West Ham sign Almunia on loan

West Ham have signed veteran stopper Manuel Almunia on a month's loan from Arsenal.

With regular number one Rob Green sidelined for up to six weeks with a knee injury, boss Sam Allardyce has moved quickly to bring in Almunia on an emergency deal.

The 34-year-old has been at Arsenal since 2004 and he will be in the squad for the Hammers' trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Allardyce was happy with his 13th signing, and also sent his gratitude to the Gunners for allowing the move.

"We've been hot on the phone and secured an excellent signing in the short term," Allardyce told West Ham TV.

"It's a big thank you to Arsene Wenger and Arsenal for allowing us to get such a high-class and experienced goalkeeper to come and fill in for Robert for the time being."

Read More

Manchester City reject Tevez enquiry

Manchester City have rejected an enquiry from championship side West Ham to take  their 

former front man Carlos Tevez on loan.

Tevez's future at City is shrouded in doubt following his bust-up with boss Roberto Mancini during the midweek defeat to Bayern Munich.

The Argentine star has been suspended for two weeks by City after allegedly refusing to play against Bayern in the Champions League.

City manager Mancini revealed following the game that the Argentina international had refused to come off the bench during the second half.

Mancini stated Tevez was 'finished' at City with the player then denying that he had snubbed the instruction to leave his place on the bench.

A number of clubs have been linked with a move for Tevez in the wake of the confrontation with officials at West Ham sounding out City about a shock loan switch back to East London.

Tevez is a big hero at West Ham, where he spent the 2006-07 season, helping them stay up by scoring the winning goal at Manchester United on the final day of the season.

Players can move from Premier League to Championship clubs outside of the transfer window but City insiders say the approach from the Hammers was turned down.

Read More

Sahin raring to contribute to Real

Real Madrid new signing Nuri Sahin believes that he has much to offer to the club when he returns from his injury.

Sahin is still waiting to make his competitive debut for the Spanish giants after suffering a knee injury during pre-season training, weeks after joining from Borussia Dortmund.

The 22-year-old was originally due to make a return in early September, but a hinderence further delayed his comeback, which is now likely to be in November.

He told Sky: "Despite being injured I feel really good and I feel I am in the right place and I can be useful here at Madrid, things are progressing and the recovery is going well."

Sahin is not sure of the correct day he can make his competitive debut, but highlighted that his desire to wait for a full recovery instead of hashing things over.

He commented: "I cannot say when I will be back, but it is important that I come back stronger and fitter."

The Turkey international will be hoping to learn from fellow midfielder Kaka, who has had his share of injuries since joining Los Blancos, but recently made a successful comeback.

Real Madrid travel to Espanyol this weekend hoping to improve on their current fifth position in the La Liga table.

Read More

Madrid lose Benzema to injury

Real Madrid will have to play without striker Karim Benzema against Espanyol after the Frenchman picked up an injury.

According to reports from AS, the striker is suffering from a groin problem sustained in the La Liga giant's 3-0 victory over Ajax in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday evening.

He was substituted in the game after 74 minutes because of the injury.

As such, it will be doubtful that the ex-Olympique Lyon superstar will play at Cornella-El Prat this weekend, and his absence will be rued by boss Jose Mourinho.

The 23-year-old has been in fine form so far this season, having already scored five goals in nine official appearances for Real Madrid, and also snapping up three assists.

Read More

German Bundesliga Week 8 Fixtures

Saturday 1^st October

FC Kaiserslautern  VS  VfB Stuttgart

Nurnberg  VS  Mainz

Borussia Dortmund  VS  Augsburg

Bayer Leverkusen  VS  Wolfsburg

TSG Hoffenhaim  VS  Bayern Munich

SC Freiburg  VS  Borussia M’gladbach

Hertha Berlin  VS  Cologne

Sunday 2^nd October

Hannover 96  VS  Werder Bremen

Hamburg  VS  Schalke 04

Read More

Italian Serie A Week 5 Fixtures

Saturday 1^st October

Roma  VS  Atalanta

Inter Milan  VS  Napoli

Sunday 2^nd October

Novara  VS Catania

Lecce  VS  Cagliari

Udinese  VS  Bologna

Fiorentina  VS Lazio

Parma  VS  Genoa

Cesena  VS  Chievo

Palermo  VS  Siena

Juventus  VS  AC Milan

Read More