Sunderland winger Adam Johnson appeared at court to deny charges of sexual activity with an underage girl.
The England international was charged with three counts of sexual activitiy with a girl under the age of 16 and one of sexual grooming in April.
Johnson was subsequently bailed following a hearing at Peterlee Magistrates Court on May 18, and entered a not guilty plea to all charges at Durham Crown Court on Wednesday.
A trial is now set to begin on August 24.
Johnson was originally suspended by Sunderland following his initial arrest in March, but was later reinstated and played a part in the club s successful fight against Premier League relegation.
The former Middlesbrough player has earned 12 international caps with England, scoring tw…
Pep Guardiola was handed his Barcelona break as a skinny teenager by Johan Cruyff so the Manchester City manager has no qualms in following suit with Phil Foden.
The 18-year-old Foden made 10 appearances across all competitions in 2017-18, and looks set for a more significant role this season following a stellar showing in the 2-0 Community Shield win over Chelsea at Wembley.
In a media conference ahead of Sunday s visit of Huddersfield Town, it was put to Guardiola that there are similarities with Foden s breakthrough and his own at Camp Nou under Cruyff at the start of Barca s fabled Dream Team era.
Guardiola benefited from Cruyff s insistence that a player s technical ability was more important than his physical stature a mantra that has stuck with the Catal…
Barcelona are in talks with Valencia to recruit the club s international striker David Villa, the president of the Spanish club, Joan Laporta, said Tuesday.
We are negotiating and everything is on track. We trust that the issue will be resolved shortly, he said in comments published on the club s website.
Villa, 28, was the fourth best scorer in the Spanish league in the 2009-10 season, having scored 21 goals.
He had been coveted last year by both Barcelona and arch-rivals Real Madrid but the Catalan club finally secured the services of Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Inter Milan in a deal which saw Cameroon striker Samuel Eto o move to the Italian side.
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Man Utd to bid for Martial
Manchester United are ready to submit a mega money offer for Monaco striker Anthony Martial, .
The Red Devils have informed the Ligue 1 side they are ready to pay €50 million for the France international as they look to reinforce the attacking department before the transfer window closes tomorrow.
However, Monaco have no plans to cash in on their prized asset just yet, although an improved offer would probably make the club chiefs change their minds.
The Principality club are showing interest in Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez, but the problem is the Mexican is closing in on a move to Bayer Leverkusen.
Anthony Martial was snatched from Lyon two years ago and the 19-year-old has already shown a great deal of…
Gianluigi Buffon says it could take another two months before Maurizio Sarri s masterplan for Juventus is fully implemented.
The former Chelsea and Napoli boss is attempting to instil a more attacking approach in the Serie A champions following the departure of Massimiliano Allegri and his more pragmatic style at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.
Despite sitting atop Serie A after nine games, four teams have scored more goals than them this season – something Buffon expects to change by the start of 2020.
You are starting to see something different; a constant pursuit of attacking football that we did not have in the last few years, he told TV show Tiki Taka.
We will see his full system in two months because we could not rely on some important players …
Jurgen Klopp acknowledged it was a tale of two contrasting halves for Liverpool after they fought out a pulsating 2-2 draw with Manchester City at Anfield.
City, the reigning Premier League champions, were the dominant team before the break, Phil Foden twice denied by Alisson while Kevin De Bruyne wastefully headed over.
Pep Guardiola s side had a strong claim for a penalty when Foden was clipped by James Milner, but some half-time words from their manager helped Liverpool finally come alive after the interval.
The home team twice went ahead, Sadio Mane opening the scoring before Mohamed Salah s wonderful solo strike made it 2-1, but Klopp felt a point was completely fine after City pegged them back on each occasion.
Thank god a football game has two ha…
(GSM) Turkish giants Galatasaray have signed Wolfsburg midfielder Zvjezdan Misimovic on a four-year deal.
The Bosnian playmaker had been deemed was surplus to the requirements of the Bundesliga club following the signing of Diego from Juventus.
The 28-year-old, who had joined Wolfsburg in 2007, was a key part of their Bundesliga triumph in 2008. In total, he scored 17 goals in 65 Bundesliga matches.
Misimovic is leaving and transferring to Galatasaray with immediate effect, Wolfsburg said in a statement.
We thank him for his performances and wish him success, Wolfsburg manager Dieter Hoeness said.
Misimovic is joined at Gala by Liverpool left-back Emiliano Insua, who has moved to the Turkish club on a season-long loan deal.
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Gianluigi Buffon is four minutes away from setting a Serie A record of 930 minutes without conceding – which would surpass Sebastiano Rossi – in Juventus derby at Torino on Sunday.
Massimiliano Allegri s men – who suffered a heartbreaking Champions League exit in midweek – have already set a milestone by keeping 10 consecutive league clean sheets, the last of which came in Friday s 1-0 win over Sassuolo.
Now Buffon is on a personal unbeaten streak of 926 minutes, with Rossi s mark set at 929, as he bids to become the goalkeeper with the longest top-flight run.
Juve go into the match on the back of a morale-sapping defeat to Bayern Munich, in which a 4-2 aggregate lead became a dramatic 6-4 defeat after extra time at the Allianz Arena on Wednes…
David Luiz insists Chelsea remain in the Premier League title race and have loftier goals than just securing a top-four finish in 2018-19.
After Liverpool s 2-0 win over Wolves on Friday, the Blues trail Jurgen Klopp s league leaders by 11 points ahead of their clash with Leicester City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Chelsea were champions under Antonio Conte in 2016-17 but finished fifth last term and therefore missed out on a place in this season s Champions League.
Sealing a return to Europe s premier club competition will be high on Maurizio Sarri s list of priorities in his first campaign at the helm, yet David Luiz has not given up hope of winning his second title with Chelsea.
Everybody knows the Premier League is so difficult, we have to think…
Market: CA Mitre win
Odds: 8/15 @
Two sides who find themselves battling it out at opposite ends of the Primera Nacional table, Mitre will welcome a struggling Villa Dalmine to Santiago del Estero on Sunday night.
Starting with the hosts, while Mitre might have signed off April in the midst of an extended wobble, the Decano have come roaring back in some style. Last seen putting in another gritty display on home soil as they clinched a 1-0 victory against Deportivo Madryn, Arnaldo Siealle’s men have now collected 13 points from just their previous five Primera Nacional appearances a run that stems all the way back to April 28th. With their recent purple patch highlighted by a 3-0 romp against CA Estudiantes last month, the Santiago del Estero-based outfit will…