Paul Ince has revealed that son Tom turned down a return to former club Liverpool on transfer deadline day.
The winger, who moved from Liverpool to Championship outfit Blackpool in 2011, left Bloomfield Road on the final day of the January transfer window and signed on loan at Crystal Palace until the end of the season.
However, father Paul, who was sacked as Blackpool boss earlier last month, has revealed that his son had the option to return to Anfield.
Liverpool were in but I don t think Thomas is ready to go to Liverpool yet, he said.
Brendan (Rodgers) has done very well there and he does play the kids but for his progression as a footballer it needed to be a Stoke, a Swansea, a Palace or a Hull at this point.
Maybe in two or three years time that might…
Kuwait side Al Qadsia take on Syrian superpower Shorta in their two-legged AFC Cup quarter-final, starting Tuesday.
The 15-time Kuwaiti Premier League champions are looking to better their appearance in the Cup final in 2010 of the continental competition.
Shorta last made the final in 2004, fresh from winning the Syrian top-flight title in 2003-04, meaning both clubs will be hungry to continue their run this campaign.
Al Qadsia coach Mohammed Ibrahem is a former coach of the Kuwait national team, but now coaches the club he once represented as a player.
Shorta are coached by Mohamad Al Shaded, and the only non-Syrian players in their squad are a trio of Brazilians Fabio Marinho, Gilson Tussi and Figueira.
The Syrian side enter the clash on a loss, however,…
Paul Pogba is easier to play against than James Milner, says Graeme Souness, who would rather have the Liverpool midfielder in his team.
Souness, who both played for and managed the Anfield club, has been an outspoken critic of World Cup winner Pogba.
The Frenchman is not viewed as a similar type of player to the versatile Milner, yet Souness indicated the former England international would be the one to get the nod in his side.
Would I rather have Paul Pogba or James Milner in my team? That s easy. It isn t even a question. Milner, every day of the week. He s a proper player, Souness wrote in a Paddy Power column.
Who would I rather play against? Paul Pogba. I don t want to play against Milner.
But, with Pogba, it s all about him and his g…
Erling Haaland’s goal against Brentford means he has scored against every opponent he has faced in the Premier League.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the prolific Norway international’s Manchester City record.
Full house
Full house has now scored against every team he s faced in the Premier League!
— Premier League (@premierleague)
Chelsea, Liverpool and Brentford were the only teams not to concede to Haaland in his astonishing debut season in England, when he won the Premier League Golden Boot with 36 goals in 33 games.
He ticked off Chelsea and Liverpool in successive league games either side of November’s international break and, having failed to score in this season’s first meeting with the Bees, has had to wait until Tuesday�…
Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk has leapt to the defence of team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold amid recent criticism of the right-back s performances.
Alexander-Arnold has been the subject of plenty of scrutiny following his poor defensive performances in the Premier League and Champions League.
The defender s mistakes in Liverpool s 3-3 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, in particular, drew heavy criticism from fans and pundits.
The 23-year-old also failed to feature in either of England s two Nations League games last week, with Gareth Southgate making it clear Alexander-Arnold is not his first-choice right-back.
But van Dijk, speaking after Liverpool s 2-0 win against Rangers on Tuesday in which Alexander-Arnold opened the scoring wi…
Germany boss Joachim Low may chose an experimental side for his team s friendly with England on Tuesday night
England host Germany on Tuesday at Wembley in a friendly game that is part of the English Football Associations 150th anniversary celebrations.
Usually a game between the two, even a friendly game would be eagerly anticipated by both nations, but the Germany boss Joachim Low has already admitted that he will not play his strongest side against the Three Lions.
Rested
Three of Germany’s most influential player’s keeper Manuel Neuer, full-back Philipp Lahm and midfielder Mesut Ozil will take no part in the friendly, despite all three being fit.
The absence of Lahm and Neuer may be down to the fact that their club team Bayern Munich face…
Sports administrators and athletes from around the world have paid tribute to Nelson Mandela after the Nobel Peace Prize winner died on Thursday.
Mandela died at his family home in Johannesburg at the age of 95, succumbing to a lung infection, with South Africa president Jacob Zuma confirming the news in a live press conference.
One of the most iconic moments in Mandela s long-time connection with sport was at the 1995 Rugby World Cup when he used the tournament the first in South Africa since he was elected president in an attempt to build some positive feeling amongst his country s population.
South African Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins touched on that moment in his tribute to the man known as Madiba.
Madiba was a true icon of inspiration and as much as …
Charlton Athletic have secured the services of Arsenal striker Yaya Sanogo on loan until the end of the season after his temporary spell with Ajax was cut short on Monday.
The Frenchman moved to the Eredivisie at the start of the 2015-16 campaign on a one-year loan deal, but Ajax opted to terminate his spell on deadline day following his underwhelming performances in the first half of the season.
The 23-year-old did not need long to find a new club, though, and will now continue his career in the Championship.
Charlton are delighted to confirm the deadline-day signing of Arsenal striker Yaya Sanogo on loan until the of the season, a statement on the club s official website read.
The 23-year-old, who has been with the Gunners since 2013, is an FA Cup w…
Germany legend Lothar Matthaus believes Lionel Messi will reclaim the FIFA Ballon d Or from Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi was an integral figure as Barcelona went on to win the treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League in Luis Enrique s first season in 2014-15.
The Argentinian scored an incredible 58 goals in 57 games in another stunning campaign, also guiding Argentina to the final of the Copa America.
There s really only one player who can win the Ballon d Or this year: Lionel Messi, Matthaus who won the World Player of the Year award in 1991 said in an interview with FIFA.com.
He s had another exceptional year for Barcelona by winning not only the Champions League but also the double in Spain, and only just missed out on a trophy with Arge…
Chelsea are planning to deal with cases of anti-Semitism among the club s fans by sending them on educational courses, chairman Bruce Buck has said.
Blues owner Roman Abramovich, who is Jewish, is at the forefront of an initiative that aims to eradicate instances of anti-Semitism among supporters.
And Buck explained that the process will produce better long-term results than merely imposing banning orders on guilty parties.
If you just ban people, you will never change their behaviour, Buck told The Sun.
This policy gives them the chance to realise what they have done, to make them want to behave better.
In the past, we would take them from the crowd and ban them, for up to three years.
Now we say, you did something wrong. You have the…