GO SPORTS

Valencia are planning an audacious bid for Chelsea misfit Fernando Torres as they prepare to push through Roberto Soldado’s £26million move to White Hart Lane. Coach Miroslav Djukic admitted he needed attacking reinforcements even before Soldado agreed to become a Tottenham player and has evidently earmarked a large chunk of the 28-year-old striker’s fee for an attempt to lure Torres back to Spain. Contact has been made with Chelsea, according to Valencia newspaper  Superdeporte , and the La Liga side are now waiting for word on whether Torres might be available and, just as crucially, how much he would cost.

David Moyes could be heading for more transfer frustration after it emerged that Real Madrid want Manchester United target Luka Modric to act as minder for Gareth Bale.  Former Tottenham midfielder Modric figures prominently on Moyes's wanted list and is likely to attract a bid from the United manager, should he finally be forced to abandon his pursuit of Barcelona's Cesc Fabregas.

Real Madrid's Galacticos added to the sparkle of Tinseltown as they prepared for the coming La Liga season with the help of one of their former heroes. David Beckham popped down to the UCLA campus in Los Angeles, where the Spanish club are training for the fourth consecutive summer, to catch up with some former teammates and current superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

David Moyes has urged Manchester United fans to be patient, despite the lack of new signings at Old Trafford, insisting the club can still compete with their biggest rivals on and off the pitch. The United manager has officially been in charge less than a month and there are nearly five weeks until the transfer window closes but some United fans have shown their impatience already, questioning the lack of new arrivals.

Neymar is set to make his Barcelona debut today after being named in the squad to face Lechia dansk. The €57 million signing from Santos had his first training session with his new team-mates on Monday after arriving over the weekend from his post-Confederations Cup break.

Manchester United  ended their pre-season tour of Asia on a positive note with a 5-2 victory against Kitchee . Danny Welbeck continued his decent scoring form with the first goal of the game, before Chris Smalling headed home and Fabio finished after an excellent pass from Wilfried Zaha. Adnan Januzaj added a fourth after the break before Kitchee responded through Lam Ka Wai and Alex Akande. But Jesse Lingard’s delightful individual effort with 10 minutes to play put the result beyond doubt.

Pepe Reina has blasted the Liverpool hierarchy for deciding his future behind his back, forcing him to leave the club and join Napoli on loan The Spaniard, who also thanked the Anfield faithful for their support in an emotional open letter, has been reunited with former manager Rafa Benitez at the Serie A club. Liverpool signed Sunderland stopper Simon Mignolet and agreed a deal with Napoli boss Rafa Benitez to send Reina to Italy.

The United States has won the 2013 edition of the Gold Cup. USA dominated their opponents to claim a 1-0 victory over Panama before a crowd of  57,900 on Sunday afternoon thanks  to a solitary  69th minutes  strike from Brek Shea. 

The Eagles have qualified for the Africa Championship (CHAN) for the first time by beating Cote d’Ivoire 4-3 on aggregate though they lost 2-0 on Saturday in Abidjan. The Eagles had won the first leg in Kaduna three weeks ago 4-1. The home-based Eagles were down by two goals in the first 24 minutes as the Elephants employed an early lateral pressing on the midfield and defence. Three minutes were added on but the Eagles held on to secure a place in January’s tournament that will hold in South Africa.

Manuel Pellegrini has been tasked with winning five trophies in five years at Manchester City but the Chilean is enough of a pragmatist to know that the Barclays Asia Trophy will not count as one of them. Still, a winning habit is never a bad thing and City’s second successive victory in Hong Kong after two defeats on the South Africa leg of their tour meant that Pellegrini’s side finished on top of English rivals Sunderland and Tottenham in the Premier League’s prestige event.

Chelsea  completed their pre-season tour of Asia with a comprehensive 8-1 victory over an Indonesia XI in Jakarta. Eden Hazard starred for Jose Mourinho’s side and opened the scoring from the penalty spot before turning provider for Ramires. Demba Ba and John Terry both struck before half time, with Bertrand Traore, Romelu Lukaku and Ramires all among the goals after the interval.

Brazilian outfit  Atletico Mineiro  have won their maiden Copa Libertadores title after defeating Paraguayan side  Olimpia  4-3 on penalties. Leonardo Silva was the hero for Mineiro as he headed home the late equaliser that ensured the tie finished at 2-2 after two legs, and the 34-year-old defender then slotted home his side's fourth and final spot kick of the shootout before Olimpia's Matias Gimenez hit the bar, handing the Brazilians victory.

Bayern Munich continued their preparations for the new season with a 2-0 friendly win over Barcelona at the Allianz Arena. Philipp Lahm grabbed the opener midway through the first half before Mario Mandzukic completed the scoring seconds before full-time. It will be recalled the German side defeated Barcelona twice in last season’s champion semifinal scoring 7 replied goals.

Landon Donovan  was again the hero for  USA  as he inspired his side to a 3-1 win over  Honduras to reach the Gold Cup final. The LA Galaxy star set up Eddie Johnson for the opening goal of the game before striking twice himself either side of a Nery Medina header to set up a clash with Panama who defeated Mexico 2-1 on Sunday. Jurgen Klinsmann made three changes to his line-up from USA's 5-1 victory over El Salvador. Johnson replaced Chris Wondolowski up front, Alejandro Bedoya took over for Joe Corona and Stuart Holden moved ahead of Mix Diskerud in midfield. 

Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas is considering his future with the Spanish club after Manchester United made a second bid for him. The Catalan giants have said publicly that they do not want to sell the former Arsenal star. However a source close to Fabregas has revealed  that the player is considering his position having been given no assurances that he will be a regular starter next season.

Nigeria’s 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifier against Malawi in September will be played in Calabar, not Kaduna or Abuja, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has exclusively revealed. Calabar has hosted the Super Eagles’ last two 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Namibia and Kenya but reports had been rife in recent days, that Kaduna and even Abuja could be given the nod to host September’s crucial qualifying game. However, executive committee member of the NFF, Barrister Chris Green has now categorically declared that Calabar has been selected as venue for the game.

Manchester United  this afternoon succumbed to a second defeat in their pre-season tour of Asia as they lost 3-2 to Yokohama F Marinos. The Red Devils were stunned by an early strike from Marquinhos, before Jesse Lingard bagged his third goal in two games to draw level.  However the home side scored two 2nd half goals through Fabio Aguiar and Yoshihito Fujita to secure victory.

Barcelona have confirmed the  appointment of  Gerardo Martino as the club's new head coach on a two-year deal. The Camp Nou side were rocked by the departure of Tito Vilanova last week after he resigned from his position as a result of his need to undergo further treatment. Martino, has never coached in Europe, but was named South American Coach of the Year in 2007 for his work with the Paraguay national team.

Gerardo Martino has agreed a 3-year deal to replace Tito Vilanova as Barcelona coach. Martino impressed Barca sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta when the two spoke via video conference on Monday ,and the Argentine according to reports will travel to the Catalan capital in coming hours to put pen to paper. Barca sources claimed late on Monday the deal was still to be ratified by the board, but an agreement has already been reached.

Guus Hiddink is set to take over as Barcelona manager after resigning from Anzhi Makhachkala. The mega-rich Russian outfit announced that the former Chelsea and Holland manager had stepped down on Monday afternoon with immediate effect. Star: Hiddink will inherit a squad involving Lionel Messi Hiddink - who signed a one-year contract extension as recently as June - has rejected taking over several sides in recent years, but the top job at Barcelona becoming available seems too much for the Dutchman to resist.

At least things are running according to plan on the pitch for Arsenal this summer. As the club continue to fire blanks in their search for the big-name signing they promised supporters, the same can't be said for their pre-season performances. The Gunners scored their 17th goal in just three pre season games in Japan today, with a convincing 3-1 win over Arsene Wenger's former club Nagoya Grampus.

Emmanuel Emenike announced his full return to fitness on Sunday when he scored his first league goal in Spartak Moscow’s 2-0 away victory over Ural to make it two wins out of two.  Emenike came on for Yura Movsisyan in the 63rd minute and scored in the 90th to complete Spartacus’ win. It was Emenike’s first league goal since November 30, 2012.

Raul Albiol  has completed his move from  Real Madrid  to  Napoli , signing a four-year contract with the Partenopei , both clubs have confirmed. The Spain international has struggled to cement a first-team place during his four years at the Santiago Bernabeu, making just 27 appearances last term.

Manchester United  manager  David Moyes  insists he is ready for any potential mind games with  Chelsea boss  José Mourinho .  The Portuguese fell out with several Premier League rivals during his previous spell at Stamford Bridge, including the likes of Arsene Wenger and Rafael Benitez. But, when questioned on the topic by a fellow Scot after United's pre-season victory over the A-League All-Stars, Moyes denied he would be overwhelmed by Mourinho's charismatic style. "It sounds like your accent's like mine, and if you're from Glasgow then you enjoy those sorts of things, so bring it on," Moyes said at a press conference.