Torres putting in hours for Spain

(GSM) Dean Ashton is expected to confirm his retirent from professional football today. The 26-year-old West Ham United striker has been suffering from a serious ankle injury for three years now.

The Telegraph reports that Ashton is considering suing Chelsea and Shaun Wright-Phillips following the challenge in August 2006 which, he will claim, has ended his football career. The West Ham United forward sustained an ankle fracture during a training session while on England duty and has since featured in just 39 official matches for the Hammers. Ashton made his last appearance for West Ham in September 2008 against WBA (3-2 loss).

In an apparently ground-breaking case, Ashton is believed to be investigating whether both Wright-Phillips and his employers at the time, Chels…

Fiorentina sealed their place in the Coppa Italia final after a 0-0 draw against Cremonese on Thursday at Stadio Artemio Franchi, securing a 2-0 aggregate win.

A frantic start to the game did not lead to any goals, with few clear-cut chances for either team despite the pace of the play in the first half.

It took until the 73rd minute for Cremonese to have anything that could be called a chance, with Charles Pickel seeing a close-range header closed down by Fiorentina goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano.

Nicolas Gonzalez curled a shot wide at the other end moments later, but on the whole, it was a match devoid of any serious opportunities.

The hosts hit the target just once from 13 attempts, while Cremonese could only muster two shots at all as Vincenzo Italiano…

Monaco and Montpellier suffered surprise exits in the third round of the Coupe de la Ligue on Wednesday.

Claudio Ranieri s side who lie second in Ligue 1 on goal difference fell to a 1-0 defeat at Reims.

Antoine Devaux scored the only goal of the game in the 34th minute and despite Monaco s best attempts at scoring an equaliser, Hubert Fournier s men held on to book their spot in the next round.

Montpellier who finished runners-up in 2011 crashed out to Ligue 1 strugglers Sochaux, who won a thrilling contest 3-2 after extra time.

Sanjin Prcic put Sochaux into a first-half lead, but the match required extra time thanks to Jonas Martin s 50th-minute penalty.

The match looked destined for penalties until Sebastien Corchia s goal in the 115th minute, and Roy Co…

Rudi Garcia says the Serie A title race is more open this season than any of the last four thanks to Juventus stuttering start to the campaign.

Juve have cantered to the Scudetto in each of the last four years and finished 17 points clear of Garcia s Roma in 2014-15.

However, they have only won two of their opening seven matches and have been beaten by Udinese, Roma and Napoli  leaving them 10 points behind early leaders Fiorentina, and six adrift of Garcia s men.

With Fiorentina, Inter and Lazio all showing impressive early form, Garcia is relishing the title battle this season and hopes Roma can be part of that tussle come May.

It is a much more open Scudetto race after four years in which Juventus were champions of Italy four times in a row and bea…

Everton are interested in signing Tariq Lamptey from Brighton and Hove Albion in the summer of 2021, according to . It has been reported that the defender has admirers at Everton, and that the Merseyside club could make a move for him at the end of the season.

The report has added that although Brighton could sell Lamptey in the summer of 2021, they will only do so if they get at least £30 million in transfer fees, having paid just £3 million for the 20-year-old to Chelsea in January 2020. It has been further claimed that Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti may be less inclined to sign him, as he is 5ft 5in tall and the Italian likes his full-backs to be taller than that.

According to , Lamptey has scored one goal and provided one assist in 11 Premier League matches for B…

Market: Harrogate Town double chance

Odds: 4/5 @

Looking to lay down another marker on their travels this weekend, a high-flying Harrogate will make the trip to Field Mill when they face off against Mansfield on Saturday afternoon.

Starting with the hosts, while Mansfield might have opened the 2021/22 campaign with back-to-back wins against Newport and Bristol Rovers, Nigel Clough s side have failed to build off of that flurry. Putting in what was a worrying display when they faced off against Saturday s guests on EFL Trophy duties earlier in the week, the former Burton boss saw his side get hit with a 3-1 drumming. Slipping their way down the League Two table and last seen on fourth-tier action getting hit with a 1-0 loss at the hands of Swindon, the Stags hav…

Crystal Palace F.C. have completed the signing of ex-Arsenal starlet Dwight Gayle from Peterborough United for a reported fee of £4.5 million, .

Gayle, 22, joined Peterborough on loan from League Two side Dagenham Redbridge in Novemeber 2012, with the Posh given the option to make the deal permanent in January.

On 2 January 2013, Peterborough exercised their £500,000 option on the former Arsenal youngster, signing him to a four-and-a-half-year deal.

However, the Posh have decided to cash in on Gayle following their relegation to League One, and understandably so.

According to reports, the deal could be worth up to £8.5 million, including add-ons.

The 22-year-old striker scored 13 goals in 29 league appearances for Peterboroug…

Benfica have signed defender Lisandro Lopez from Arsenal de Sarandi on a five-year deal.

The centre-back becomes the 12th South American in the Estadio da Luz ranks after making over 100 appearances for Arsenal since his debut in 2010.

And the 23-year-old from Argentina, who cited compatriot Pablo Aimar as a factor in his move, believes that his desire to succeed has led to him securing a switch to the UEFA Europa League runners-up.

I am a humble player, always trying to improve and never feel resigned to anything, he told the club s official website.

I think what led Benfica to take an interest in me was the fact that I always want more.

Me and Pablo Aimar have met a few times and he told me Lisbon was beautiful and that Benfica are a great and magical cl…

According to Sky Sports, Newcastle United s Henri Saivet is on the verge of completing a season-long loan move to Turkish side Bursaspor. The 27-year-old underwent a medical this morning, and despite not featuring in Rafa Benitez s plans moving forward, he still has three years left to run on his current deal.

The Senegalese international made the switch to St James Park back in 2016, after spending fourteen years with Bordeaux where he made a name for himself as an effective midfielder. Alas, he s barely been given any real opportunities to shine in the famous black white shirt, only making a handful of appearances for the Magpies in the last two years.

Some players just aren t considered to be up to scratch when it comes to having that Premier League quality, but it c…

Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian thinks Andrea Pirlo would have been an instant hit at Old Trafford had the Premier League giants ever signed him.

Pirlo spent the majority of his career in Serie A, playing for Brescia, Inter, Reggina, AC Milan and Juventus, before eventually joining New York City in 2015.

A move to the Premier League seems unrealistic at this stage of his career, but Darmian has little doubt his 37-year-old compatriot would have been a great fit at United.  

I think in the history of Italy there are a lot of players so it is difficult to pick one, but if I have to choose, I would probably choose Pirlo, Darmian told the club s official website when asked which Italian he would have liked to see at United.

I know him very well, …