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Real Madrid makes offer for Euro 2008 star Villa
Real Madrid have offered over 45 million euros (65 million dollars) for Valencia striker David Villa, the top scorer at Euro 2008 which was won by Spain, Spanish media reported Monday.
The amount which the club, which is looking for a possible replacement for Brazilian striker Robinho who has said he wants to join Chelsea, are willing to pay for the 26-year-old varies between 47 and 48 million euros, the web sites of sports dailies Marca and AS reported.
Valencia has so far rejected the offer but a meeting between officials from both clubs and the player's agent has been scheduled for Tuesday, AS reported.
Real's German coach Bernd Schuster has insistently demanded that the club recruit a striker if Robinho leaves the Spanish champions as he has said he would like to, Spanish media have reported.
Among the other strikers who have been linked to a move to Real are Chelsea's Didier Drogba, Lyon's Karim Benzema and Ajax's Klas-Jan Huntelaar.
Real, which failed in its bid to lure Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, has not been very active in the European summer transfer period which ends at the end of the month and has the financial resources for a major deal.
Dutch international midfielder Rafael van der Vaart, who signed with Real for five years from German side Hamburg, has been the club's only new signing for the upcoming season.
Real signed Argentine defender Ezequiel Garay from Racing Santander at the end of the season but under the terms of the deal the player will only join the club in the 2009-10 season.
In addition, midfielders Javi Garcia and Ruben de la Red, who helped Spain win the Euro 2008 title in June, have rejoined Real after a season with Osasuna and Getafe respectively.
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Sunderland's Cisse signing officially completed
The move of France striker Djibril Cisse to Sunderland on a season-long loan from Marseille was officially signed and sealed on Thursday.
Cisse, 27, has moved to the Premier League club with a view to a permanent transfer if boss Roy Keane is impressed by the former Liverpool star.
"This signing shows our ambitions and intentions," Keane told Sunderland's website. "We're delighted with the new faces we've brought in, we've been working hard to significantly improve the squad.
"The signing of Djibril shows how far this club has moved on since the end of last season.
"His experience will bring a lot to the squad and he will hopefully add some goals to the side. He is known for scoring them as well as creating them."
Cisse, who scored 21 goals in 47 matches in all competitions for Marseille last season, could make his debut at Tottenham on Saturday.
He said: "I'm really pleased to join a good club with good players. Sunderland is a club I think is going to achieve things, they have big ambitions, that's why I chose to come here. I liked what the club had to say to me."
Later on Thursday, Sunderland announced the capture of Fulham striker David Healy of Northern Ireland for an undisclosed fee.
The 29-year-old has moved to the Stadium of Light on a three-year deal and becomes Keane's sixth major signing of the summer following the arrivals of Cisse, Teemu Tainio, Pascal Chimbonda, Steed Malbranque and El-Hadji Diouf.
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Beckett moved back to next week with hand numbness
Josh Beckett's next start has been pushed back a few days while the Boston Red Sox try to determine the cause of lingering numbness in the his right hand.
"We've got to figure out what ... it is," Beckett said Tuesday. "Obviously, (being pushed back) is not what I want, but at this juncture it needs to happen."
Beckett was scheduled to pitch Saturday against Toronto. Instead, he's tentatively set to start Tuesday night when the Red Sox play New York at Yankee Stadium.
"I don't know. It's still seven days away," he said. "We'll see."
Beckett will undergo tests to determine the cause of the numbness — and to rule out a serious condition such as a blood clots.
"That's what we're trying to stay away from. Anytime there's something wrong with your arm, a baseball player, especially a pitcher, you think of the worst first. I've been kind of reassured by people that it's not that," he said.
Beckett slept wrong on his right arm the night before his last start Sunday against Toronto. He then lasted only 2 1-3 innings, giving up eight runs and eight hits.
"He slept on his arm the other night and he came in and felt some tingling in his fingertips," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "I think it didn't help his location."
Beckett said he has intermittently dealt with the problem this season, but not to the extent that he felt the numbness Sunday. He is 11-9 with a 4.34 ERA in 23 starts.
"As far as pain goes, it's not that much pain at all with it. ... It's something we've monitored over time. It hasn't ever festered until now," Beckett said.
Left-hander Jon Lester will take Beckett's start Saturday. Beckett has scheduled days off Wednesday and Monday, and Francona wants to keep the ace on his regular program between outings.
The Red Sox lead the AL wild-card race. Boston plays a three-game series at Yankee Stadium next week, its final regular-season visit to the ballpark.
Meanwhile, outfielder J.D. Drew's balky lower back is progressing, but he was out of the starting lineup against Baltimore for a second straight game Tuesday.
"Improved — not ready to play, but he's improving," Francona said.
Boston also signed veteran outfielder Jason Lane to a Triple-A contract and assigned him to Pawtucket. He hit .241 with 61 home runs and 189 RBIs in 497 games for Houston and San Diego from 2002-2007.
Lane played in 97 games this year with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate, hitting .236 with 16 homers and 51 RBIs before being released.
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Smith returns to Panthers after punching Lucas
Carolina Panthers receiver Steve Smith has returned to practice, three days after breaking teammate Ken Lucas' nose in a sideline fight.
Lucas also was present at Monday's workout, but did not practice as he recovers from his injury.
Smith initially worked with the first team, even though the team has suspended him for the first two regular-season games for punching Lucas during a break in Friday's practice.
Smith rejoined the team Sunday night. He walked from the locker room Monday morning with kicker John Kasay. When Smith realized he forgot his gloves, he dropped his helmet and ran back into the locker room. He returned five minutes later, and Lucas was about 10 steps behind him, wearing a jersey but no pads.
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