Monaco signing Stephan El Shaarawy expressed his disappointment after leaving Milan, but the Italy international is relishing the challenge abroad.

El Shaarawy joined Monaco on a season-long loan deal on Monday, while the Ligue 1 outfit have the option to make the move permanent.

The 22-year-old s switch to the Stade Louis II sees him depart Milan after four years and 27 goals in all competitions following his transfer from Genoa in 2011.

El Shaarawy went on social media to farewell and thank Milan fans for their support, having been limited to just 24 Serie A appearances in the past two campaigns due to injuries.

At this moment it really is difficult for me to find the words to describe my state of mind, he wrote on Instagram.

It all happened v…

Steve Parish insists talk of a takeover at Crystal Palace is premature despite the club continuing to seek fresh investment.

Chairman Parish has made no secret of his desire to attract a cash injection in order to drive Palace to the next level in the Premier League.

But he maintains nothing has yet been finalised and that he  along with fellow owners Jeremy Hosking, Martin Long and Stephen Browett, who helped save the club in 2010  are likely to remain involved should any deal be struck.

The investment we need to move the club forward means we might need to bring people in, Parish told the club s official website.

The papers love using words like takeover and picking out certain individuals who might be involved, but they get snippets of infor…

Togo need a win against DR Congo to progress to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, but will likely have to do so without goalkeeper Kossi Agassa after an ugly reaction to his performance against Morocco.

Agassa struggled in the 3-1 loss on Friday, conceding a pair of goals from set-pieces before being beaten by a long-range effort for the north African side s third.

His home in the Togolese capital of Lome has subsequently been vandalised by fans attributing the loss to Agassa and coach Claude Le Roy revealed he is unlikely to feature in the Group C finale in Port-Gentil.

He was really affected when he heard the news, said LeRoy. Whether he wants to play or not, I will respect his decision.

Agassa does not deserve such treatment. We are al…

Former FIFA executive committee member Reynald Temarii has been banned from all football-related activity at national and international level for eight years for accepting a substantial payment from Mohamed bin Hammam.

The adjudicatory chamber of the independent FIFA Ethics Committee ruled that Temarii, the general director of the Tahiti Football Association, took a sum of €305,640 from then FIFA Executive Committee member and AFC President bin Hammam in January 2011.

FIFA stated on Wednesday that Temarii was given the money to cover legal costs to challenge a one-year ban imposed over allegations he requested money in exchange for World Cup votes.

Bin Hamman was banned for life by FIFA in December 2012 after he had resigned from all positions in …

Harry Kane is relishing the opportunity to come up against Giorgio Chiellini when Tottenham face Juventus in the Champions League s round of 16.

The prolific Spurs talisman heads into Tuesday s first leg at Allianz Stadium in electric form, having netted eight goals in his last seven appearances across all competitions.

But he has his work cut out for him against Juve, who are yet to concede in seven matches this year, and the forward has vivid memories of his first meeting with Chiellini in a friendly in March 2015.

Chiellini is an amazing defender. Five minutes into my first start for England he made a very tough challenge. It was a nice welcome to international football! Kane told a pre-match news conference.

Training in Turin

— Tottenham …

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas says they rejected the chance to sign Mamadou Sakho from Liverpool despite concerns about their defence.

Sakho, who moved to Anfield from Paris Saint-Germain in 2013, was linked with a return to Ligue 1 last month after being frozen out of the Liverpool first team under Jurgen Klopp.

The centre-back eventually signed for Crystal Palace on loan, though he has yet to make an appearance for Sam Allardyce s side.

Aulas has admitted that Sakho was considered as a means of improving their poor defensive record in Ligue 1 s top 10, only Guingamp have conceded more goals  but says they passed on any potential deal.

We had an opportunity with a left-footed defender who is available in England Mamadou Sakho, he told RMC.

…

Derby County are among the clubs interested in signing Joe Pigott in the January transfer window, according to . However, according to the report, the Rams are not the only club who are keen on the 26-year-old striker. Birmingham City, Bristol City and Huddersfield Town are also claimed to be keen on the AFC Wimbledon star, with Reading having shown interest in him last summer and Swansea City having previously monitored him.

Pigott has been on the books of AFC Wimbledon since 2018 and has established himself as an important player for the team. According to , the former Charlton Athletic striker has scored six goals and provided four assists in 11 League One matches so far this season.

AFC Wimbledon are 11th in the League One table at the moment with 14 points from 11 …

Juventus failed to win for the first time in 13 Serie A matches as lowly SPAL earned a 0-0 draw at Stadio Paolo Mazza on Saturday.

Heavily favoured to strengthen their grip on the Scudetto against the relegation-threatened Biancazzurri, Juve could instead have their lead trimmed back to two points on Sunday when Napoli host Genoa.

Alex Sandro s early blocked shot and a marginally misdirected Paulo Dybala free-kick were the best of few opportunities extracted from the plucky hosts.

SPAL had begun with the confidence of a team unbeaten in their previous three outings and richly deserved the point that moves them out of the bottom three.

Juve, conversely, looked heavy-legged in their fourth match in 11 days and struggled to produce anything that would caus…

Sami Khedira is not intending to make himself the big boss and the big saviour of Hertha Berlin following his arrival from Juventus.

World Cup-winning midfielder Khedira joined Hertha on deadline day after being frozen out at Juve – he did not make a single appearance in a matchday squad under Andrea Pirlo.

Hertha sit 15th in the Bundesliga and are only outside the relegation play-off spot on goal difference, with Pal Dardai replacing Bruno Labbadia as head coach last week.

Khedira hopes to use his experience to steer the club away from the bottom three, though he has no intention of being an overbearing presence in the dressing room.

He told reporters: I m not coming here and saying, I m the big boss. I m a normal man on the team.

There are p…

Romelu Lukaku needs more support from his team-mates at Chelsea, according to former France international David Trezeguet.

Lukaku made the move back to Stamford Bridge in August for a club-record £97.5 million fee from Inter, having scored 24 goals in 36 Serie A games during the Nerazzurri s title-winning 2020-21 campaign.

The Belgium forward has scored four times in eight games across all competitions for the Blues, including the winner against Zenit in their Champions League opener.

His header against the Russian Premier League outfit made him just the second player to score for two English clubs on debut in the competition but Lukaku fired a blank in the following 1-0 loss to Juventus on Wednesday.

Former Bianconeri star Trezeguet believes Lukaku need…