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Sunderland have decided to refuse an option to purchase on-loan midfielder Sulley Muntari, and have confirmed that the Ghana international will return to Inter immediately. The 26 year-old, who has also featured in the Premier League for Portsmouth, failed to impress Steve Bruce following his arrival in January, with the Black Cats’ boss politely acknowledging: “Sulley has been a great professional in his time here and naturally we’d like to thank him for his contribution to our season and wish him all the best for the future.”

Although Muntari didn’t do enough to earn a further season at the Stadium of Light, several other loan signings can certainly claim to have contributed enough to their adopted Premier League clubs this season to force their temporary managers to consider splashing the cash. Daniel Sturrdige’s 8 goals in twelve starts for Bolton catapulted the Chelsea striker in to most Premiership managers’ consciousness. The former Manchester City apprentice had struggled to assert himself at Stamford Bridge during his first two seasons following his free transfer from Eastlands, and the £50million January arrival of Fernando Torres suggested a premature end to his time at Stamford Bridge.

But the England Under-21 forward, clearly with a point to prove, outshone his Spanish team-mate, and is likely to attract serious offers from the Premier League’s developing clubs outside of the top four this summer. “It’s great to have this opportunity [playing for Bolton] and it has been good to show Chelsea what I’m all about,” Sturridge told Chelsea’s official website last week. “It was difficult for me not starting as many games as I’d have liked, as a young player with a lot of pressure you have to take the opportunities that are in front of you,” he added.

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He undoubtedly took his opportunity – with both feet – and was curiously ignored by Fabio Capello for England’s Euro 2012 qualifier with Switzerland on June 4th even after Jermain Defoe’s withdrawal left the Italian with just Bobby Zamora, Peter Crouch and Darren Bent as forward options for next month’s Wembley encounter. While Sturridge is likely to attract a plethora of offers from all directions, now his loan contract has terminated, what happens to the other loanees whose short spells away from their parent clubs failed to encourage a turn in form? John Carew was considered a shrewd addition to Tony Pulis’ Stoke squad when he joined the club in January, especially considering his physical attributes are compatible with the Potters’ robust style, but the Norwegian only managed to find the net once in the League, and failed to finish any of his chances during the first six months of the season playing for Aston Villa.

The striker will be 32 within a month of next season’s inauguration, so represents a risky option for a Stoke side who have appeared to alter their transfer tact recently in order to identify younger, more progressive flair. On a more positive note, Jamie O’Hara seems to have won the hearts of his provisional faithful at Wolves, having scored in the club’s final game of the season to secure the Molineux side’s Premiership status for another year. The Tottenham midfielder has almost forged an entire career from being loaned away from White Hart Lane, and Mick McCarthy would do well to seriously consider making a permanent move for the 24 year-old who should himself be seeking some stability at his age. “There’s a deal on the table and Wolves need to say they want me, a fee has been agreed with Tottenham, but the deal has got to be done within a week. That’s up to the chairman and the gaffer to see what they want to do,” the former Arsenal trainee announced this week. “I want to stay. Hopefully the gaffer will want me to stay. Hopefully I’ll be speaking to him over the next week or so and get something sorted,” a confident O’Hara added.

It will be interesting to see where any of this season’s loan signings will end up come August, not least Emmanuel Adebayor, who will face particular scrutiny on his return to Manchester City from his short, and unexpected, stint at Real Madrid. Although loaning out players usually enables them to return with renewed confidence, and signing players on loan represents a low-risk transfer strategy, not all of the short-term additions have flourished this season, and an intriguing summer of transfer activity awaits.

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Liverpool have moved a major step closer to being sold after the High Court ruled against current co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett in their dispute with the club's board.

Hicks and Gillett failed in their attempt to block a £300million sale of the club to the owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball franchise.

Last week the board of the Anfield club, led by independent chairman Martin Broughton, agreed to sell to their parent company, New England Sports Ventures (NESV).

Hicks and Gillett's three-and-a-half year reign had left the Anfield club in debt to the tune of £230million.

The decision by Judge Christopher Floyd to side with the board and major creditor the Royal Bank of Scotland has paved the way for a sale to be concluded before Friday's deadline, which could have resulted in administration.

In a further blow to the American pair, who in court were accused of committing "a calculated breach of contract", they were also denied the right to appeal.

"I am not prepared to grant any relief," said Mr Justice Floyd. "If I did it would risk stopping the sale and purchase agreement going ahead."

However, speaking on the steps outside the High Court, Broughton suggested that the sale of the club to NESV might now face a fresh challenge.

On Tuesday, former interested party Peter Lim tabled a new and improved £320million offer, which included £40million for the acquisition of new players.

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The cash-only deal offered by the Singapore businessman is likely be discussed at a hastily arranged board meeting on Wednesday evening.

"We will have a full board meeting this evening once board has been reconstituted and proceed with the sale process," said Broughton.

"We're delighted with the result, justice has been done. That's what we came for and that's what we got. We have a great future."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Football and injuries tend to go hand-in-hand, with players putting their bodies on the line each week. However, it is not just on the field of play where they can find themselves at risk, with a fair few injuries occurring away from the action, and these tend to be absolutely hilarious.

Valencia midfielder Ever Banega found himself as the latest victim of such an incident, when refuelling his car. The Argentine left his vehicle without putting the handbrake on, causing it to roll back over his foot, fracturing both his leg and ankle. The automobile mis-hap may be very unfortunate and worrying for all involved, but that doesn’t make it any less amusing.

Banega is by no means alone in his rotten luck, with many footballing thoroughbreds suffering odd injuries down the years. Here’s a list of some of those stars and the baffling injuries they have suffered.

Click on Banega below to see the Top TEN

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Athletic Bilbao’s Iker Muniain has been likened to the Argentinean wizard Lionel Messi but is he actually as good as him? The 18 year old has been linked with Liverpool in recent days, so what do we know of him?

A product of Bilbao’s youth academy, the Basque became the team’s youngest ever player in July 2009 when he came on as a substitute against Switzerland’s BSC Young Boys in a Europa League qualifier, aged just 16 years, 7 months and 11 days. He then became the youngest player ever to score for the club when he scored in the return leg, helping Bilbao into the group stages.

In August 2009, Muniain made his league debut against Espanyol, and it wasn’t long before he broke another record, by scoring his first league goal against Real Valladolid in a 2-2 draw, making him the youngest player to ever score in La Liga, aged just 16 years and 289 days.

When he initially broke into the side, he played mostly as a support striker, but he prefers to play on the wings, and this campaign he has established himself as a left winger in Joaquin Caparros’s midfield. His style of play is rightly compared to Lionel Messi as at 5ft 6, he possesses great speed and agility on the ball with a similar low centre of gravity, and like the Argentine genius, he is also truly two footed, and possesses great technique and ball control.

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Playing in the top league at the tender age of 16, Muniain has shown a great deal of maturity beyond his years. He has great tactical awareness, and this was emphasised by his manager Caparros when after he provided two assists against Real Zaragoza last season, he said that Muniain possesses a “built-in GPS and eight gears.” Not only is he tactically astute in the offensive third though, he can also track back runners and has a never-say-die attitude which has led some in Spain to compare him favourably to Wayne Rooney.

He never shies away from physical encounters despite his diminutive stature and his hunger for the game is greatly admired. He loves to play the game at high tempo, and he has added goal scoring to his locker this season by scoring nine goals from his left wing position.

Still, there are areas that Muniain will need to improve upon. He is not physically strong, and can be pushed off the ball a little bit too easily. You can imagine that opposition defenders would make mince meat of the player in the Premier League, but with his ball control, speed and skill, he may just be too quick for many defenders, and you only have to look as far as Lionel Messi to know that size and strength isn’t everything in the modern game.

So, in conclusion, Muniain is certainly a promising player. Whether he would be interested in a move to Liverpool is up for debate, but he would certainly fit into the strategy of bringing in quality young players to Anfield.

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Read more of David’s articles at Live4Liverpool

Kevin MacDonald has hinted that he could leave Aston Villa after being overlooked when the club stepped up their search to find a permanent successor to Martin O'Neill who resigned less than a week before the start of the season.

MacDonald has been in caretaker charge since O'Neill's exit but Monday's 2-1 defeat at Stoke City may be his last match in the hot-seat as Gerard Houllier is set to take on the managerial reins.

MacDonald has already turned down the chance to be the Frenchman's assistant but it had been thought that he would return to his previous job as reserve team boss.

However, he said:"I put my name up for the job. Once I did that I knew there might be disappointment. It took me long enough to decide what I wanted to do.

"Once I didn't get it I was disappointed, but my decision to go back and work with the reserves is totally down to me to re-evaluate what I want to do, it's as simple as that.

"I had always thought when I got the job that I wasn't going to do the assistant's job, so there was never any thought of doing that. Now I have to decide whether I'm going to be a manager.

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"Some would say I'm going to be a decent manager, others might not. I need to know for myself. I'm doing things for me."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

29th November 2006 – The day which Alex Song hit his lowest point in football. He was still a fringe player in the Arsenal squad at this time and had been selected for their trip at Fulham to come into a struggling side. Song’s performance was below par and he became the scapegoat for the team’s loss and poor start to the season. He was booed by a section of the away fans, shamefully, and was hauled off at half time by Arsene Wenger . It’s reported that the embarrassment didn’t stop there.

In the dressing room, Thierry Henry shouted at Song in front of the whole squad to the horror of the manager. It is widely thought that this is the main reason Henry was dropped for the coming games. However, it has been a near constant rise since that night for the Cameroonian. This was his only start in the Premier League for the club that season and in January, he moved to Charlton on loan for the rest of the season. It could be said this was the making of the strong defensive midfielder.

He made 12 Premier League appearances and despite Charlton’s subsequent relegation, Song starred and showed the fans of all clubs, especially Arsenal, that he was better than that performance in West London earlier in the season. Many outings were made in a central defensive position which he had much experience of in the past but was not his preferred position. He strengthened their defence and went from strength to strength with regular Premier League football the key to his progress.

Going back to Arsenal the next season proved difficult as he still found league appearances hard to come by and the midfield partnership of Cesc Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini seemed impenetrable. Then came his chance and emergence as Flamini rejected a new contract at the club and left for A.C. Milan on a free, to the dismay of Arsenal fans. This gave him the chance to challenge Denilson for the central midfield spot beside Cesc Fabregas and he made 31 league appearances in a breakthrough year for the then 22 year old.

Although, the 2009-10 season was one in which Song truly made himself a first team fixture and became a key member of the Arsenal midfield. Wenger changed his tactics from the favoured 4-4-2 to a 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation which gave the team more solidity and meant they could keep possession a lot better domestically, and crucially, in Europe. This was perfect for him as there was now a truly defensive midfield position in the team where he could be trusted to sit in front of the defence and give the creative players a platform to attack.

The team started strongly, scoring 10 goals on their first two games, with Song starting in midfield with Denilson and Fabregas. Despite two unlucky away losses to the Manchester clubs, their strong start continued and these were their only losses in their first 11 fixtures. He was constantly improving and doing a fantastic job of protecting the infamously fragile Arsenal defence and providing a shield against attacks and starting attacks himself.

He became one of the first names on the team sheet and was key in Arsenal’s impressive season where they were in realistic contention for the title until the last 5 or 6 games where they faltered amid a defensive injury crisis which led to the comeback to the club of Sol Campbell.

In my opinion, one of his standout performances of that and many other seasons, was the 1-0 win at home to Liverpool in February 2010. After losses to Chelsea and Manchester United in their previous two games, Arsenal ’s title challenge was on the ropes and they needed a win to revive it. In what was quite a dreary game, he did a phenomenal job of keeping the midfield solid and marking Steven Gerrard out of the game. Arsenal eventually scored the winner through an Abou Diaby header 18 minutes from time.

The 2009-10 season was a key time for Wenger’s Arsenal as their tactics and style of play changes to a much more Barcelona-like way of being patient and keeping possession. This is perfect for Song who isn’t the most pacey or dynamic of central midfielders but he is brilliant and making simple passes, keeping the football and protecting his defenders.

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Last season began inconsistently for Arsenal as they lost 6 league games by Christmas but had kept themselves in a reasonably weak title race where every team was lacking quality and consistency. He continued to be a regular fixture in the side and added an attacking verve to his game which hadn’t been seen as much the previous season. This could be attributed to the emergence of Jack Wilshere and his defensive qualities which meant he could trust him to sit back and shield the defence if he ventured forward which he did very successfully. He showed he had an eye for the killer pass as well as the ability to score crucial goals.

The most crucial coming in October when he came up with an 88th minute winner at home to West Ham to finally break down the North London rivals and win the game 1-0. He scored 5 goals by the end of 2010, but this was, sadly, the end of his goalscoring form for the year. Arsenal’s unbeaten run from December to April, coinciding with Robin van Persie’s return, led to a strong title challenge but the team yet again fell away at the end of the season and slipped to 4th eventually.

However, Song had once again had a storming season and had established himself as one of the best players in his position in the Premier League.

This season started poorly for him and the rest of the team with the loss of his deep midfield partner Jack Wilshere to injury along with the sale of creative midfielders, Fabregas and Samir Nasri. But the purchase of Mikel Arteta has been fantastic for Song and the Arsenal midfield, he has the nous and ability to sit back when Song ventures forward and give him a key outlet when sparking attacks. They have formed a strong partnership in the team, starting virtually every league game together so far.

Alex Song obviously suffered from a turbulent and inconsistent start to his Arsenal career but the loan spell at Charlton along with the change of tactics at Arsenal has led to him establishing a key and strong position in the team helping them to two title challenges as well as a standout win at home to Barcelona in February. His constant rise seems unstoppable and he is sure to be a key performer for Arsenal for many years to come.

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Article courtesy of Charlie Rainsford from This is Futbol

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AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri wants his team to stay focused despite moving a step closer to the Serie A title with a win over Brescia.Although Inter Milan also won on Saturday, Napoli lost at Palermo making AC Milan’s 1-0 win all the more important.

Allegri’s team has an eight-point gap on Inter with four games remaining, but the boss wants his team to remain focused.

“Another four points would secure the Scudetto. Now, we have to focus on having a relaxing Easter break and from Wednesday we’ll start thinking about Bologna, another difficult game seeing as they’re getting sucked back into the relegation battle,” Allegri said.

“We’re not planning any title celebrations right now. We just need to relax over Easter.”

Milan’s superior head-to-head record over Inter and Napoli this season means even if they finish level on points, the title would be theirs.

They had to wait until the 82nd minute for Robinho to find the net at Brescia and Allegri said his team deserved to win.

“We had two or three risky situations with Brescia, as unfortunately we didn’t make our first-half domination count,” Allegri said.

“It’s only natural to have a little fatigue as we played in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday evening, but the lads held out well.”

“The team overall created plenty of scoring opportunities and deserved the victory.”

Midfielder Gennaro Gattuso was a late withdrawal after suffering a muscle injury in the warm-up.

The signature of Sol Campbell by Newcastle manager Chris Hughton in the summer is generally thought to be a shrewd one by the Premier League club. The former England international defender brings a whole host of experience with him to St James’ Park and will help provide competition for places at the heart of the Newcastle backline. The question is, though, with Fabricio Coloccini and Mike Williamson forming a solid centre-back partnership, will Campbell be able to force himself into the first team picture?

Campbell arrived at Newcastle amidst claims he was ‘fat’ and some way from fitness following his wedding and hence lack of training in the summer. The defender is not exactly getting any younger as his 36th birthday approaches, but Campbell still has a role to play for the Toon. As a professional footballer it won’t take long to get himself back up to speed and following a couple of reserve team outings, he’s already well on the way to doing this. Campbell himself believes he’ll make his debut at home to Blackpool on Saturday, but surely he can’t expect more than a short run-out from the bench, can he?

Hughton won’t want to change a line-up that demolished Aston Villa and more than held their own at Molineux against Wolves. Coloccini is showing what a class act he is and Williamson is proving that he was an absolute steal when Newcastle signed him from Portsmouth in January. With the form of these two, Campbell will have to settle for a place on the bench, but given the injury to Steven Taylor, he will certainly be next in line. Campbell may be getting on a bit, but he hasn’t lost any of his ambition that has made him a winner throughout his career and that can only be a good thing for Newcastle.

Former Liverpool midfielder Gary McAllister gives his thoughts on the current goings on at the club. Here he talks about the signings new owner John W. Henry has sanctioned over the past summer, as well as how he believes the side will do over the course of the season as they challenge for honours. He discusses how the new signings are gelling at the club and whether players who commanded high fees, such as Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing, are maybe struggling to settle into the current Liverpool setup.

McAllister also gives his thoughts on the absence of Steven Gerrard and the effect the Liverpool captain could have had on the latest crop of Liverpool signings. A figure to lead and guide the latest acquisitions to the midfield has perhaps slowed their settling in at the club.

He also looks at the contribution Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have on the club; citing their passion for the history and tradition of Liverpool FC. Furthermore, the perhaps delicate issue of moving to a new stadium and leaving behind the great atmosphere of Anfield, particularly of European nights, is discussed.

Finally, McAllister talks about his time at the club, touching on the slight disappointment of not coming to the club sooner and what Liverpool could have achieved during the nineties…

https://youtube.com/watch?v=gZThX4wtRS4%3Fversion%3D3%26feature%3Dplayer_detailpage

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J-League champions Nagoya Grampus were held to a 1-1 home draw by Seoul in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday.With the J-League season being postponed due to the earthquake that shook the country, Nagoya entered the match with the risk of being underdone and were facing a Seoul side who had won both of their Group F fixtures so far.

But a lack of football did not seem to affect Nagoya, at least not in the early stages, as Japanese international Kensuke Nagai found the back of the net after 13 minutes to give the hosts an early lead.

But the Japanese side failed to add to their advantage and were made to pay when Hyun-Tae Choi grabbed the equaliser for the Korean side just after the hour mark.

The result leaves Seoul on top of the group with seven points from three matches, while Nagoya are bottom of the group with just one point from two fixtures.

In the other Group F match, Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates claimed a point in a goalless draw with Hangzhou Lucheng in China.

In Group H, Sydney FC played out an entertaining 1-1 draw with Shanghai Shenhua at the Sydney Football Stadium.

The visitors took a sixth minute lead after Dubier Riascos found the back of the net via a deflection, but just seven minutes later Nick Carle cancelled out the opener with a tidy finish.

The other fixture in Group H also ended in a 1-1 draw, with Koji Nakata’s 71st minute strike for the Kashima Antlers cancelling out Ki-Hyun Yeom’s opener.

Zob Ahan of Iran claimed a 3-1 away win against Al Rayyan in Group D thanks to goals from Mohamad Khalatbari Limaki, Igor Castro and Ghasem Haddadifar, while a brace from Alhassane Keita kickstarted Al Shabab in their 4-0 win over Emirates.

In Group B, another Iranian side finished on the winners list, with Esteghlal defeating Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan 4-2.

Dusan Savic fired the Uzbekis in front after just four minutes but first-half strikes from Hawar Mulla Mohammed and Farhad Majidi gave Esteghal a 2-1 lead at half-time, before further goals from Mehdi Salehi and Arash Borhani sealed the result.