Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Karl Darlow has signed a new four year contract with the club, .

The 23 year has become manager Billy Davies first choice keeper, despite the club bringing in experienced former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Swansea City shot-stopper Dorus De Vries in the summer.

Darlow broke into the Forest first team last season following Lee Camp’s exit from the club, and helped the side achieve an eighth place finish, just one point short of the play-offs.

His three clean sheets in the first three games of this season has helped fire the two-time European Champions to the top of the Championship as the only side to hold a 100% record in the division.

He came through the Nottingham Forest Academy in 2010, and was set out of loan first…

Once Raheem Sterling brushes up on the basics of his game, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes Premier League defences will be facing an even more formidable force.

Sterling s form fell away during his debut campaign at the Etihad Stadium after arriving for a reported initial outlay of £44million from Liverpool in July 2015.

But the 22-year-old has been a mainstay of Guardiola s attack this season, scoring nine times across all competitions, while his cross for Sergio Aguero s opener in Sunday s 2-0 win at Sunderland was his 19th assist.

Sterling has operated impressively in tandem with left-winger Leroy Sane over recent months and, although delighted with their contribution, Guardiola believes both youngsters have room for improvement.

Speaki…

Birmingham manager Tony Mowbray will temporarily step down from his role to undergo medical treatment, the Sky Bet Championship club have announced.

Mowbray will be absent from the touchline for approximately six to eight weeks, with assistant manager Mark Venus taking charge of first-team affairs.

The 60-year-old said: “Following my recent LMA Health Assessment I have received a medical diagnosis that will require me to receive treatment.

Birmingham City can confirm that Manager, Tony Mowbray, requires medical treatment which means he will be temporarily stepping away from the on-site management of the Club for a period of approximately six to eight weeks.

— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC)

“Undergoing treatment will necessitate that I temporari…

F.C. Porto president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa has rubbished reports linking Eliaquim Mangala, Jackson Martinez and Nicolas Otamendi with January exits from the Estádio do Dragão, understands.

Mangala, who joined Porto from Standard Liège for €6.5 million in August 2011, is reportedly attracting interest from a number of English Premier League clubs, including the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United.

The France international, 22, has been on impressive form for the Portuguese champions this season, having scored one goal in 12 appearances across all competitions.

Similarly, Colombia international striker Jackson Martinez, who arrived in Porto via Liga MX side Chiapas F.C. in the summer of 2012, has been lin…

Andres Iniesta has been called many things in his storied career, but world heritage was a new one. Then again, the performance that encouraged this eulogy was so good that it was difficult to think of a better alternative.

It was November 21, 2015 – a day that Luis Enrique said would go down in Barcelona folklore. They had just thumped Real Madrid 4-0 at Santiago Bernabeu, with Iniesta scoring a thunderbolt to cap a display that earned him a standing ovation from the home fans.

He s unique, he s world heritage, the coach said of the Spain star, who had scored in a 4-3 win on Madrid s turf the year before. He has magic and eyes in the back of his neck.

This victory is glorious, especially in the way that it came about. This has been a very complete performanc…

Unai Emery reached the milestone of 50 Premier League matches in charge of Arsenal on Saturday in the 2-0 defeat at Leicester City, but an overriding sense of disappointment is all he has managed to establish at the club.

Emery arrived in 2018 as Arsene Wenger s replacement, with the Frenchman ultimately paying the price for going 14 years without winning the title.

In fairness to Wenger, spending at the club was significantly reduced in the wake of their move to the Emirates Stadium, particularly when compared to the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool over the same period.

It was hoped Emery s introduction would bring a fresh approach and winning mentality after years of stagnation at Arsenal. However, despite his trophy successes…

Manchester United can learn from Manchester City’s success but will not try to copy their methods, according to manager Erik Ten Hag.

United head to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday for the Manchester derby once again a long way adrift of their neighbours in the Premier League.

A restructuring of United’s football hierarchy is under way following the investment made by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group, with their first move to bring in Omar Berrada from City as chief executive.

Ten Hag said: “I think you can always learn from opponents who are successful and you have to do it if you want to go to high levels but, at the same time, we have to do it in a United way.

“This is a different club with a different environment, with a different DNA. But you p…

Cesc Fabregas has revealed that he asked to leave Barcelona before signing for Chelsea.

The Spain international put pen to paper on a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge last week after spending three seasons with his boyhood club.

Fabregas left Barca for Arsenal at the age of 16, but returned home to Camp Nou in a big-money transfer in 2011.

Despite a return of 42 goals and 45 assists in his three campaigns in Catalunya, Fabregas struggled to establish himself ahead of the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta in Barca s first-team and often attracted criticism from some sections of the club s support.

Barca released a statement following the 27-year-old s sale to Chelsea claiming there had been a downward trend in his performance level in each of his seasons there.

Mauricio Pochettino says Tottenham have reached out to Aaron Lennon to offer their support after the former Spurs star was hospitalised.

Lennon s club Everton announced on Wednesday the 30-year-old attacker is being treated for a stress-related illness.

Capped 21 times by England, the former Leeds United player made over 250 league appearances for Tottenham between 2005 and 2015.

And Pochettino, who briefly managed the winger following his appointment at White Hart Lane in 2014, told a news conference that Spurs stand ready to assist Lennon if required.

We feel very sorry about the situation with Aaron, we wanted from here to send all our wishes that he recovers soon, him and his family, he said.

The club is in contact with his agent now, trying…

Celtic finally got some points on the board in the Europa League as Kyogo Furuhashi s sublime second-half goal sent them on their way to a 2-0 win over Ferencvaros.

Ange Postecoglou s men lost their first two matches to Real Betis and Bayer Leverkusen, conceding four in each, but their slim qualification hopes at least received a boost with Tuesday s victory.

Celtic were the dominant force for much of the game, though Ferencvaros certainly had their fair share of chances, with the hosts let off the hook more than once.

Stunning play from Jota and excellent work by Kyogo brought the breakthrough just before the hour, and although Callum McGregor failed to put the game beyond Ferencvaros from the spot, David Turnbull wrapped it up late on with a scrappy effort.