Chelsea defender Tomas Kalas will join newly promoted FC Cologne on a season-long loan on July 1.
The Czech, who has a solitary international cap to his name, spent two seasons on loan at Dutch outfit Vitesse Arnhem before returning to Stamford Bridge for the 2013-14 campaign.
After being handed his Chelsea debut as a late substitute in a 2-0 League Cup win at Arsenal in October, Kalas made his European bow in a last-16 home triumph over Galatasaray.
Kalas first start for the club came in the huge 2-0 Premier League victory at Liverpool in April, and he was among the starting XI once again on the last day of the Premier League season at relegated Cardiff City.
The 21-year-old will now be hoping to pick up more first-team experience as Cologne adjust to life back …
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola returned to Brescia on Sunday, and revealed he still felt at home in the Lombardy city.
As a player, Guardiola joined Brescia in 2001 after 11 illustrious years with Barcelona.
The former midfielder had two spells at the then-Serie A club before his playing retirement in 2006.
Upon his visit to the Serie B outfit, the 40-year-old was greeted by a banner from the Brescia fans saying: Pep, pride in our past, a dream for the future .
While his former club fell 1-0 to Ascoli, Guardiola said he was delighted to be back.
In Brescia, I feel like I m at home, he told Bresciaoggi.it. Breathing the air in that stadium means so much to me.
Brescia s young players are interesting and promising.
Guardiola had …
Jonathan Woodgate is close to signing for Championship club Middlesbrough subject to a medical after being released by Stoke City.
The 32-year-old spent a solitary season at the Britannia Stadium after playing for two-and-a-half years at Tottenham.
Prior to his White Hart Lane days, the former England centre-back rejuvenated his reputation with Middlesbrough after an unsuccessful period with Real Madrid.
The defender is set for a return to the Riverside Stadium, where he also spent a portion of his youth career before a switch to Elland Road.
Woodgate played 46 times for Boro before his January 2008 transfer to Spurs.
He had previously cost the Teesside club seven million pounds to buy in 2007 after a loan spell from the Bernabeu.
However…
Northern Ireland will hope the visit of San Marino to Windsor Park on Saturday is the opportunity they need to end their long losing run in Euro 2024 qualifying.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the key talking points ahead of the game.
Back to the start
Northern Ireland’s win away to San Marino in the opening fixture of this qualifying campaign back in March feels a long, long time ago now. Back then optimism was high that the return of Michael O’Neill as manager and what was seen as a favourable draw, certainly from pot five, in Group H could offer Northern Ireland a chance of challenging for qualification. But since their 2-0 win in Serravalle, nothing has gone right for O’Neill and his players, as a seemingly never-ending injury list and a string of na…
data-mm-id=”_82lhtgmiy”>Reggie Bush may not like it, but his comments in Playboy have reignited a debate about what college should look like for high-level college athletes. Jalen Rose was on Get Up this morning and suggested that college athletes should be able to major in sports. "These young athletes should be able to major in sports while they're in college. … Not having these young people taking ballet or basket weaving. Teach them how to manage their money and their situation."@JalenRose on Reggie Bush's comments about paying college athletes. pic.twitter.com/WgJRQFithV— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 26, 2020As a catch-all for most athletes, probably not, but individually, athletes should be able to tailor their educations to fit what their lives could become. R…