Kenny Dalglish defends Andy Carroll over fitness criticism

• Liverpool manager pleased with striker's levels of fitness • Fabio Capello had suggested Carroll 'needs to be careful' The Liverpool manager, Kenny Dalglish, has defended Andy Carroll in the wake of criticism from the England coach, Fabio Capello.

Valencia have confirmed they sold Spainish international midfielder Juan Mata to Chelsea for an estimated €27 million (£23.5m).

The 23-year-old, who will likely be asked to play in one of the advanced wide positions in Chelsea's 4-3-3 formation, will now undergo a medical in London.

Danny Sturridge has done everything expected of him by AVB this pre season. With impressive performances on our Asia Tour and scoring a fantastic goal out there, Sturridge added to that with two goals against Rangers on Saturday. The second of his goals was different class as he turned the defender inside out and finished inside the Goalkeepers near post.

Liverpool's Jordan Henderson ready to live up to life as a £16m man

• Midfielder hoping to make the most of opportunities at Anfield • Henderson looking forward to working with Kenny Dalglish Jordan Henderson has been the subject of much debate since his £16m move from Sunderland to Liverpool but the midfielder is confident he can cope with the added expectations the price-tag has placed on him.

New signings Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson believe there is much more to come after their Liverpool debut ended in disappointing defeat.
The Anfield outfit's pre-season preparations suffered a setback when they were soundly beaten 3-0 at npower Championship side Hull City on Saturday.
Downing and Henderson, along with goalkeeper Alexander Doni, were all making their first appearances for the club following their arrivals during the transfer window.

It seems that Spurs are being linked with just about every teenager in world football at the moment and this morning sees two more stories concerning some promising young talent.

The first of these involves Tasos Kantoutsis a 17 year old Greek defender who is with Atromitos at present.

Many of the transfer rumours involving Spurs at the weekend centred around Barcelona's Bojan. This isn't the first time that stories have appeared that have linked us with the player, but after a frustrating season in Spain, it's now felt that the player is ready to move on.

It's thought that Harry Redknapp personally watched the player during the recent European Under 21 championships and although his appearances were limited, the manager saw enough to prepare a bid.

The middle of the summer always brings about the "silly season", that time of year when, with parliament sunning itself on beaches or relaxing on their country estates, news editors find themselves having to resort to a different angle in their reporting of the news. This extends to the sports pages as well, particularly in years with an odd number when there is no distraction in the form of a World Cup finals or a European Championship finals.

The midfields of both Real Madrid and Barcelona are beginning to resemble Japanese trains at rush hour. If Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola continue to pack more and more players in, it is likely they will struggle to keep each one happy and in form. Something has to give. So who will survive the cull, and who will earn starting midfield berths in 2011-12?

Czech Republic Under 21 player Jan Lecjaks ended the European Under 21 Championships with a broken arm for his troubles as his side lost the third-place play-off against Belarus. Belarus grabbed a late goal to see-off the Czechs, who had been one of the favourites to win the tournament. But Lecjaks was already off the [.

Liverpool target Juan Manuel Mata will ‘listen to all offers' after the European Under-21 Championships, according to his dad.
The Valencia winger is currently on international duty with Spain's youngsters in Denmark, and Barcelona are the latest club to have expressed an interest in the £20million-rated midfielder.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish will be put on red alert after the latest comments from transfer target, Barcelona winger Jeffren.
Jeffren, who is a product of the Barcelona youth system has admitted his future lies elsewhere, having failed to cement a regular spot in Pep Guardiola's side.
The 23-year-old has previously been linked with moves to the Premiership with north London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham keen to acquire the player's signature.

The media made a big fuss when Liverpool secured the signing of Jordan Henderson for a fee in the region of £20M from Sunderland. Some people even questioned whether Arsenal had been left behind in this deal. Arsenal fans remained silent, not out of shock at missing out on a good player, but because we all knew we had at least three British players on our books better than Henderson.

The under 21 team of young lions were sent packing by the Czech Republic in the European Under 21 Championships.The 17 year old young lions did better at the Under 17 World Cup beating Rwanda 2 - 0 in their opening game.

szólj hozzá: Iceland 3-1 Denmark 1. Switzerland are still looking like the real deal. Three wins from three and looking formidable on their way into the semi-finals. 2. Iceland coach Eyjólfur Sverrisson is our new hero of the tournament. He turned up for the second half with a cardboard cup, sipping at his coffee.

• Liverpool undecided on quitting Anfield http://bit.ly/kK4CUr #LFC #FB 23:16:47, 2011-06-15
• Maxi Rodriguez ready to turn his back on Liverpool http://bit.ly/leqKOM #LFC #FB 23:16:15, 2011-06-15
• Park Cho-young wants Liverpool move but Doni fails to agree deal http://bit.

It may seem strange to say this with no senior international tournament but, this summer promises to be one of the most exciting of recent times. Let me explain.

This week has seen the start of the European Under-21 Championships. At a time when the England team is going through something of a transformative stage and with growing calls for young blood to be given its chance, the importance of this tournament has never been greater.

Thomas Rooney takes a look at England's prospects in the UEFA U21 tournament, which started yesterday.

The domestic football season may well be over, but the serious stuff for England Under-21 manager Stuart Pearce is just getting underway.

The former Manchester City boss leads England's young guns in the European Under-21 Championships this month, starting with a game against tournament favourites Spain today.

With the club season completed with Swansea City's victory in the Championship Play-Off final, and only a handful of European Championship qualifiers to go on the continent this evening, the focus for football over the next few weeks will be off the pitch. And, while the majority of news may come from the fallout of the FA v FIFA crisis, as well as the comings and goings of the transfer market, the most important fixtures of the next month will not be anything to do with Sepp Blatter, nor will they be the European Under 21 Championships or any of the opening games in the Women's World Cup – in fact, these fixtures may not get any sort of coverage whatsoever, and certainly will not be televised.

With the European Under 21 Championships getting under way in Denmark on Saturday, OTP gives you a rundown of some of the names to watch out for. 1. Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland) Unlike their English counterparts, the young Swiss stars of the 2-2 draw between England and Switzerland will play in the tournament.

Quiet, isn't it? In years ending in an odd number, the Euro-centric football enthusiast's calendar suddenly opens out before them like the savannah plains. The 2011 Women's World and the European Under-21 Championships sit before us like twin oases and the press will continue to feed the constant thirst with a drip of transfer stories, many of which will come to nothing and many more of which will not become truth until the last possible moment before a ball is kicked in anger again.

Fabio Capello has named a 26-man squad to take on Switzerland in the next Euro 2012 qualifier at Wembley on June 4th and Ashley Young, Stewart Downing and Darren Bent are all included. As is Kyle Walker, although he's no longer technically a Villan, he more than deserves a mention here.

Fabio Capello has named a 26-man squad to take on Switzerland in the next Euro 2012 qualifier at Wembley on June 4th and Ashley Young, Stewart Downing and Darren Bent are all included. As is Kyle Walker, although he's no longer technically a Villan, he more than deserves a mention here.

In Rod we trust? Everton midfielder Jack Rodwell reckons England have got what it takes to win the European Under-21 Championship this summer. He said: "I'm definitely hoping that we can go very far and definitely win it." The Toffees youngster said the experience of tournament football he received at the previous U21 championship in [.

The annual Hong Kong Soccer 7s tournament is taking place this weekend and Aston Villa are once again competing. It's pleasing to see the official site giving the tournament some coverage this year, so you may already be aware that the squad are currently en route to Hong Kong with Ian Taylor among the travelling party.

Stuart Pearce's selection of Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll in the England squad for the European Under-21 Championships in Denmark this summer and this has, predictably enough, reignited the club versus country debate. Luke Edwards reports.

To go, or not to go? That is the question facing Jack Wilshire and Andy Carroll, after Stuart Pearce named the Arsenal and Liverpool players in his provisional 40-man squad for the European Under-21 Championships, which take place in Denmark this summer.

Andy Carroll is facing a gruelling summer after he was named in England's provisional 40-man squad for the Under-21 European Championships in Denmark.
Liverpool were hoping the £35million striker, who has already successfully made the step up to the senior international side, would be left out to allow him to rest at the end of an injury-affected season.

Three Lions coach risks angering Arsenal's Arsene Wenger and Liverpool's Kenny Dalglish by picking their stars for both senior and Under-21 Euro qualifiers in June
England manager Fabio Capello has risked angering Arsenal and Liverpool by supporting the decicion for Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll to participate in the European Under-21 Championships.

LIVERPOOL, England Liverpool forward Ryan Babel has completed his move to Hoffenheim after signing a two-and-a-half-year contract, according to the German club. The Reds accepted a fee for the Holland international, believed to be in the region of £6million, last week but the deal appeared to be off up until late on Monday when [.