The English Premier League’s bottom club Portsmouth signed Israeli defender Tal Ben-Haim from Manchester City and French midfielder Hassan Yebda from Benfica yesterday just before the transfer window closed.
Midfielder Niko Kranjcar seemed to be heading out of Fratton Park for Tottenham Hotspur, although England goalkeeper David James, also linked with a move to Spurs, appeared to be staying on the south coast.
Portsmouth’s new owner Sulaiman al-Fahim, who took control last Thursday, and manager Paul Hart have wasted little time in trying to bolster their squad, with Ben-Haim and Yebda joining a quartet of players who signed on Friday.
Pompey, without a point in four Premier League games, signed Kevin-Prince Boateng from Tottenham Hotspur, Michael Brown from Wigan Athletic, Aruna Dindane from Racing Lens and Jamie O’Hara on loan from Spurs while Sylvain Distin has left for Everton.
Sky Sports News also reported that they had agreed terms with Aston Villa to sign defender Nicky Shorey on a season-long loan.
Tottenham appeared close to signing Croatian Kranjcar from Pompey as an immediate replacement for his compatriot Luka Modric who broke a bone in his fibula playing against Birmingham City on Saturday and is likely to be sidelined for at least six weeks.
Spurs sources said Kranjcar has passed a medical at the club, currently second in the Premier League after winning their opening four matches of the season.
Aston Villa have agreed a fee with West Ham to buy Welsh international defender James Collins, although the player has yet to agree personal terms.
One deal completed early on the final day of the transfer window saw Wales international defender Danny Collins move from Sunderland to become the latest addition to Stoke City’s squad.
Collins, 29, joined Middlesbrough’s Robert Huth and Tuncay Sanli in signing for Tony Pulis’s side in the last week, as Pulis looks to consolidate the club in the Premier League after their debut appearance last season.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite