Leeds United set to sign Crysencio Summerville from Feyenoord

Liverpool owner John W. Henry admits Reds manager Roy Hodgson was surprised to discover that Damien Comolli had been appointed as director of football strategy at Anfield.

Comolli, who held a similar role at Tottenham from 2005 to 2008, will work closely with Hodgson after Henry decided to bring in the Frenchman earlier this week.

Henry, owner of the New England Sports Ventures (NESV) group that bought Liverpool last month, explained that Hodgson will need to have his transfer targets approved before moving into the market.

The move came as something of a shock to Hodgson but Henry is convinced the former Fulham chief will be able to work with Comolli.

I really didn t talk that much with Roy over the week or so before we made the decision to bring Damie…

West Bromwich Albion boss Roberto Di Matteo thinks Stoke have the perfect blueprint for becoming an established English Premier League side.

Di Matteo was speaking ahead of Saturday s clash between the two sides at The Hawthorns, when both clubs will be looking to build on solid starts to the season which have seen them yield 16 points from their first 13 games.

In their two seasons in England s top flight since promotion from the Championship in 2008, Stoke have finished 11th and 12th and are no longer considered relegation battlers.

And Di Matteo hopes to follow the example set by opposite number Tony Pulis in his own quest to keep West Brom in the Premier League.

I think Tony Pulis demands a lot of respect for what he s done with the club, Di Matteo …

Jonas Gutierrez has taken a swipe at the Newcastle United board after winning a discrimination case against the club.

An employment tribunal on Thursday ruled the Argentine was dropped from the first team because of his 2013 cancer diagnosis and that the club made it impossible for him to trigger a contract extension through appearances.

Gutierrez had been a first-team regular prior to his diagnosis, but the tribunal concluded that the decision made by the respondent to drop the claimant was because of the claimant s cancer.

The date of a remedy hearing to determine compensation has yet to be set, but Gutierrez took to Twitter to vent his feelings towards the club s board while defiantly declaring himself a Geordie.

I am a geordie i love newcastle .thank…

Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke believes the club s supporters would give Mario Gotze a second chance if he returned to Signal Iduna Park. 

Gotze, 23, controversially joined Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in July 2013 for a transfer fee of €37million.

However, the World Cup winner has been linked with a return to his former club after only 12 Bundesliga appearances this season.

Watzke said Dortmund will have to talk to the fans, who unfurled a banner earlier this month telling Gotze to p**s off , over any potential transfer. 

If he s on the market, it s clear if we discuss about him, he said at the AUDI-Star-Talk.

The door is always open for every player who comes from Dortmund. 

If he returns we ha…

Arturo Vidal has accused Barcelona of being unfair amid claims he is owed up to €2.4million in unpaid bonuses.

According to Spanish newspaper ABC, Vidal has filed a complaint against his club to La Liga and the Spanish Footballers Association.

It is alleged that the Chile international has only been paid €1.7m of the €4.1m he is owed.

Vidal, strongly linked with a January return to Serie A, is frustrated at being underpaid but is leaving the legal matter to his representatives.

I m not in charge of that that s why I have my agent, my lawyer, who takes care of the awards and stuff, Vidal told Chilean radio station ADN. 

Feliz navidad mis amores!!! ustedes son el mejor regalo en mi vida, los amo con todo mi corazón!!!Feliz navidad para tod…

The role of data analytics in soccer betting has improved tremendously in recent years. The development of new technologies has increased the number of tools every punter can use for soccer betting. To be successful in betting one needs to know how to read the data analytics.

Also, using data analytics can help you build a that can calculate the stake for each bet placed.

The history of data analytics in sports

Data analytics in sports was first used in the USA for a baseball game. Such a stat has cinematographic roots with the movie Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt, based on a revolutionary system used to analyze the performance of a team using key metrics like:

on-field performance
off-field analytics

In the late 90 s, analytics gained more popularity for soc…

Robert Lewandowski rescued Poland with a second-half equaliser and Gerard Moreno missed a penalty as Spain were held to a 1-1 Euro 2020 draw at La Cartuja Stadium.

Álvaro Morata silenced his critics by opening the scoring in the Group E encounter in Seville on Saturday after coming under fire for his performance in a stalemate against Sweden.

A defeat would have ended Poland s hopes of qualifying for the round of 16, but their record goalscorer and captain Lewandowski equalised with a header nine minutes into the second half.

Moreno failed to put Luis Enrique s side back in front from the spot just after Lewandowski s leveller, leaving Spain and Poland third and fourth in the group respectively with one game to play.

Poland goalscorer Robert Lewandowsk…

Spain boss Vicente del Bosque admits Barcelona and Real Madrid s rivalry has left a negative mark on the national team.

The two La Liga giants were involved in a number of spiteful clashes last season, including a UEFA Champions League tie that led to Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho being suspended, while defender Pepe and Barcelona reserve goalkeeper Jose Pinto were sent off.

Del Bosque, who has been in charge of the world champions since 2008, said he had work to do if he was to restore the good feeling among the squad.

We will have to heal the wounds as soon as possible. The clashes have left their mark because there are people who use the Madrid-Barcelona rivalry to divide and disengage, he told La Vanguardia.

We will look for solutions, without …

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says kit manufacturers “should not mess” with the St George’s Cross as he waded into a row over the new England shirt.

Nike has altered the cross using purple and blue horizontal stripes in what it called a “playful update” to the shirt ahead of Euro 2024. The US firm said the colours were inspired by the training kit worn by England’s 1966 World Cup winners.

Former England winger John Barnes told the PA news agency the row over the flag was “much ado about nothing”, but Sunak said on Friday: “Obviously I prefer the original, and my general view is that when it comes to our national flags, we shouldn’t mess with them.

“Because they are a source of pride, identity, who we are, and they’re perfect as they are.”

Colombia put themselves in the Group C driving seat with a 2-1 FIFA World Cup victory over Ivory Coast on Thursday.

Following a first-half that was low on goalmouth action, the match burst into life in the final 30 minutes.

James Rodriguez set the ball rolling with a powerful header from a Juan Cuadrado corner in the 64th minute, before Juan Quintero doubled the advantage six minutes later.

Gervinho pulled one back for Ivory Coast 17 minutes from time, but it proved to be mere consolation for the African outfit.

Ivory Coast created a number of late openings but Colombia captain Mario Yepes, playing in his 100th international was supreme throughout, repelling everything thrown at him.

Colombia go three points clear at the top of the group, and will…