Turkish striker Nihat Kahveci could be out for up to four months after undergoing a successful operation on his right thigh that he injured in Turkey s Euro 2008 quarter-final win over Croatia.

The 28-year-old Villarreal forward played a pivotal role in getting Turkey to the last four, his two late goals against the Czech Republic earning them a place in the quarter-finals, where they saw off the Croatians on penalties having levelled the match at 1-1 with the final kick of the match.

However, his injury prevented him from taking any role in the semi-final which saw Turkey lose 3-2 to Germany.

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Chelsea midfielder Nathan Ake was delighted to debut in the Blues 1-0 victory over Norwich on Boxing Day.

The 17-year-old moved to Stamford Bridge in 2011 from Dutch club Feyenoord after competing in the Under-17 World Cup with the Netherlands.

Comfortable in both midfield and defence, Ake came on as a late replacement for goalscorer Juan Mata in the 90th minute and has revealed how he felt before stepping onto the pitch for his first ever senior appearance.

I was nervous when I was brought on. But it was 1-0, so I thought I should just do my job, Ake told the club s official website.

The coach gave a few assignments and he told me to enjoy it. Afterwards the players congratulated me, this was very nice.

Of course I m now very happy and proud,…

Arsenal are favourites to sign Declan Rice from West Ham United ahead of London and Premier League rivals Chelsea in the summer transfer window, according to CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs in .

The well-known and well-respected journalist has claimed that both Arsenal and Chelsea are keen on securing the services of England international midfielder Rice from London and Premier League rivals West Ham.

However, according to Jacobs, the Gunners are the favourites.

Jacobs said: “So there are a few variables here to consider. Firstly, if Brighton do make Europe Caicedo could yet decide to put a transfer on ice.

“Then the two suitors from January, Arsenal and Chelsea, both want Rice ahead of Caicedo. The Gunners are arguably favourites for the West Ham m…

LaLiga president Javier Tebas declared Barcelona are on the right track to register their new signings before the season begins – but made it clear they cannot pressure Frenkie de Jong to take a pay cut.

The Catalan club s financial issues have been well documented in recent years, but coach Xavi has still been able to make considerable additions, landing Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski while Jules Kounde looks set to follow from Sevilla.

That activity has raised eyebrows across Europe regarding how Barcelona can afford to land new recruits, with it clear that departures will be on the cards in the latter stages of the transfer window to balance the books.

Tebas admitted that was indeed the case, with Barcelona having a little work still to complete, but that …

Leicester City clinched the Premier League title without playing on Monday, eight months after setting out for a new season with expectations only of survival following desperate battle with relegation in 2014-15.

Claudio Ranieri s side have become the story of the sporting world since then after what began as little more than early promise and a recurring insistence from the Italian that winning the title outright would never be a realistic objective.

But Leicester s modesty rarely threatened to curtail their pursuit of the title – losing just three of the 36 games needed for them to secure the championship, as well as winning more games than any other side. 

Here, we take a look at the five matches that paved the way for the unlikeliest of Premier League c…

Alvaro Morata has thanked Juventus fans for their support after returning to Real Madrid following a two-year stay in Serie A.

Despite the Italian champions being keen to keep Morata, Madrid exercised a buy-back clause reportedly worth €30million to bring the striker back to the Spanish capital.

Morata, who has hit three goals in as many games on international duty at Euro 2016 with Spain, posted a letter to Juve fans on his personal website.

Hello everyone. Writing this letter isn t easy for me, wrote Morata, who won back-to-back domestic doubles with Juve as well as scoring in the 2015 Champions League final.

I would like firstly to thank all the people who believed in me, who placed their faith in me and who treated me extremely well to make me hap…

What is it with Tottenham Hotspur? I go away on holiday for two weeks, having confidently predicted that they would start the season well and maintain a genuine challenge to the top four, and when I get back they are languishing at the bottom of the table and facing their worst start for nearly thirty years.

Two defeats and the prospect of a trip to Scolari’s Chelsea on Sunday have left Spurs looking less like European challengers and more like the ‘crisis club’ that sacked Martin Jol so early into last season.

It would appear that Juande Ramos is going to turn to Spartak Moscow striker Roman Pavlyuchenko to solve his goalscoring problems as the big front man has told the Russian media he is poised to join Tottenham Hotspu…

Premier League side Manchester City made an eleventh-hour bid to sign Germany striker Mario Gomez from Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart last Sunday, the forward revealed on Saturday.

Gomez, who is under contract in Stuttgart until 2012, told German tabloid Bild there was a multi-million euro offer for him from City just before the transfer window closed on Monday September 1, but his club refused.

With new Arabian investors at the helm, City recruited Brazilian Robinho for a British transfer record of £32.5 million (57.5 million US dollars) last Monday and bid for Gomez who scored in Stuttgart s 2-0 win over Hanover last Sunday.

Yes, that is correct. After our win over Hanover, Manchester City made an offer which our manager, Horst Heldt, rejected, confi…

Bayern Munich set a new Champions League benchmark when they completed a perfect Group B campaign with Wednesday s comfortable 3-1 victory over Tottenham.

Kingsley Coman, Thomas Muller and Philippe Coutinho were on the scoresheet as the Bundesliga champions improved their points haul to a maximum 18 from six games.

Bayern finished well clear of second-placed Spurs, and the combination of points and positive goal difference – a commanding +19 – confirmed them as the best group winners in the competition s history.

The highlight was undoubtedly the 7-2 thrashing of Tottenham in London at the start of October, a result that seemed to hasten Mauricio Pochettino s downfall.

Bayern changed their own head coach in November, moving Niko Kovac aside, but inte…

Arsene Wenger has dismissed speculation he could break his Arsenal contract early after another disappointing campaign at the Emirates Stadium.

The Frenchman s future with the Gunners came under intense scrutiny last season as his previous deal neared its end, but he then put pen to paper on a two-year extension.

Arsenal have struggled to be competitive, though, despite heavy investment in Wenger s squad – the like of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang arriving for club-record deals.

Sitting sixth in the Premier League table, and having exited the FA Cup, Arsenal s only chance of silverware this season is in the Europa League or EFL Cup.

And that has led to reports Wenger could walk away, but the experienced manager intends to honour his …