Chelsea F.C. have completed the signing of midfielder Mario Pašalić from Prva HNL side Hajduk Split for an undisclosed fee.

The Croatia Under-21 international, who was included in Niko Kovač s 30-man provisional World Cup squad, was a standout performer for the Split-based club last season, netting 11 goals in 30 league appearances.

I am very happy because I am now a Chelsea player, Pašalić told the club s official website, .

I am very impressed by the training ground and I must thank everybody at Hajduk. This is now a new start in my career.

I am a central midfielder, my favourite player is Frank Lampard, and so I am very happy to be a Chelsea player.

The Mainz-born playmaker, the club s third summer signing following t…

Former Manchester City and Arsenal star Samir Nasri is training with West Ham as he prepares to return from a doping ban.

Nasri was originally banned for six months after he received a drip treatment at a Los Angeles clinic in 2016 while on loan at Sevilla, which UEFA said contravened rules laid down by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

An appeal against the initial sanction by UEFA s ethics and disciplinary inspector resulted in an extended suspension in August, which was backdated to July 1 2017, meaning he was unable to train with a professional club until the start of November.

West Ham had long been linked as a potential destination for Nasri upon the end of his ban given the presence of Manuel Pellegrini, whom he played for at City.

Omnisport und…

According to Marca, Barcelona are stepping up the chase for Villarreal midfielder Pablo Fornals. Arsenal are also said to be interested in signing him but we’d imagine that the Spanish champions would be more appealing, especially given that he’s already making quite the impression in La Liga and seems very comfortable in Spanish football.

Villarreal are very eager to keep hold of him but they understand that may not be a possibility, especially if a major bid comes in for him. He has a release clause of £22.1 million and Barca certainly have the funds to necessitate a move like that, but it will likely depend on how he fares in the next few weeks – and potentially months.

The 22 year old made the jump over to Villarreal from Malaga just last year in the summer o…

Northern Ireland continue their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign when Kazakhstan are the visitors to Windsor Park on Monday night.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the key talking points ahead of the match.

Taking out some frustrations

Michael O’Neill said Northern Ireland left Copenhagen “angry and upset” following Friday’s 1-0 loss to Denmark having seen what they thought was a stoppage-time equaliser ruled out for offside following a VAR check that took a full five minutes. They will not be in need of any added motivation for a match which they need to win in order to keep in touch in Group H, but if they can bottle some of that feeling and take it out on the visitors, it could be a lively night in south Belfast.

Confidence boost

Lost in the late drama…

Manchester United defender Raphael Varane left the field in tears during Saturday s Premier League clash against Chelsea after suffering an injury.

The France international was stricken after an awkward fall with an hour gone at Stamford Bridge and showed visible signs of concern, with less than a month to go before the World Cup in Qatar gets underway.

Varane covered his face while crying and was given support my his team-mates.

While he did not require a stretcher, showing displeasure at the offer and instead walking around the edge of the field with medical staff, the injury is a clear worry for both club and country.

Defending champions France have a number of injury concerns ahead of the defence of their crown, with Chelsea s N Golo Kante to miss the…

Chile go into their final FIFA World Cup warm-up match with Northern Ireland looking to extend their unbeaten home run to 10 games.

Jorge Sampaoli s side have won all nine games on home soil since November 2012 and will hope to travel to Brazil on the back of another victory in Valparaiso.

Chile won their opening warm-up match against Egypt 3-2 and showed character to come from two goals down to secure victory.

Eduardo Vargas netted twice in the second half for Chile to keep their home record intact but one man not involved was star player Arturo Vidal.

The Juventus midfielder, who has been named in Sampaoli s final 23-man squad, continues to recover from knee surgery and is unlikely to feature in this game to ensure he has the maximum amount of time to recover f…

Scottish Premier League champions Rangers have signed defender Sasa Papac on a one-year contract extension.

The 31-year-old, who arrived at Ibrox from Austria Vienna in August 2006, was a mainstay of Walter Smith s side at left-back, where he became one of the club s fans favourites.

Papac made his 200th appearance for Rangers in their title-winning match at Rugby Park on Sunday.

The Bosnian has won three SPL titles, two Scottish Cups and three League Cups in his five years at Rangers.

He was also a member of the side that reached the UEFA Cup final in 2008.

A statement on the Rangers website read: Sasa Papac has shown his passion for Rangers by putting pen-to-paper on a new one-year deal at Murray Park this morning.

The news will be a …

Basel enjoyed another UEFA Champions League win over English opposition after defeating Liverpool 1-0 at St Jakob Park on Wednesday.

The Swiss side beat Chelsea at home and away at this stage last season and sent Manchester United crashing out of the competition following a 2-1 win in December 2011.

This time around Basel had 33-year-old forward Marco Streller to thank for another famous triumph as he bagged a poacher s goal early on in the second half.

Having taken a 5-1 hammering at Real Madrid in their opening fixture, victory puts Basel back on track ahead of two games with Ludogorets.

Liverpool began the Group B campaign by only just beating Ludogorets 2-1 with a Steven Gerrard penalty deep into stoppage time.

And this was another nervous di…

Ecuador coach Reinaldo Rueda said his team will be out to dictate possession against Group E rivals Switzerland on Sunday.

Rueda s men kick-off their FIFA World Cup campaign against Switzerland in Brasilia, with the Swiss overwhelming favourites to win and also progress from the group.

Switzerland have only lost one of their past 18 international fixtures a 2-1 defeat to South Korea in October.

But Rueda insists Ecuador will take the game to a Switzerland team boasting the likes of Gokhan Inler, Valentin Stocker, Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri and Josip Drmic.

We are conscious of our potential as well as the differences we have within our group rivals, Rueda said of Group E, which also consists of France and Honduras.

But I trust Ecuador has a very good grou…

Romelu Lukaku s blockbusting move to Manchester United represents a key pillar of Jose Mourinho s plans to launch a Premier League title challenge at the second attempt at Old Trafford.

But a Belgium international pursuing the top prize in English football is certainly nothing new, with an exceptional generation of Red Devils talent represented across those sides chasing glory.

Can Lukaku unseat Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard this time around, or will Manchester City s Kevin De Bryune, Tottenham s Mousa Dembele or Liverpool s Divock Origi muscle in on the title picture. Alternatively, Arsenal could upset fans of Belgium players everywhere

CHELSEA

As in their 2014-15 Premier League triumph, Hazard was Chelsea s dazzling creative inspiration as t…