London - Portsmouth confirmed on Wednesday that they have accepted a bid from Real Madrid for midfielder Lassana Diarra.

The 23 year old, who has not played for almost a month because of an ankle injury, joined the club from Arsenal in January for around 5 million pounds (7.6 million dollars).

It is believed the Spanish giants could be offering as much as 24 million pounds for Diarra.

"We have always said we would only allow our players to leave if we received an exceptional bid," a spokesman told the club website.

Stuttgart - Bernd Schuster is a candidate for the VfB Stuttgart coaching post as current incumbent Markus Babbel can only continue in his role until the end of the season as he hasn't got a coaching licence, the Sport-Bild reported Wednesday.

Stuttgart denied the report that Schuster, who was sacked as Real Madrid coach last week, was being considered for the job and refused to comment further on the situation.

The German football federation (DFB) and German football league (DFL) announced Tuesday that Babbel must obtain a full German coaching licence if he wants to be in charge of VfB Stuttgart beyond the end of the season.

Zurich - European champions Spain remain top of the world football rankings issued Wednes

London - Manchester United confirmed on Wednesday

London - Hull City vowed on Wednesday that they will not sell centre-back Michael Turner in the January transfer window.

London - Liverpool moved on Wednesday to dismiss speculation that misfiring forward Robbie Keane will leave the club in the January transfer window.

Former Liverpool player Mark Lawrenson, now a BBC pundit, said that the club captain Steven Gerrard had told him he thought the Republic of Ireland international could be sold.

But Liverpool issued a statement denying Lawrenson's claim.

"Mark Lawrenson's remarks are his interpretation of a private chat between the two of them," it said.