Chelsea Land Kurt Zouma

Chelsea have agreed terms with St Etienne for defender Kurt Zouma.Speculation has been mounting this month over Chelsea’s interest in the youngster, with Zouma’s agent suggesting Inter Milan and Monaco were also chasing his client.The 19 year old centre-back has been in good form over the past two seasons and is considered one of the hottest prospects in European football and the Blues are ready to offer £15m for the French Under 21 international.Though Jose Mourinho can call upon the likes of John Terry, Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Branislav Ivanovic the Stamford Bridge boss clearly feels Zouma has a lot of potential and the starlet would be available for Champions League action.Despite only turning 19 a few weeks ago Zouma has already racked up 60 top tier appearances for Saint-Etienne and is already on the fringes of the senior French national team set-up.

Liverpool Land Saul Niguez

Liverpool have landed a major transfer coup by pulling off the capture of the hottest prospect in Spanish football – Atletico Madrid’s Saul Niguez.

Niguez, currently on loan at Rayo Vallecano, had been tipped to join David Moyes’ Manchester United revolution, but there was also known interest from Arsenal and Real Madrid. The news from Merseyside is that Brendan Rogers has beaten them all to the 19 year old’s signature.

The Spanish Under-21 international has been a revelation at Vallecano this season. With a maturity beyond his years, he has grabbed games by the scruff of the neck and has been the stand out player in his relegation threatened team.

Saul is a pacey attacking midfielder, with great technical ability and a love of taking players on. The one thing that he is lacking is a deadly finish, but his role will be to provide the through balls for Suarez and Sturridge to finish off.

Liverpool manager Rodgers has been holding talks with Niguez’s father on Merseyide, and personal terms have been agreed. The only stumbling block now is the price.

It is believed that Niguez has a €20M release clause, but Liverpool’s initial bid is thought to be juts over half of that. A payment of around €16M will see Saul make his move away from Atletico before the transfer window shuts.

Blackpool Sack Ince

Blackpool manager Paul Ince has been sacked.With just one point to their name in their last nine outings in the Championship, the Tangerines have fallen down the table at an alarming rate having sat in the playoff places in the early stages of the season. The pressure had been mounting on Ince and his backroom staff for some time and the former Blackburn Rovers boss has been relieved of his duties, along with assistants Alex Rae and Steve Thompson. Skipper Barry Ferguson is believed to have taken training today and could be given a player/manager role on a permanent basis, according to reports in the north west. Former Bolton and Burnley boss Owen Coyle has also been linked with the vacant position having enjoyed spells in the Championship with clubs from the area. For now midfielder Ferguson is set to take charge of the Seasiders while they prepare for their next Championship game against Doncaster Rovers on January 25, as they go in search of their first league win in 2014.

Match Report: Chelsea 3-1 Manchester United

Samuel Eto'o showed that he is still the man for the big occasion by scoring a hat-trick as Chelsea beat Manchester United 3-1.The Cameroon international was a surprise inclusion in Jose Mourinho's starting line-up, while Fernando Torres dropped to the bench, but he kept Chelsea on the title trail with three well-taken goals. However, United's latest defeat leaves last season's champions struggling to secure a top-four finish this term. United started very brightly though and, in the third minute, Petr Cech was forced to make a good stop at his near post to deny Ashley Young who had played a neat one-two with Danny Welbeck to create the opening. When Chelsea finally launched their first attack in the 11th minute, Ramires' weak shot was safely gathered by David De Gea. Chelsea took the lead against the run of play in the 17th minute when Eto'o's left-footed shot deflected off Michael Carrick and looped over De Gea before nestling in the back of the net. Just past the half-hour mark, the lively Adnan Januzaj tricked his way past David Luiz and got to the byline but, when he pulled the ball back, neither Welbeck nor Antonio Valencia could tuck it home. In the 39th minute Welbeck could only fire straight at Cech when under pressure from Cesar Azpilicueta, and United were made to pay for that miss. Just before the interval, Oscar's acrobatic bicycle kick from ten yards out flew over De Gea's goal before Ramires sent Gary Cahill free down the right and the defender's cross was turned home from six yards out by the predatory Eto'o. Four minutes after the interval it was game over as, after Cahill's header from Willian's corner had been kept out by De Gea, Eto'o hammered home the rebound from all of two yards out. Although United substitute Javier Hernandez scored a late consolation goal, David Moyes' side were a well-beaten outfit and, to cap a dreadful afternoon for the visitors, Nemanja Vidic was shown a straight red card in stoppage time after hacking Eden Hazard down.

Hull complete Shane Long signing

Hull have confirmed the signing of Shane Long from West Brom in a three-and-a-half year deal thought to be worth around £6million.West Brom agreed a fee for Long on Thursday, with the player having a medical with Hull on the same day. Personal terms were finalised on Friday morning and Long's paperwork was cleared in time for the 26-year-old to be available for the Barclays Premier League trip to Norwich on Saturday. Long was close to signing for the Tigers on deadline day in September and was at the club's training ground when West Brom pulled the plug as their own pursuit of Romelu Lukaku faltered. Manager Steve Bruce maintained an interest in the player and received the green light from new Baggies boss Pepe Mel when a new enquiry was made this month. Long, who joins fellow Republic of Ireland internationals David Meyler, Robbie Brady, Paul McShane and Stephen Quinn in East Yorkshire, said: "I finally got the deal signed. I've met all of the lads today, and everybody seems really friendly. "It's a club that's on the up, and I'm delighted to be a part of that. I'm lucky that I've had a few inside informers letting me know what it's like up here. They all love it up here, and they're excited by what is happening at the club. "After meeting the manager, and respecting what he's done as a player and a manager, I was happy to start a new part of my career here and hopefully I can score a few goals to take us further up the league." Long's arrival completes a swift overhaul of Hull's forward line, which has laboured for goals so far this term, following the earlier capture of Nikica Jelavic from Everton. Ivorian Yannick Sagbo has impressed with his hold-up play but found the net just twice, while on-loan Sunderland striker Danny Graham has struck a solitary goal in a disappointing spell. Graham may yet be sent back to the Black Cats, while Matty Fryatt and Nick Proschwitz are available for transfer and have already attracted interest from in the Championship. Long's scoring record is not spectacular but he has a track record in the division, with 19 goals in 60 Premier League starts for Albion. He has three to his name this season, a fine effort against Chelsea and two against Aston Villa. Graham is currently in possession of the number nine shirt worn by Long at The Hawthorns, with the new signing taking number 21.

Rooney set to hand in Transfer Request

Wayne Rooney is on the verge of handing in a transfer request at Manchester United.Rooney is fuming at comments made by United manager David Moyes at the weekend which suggested he was now regarded as a second-choice striking option behind Robin van Persie. Rooney has taken that as a personal slight on a player who has given nine years' service to the Old Trafford cause and is "angry and confused" about his treatment. The offending words were delivered to Sunday newspaper journalists during a briefing with Moyes in Bangkok last week. Moyes said: "Overall, my thought on Wayne is that if for any reason we had an injury to Robin van Persie we are going to need him and I want as many options as possible." It has been widely interpreted as Moyes stating he regards Rooney as an understudy to the prolific Dutchman. And understandably, that has gone down very badly. A source close to the situation has highlighted Rooney's unhappiness, saying the England striker is 'confused and angry'. As far as the 27-year-old is concerned, he is at the peak of his career and has no intention of playing second fiddle to anyone, or being reduced to the ranks of becoming a squad player. With four Premier League titles and a Champions League winners' medal to his name, Rooney does not believe he has anything to prove at United.

Match Report:Tottenham 3-1 Manchester City

A second-half burst from Tottenham saw them claim a vital three points in the race for the top four as they beat Manchester City 3-1.
Spurs made the brighter start, but it was City who took the lead on five minutes following great work on the right by Carlos Tevez and James Milner, the latter finding Samir Nasri in the box and the Frenchman fired in from 10 yards. Nasri almost doubled the lead a few moments later, latching onto Pablo Zabaleta's ball but he couldn't direct his effort goalwards due to good pressure from Hugo Lloris. That was the first of a string of saves the French keeper was forced to make, as after 38 minutes he got down low to his right to block an Edin Dzeko shot, before shortly saving smartly from a close-range Tevez header. The visitors continued to control proceedings in the second half and, although Spurs did push for an equaliser, the hosts struggled to create any real chances. However, that all changed on 74 minutes as, after good work from Walker, Gareth Bale angled a wonderful ball across the box and Clint Dempsey tapped in at the back post. Jermain Defoe then fired them into the lead five minutes later, cutting in from the left and smashing home. Bale then made it 3-1 after 81 minutes, latching onto Tom Huddlestone's through ball before exquisitely chipping over Hart to wrap-up a vital three points in his side's bid for a top-four spot.

Match Report Liverpool 2-2 Chelsea

Luis Suarez sent a header past Petr Cech in the seventh minute of stoppage time as Liverpool hit back to draw 2-2 with Chelsea.
But there is likely to be much more controversy surrounding the Uruguayan after he appeared to bite Blues defender Branislav Ivanovic earlier in the second half. Suarez served a lengthy ban when he was with Ajax earlier in his career after being found guilty of biting an opponent. The incident marred a lively match that dented Chelsea's hopes of finishing in the top four. Liverpool dominated the opening stages against a Chelsea side led by their former manager Rafa Benitez and which had ex-striker Fernando Torres in their starting line-up. Glen Johnson wasted the best chance of the opening stages, but it was the visitors that took the lead in the 26th minute when Oscar rose above Jamie Carragher to head past Pepe Reina. Reds boss Brendan Rodgers brought on Daniel Sturridge for the second half and the former Chelsea made an instant impact, firing against the woodwork before turning Suarez's clever 52nd-minute cross past Cech. Liverpool were only level for five minutes though as, after Suarez had handled the ball, Juan Mata sent Reina the wrong way from the penalty spot. From then on, Chelsea defended resolutely, and appeared to have done enough to claim the three points that would have sent them back up to third in the table, until Suarez headed Sturridge's cross into the net despite Cech's best efforts to keep the ball out.

Match Report:WBA 1-1 Newcastle

Newcastle held on for a 1-1 draw in a nervy second half at West Bromwich Albion to boost their chances of Premier League survival.
Defeat to arch-rivals Sunderland last weekend dragged Newcastle back into the scrap to avoid the drop into the Championship. It looked like it had taken its toll in the opening stages as the Magpies started slowly in the Spring sunshine. However, they suddenly burst into life on eight minutes when Papiss Cisse's deflected cross bemused Ben Foster and Yoan Gouffran was able to glance into the net from six yards. The goal seemed to fill the visitors with confidence as they went in search of a second and chances continued to come and go for Cisse as he failed to put the game beyond a West Brom side who had simply not got going. The best of which was a gift from the Baggies defence as they gave the ball to Cisse on the edge of the box but the Senegalese striker failed to find the corner when he had just Foster to beat. Those chances would later come back to haunt them as Steve Clarke made a change at the break and it almost paid immediate dividends with substitute Shane Long bringing a superb double save from Rob Elliot just seconds into the second period. Just after the hour mark West Brom finally managed to peg them back as Romelu Lukaku held off Steven Taylor and laid the ball into the path of Billy Jones who drilled it into the far corner. West Brom continued to press and Newcastle had both Rob Elliot and had their hosts' wastefulness in front of goal to thank as they withstood attack after attack to hold on for what could prove to be a vital point come the end of the season.

Match Report:Sunderland 1-0 Everton

Stephane Sessegnon's first half winner earned Sunderland a valuable three points in their bid to beat the drop.
In an open first half, Sunderland were the first to threaten when Danny Graham, who has yet to score for the Black Cats, tested Tim Howard in the Everton goal. The away side, who dominated possession throughout forced a succession of corners in a decent five minute spell, but were unable to seriously test Mignolet. Sebastien Larsson, who impressed in midfield for the home side, went close with a couple of free-kicks, one of which clipped the top of the crossbar, before Paolo Di Canio's men took the lead in first half injury time. Everton were the architect's of their own downfall as Leighton Baines stupidly gave the ball away in a dangerous position before Sessegnon advanced on goal and hit a shot from 20 yards that squirmed past Howard, who should have done better. David Moyes introduced Nikica Jelavic at the start of the second half and the Croatian gave his side more of a cutting edge, and Mignolet was forced to catch a back pass from Larsson that was heading into the goal. Everton were unable to capitalise on the free-kick from 10 yards out though and Sunderland held on for the win that moved them six points away from the relegation zone.