Pro Eleven Headline News

Gerrard charged in assault probe

England and Liverpool footballer Steven Gerrard has been charged with assault and affray following a disturbance outside a Merseyside nightclub.

The 28-year-old was arrested along with five other men near the Lounge Inn in Southport in the early hours of Monday.

A 34-year-old man was taken to hospital with facial injuries, not thought to be life-threatening.

John Doran, 29, and Ian Smith, 19, both from Huyton, Liverpool, have also been charged and bailed over the incident.

All three will appear at North Sefton Magistrates' Court on 23 January, accused of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray.

Three other men have been released on police bail pending further inquiries.



Roma Lining Up Podolski Or Van Nistelrooy

The Giallorossi want to sign an important striker for next season and are currently short listing all the possible transfer targets.

According to Italian daily Corrierre dello Sport, Roma are searching for a big-name attacker for next season in order to partner Francesco Totti and Mirko Vucinic in attack.

The leading candidate seems to be Ruud van Nistelrooy of Real Madrid. The Dutchman might not be needed by the Spanish team by the end of the season, following the purchase of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and the reports that Karim Benzema is their main target for next summer.

With his contract expiring in 2010, there could only be two problems to hold him from arriving in Rome: his high salary of €6 million per year, and his physical condition, as the 32-year-old is currently sidelined with a serious knee injury.

The other main candidate to wear the Giallorossi's colours is Lukas Podolski of Bayern Munich. The 23-year-old has found little space in the starting line-up this year, and he will find even less next season since Bayern have already secured the services of Ivica Olic from Hamburg, who joins Luca Toni, Franck Ribery and Miroslav Klose in attack.

In this case the main problem could be the Bavarian side's asking fee, as they are not ready to offer any discounts, whereas Real Madrid would probably do so for Van Nistelrooy.



Real Madrid keen on Valencia

Spanish giants Real Madrid are keen to sign Ecuadorean international wing Luis Antonio Valencia, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Wigan Athletic star has become Real's preferred target after they dropped their interest in Aston Villa's Ashley Young and having pulled out of a deal for Liverpool's Jermaine Pennant because of his wage demands.

Valencia - scorer of three goals in 20 matches this term - would cost Real 17.5million euros and they could face stiff competition for the former Villarreal player from several of Wigan's Premier League rivals.

Real - who are fifth in the title race some 12 points adrift of Barcelona - are in desperate need of reinforcements to their squad after several key players such as Ruud van Nistelrooy and Malian midfielder Mahamadou Diarra suffered season ending injuries.

They have already signed French international midfielder Lassana Diarra from FA Cup holders Portsmouth for 20million euros. AFP