Espanyol have announced on their official website that they have signed Luis Miguel Afonso Fernandes and Sidnei Rechel da Silva Junior from Atletico Madrid and Benfica respectively.

The two players, better known as Pizzi and Sidnei, arrive at Cornella El Prat on season-long loan agreements.

After passing a medical at private clinic Creu Blanca yesterday, the two footballers committed their short-term future to the La Liga side.

Pizzi, 23, joined Atletico Madrid from Sporting Braga in the summer of 2011, but was then loaned to Deportivo La Coruna last season.

Having impressed at Riazor, scoring 8 goals in 35 league matches, the attacker has been given a chance to further improve his reputation at Espanyol.

He will be joined by Benfica defender Sid…

Alan Pardew defiantly declared I do know what I m doing after Newcastle United s League Cup fourth-round win at Manchester City.

Pardew s place at the helm of Newcastle was under major scrutiny early in the campaign, with the club languishing bottom of the Premier League.

That prompted protests in the stands as supporters called for the former West Ham United and Southampton boss to be sacked.

However, those days seemed a distant memory on Wednesday night as Pardew s men secured a third successive win in all competitions.

This was perhaps their most impressive, with an XI missing some of Newcastle s key players overcoming a strong City side thanks to goals from Rolando Aarons and Moussa Sissoko.

Pardew told BBC Sport: I do know what I m doing. I t…

Australia and Club Brugge goalkeeper Mat Ryan will move to La Liga outfit Valencia, pending a medical.

Ryan, 23, has starred since his move to Europe in 2013, twice named the Belgian Pro League Goalkeeper of the Year.

The 21-time Socceroo, who has been linked to the likes of Real Madrid and Liverpool, was also the 2015 Asian Cup goalkeeper of the tournament.

Ryan said he turned down a move away from Brugge last season, but it was time to move on.

If I pass my medical tests, I will indeed leave Club Brugge. It s been a joy to be in this warm and amical club, he told the club s website.

They have done everything they could to keep me another year which made it even harder for me to make this choice. I ve had a wonderful time at the club but now it…

Jose Mourinho has hinted Dele Alli might not be doing enough to turn around his situation at Tottenham.

England international Alli has been confined to the margins of Mourinho s squad this season, with only one of his four Premier League appearances coming as a starter.

Those top-flight outings total a meagre 74 minutes overall and, although he has been a more frequent fixture in midweek cup line-ups, reports that the 24-year-old is unhappy hardly come as a surprise.

A reunion with former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino at Paris Saint-Germain has been touted, although Mourinho insisted having disgruntled players in a dressing room is a fact of life for any coach.

However, when distinguishing between unhappy players who work, work, work and work and others …

Former Manchester United captain Bryan Robson would like to see Jack Grealish make a move to Old Trafford.

Aston Villa star Grealish has been linked with the Red Devils in the past 18 months but there has yet to be a concerted effort to sign him.

However, with the future of Paul Pogba unclear beyond this season, talk has again emerged that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could look to Grealish as a possible replacement for the France star.

The England international has created a competition-high 55 goalscoring chances in the Premier League in 2020-21 from only 15 appearances.

The 25-year-old has become integral to Villa s improved performances this term, making 11 per cent of all of their passes and drawing 73 fouls, the most of any player in the division.

F…

Robin van Persie, 25, feels something is changing following an inconsistent opening to the Arsenal campaign. The Dutchman is looking forward for a trophy this year. I feel the same as the fans, I want it as badly as them and it can be frustrating when it doesn t happen, said van Persie. I am a positive person though, and I think positively, and I think the fans should do that as well. We did not win everything in the past couple of years, but we are doing absolutely everything we can to change it.

Van Persie added: The main thing in 2009 is to finally get silverware, but there is a clear picture here of how to achieve that. The Arsenal way is in our system now, it grows into you, and I don t think it s clever to change your philosophy.”

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Andrea Dossena’s agent has denied reports about the the Liverpool full-back talks with Napoli to negotiate the transfer to the Serie A outfit in January.

Dossena, who joined Liverpool for a fee of £7 million in the summer of 2008, has made only one Premier League appearance this season and the Italian international has been strongly linked with a move away from Anfield in the winter transfer market.

Napoli was reported to be interested in Dossena who has been peripheral at Anfield this season, following a recent muscular injury. Napoli were eager to land him already in the summer, but the move never got off the ground. After reshuffling plans under new coach Walter Mazzari, the Campania-based side is keen to open up discourse and show their hand in January.

French giants Marseille are widely expected to recruit Ghanaian defender Daniel Amartey in the January transfer window, according to French media outlet L Equipe.

OM had agreed a deal with FC Copenhagen for the player s services ahead of yesterday s transfer deadline, but eventually failed to complete the paperwork in time as they were focused on signing Erik Lamela from Tottenham.

Nevertheless, the latest reports suggest that Marseille are almost certain to make things right in the January window.

Daniel Amartey, who can operate in both defence and midfield, began his career with International Allies in Ghana, before moving to Djurgarden in 2013.

A year later he was already playing for Danish giants FC Copenhagen and has so far scored 4 goals in 33 leag…

Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati believes returning striker Mario Balotelli is desperate to make a derby impact against Inter.

Balotelli has yet to make his competitive return with Milan since signing a loan deal from Liverpool, with the 25-year-old starting in a friendly against third-tier Mantova during the international break, scoring a goal and setting up another.

But Abbiati has been impressed by Balotelli at training and hinted that the forward may get some game-time against Inter on Saturday.

Balo is a great guy, he just has to follow the few rules we have in the dressing room, Abbiati said on Thursday, according to Gazzetta World.

If he mas made mistakes, they have all happened off the field.

He has looked good in training and I can s…

Eric Dier hopes England s dramatic World Cup penalty shoot-out win over Colombia on Tuesday has put them back in the nation s good books .

The Tottenham midfielder scored the decisive spot-kick to help Gareth Southgate s men set up a quarter-final clash with Sweden following a 1-1 draw in Moscow.

Dier was part of the side that crashed out of Euro 2016 after an embarrassing defeat to Iceland a result that led to the resignation of manager Roy Hodgson.

Southgate has transformed the fortunes of the Three Lions over the past two years and Dier knows the result against Colombia will have gone some way to erasing the painful memories of that Iceland humiliation.

Yesterday was a massive milestone for us as a group because we hadn t won a knockout game for so…