UEFA reject Drogba appeal

UEFA have rejected the protest lodged by Schalke over the eligibility of Galatasaray star Didier Drogba to play in their Champions League tie.



The German side had asked European football's governing body to investigate whether Drogba was allowed to play in the last-16, first-leg tie on 20 February, following his move from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua.



However, in a statement on their website, UEFA said: "Having examined all the documents of the case, the Control and Disciplinary Body decided to reject the protest lodged by Schalke."



Former Chelsea player Drogba, 34, agreed to join Galatasaray on 28 January after ending his short stay with Shenhua amid claims he had not been paid his salary.



Shenhua countered that Drogba was in breach of his contract and it fell to FIFA to provisionally clear the way for the Ivorian to make his Galatasaray debut in the 2-1 win over Akhisar on 15 February.



Schalke earned a draw in Istanbul after Jermaine Jones's away goal cancelled out Galatasaray striker Burak Yilmaz's early opener.



The two sides meet in the second leg of the tie on 12 March in Gelsenkirchen.

Didier Drogba visits opponent in hospital after clash of heads

Didier Drogba and Orduspor's David Barral had a nasty clash of heads during Galatasaray's 4-2 win on Monday. The two players were going for the ball on a Galatasray corner kick and though both were laid out by the collision, it quickly became clear that Barral got the worst of it.



The Turkish striker, who momentarily lost consciousness, was put on a stretcher and taken to a hospital, but Drogba turned out to be OK. After the match, Drogba, still in his match gear, was driven to the hospital where Barral was taken and stopped in for a visit. If he wasn't well liked in Turkey already (he was), this would've done it. Here's a picture from the Gala PR team...



When asked why he didn't join Didier on the trip to see Barral, Kitier Katba reportedly said, "F*** that guy."

Drogba poised for start

Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba could make his UEFA Champions League return in Galatasaray's last 16 clash with Schalke.

Drogba scored on his Turkish Super Lig debut as a substitute against Akhisar Belediyespor on Friday and he could be joined in the starting line-up by fellow new boy Wesley Sneijder.

However, Galatasaray will be without Tomas Ujfalusi and Johan Elmander due to injury but ex-Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue could return at right-back.

Schalke will be without several key players for the first leg in Istanbul, with Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Atsuto Uchida, Ibrahim Afellay and Ciprian Marica all missing out.

The Bundesliga club, who reached the semi-finals in 2011, have also travelled to Turkey without Christoph Moritz and Lars Unnerstall.



However, Schalke are set to receive a boost as Dutch striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar looks likely to return after struggling with an eye injury in recent matches.

Wednesday's round up of the top transfer stories

- Juventus and AC Milan are interested in signing Didier Drogba from Shanghai Shenhua.



- But Didier Drogba is nearing a switch to AC Milan, according to reports in Italy.



- Newcastle have signed a second French player in the space of 24 hours after confirming the arrival of forward Yoan Gouffran from Bordeaux on a four-year deal.



- Arsenal and Manchester United's hopes of signing Germany Under-17 captain Jonathan Tah have been dashed after he signed professional terms with Hamburg.



- Arsenal target Adrian Lopez insists he is unaffected by speculation linking him with the north London club and says he plans to continue at Atletico Madrid.



- Spurs and Arsenal could be encouraged to bid for Younes Belhanda after Montpellier revealed they had received no offer from Inter Milan for the playmaker.



- Tottenham have opted against recalling Danny Rose from his loan at Sunderland, meaning the defender will see out the season at the Stadium of Light.



- Tottenham target Miralem Pjanic has ruled out a move away from Roma following mooted interest from Barcelona.



- Tottenham midfielder Yago Falque has joined Primera Liga promotion hopefuls Almeria on loan until the end of the season.



- Chelsea winger Marko Marin intends to discuss his future at Stamford Bridge amid interest from clubs wanting to take him on loan, according to his agent.



- Manchester United's pursuit of Wilfried Zaha has been delayed by the departure of Crystal Palace co-owner Steve Parish to Australia, but the England international is still expected to sign for the Premier League leaders by the end of the month.



- Manchester United have stepped up their interest in Lille full-back Lucas Digne, according to Mercato365.



- Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson made a personal check on Celtic's Victor Wanyama, and is now weighing up a bid for the midfielder.



- Newcastle have been boosted in their attempts to keep hold of Fabricio Coloccini after San Lorenzo pulled out of their bid to sign him.



- Fulham will have to stump up £1.3m to land Bulgaria defender Stanislav Manolev, according to sources in Holland.



- Fulham manager Martin Jol admits Sascha Riether could stay at Craven Cottage beyond this season if he maintains his current form for the club.



- New Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino has ruled out signing any of his former players from Espanyol.



- Michu has signed a new four-year contract to keep the prolific goalscorer at Swansea City until 2016, the Premier League club has said.



- West Ham United have announced that defender Guy Demel has signed a contract extension until 2015.



- Southampton are the latest club showing interest in Anderlecht midfielder Lucas Biglia, who has been linked with Arsenal and Liverpool, according to Sky Sports.



- Norwich are set to complete the signing of goalkeeper Lee Camp on a free transfer from Nottingham Forest until the end of the season.



- Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao has dismissed claims that talks with Real Madrid about a move across the Spanish capital have taken place.



- The agent of Guillermo Ochoa insists Liverpool are yet to firm up their reported interest in the Ajaccio goalkeeper.



- Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez is set to extend his contract at Camp Nou until 2016 on Monday, the Catalan giants have confirmed.



- Atletico Madrid are preparing an offer for Southampton target Joan Verdu.



- Espanyol are ready to rescue Alou Diarra from his West Ham misery and take him to Spain.



- Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon has extended his contract with Juventus by two years, running until the end of 2015, the club confirmed today.



- Inter Milan have denied making a 14million euro bid for Montpellier midfielder Younes Belhanda.



- Fiorentina look set to sign Poland international Rafal Wolski from Legia Warsaw subject to the successful completion of a medical at Stadio Artemio Franchi on Thursday.



- Napoli are plotting a move for Arsenal goalkeeper Vito Mannone, according to sources in Italy.



- Palermo have officially agreed a deal for Blackburn creative midfielder Mauro Formica and reportedly also Wigan Athletic striker Mauro Boselli.



- Chievo has signed Chilean midfielder Felipe Seymour on loan from Genoa for the rest of the Serie A season.



- Rennes midfielder Yann M'Vila has turned down the chance to move to the Premier League and signed for Russian side Rubin Kazan.



- Marseille are ready to beat Norwich City and Aston Villa to the signing of Senegal ace Modou Sougou.



- Mikael Silvestre could become the latest former Premier League player to join the MLS revolution after Portland Timbers revealed he had started training at the club.



- Jeffrey Bruma has revealed Hamburg are now attempting to make his loan from Chelsea permanent.



- Chile international Francisco Silva could make his debut for Osasuna against Barcelona this weekend after joining on loan from Universidad Catolica until the end of the season.



- Bristol Rovers have completed the signing of teenage striker Ryan Brunt from Stoke City on a two-and-a-half-year deal.



- Nottingham Forest have made a bid for Millwall striker Darius Henderson.



- Radoslaw Majewski has insisted he is keen to stay at Nottingham Forest but wants a longer-term deal than the extension he has been offered.



- Crystal Palace have launched a bid to sign Swindon Town winger Matt Ritchie.



- Dagenham midfielder Luke Howell has signed a new contract which will keep him at the club until 2015.



- Vasco have rejected a bid of around €8 million from Club World Cup champions Corinthians for centre-back Dedé.

Monday's round up of the top transfer stories

- Didier Drogba insists no clubs have made moves to sign him from Shanghai Shenhua amid speculation linking him with AC Milan and Juventus.



- Real Madrid playmaker Luka Modric is considering a return to England, putting Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United on alert, according to the Sunday Mirror.



- Manchester United have stepped up their interest in Borussia Dortmund midfielder Sven Bender, according to the Sunday Times.



- Manchester United youngster Andreas Pereira has put pen-to-paper on a first professional contract with the Red Devils.



- Manchester United face competition from Tottenham in the race to sign Crystal Palace starlet Wilfried Zaha, according to theMail on Sunday.



- Sir Alex Feguson is ready to call time on David De Gea's career at Old Trafford as he seeks a new goalkeeper in the January transfer window, according to Dailymail.



- Manchester City midfielder Abdisalam Ibrahim is set to rejoin Stromgodset on a six month loan deal.



- Arsenal and Man Utd are monitoring Frank Lampard's contract situation at Chelsea, according to Goal.com.



- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has spoken to Barcelona forward David Villa about a move to Emirates Stadium, according to The People.



- Arsenal have offered Napoli just under £1 million to take Eduardo Vargas on loan for the rest of the season, according to The Corriere dello Sport.



- And Wenger has indicated that Arsenal are looking to sign "one or two" players during the current transfer window.



- Chelsea risk losing January target Taison after his club Matalist Kharkiv set a deadline of Wednesday for the deal to be completed.



- Liverpool have made an offer of £7million for Italy international Davide Astori but are likely to miss out to Southampton.



- Sylvain Distin is likely to reject any overtures from Queens Park Rangers and Sunderland.



- West Ham have made a £3million bid for Blackburn’s Martin Olsson.



- West Ham face stiff competition from Fulham and QPR as they look to make a move for Newcastle defender Danny Simpson.



- West Ham could make a move for American duo Juan Agudelo and Graham Zusi.



- West Ham have signed Brazilian Wellington Paulista from Cruzeiro on a six-month loan deal with a view to a permanent deal in the summer.



- QPR have emerged as frontrunners in the race to sign Rennes midfielder Yann M'Vila, who has been linked with a move to Arsenal, according to L'Equipe.



- Aston Villa are set to make a move for Swansea striker Danny Graham.



- Aston Villa are among those clubs keeping a close eye on Lazio defender Luis Cavanda, according to his agent.



- Sunderland have agreed a £3million fee for Bursaspor midfielder Alfred N’Diaye.



- Newcastle left-back Paul Dummett admits he is keen to return for a second loan spell at St Mirren.



- Blackpool boss Michael Appleton has warned Liverpool he's under no pressure to sell Tom Ince in order to fund his January spending.



- Jonathan de Guzman has an open mind on whether he will return to Villarreal when his loan to Swansea City expires.



- Norwich City striker Chris Martin has extended his loan spell with Swindon Town until February 2.



- Fulham target Maarten Stekelenburg will hold crunch talks with Roma officials on Tuesday after falling out of favour at the Stadio Olimpico.



- Southampton are ready to boost their survival bid with a £10m offer for Inter Milan youngster Philippe Coutinho, according to sources in Italy.



- Yossi Benayoun faces anxious wait over his future after Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez dropped a strong hint that he is no longer needed at Stamford Bridge.



- Sao Paulo are optimistic regarding their chances of turning Denilson's loan move from Arsenal into a permanent stay.



- Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has admitted they will have to spend carefully this month rather than make wholesale changes to the squad.



- Napoli striker Edinson Cavani is wanted by Manchester City as a replacement for Mario Balotelli, according to The People.



- Napoli forward Eduardo Vargas will move to Brazilian side Sao Paulo by the end of the week according to the club’s president.



- Fiorentina say they have no plans to sell striker Stevan Jovetic following the signing of Giuseppe Rossi.



- Israel defender Rami Gershon will join Celtic at their Marbella training camp after agreeing a six-month loan deal, according to his agent.



- Marseille have admitted that Loic Remy, who has been linked with Newcastle and Tottenham, could be sold this month.



- Marseille sporting director Jose Anigo has praised Joey Barton and suggested the Ligue 1 club would be interested in retaining the midfielder beyond his season-long loan from QPR.



- Schalke have opened the way for Tottenham to sign Lewis Holtby this month, rather than at the end of the season, for a cut-price £1.6million.



- Canadian midfielder Kyle Bekker has signed a deal with MLS that will see him made available in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft along with recent Generation Adidas addition Eriq Zavaleta, forward from Indiana.



- Dean Saunders has been appointed the new Wolverhampton Wanderers manager, replacing Stale Solbakken who was sacked on Saturday.



- Coventry have completed a permanent deal for striker Leon Clarke from Charlton on a two-and-a-half-year deal.



- Tranmere have secured a one-month extension on Bolton forward Michael O'Halloran's loan deal.



- Midfielder Oliver Risser has left Stevenage at the end of his loan spell and joined League Two Aldershot.

Friday's round up of the top transfer stories

- Didier Drogba is keen on a January move to Serie A, according to one of the agents involved in the potential transfer of the former Chelsea striker.



- Chelsea have completed the signing of striker Demba Ba from Newcastle United.



- Chelsea outcast Florent Malouda will be offered a Stamford Bridge escape route by French strugglers Evian TG.



- Chelsea are ready to renew their interest in Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain, according to AS.



- Sevilla have turned down a €16million (£13m) offer for striker Alvaro Negredo from an unnamed club, who are believed to be Chelsea.



- And Fabio Coentrao, who has been linked with a move to Chelsea, could be offloaded by Real Madrid this month, according to the same publication.



- Aston Villa are following Lazio youngster Luis Pedro Cavanda 'with interest', according to the player's representative.



- Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has refused to rule out a move for Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott, after describing the England star as 'a top player'.



- Tottenham have completed the signing of former Manchester United starlet Zeki Fryers.



- Tottenham have agreed a deal to sign Lewis Holtby this summer, subject to the Schalke and Germany star passing a medical.



- - Tottenham are willing to listen to offers for midfielders Jake Livermore and Tom Huddlestone.



- Newcastle and Reading have yet to launch bids for FC Twente defender Douglas - and they could be forced to wait for his signature.



- Newcastle could be dealt another blow with captain Fabricio Coloccini apparently keen to leave the club to return to Argentina.



- Newcastle are hoping to secure a £1m deal for Swiss 16-year-old Kevin Mbabu.



- Newcastle United, Tottenham, Juventus and Monaco are battling to sign Toulouse's Moussa Sissoko.



- Wigan has signed Honduras midielder Roger Espinoza from Major League Soccer's Sporting Kansas City.



- Sunderland have emerged as favourites to sign Danny Graham after lining up a bid for the £5million-rated Swansea striker.



- Sunderland are interested in Bursaspor midfielder Alfred N'Diaye.



- West Ham have signed striker Marouane Chamakh on loan from Arsenal until the end of the season, Hammers manager Sam Allardyce has confirmed.



- Fulham manager Martin Jol has confirmed the signing of FC Twente striker Chris David.



- Southampton have recalled Aaron Martin from his loan spell at Crystal Palace.



- QPR manager Harry Redknapp has confirmed the signing of defender Tal Ben Haim on a short-term contract until the end of the season.



- Queens Park Rangers vice-captain, Ryan Nelsen, is retiring from professional football to pursue a coaching job in the MLS. The 35-year-old New Zealander will be departing the club in the January transfer window.



- Inter Milan playmaker Wesley Sneijder would welcome a move to the Premier League, according to his agent.



- Roma striker Pablo Osvaldo has declared his intention to remain at the club, despite reports that he was unhappy with life at the Giallorossi.



- Fiorentina have officially announced the signing of Villarreal striker Giuseppe Rossi.



- Udinese have confirmed that they are in advanced talks with Napoli over the sale of Colombian international Pablo Armero.



- Sevilla have rejected a £14m offer for Chelsea and Newcastle target Alvaro Negredo - and their president insists they are under no pressure to sell the Spain forward this year.



- Malaga midfielder Diego Buonanotte has revealed he is keen to join Palermo as he awaits the outcome of negotiations between the two clubs.



- Bayern Munich have secured the services of Jan Kirchhoff from Mainz on a free transfer at the end of the 2012-13 season.



- Mathieu Valbuena will only consider leaving Marseille if Manchester United or rivals Manchester City want to sign him, according to his agent.



- Monaco have renewed their interest in Frank Lampard and the midfielder could be keen to agree terms.



- Anderlecht defender Roland Juhasz's agent is exploring a loan deal for the Hungary international after Sunderland were linked with a bid.



- PSV Eindhoven have completed the signing of promising midfielder Oscar Hiljemark from Swedish champions Elfsborg.



- Molde defender Vegard Forren, who is believed to be a target for Manchester United, is "very close" to securing a move to an unnamed club, according to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.



- Fernandinho, who has been linked with Manchester United and rivals Manchester City, insists he is committed to Shakhtar Donetsk.



- Leicester City have extended the loan deal of Manchester United defender Michael Keane until the end of the January transfer window.



- MK Dons have re-signed attacking midfielder Zeli Ismail on loan until the end of the season.



- Stevenage have signed Udinese striker Steve Beleck on loan until the end of the season.



- Bradford City have extended the loan deal of Newcastle United's teenage defender Curtis Good by a further month.



- Preston North End have handed Luke Foster a contract until the end of the season after the defender's early impact at Deepdale.



- Yeovil have signed Matthew Dolan on a short-term loan from Championship outfit Middlesbrough.