Southampton s top scorer this season Rickie Lambert has extended his contract with the club, signing on until 2016.

Lambert has been with the Saints since 2009, with his 13 goals in the 2012/13 English Premier League season making him the most prolific Englishman in front of goal in the top flight.

The 31-year-old said he was hoping to help the club improve in the top flight, after successive promotions from League One in 2010/11 and the Championship the following season.

I m over the moon to sign with Southampton for another three years, Lambert told Southampton s official website.

I am enjoying myself massively at this club and the aim now is to stay on for another three years and help push the club on further than where it already is.

There …

French giants Lyon are set to complete the deal for Chelsea forward Bertrand Traore, L’Equipe has learned.

The 21-year-old has been in high demand after impressing during the loan stint at Ajax, but he has decided to join les Gones and already agreed personal terms with the Ligue 1 side.

At the same time, lengthy negotiations between Lyon and Chelsea have produced desired results and it is expected that the transfer will be wrapped up in the coming days.

Bertrand Traore officially joined the Blues in October 2013 after playing some matches for club’s youth sides, but he went on to make mere 10 Premier League appearances for the Stamford Bridge outfit.

However, the youngster managed to prove his worth during loan spells with Vitesse and Ajax, and is n…

Hull City s relegation from the Premier League was confirmed on Sunday as they suffered a 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

First-half goals from Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke, a Luka Milivojevic penalty and a late Patrick van Aanholt strike secured the win for the home side to guarantee their survival, and that of Swansea City, while condemning Hull to a return to the Championship.

Marco Silva s side realistically needed a win to keep their fight to stay up going until the final round of matches, with Swansea s win over Sunderland on Saturday leaving them four points adrift of safety and with a far worse goal difference.

Their hopes took a huge blow after just three minutes, however, as Zaha pounced on Andrea Ranocchia s mistake to put Pala…

Jason Denayer has accused Manchester City of forcing him into a loan move with LaLiga newcomers Girona against his wishes and preventing him from leaving permanently.

Belgium international Denayer has been a City player since 2013, but has not made a senior appearance in any competition and spent the last three seasons out on loan at Celtic, Galatasaray and Sunderland.

With first-team opportunities limited under Pep Guardiola, a temporary switch is once again on the cards for Denayer, who outlined a desire to join Ligue 1 side Lyon a move he says City have blocked.

Denayer told Sport Voetbalmagazine: Man City are not keen on selling me, or only against unreasonable terms for potential buyers: a buy-back clause for almost the same price as the selling price.

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Marcelino has been rewarded for a fine first year in charge of Valencia with a new contract that runs until the end of the 2019-20 season.

The 52-year-old former Sevilla and Villarreal boss secured a one-year extension to his existing deal after leading his side to fourth place in LaLiga last term.

Valencia have been hampered by instability since December 2015, with the head coach role changing hands six times, but the appointment of Marcelino and regular goals from Spain striker Rodrigo helped seal a return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign.

The club stated they were delighted to have finalised such an agreement after announcing Marcelino s extension.

Valencia s pre-season preparations get underway against Galatasaray …

Alexis Sanchez is not certain to leave Manchester United even though there are ongoing transfer talks with interested clubs, according to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Chile forward Sanchez was not in the matchday squad for United s first two Premier League games of the season with Chelsea and Wolves, having not taken part in any pre-season fixtures following his efforts at the Copa America.

The 30-year-old has been heavily linked with Inter, who have already signed Romelu Lukaku from United in this transfer window and are said to be interested in a loan deal.

It is claimed Sanchez s wage demands are proving a problem for the Nerazzurri, though, with Italy s transfer deadline just 10 days away.

Solskjaer appears unsure of what will happen with Sanchez, bu…

Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo defended Kylian Mbappe following his strop at being substituted early by head coach Thomas Tuchel, insisting the star forward is not a spoiled child .

Mbappe vocally questioned Tuchel s decision to replace him after 68 minutes with PSG already five goals ahead in last weekend s 5-0 Ligue 1 rout of Montpellier.

Former France international Christophe Dugarry criticised the youngster s reaction and said he has lost respect for his 21-year-old compatriot.

However, Mbappe has since played 90 minutes in back-to-back games for the Ligue 1 champions and Leonardo attempted to further play down the incident amid links to Real Madrid.

I heard things about Mbappe. On his personality. It makes me feel uncomfortable, he t…

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic insists his team will have no reason to fear Lionel Messi in the World Cup semi-finals if they repeat the defensive approach that limited Neymar s influence against Brazil.

A 4-2 penalty shoot-out win over the Selecao on Friday following a 1-1 draw after extra time at Education City Stadium secured Croatia successive World Cup semi-final appearances.

Neymar did give Brazil the lead in the first half of extra time at the end of a brilliant move, before Bruno Petkovic s deflected strike took the game to penalties.

But Brazil s talisman otherwise struggled to penetrate the Croatian defence.

Occupying a slightly more central position inside Vinicius Junior on the left, the two players managed just one key pass and five completed dri…

Harry Maguire bailed out what looked set to be a costly John Stones error as the Manchester United defender scored England s late winner in a 2-1 victory over Poland on Wednesday.

Gareth Southgate s men, who had begun a new World Cup qualifying campaign with wins over San Marino and Albania, just about did enough against a Poland side without the injured Robert Lewandowski.

The Three Lions were good value for their lead amid a commanding first-half display, Harry Kane becoming England s all-time leading penalty scorer on 10 as he converted after fine play by Raheem Sterling.

Stones gifted Poland a chance that Jakub Moder capitalised on in the 58th minute, though he played an important role as Maguire s goal maintain England s unblemished start in Group I.

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Manchester United are interested in signing Evan Ferguson from Premier League rivals Brighton and Hove Albion, according to . The report has claimed that United are looking to get back to the level they were once at and compete with Manchester City for the Premier League title on a regular basis. One of the players the former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners are looking to sign is Ferguson.

Ferguson is one of the best young strikers in the Premier League and has been making the headlines since last season. The 18-year-old made 10 starts and nine substitute appearances in the league for the Seagulls last season, scoring six goals and providing two assists in the process. 

The Republic of Ireland international striker has made two starts and two substitut…