Swindon Town s board have released a statement assuring supporters they share the same promotion ambitions as manager Paolo Di Canio.

The statement comes after Di Canio criticised the club s prospective new owners for selling Matt Richie to fellow League One promotion-chasers Bournemouth without consulting the Italian.

Di Canio said he would review his position at the County Ground on Friday, prompting the club to issue the following statement on their website: The decisions made over the course of the last few days have not been made lightly, and in the case of the decision to sell Matt Ritchie, have been done in conjunction with the new owners.

Whilst the board understands Paolo s desire to gain promotion and is wholly supportive of this, the board s conside…

A number of European top clubs are closely monitoring Porto defender Eliaquim Mangala, the player’s representative has revealed.

Mangala, 22, has largely impressed ever since he arrived at the club from Standard Liege, and he is being tipped to leave Porto for greener pastures at the end of the season.

The defender’s representative admits the summer exit is likely, and claims some of Europe’s top clubs are watching his client.

The Rossoneri, Manchester United and Bayern Munich are on his trail, agent Fabrizio Ferrari told Portuguese TV station Antena 1.

But the boy now thinks only of Porto, we ll talk again in June when the market reopens. He was an important investment for Porto, but he will be well worth it.

Eliaquim Mangala came throu…

Erling Haaland is not finding it difficult to deal with the transfer speculation that has unsurprisingly followed his remarkable run of goalscoring form.

The teenage Salzburg striker is enjoying an excellent campaign and has scored eight goals in five Champions League games to go with 16 in 14 in the Austrian Bundesliga.

Should Haaland score against Liverpool on Tuesday in their Group E finale, in which Salzburg could knock out the holders, he will become the first player to score in his first six Champions League matches.

Manchester United – managed by Haaland s former Molde coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – have been heavily linked with a move for the 19-year-old, while Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool have also been credited wit…

Frank Lampard has indicated Chelsea will look to sign at least one new attacker in January after having their transfer ban halved.

An appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport brought an early end to the original two-window embargo last week, enabling the Blues to become active participants in the transfer market.

An inexperienced squad reached the Champions League last 16 with Tuesday s 2-1 home win over Lille and could now be reinforced.

Chelsea scored 11 times in their six Group H games and have notched a further 31 goals in the Premier League, but head coach Lampard outlined plans to seek a replacement for Eden Hazard.

I think it will be a bit fluid, Lampard told BT Sport after beating Lille at Stamford Bridge.

There will be discussions …

Republic of Ireland begin their Euro 2016 preparations with a friendly against Netherlands at Aviva Stadium on Friday, and Martin O Neill wants his team to come away with confidence intact .

Ireland will entertain the Dutch in Dublin before hosting Belarus in Cork next week ahead of their Group E opener against Sweden in Paris on June 13.

O Neill s team secured a place in the European Championship by overcoming Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-offs, but Netherlands missed out after finishing fourth in their qualifying group.

Nevertheless, the Ireland boss expects a tough match and wants to see his team come through it strongly.

I have a fair idea about the Dutch. I think it ll be a really good test for us, said O Neill.

I think we should turn …

Italian football has been tainted by yet another racist tirade with Arrigo Sacchi saying there are too many blacks in the youth divisions.

Former Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi claimed Italian football has no dignity or pride on Monday because there are too many blacks and foreigners in top clubs youth teams.

In yet another example of racism in Italian football, Sacchi hit out at the number of foreign players and non-ethnic Italians playing for Italian clubs at this month s Torneo di Viareggio, which is considered one of the premier youth football tournaments in the world.

While Sacchi, who famously coached Milan to successive European Cup titles and was in charge of Italy when they finished runners-up at the 1994 World Cup, laughed off suggestions he is racist, his c…

Rio Ferdinand has described the WAG culture that surrounded England in the days before Fabio Capello took charge as a circus and admitted that it was central to the squad s recent failures.

In a remarkably frank interview ahead of a World Cup qualifier with Belarus here on Wednesday, the Manchester United defender savaged the celebrity bubble which peaked during the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany, where the wives and girlfriends (WAGS) of the England squad generated as many headlines as the players themselves.

Underlining the fundamental changes that have been instituted by Capello, England s stand-in captain also hit out at the Italian s predecessor, Steve McClaren, and his apparent desire to be best mates with Wazza (Wayne Rooney) and Stevie G (Steven Gerrard).