Stephen Ireland in keen on making his loan stay at Stoke City permanent,.

The former Republic of Ireland international moved to the Britannia Stadium on transfer deadline day, and has made eight appearances for the club, scoring his one and only goal in the League Cup third round victory over Stoke City.

His contract with Aston Villa expires at the end of the season, and is highly unlikely to earn a new deal with Paul Lambert’s side.

The former Manchester City man s last appearance for Vila came in the 2-1 League Cup semi-final second leg victory over Bradford City, just his twelfth start for the club since Lambert took control.

The Potters travel to Swansea City on Sunday afternoon looking for their first win in eight top flight games, and in t…

We have many friends in Naples. It s true  he has said no to every destination that is not Inter, she said on Mediaset show Tiki Taka.

Everyone has known his choice since the start of the summer and that is the case for any team that has shown interest. In my view, at the end of the day, he will remain at Inter.

He doesn t believe it s over at Inter. I don t know what s going to happen, but I do know his words when the transfer market opened. He has stayed consistent.

There were offers that no player in the world would have turned down, but he said no for Inter.

Conte has denied Icardi is causing a disturbance within the squad, but he is not expected to use the striker on Monday.

The Nerazzurri are also still said to be keen on signing Alexi…

19:45 Dagenham Redbridge vs AFC Fylde

Leaving it late to snatch a 1-0 win away at Aldershot over the weekend, Dagenham Redbridge have continued on what has been quite the resurge over the past six weeks. Enjoying what has been an extended purple patch after a worrying start to the New Year, the Essex outfit have won two of their last three National League outings and have tasted defeat just once in any of their last six outings. Climbing away from the drop zone and the mood in Daryl McMahon s camp at arguably a season-high, a huge part of the Daggers resurge has been down to their continued performances at the Chigwell Construction Stadium. Including landing a pair of shock 2-0 victories against play-off contenders Notts County and Solihull Moors since opening the New Year, Tues…

Premier League chairmen have rejected the prospect of Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers joining the English Premier League or the forming of a two-tier top flight.

Financial blow

The news is a blow to the two Glasgow giants who saw a move to the English top flight as a chance to raise extra revenue from gates and television money.

Both sides are in financial trouble and struggling to strengthen their squads each season. Rangers problems were so bad that they couldn t strengthen their squad during the summer. Celtic did sign a few players but spent much less than most the Premier League sides.

Big fish in a small pond

I think I have revealed my thoughts on the Scottish Premier League in a previous article. The quality of the league is just really poo…

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has called an extraordinary general meeting for December 2 following the Thierry Henry handball incident and an ongoing investigation into match-fixing in Europe.

A FIFA statement released by world football s ruling body said Monday: Due to recent events in the world of football, namely incidents at the play-offs for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, match control (refereeing) and irregularities in the football betting market, the FIFA President has called an extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee.

The extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee will take place in Cape Town on 2 December 2009, starting at 15.00.

The Henry handball incident left football s reputation at least as regards the standards of refereeing …

Former Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard, who retired from football on Thursday, has described how his slip against Chelsea in the Premier League in 2014 felt like a disaster in his life.

Liverpool looked to be on the brink of claiming their first Premier League title, but Gerrard s mistake let in Demba Ba to score the opener in a 2-0 win for Chelsea, who then went on to be crowned champions. 

While Gerrard s Liverpool career featured highs such as sealing Champions League glory against AC Milan in Istanbul, that Chelsea match will always be remembered as a crushing low for the club s home-grown hero. 

Obviously the Champions League in Istanbul in 2005 [was my best moment], Gerrard told BT Sport. Getting that fifth Champions League for Liverpool …

Lionel Messi s failure to score in Saturday s 1-1 Clasico draw means he is now enduring his worst run of form against Real Madrid in his entire Barcelona career.

The Argentina star has not found the target in six games in a row against Madrid in all competitions, since scoring a hat-trick in a 4-3 win at Santiago Bernabeu in March 2014.

Messi, who captained Barca in a Clasico for the first time in what was his 33rd appearance against their fierce rivals, missed a clear chance to add to Luis Suarez s 53rd-minute opener before Sergio Ramos snatched an equaliser in the closing stages.

The result means the champions are still six points adrift of LaLiga leaders Madrid, who have now gone 33 matches in all competitions without defeat.

…

Rob Edwards said his Luton team deserved their Sky Bet Championship play-off victory over Sunderland.

The Hatters won 2-0 on Tuesday, overcoming a 2-1 first-leg deficit to progress 3-2 on aggregate amid joyous scenes at Kenilworth Road.

Defenders Gabe Osho and Tom Lockyer got the first-half goals which turned the tie around and left Edwards full of pride.

He said: “I thought over the two games we deserved it.

“They (Sunderland) had their moments and they’ve got some really good players.

“We could have been better (on Saturday), they won the game but we limited them to few chances there. But tonight we were exceptional.

“We’ve got to stick to what we’re good at and we did that tonight. I’m so pleased for the supporters and e…

According to , Real Madrid have not yet managed to reach an agreement with Kylian Mbappe over a proposed transfer from Paris Saint-Germain this summer, even though his contract with the Ligue 1 giants expires at the end of the season. PSG are apparently willing to offer him a new deal, for two more years in the French capital, but they re already making plans on continuing their business without him if need be.

Real need to negotiate a deal with Mbappe s mother, Fayza Lamari, and it seems there are obstacles to overcome on that front as both sides insist on things being done under their terms. For the time being, her demands and what the La Liga champions are offering aren t nearly close enough for an agreement to be struck.

For PSG s part, they want the 25-year-old att…

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…