INT Global Football

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Huddersfield Town have extended their deal to loan Jermaine Beckford from Leicester City until the end of the season.

The striker joined the Terriers on a 93-day emergency loan in September and has scored three goals in eight appearances since, though he will not be able to add to that tally when the two teams face each other on January 1st.

 

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Spain coach Vicente del Bosque plans to hand an international call-up to Swansea forward Michu.

The 26-year-old has scored an impressive 13 goals in 18 league games since moving to the Liberty Stadium from Real Vallecano for £2 million in July.

Del Bosque says the Premier League's top scorer, as well as Celtic Vigo striker Iago Aspas, who has been linked with a January move to Swansea, will make his next squad.

 

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England manager Roy Hodgson has suggested penalty shootouts should be staged after draws in international friendlies.

The Three Lions have the worst shootout record in international football, with a success rate of just 17 per cent, and were knocked out of Euro 2012 by Italy on spot-kicks.

Hodgson believes practicing penalties in training does not replicate the pressure of a match situation and would like to see the idea introduced.

 

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Raheem Sterling says he is "100 per cent" committed to an international career with England, as the Liverpool winger feels he could not turn his back on the youth system which developed him as a footballer.

The 18-year-old was born in Jamaica, and could still elect to play for either nation having only featured in a friendly for the Three Lions, when he appeared as a substitute in their 4-2 defeat to Sweden in November.

However, while he has been courted from officials from both nations, the youngster is glad he made his debut for Roy Hodgson's side and wants to remain in the white shirt of England.

 

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Alessandro Del Piero has rubbished talk that he could leave Sydney FC in January by committing his future to the club.

The 38-year-old penned a one-year contract with the Australian side in the summer after he opted to end his 19-year association with Juventus and has since scored five goals in 10 matches.

 

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Besiktas president Fikret Orman has claimed Nene will join the club, providing that conditions are met by the Paris Saint-Germain forward.

The 31-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and recently announced he will not renew his stay with the Ligue 1 leaders, meaning he is free to talk to other teams with a view to signing a pre-contractual agreement.

Speculation in the Turkish media suggested that the Brazilian had already negotiated personal terms, and on Wednesday, the Black Eagles' supremo told NTVspor: "If our conditions are met, the transfer will happen."

Nene, who despite finishing as the French top flight's joint-top scorer with 21 goals last term, has been frozen out of Carlo Ancelotti's plans at PSG in 2012-13, featuring just nine times in the league.

The forward has reportedly been offered an annual net salary of €2.25 million [£1.8m] by Besiktas, who are seeking a replacement for the newly-departed Ricardo Quaresma.

 

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Aykut Kocaman has performed a u-turn on his announcement that he was to resign as head coach of Fenerbahce, according to the club’s vice-president.

The former player at the Turkish side had stood down due to mounting pressure on his position following back-to-back defeats to Galatasaray then Karabukspor.

However, club chief Abdullah Kigili has revealed that there will be no change in who is in charge of the squad at Fenerbahce, and that the current form will be remedied by January signings.

 

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Former England captain David Beckham is in no hurry to join a new club, according to his management company.

The 37-year-old ended his five-year spell with LA Galaxy by helping them to MLS Cup glory earlier this month but has no plans to hang up his boots yet.

Beckham is said to be mulling over his option as he seeks out one last challenge to end his career and has been linked with moves to teams in France, Asia and Australia.

 

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Ukraine have named Mikhail Fomenko as their new head coach.

The position has been vacant since September, when outgoing boss Oleg Blokhin - who had been in charge during Euro 2012 - took the Dynamo Kiev job.

Ex-England and Manchester City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson had been strongly linked with the position, but in the end Fomenko proved to be the successful candidate.

And the new boss told the official website of the FFU (Ukraine’s national football federation): "I want to thank the board and president of the FFU for their trust.

 

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Galatasaray president Unal Aysal has denied that Emmanuel Eboue will be leaving the club and said that he is not for sale.

The Ivory Coast defender has made 16 appearances for the Istanbul club so far this season and will be hoping to lead them to another Super Lig championship with the side currently top of the table.

And Aysal was adamant that Eboue is not on his way out of the club.