linked with a move to English Premier League, with West Ham reportedly in pole position.

However, even if Marseille were prepared to accept the latest offer from England, the player himself decided to pull the plug on the deal.

“Without giving away any secrets, he (Gignac) has also been, in recent weeks, the subject of a fairly large bid from an English club that he rejected,” Marseille president Vincent Labrune explained to Radio Monte Carlo.

Even with his contract due to expire in June 2015, Gignac doesn t appear to be interested in moving clubs at the moment, although he is unlikely to remain at Stade…

Stoke and Cardiff agree Odemwingie, Jones swap

Stoke City and Cardiff City have agreed a swap deal involving strikers Peter Odemwingie and Kenwyne Jones.

Jones will become Cardiff manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s fourth signing of the January transfer window, with Nigeria forward Odemwingie heading to the Britannia Stadium in exchange.

Odemwingie only joined the Welsh club in September but has struggled to find form since his transfer from West Brom, scoring just two goals in 17 appearances.

The ex-Lille and Lokomotiv Moscow man was omitted from the Cardiff squad for the 1-0 FA Cup win at Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.

Solskjaer suggested after the game that a deal with Stoke was on the cards, and an agreement has now been reached subject to both players passing medicals and agreeing personal terms.

A stat…

Di Maria to miss Juventus´ Champions League deciders but back for World Cup

Angel Di Maria is out of action for the next 20 days but is expected to be fit for the World Cup, Juventus have announced.

The 34-year-old left the field in tears during Juventus shock Champions League defeat to Maccabi Haifa on Tuesday, sparking fears about his availability for Argentina s World Cup campaign.

La Albiceleste are already sweating on the fitness of Roma s Paulo Dybala, out for four to six weeks with a quadriceps injury, while Lionel Messi has missed Paris Saint-Germain s past two matches.

Juventus shared a positive update on Di Maria s situation on Thursday, however, outlining the expectation that he will be fit for Argentina s campaign in Qatar.

The diagnostic tests that Di Maria underwent this morning at the J| Medical showed a low-grade…

Barcelona trying to convince Messi to stay, insists sporting director Planes

Barcelona are still trying to convince Lionel Messi to stay at the club and expect him to attend training when sessions resume, according to sporting director Ramon Planes.

Messi rocked Barcelona on Tuesday when it emerged the six-time Ballon d Or winner informed the club he would like to leave.

The 33-year-old reportedly intends to activate a clause in his contract that would allow him to unilaterally terminate their agreement following the 2019-20 season and join another club.

While it was required to be activated before the end of May, Messi told the club he still intends to make use of it as the season was extended into August due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Planes, promoted to his role following Eric Abidal s dismissal last week, says Barca have not…

Smith signs new four-year Aston Villa contract

Aston Villa head coach Dean Smith has signed a new four-year contract with the Premier League club.

The 48-year-old, who took charge in 2018, has now agreed terms that tie him to his boyhood club until 2023.

I m really happy to have committed my long-term future to the club, Smith told Villa s website.

I m looking forward to all the challenges that come with re-establishing Aston Villa as a top Premier League club.

Villa CEO Christian Purslow added: The board is delighted that Dean has signed a new four-year contract which puts him at the heart of the club s long-term rebuilding plans.

Smith took charge of Villa in October last year and guided them to promotion back to the Premier League via a Championship play-off final win over Derby County…

Thank God for VAR!´ – Arteta relieved after Arsenal´s dramatic win at Leeds

Mikel Arteta declared thank God for VAR after Premier League leaders Arsenal held on for a 1-0 win at Leeds United.

Sunday s game at Elland Road was suspended just a couple of minutes after it started, as a power cut was affecting Hawk-Eye and communications between referee Chris Kavanagh and the VAR.

The match resumed following a delay of around 40 minutes and Bukayo Saka s fourth goal in three matches gave the Gunners a half-time advantage, the England international becoming the first player to register 50 goal involvements during Arteta s reign.

Leeds dominated the second half, Patrick Bamford having a goal disallowed for a push on Gabriel Magalhaes within a minute of coming on before missing a penalty.

Bamford wasted further clear-cut chances as Aaron…

Chelsea boost European hopes with win over Newcastle

Mykhailo Mudryk scored a sensational solo goal as Chelsea kept alive slender hopes of qualifying for Europe via the Premier League with a 3-2 win over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.

At 2-1 late in the second half, the result was in the balance but it was tipped decisively in Chelsea’s favour by a moment of magic from the substitute, taking the ball off Conor Gallagher’s foot at top speed and bamboozling his way beyond defender Fabian Schar before rounding the goalkeeper and finishing.

The win marked a significant step forward for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, who have so often allowed balanced duels – as this undoubtedly was – to slip away from them.

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— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)

Nicolas Jackson gave them a sixth-minute lead wi…

Lukaku drops Chelsea exit hint

Romelu Lukaku has dropped a strong hint he could be set to leave Chelsea with a cryptic Twitter post.

The Belgium international striker has been heavily linked with a move to Everton, who he played for on loan last season.

Lukaku has never established himself at Chelsea, and his future has been cast into further doubt this close-season following the arrival of Diego Costa and the re-signing of Didier Drogba.

And the 21-year-old has heightened speculation of an imminent departure from Stamford Bridge by writing on Twitter: Time to write a new chapter.

The post was accompanied by a picture of Lukaku, who appeared to be on a plane.

Lukaku moved to Chelsea from Anderlecht in August 2011 but he has made just 10 Premier League appearances for the Lond…

´Pure disappointment´ for Mainz after Greek tragedy

Mainz midfielder Julian Baumgartlinger said Thursday s loss to Asteras Tripolis in the UEFA Europa League was pure disappointment .

Tripolis trumped Mainz 3-1 in Greece to claim a 3-2 aggregate victory in the third round of Europa League qualifying, as the Bundesliga club failed to reach the group stage of the competition for the third straight attempt.

Mainz had previously lost to Romania s Gaz Metan Medias in qualifying for the 2011-12 Europa League, while they fell to Sevilla in the 2005-06 campaign.

But Thursday s loss appeared even harder to take for Mainz, as they were leading on away goals in Tripoli until Pablo Mazza struck his second goal of the game for the hosts with just four minutes remaining.

This is pure disappointment but it s our own fau…

Sevilla 2 Barcelona 0: Resting Messi backfires for Copa del Rey holders

Pablo Sarabia and Wissam Ben Yedder scored in the second half to earn Sevilla a deserved 2-0 victory over Barcelona, who rested Lionel Messi, in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final. 

Messi came off the bench to help Barca beat Leganes in LaLiga at the weekend, but Ernesto Valverde left his captain out entirely at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on Wednesday, handing a debut to shock signing Kevin-Prince Boateng in attack instead.

Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho came on as substitutes but, if Barca are to win the Copa del Rey for a fifth year in a row, they will have to overturn a first-leg deficit as they did in the last round against Levante. 

Sarabia struck to capitalise on a period of Sevilla dominance with Ben Yedder adding a late second, …