Sunderland chief executive Margaret Byrne has revealed the club are already drawing up a transfer shortlist ahead of the summer transfer window, .
Byrne, who was promoted from Legal Director to Chief Executive in 2011, is also a Premier League representative on the FA Council.
Although the best-case scenario would be to bring in new players before the start of the pre-season, the club must have a Plan B and C in order to account for extraordinary cases, argues Byrne.
In addition, Byrne confirmed she looks at possible summer signings in January.
People sometimes say that the search for new signings begins on February 1, but I think it actually begins earlier than that, it begins in January, the Black Cats former in-house lawyer told the Shield…
Zenit St Petersburg defender Domenico Criscito has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Zenit St Petersburg defender Domenico Criscito has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
The Italy international suffered a cruciate ligament tear in a friendly match with Siena last Thursday.
Coach Luciano Spalletti has confirmed the player will now be sidelined for at least six months as he requires surgery.
Mimmo (Criscito) tore cruciate ligaments and will undergo surgery, Spalletti told the club s official website.
The 26-year-old Criscito, who joined the Russian outfit from Genoa in the summer of 2011, will now miss Zenit s title run-in and the remainder of their European campaign.
Zenit face Bas…
England captain Steven Gerrard insists the side are fully focused on Tuesday s clash with Ukraine, and are not looking ahead to bigger tests.
Should England avoid defeat on Tuesday night against the co-hosts, they will safely proceed to the quarter-finals of the competition where they will face either Spain or Italy.
And the Liverpool man has emphasised the need to turn all concentration to the game in Donetsk.
I am trying to force myself not to even talk about quarter-finals at this stage, Gerrard told reporters.
It would be very disrespectful to the opposition, who are very dangerous judging by the tapes we have watched of them.
Their combination play in the middle and around the box is good. If I started talking about quarter-finals and we …
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane remains hopeful Eden Hazard will not have to undergo surgery on his fractured ankle.
Hazard was forced off late on against Paris Saint-Germain towards the end of November after receiving a bang to his ankle.
Early concerns appeared to be put to rest when Madrid s medical team claimed the Belgian had only suffered bruising, but after needing crutches for longer than expected, he was sent for a second scan.
It was then that a small fracture was identified, essentially confirming he will not feature in El Clasico on December 18.
While there is no suggestion Hazard will be able to recover in time to face Barcelona, Zidane is at least hoping he will not require an operation.
I don t believe so [that Hazard will need s…
Chelsea are prepared to sell Spanish striker Fernando Torres in the summer transfer window, .
The Spaniard has largely struggled to live up to the expectations since making a £50 million move from Anfield, and the Blues seem to have finally lost patience with him.
Daily Express has been told club owner Roman Abramovich is ready to sell the experienced striker if anyone offer around £15 million.
Russian free-spenders Anzhi are keen on Torres, but it appears the player himself prefers a return to Spanish La Liga.
Should Chelsea decide to make a move on Radamel Falcao, they could use Torres as a makeshift in the deal.
The 28-year-old joined the Blues in January 2011, and has since scored just 14 Premier League goals for the Stamford Bridge outfit.…
Spain goalkeeper Victor Valdes has leapt to the defence of Vicente del Bosque, saying the criticism targeted at the coach is senseless.
The 61-year-old had come under-fire following his decision to deploy Cesc Fabregas as a false nine in Spain s 1-1 draw with Italy in their Euro 2012 opener.
Del Bosque was then criticised in the wake of Spain s disappointing display in their 1-0 victory against Croatia, but Valdes has backed the coach s tactical choices.
I do not understand the criticism targeted at the coach, nor do I share it, he told reporters at a press conference.
In football, things can go better or worse, but the results are there. I think the coach has got everything right since he took charge of the national team.
He is calm and seei…
Aaron Mooy is a step closer to join the A-League s new western Sydney club after being granted a free transfer from SPL outfit St Mirren.
The 21-year-old attacking midfielder has been expected to join the fledgling outfit since the Saints revealed they were in the process of finalising his release, with the former Bolton trainee now free to become one of western Sydney coach Tony Popovic s first signings.
Mooy an Australian youth international made 30 appearances for St Mirren after joining the Scottish club in October 2010, and will be remembered fondly by Saints fans for his goal against Rangers on December 24 in his side s 2-1 victory.
This move will give Aaron the opportunity to play more first team football which he really needs at this stage of his career…
Leicester City sealed top spot in Europa League Group G as goals from Cengiz Under and Harvey Barnes led Brendan Rodgers side to a routine 2-0 win over AEK Athens on Thursday.
Leicester missed the chance to confirm first place when they lost to Zorya Luhansk last week, but the Foxes never looked in danger of squandering a second opportunity as they opened up an unassailable two-goal lead after 14 minutes at the King Power Stadium.
Under put Leicester ahead with his first goal following a loan move from Serie A outfit Roma before Barnes sixth goal of the season doubled the hosts advantage soon after.
The result meant Leicester finished level on 13 points with Braga, but won the group courtesy of their better head-to-head record against the Portuguese sid…
Milan secured top spot in Europa League Group H with a 1-0 victory at Sparta Prague on Thursday.
A first-half strike from Jens Petter Hauge sealed all three points for a much-altered Rossoneri, who fielded four players born after January 1, 2000 for the first time.
Despite making seven changes to the team that beat Celtic on matchday five, Stefano Pioli s men still made fairly light work of Sparta, who have now gone eight games without a win over Milan in European competition.
A red card for Dominik Plechaty left Sparta with too much to do, with Milan progressing as group winners after Lille s surprise defeat at Celtic.
4 For the first time in their history, in the AC Milan Starting XI there are 4 players born after 1/1/2000 (Colombo, Maldini, Kalulu, T…
Virgil van Dijk believes Liverpool again proved their quality in a 2-0 win over Salzburg in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Premier League leaders kept their European defence alive thanks to second-half goals from Naby Keita and Mohamed Salah, moving into the last 16 as Group E winners.
Van Dijk felt Jurgen Klopp s side showcased their quality during a tricky away clash.
I think it says a lot about the quality we have, first of all, the defender told reporters.
I think it s tough to come here. It s their chance of a lifetime to go through to the knockout stages.
We knew what to expect, especially in the beginning, it was tough. They re a very good side. They have good players, a lot of pressure on the ball, a lot of hard work, a lot of des…