Hibernian have completed the signing of out of contract Uruguayan midfielder Fabian Yantorno and loaned striker Abdesellam Benjelloun to Belgian side Royal Charleroi on the eve of the kick-off to their 2008-09 Scottish Premier League campaign.

Stoke manager Tony Pulis has revealed his newly promoted Premier League club are speaking to Valencia striker Nikola Zigic about a move to the Britannia Stadium.

LONDON (SW) – Out of favour Hameur Bouazza is set to join Championship side Charlton Athletic from Fulham.

BIRMINGHAM (SW) – Aston Villa are expected to make a bid for Blackburn Rovers’ striker Roque Santa Cruz.

GLASGOW, (SW) – Glasgow Rangers scraped a narrow 1 – 0 win away at Falkirk earlier this afternoon in the first afternoon of Scottish Premier fixtures.

Dutch international midfielder Rafael van der Vaart celebrated a "dream debut" with Real Madrid, having contributed one of the Spanish champions´ goals in their 2-1 friendly win over Colombian side Santa Fe.

Fernando Torres had only been a European champion for a matter of hours when the Liverpool star consigned Spain´s triumph to the history books and turned his attention to Anfield´s own trophy drought.

Andrius Velicka helped Rangers recover from their Champions League humiliation as his second half strike clinched a 1-0 win against Falkirk on Saturday.

Kevin Phillips got Birmingham´s bid for a quick return to the Premier League off to a winning start as his injury-time strike sealed a 1-0 win over Sheffield United on Saturday.

Marseille let slip a 3-1 lead at Rennes to draw 4-4 in a topsy turvy match on the opening day of the 2008/09 French football championship on Saturday night.

They say the second season is always harder than the first, but if that´s true, Sunderland fans are in for a pretty miserable time of it.

Rangers manager Walter Smith wants his players to use the bitter memories of their humiliating European exit as motivation for the rest of the season.

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes last night confessed that he is taking time to come to terms with how his new football club is administered but insisted that he is still relishing the upcoming season with the Premier League side.

SOFIA (SW) - Title favourites Levski Sofia slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Vihren in the opening round of the Bulgarian premier league season on Saturday.

Manchester City striker Valeri Bojinov continued his promising comeback from long-term injury with the only goal in Saturday´s 1-0 friendly win over AC Milan at Eastlands.

Mikel Arteta´s late spotkick kept defeat at bay for Everton in their 1-1 friendly draw at home to PSV Eindhoven on Saturday to bring some on-pitch cheer following stadium problems.

Newcastle came from behind to see off Spain´s Valencia 2-1 in a pre-season friendly on Saturday as James Milner bagged a last-gasp winner.

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has urged the Spanish club´s fans to turn out en masse for the team´s Champions League qualifier at home to Poland´s Wisla Krakow on Wednesday.

Marseille let slip a 3-1 lead to draw 4-4 at Rennes and Paris Saint Germain fell 1-0 at Monaco as France´s high-profile clubs failed to get a winning start in the French league on Saturday.

MANCHESTER (SW) – Manchester United’s manager Sir Alex Ferguson said that he expects his almost ‘maverick’ forward Cristiano Ronaldo to have an even better season this year.