Ronald Koeman not keen on Europe just yet

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman says that he is only focused on the games ahead and that he is ignoring what he calls ''the obsession with Champions League football''. Southampton open 2015 with a crucial match as they play a home match against Arsenal who are only one place below the Saints in fifth with just a one goal difference between the two clubs. However Koeman says being above Arsenal in the table means nothing as they look to improve their hopes of qualification for the Champions League. "For me it's not an obsession," said Koeman of the challenge for a top-four finish. "But it's not an obsession, because I don't like to watch the table every weekend; it means nothing''. Turning his attention to January transfer business, Koeman has already recruited Eljero Elia on loan from Werder Bremen - a deal that will be formalised over the weekend - and he is keen to add another offensive player as well, if the right option becomes available. The Dutchman has no intention of letting anyone leave St Mary's, despite Morgan Schneiderlin constantly being linked with rival clubs, and he will not rush loan defender Toby Alderweireld into making a decision about turning his season-long loan into a permanent move. "We don't sell players in January, as I've said before," said Koeman. "If we need another player it will be an attacker

Manchester City top Premier League going into the new year

Manchester City and Chelsea are first and second, with City top by one goal on goal difference. Liverpool are third as a result of their brilliant second half to last season when they collected 48 points - more than any other club, while Manchester United are fifth in the table despite their seventh-placed finish at the end of the 2013-14 season. At the other end, it is a sorry tale for Steve Bruce's Hull. Their combined total of 30 points is the same amount that Cardiff managed when they finished bottom last season. They have also managed only seven wins this year. Crystal Palace might be in the relegation zone in the 2014-15 campaign, but in this table they are six points clear of the bottom three due to the magic touch of previous manager Tony Pulis. Only seven teams of the 17 in the table managed to accrue more points than the Eagles in the second half of the 2013-14 season.

Arsenal signing Carvalho likely. Deal to sign Reus is agreed at last.

Arsenal are in the process of finalising a deal for WIlliam Carvalho. Several publications in Portugal claim Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is preparing a bid in the region of £25.5m for the Sporting ace, who has made 48 appearances for the club. Meanwhile, in their pursuit of Dortmunds Marco Reus after the club reported that he will be sold to Athletico Madrid. According to well respected Spanish journalist Juan Gato, Atletico Madrid have agreed a deal in principle to sign the coveted German. It seems as if Wenger might splash the cash this transfer window, but not with much luck.

Fernando Torres returns to Athletico Madrid on loan

Spain striker Fernando Torres has agreed to return to Athletico Madrid on loan from AC MIlan until the end of the 2015-2016 season. Almost 8 years after leaving his boyhood club Athletico. Torres, 30 has been struggling to hit the net and score since leaving Liverpool and joining Chelsea back in 2011. He moved to Milan on loan this summer. Chelsea and Milan had agreed this weekend to make the transfer permanent which allowed Torres to join Athletico on loan.

Real Madrid: Gareth Bale is not for sale!

Manchester United have been strongly linked with a move to bring the Welshman back to the Premier League during the January transfer window but Perez is adamant the former Southampton and Tottenham star is going nowhere. Perez is quoted in the Sun as saying: "I cannot imagine Real Madrid without Bale. We would never listen to any offer, no matter the amount. "This is a unique player who has already given us a lot and it is crucial for the future of the club.” Bale, who joined Madrid from Spurs in 2013 for £86m, has been rumoured to be wanted by United boss Louis van Gaal and there had been talk of Spanish keeper David De Gea heading to the Bernabeu as part of any deal.

Barcelona can kiss goodbye to Champions League football until 2017

Barcelona will now definitively be unable to sign any more players until January 2016. On Tuesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected Barca’s appeal against a two-window transfer ban, after the Catalans had been found guilty by Fifa of signing underage overseas players. "CAS has dismissed the appeal filed by FC Barcelona against Fifa regarding the decision issued by the Fifa Appeals Committee on August 19, 2014," said a CAS statement. "The panel found in particular that FC Barcelona had breached the rules regarding the protection of minors and the registration of minors attending football academies ... Accordingly, the Fifa decision is confirmed in full and the sanction remains in force." This is a hammer blow to Barcelona and will allow Madrid to further increase the widening gap between them and their rivals Real Madrid as Madrid continue to rapidly progress in all competitions.

Serero admits disappointment in missing out on national team.

Thulani Serero has admitted to his disappointment at missing out on the African cup of nations but has stated that he is determined to put in some good performances for his club Ajax. The 24 year old had looked likely to be included in the national squad but he was overlooked by South Africa coach Shakes Mashaba. The talented midfielder has put in some strong performances for the Amsterdam club in the Eredivisie this term and it was thought that he would be on the plane to Equatorial Guinea in January. But he will play no part and will now try to prove Mashaba wrong by starring for de Godenzonen. "I am very sorry that I was not selected," he told the Ajax website. "The African Nations Cup is a special tournament and I'd liked to have played for my country. "Now I will flip the switch and focus entirely on Ajax. There are a number of important contests after the winter break and I will give my full focus."

Eredivisie club takes €4 million loss

Heereveen suffered a net loss of 4.2 million euros over the season 2013/2014, according to its annual report which was published on Wednesday. In the last season the club reached a turnover of 21.3 million euros, a decrease of more than 2 million euros compared to the previous season. Neverhteless, the club’s management feels this is not too bad. The budget for 2013/2014 accounted for a turnover of 20.3 million euro. Heereveen expects to make a profit in the current season. The club bases these positive expectations on the transfer of Alfred Finnbogason, Hakim Ziyech and Bilal Basacikoglu. The trio was sold to Real Sociedad, FC Twente and Feyenoord respectively this past summer. These proceeds fall in the financial statements of the current season and not that of 2013/2014. In addition to this extra income, Heerenveen has also seen a strong decrease in personnel costs. The costs fell my more than 1.5 million euro to 11.8 million euro, partly due to staff redundancies.

USA's next football sensation playing in Eredivisie

Rubio Rubin has been very impressive for Utretcht going into the Eredivisie winter break and is ready to become the clubs top current goal scorer of the season following Ruud Boyman's injury. Rubio Rubin has ended his 2014 in fantastic form, with four assists and two goals in his last ten games. 2014 is also the year where he was signed to a four-year deal with Utrecht after being a trainee with their youth team for a season, and he made his National team debut in a friendly against Colombia at Craven Cottage. He has built quite a reputation for himself in Utrecht and America over the past few months as his performances towards the close of the year have improved. “Rubio is one of the biggest talents from the United States,” head of player management and scouting Edwin de Kruijff said in a statement per StarsandStripes.com. “He is enormously talented and we had already seen this during the first training session he completed in (our training complex)". At the tender age of 18, the most impressive aspect of Rubin’s fledgling career is his adaptability as he has played in five different positions this season with extended runs at central midfield and centre-forward. Rubin is a player very comfortable with the ball at his feet and for an 18 year old possesses an amazing physique that allows him to hold of players as he dribbles past them. The US National Coach Jurgen Klinsmann sees him as a striker who can play in a partnership with Jozy Altidore as they did in a diamond 4-4-2 against Colombia. Rubin has begun to prove himself as a striker as he has had the tendency of finding himself in the right place at the right time. The Oregon native scored his first goal for Utrecht in a 5-1 away win against NAC Breda as he tapped home a rebound from a Utrecht set-piece from the far post. It is expected that he will continue as a centre-forward with Utrecht, due to Ruud Booymans’ long-term injury. However American fans will be careful to not put too much pressure on him as the memory of Freddy Adu who recently failed a trial with AZ Alkmaar is still vivid in their memories. However strikers like Jozy Altidore and Aron Johannsson have spent some of their best years playing in the Eredivisie at Alkmaar, but it is up to Rubin to forge his own path and create his own destiny at Utrecht. Rubin has already been compared to another of America’s young talents in Julian Green who is plying his trade in the Bundesliga with Hamburg. Former player and now commentator and soccer pundit Taylor Twellman had his say on the two in the match against Colombia,“Rubio Rubin is an 18 year old who plays like he is 25 and Green is a 19 year old that plays like he is 19,”

Schalke are close to signing out of favour Man City defender.

Bundesliga club Schalke are in talks to complete the signing of unwanted Manchester City's Matija Nastasic in January according to reports from Germany. The Bundesliga club want to bring the 21-year-old to the Veltins-Arena on a loan deal and exercise an option to sign the centre-back permanently at the end of the season, if he impresses at his potential new club. Since signing for Manchester City from the Viola in 2012, Nastasic has made 51 appearances and was a member of the club's title-winning team last season.

Benatia named Arab player of the year.

After having a great 2014, which included transferring to German giants Bayern Munich. Morrocan centre back Medhi Benatia was named Arab player of the year at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai. Having started the calendar year making waves in the Serie A as a threat at both ends of the pitch with AS Roma, the 27-year-old has since become a valued member of Pep Guardiola's side, offering both a greater sense stability and depth to a back line which conceded just four league goals in the first-half of the season. Other winners at the glittering ceremony at Atlantis The Palm in Dubai included Real Madrid CF duo Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez, who won the Player and Player Revelation of the Year respectively, and Filippo Inzaghi, the AC Milan head coach, who was presented the Player Career Award for more than 20 years.

Solomon Kalou enjoying life in Germany.

Hertha Berlin striker Kalou insists that he is enjoying his football in Germany after joining Hertha Berlin in the summer. The former Chelsea striker has scored five goals since arriving from Lille in the summer transfer window. Kalou has played 12 times for his new club and says that he is enjoying every minute. He said ''The atmosphere, the infrastructure and the stadiums are all very impressive'', he went on to say ''Hertha fans support us with a lot of passion at away games too and almost all of our matches are sold out''.

Arsenal line up £6 Million bid for Saint-Etiene capitain Loic Perrin

The 29 year old centre-back will apparently be the subject of an opening £6m bid from the north London outfit and it may be a move the experienced defender is ready to consider having spent his entire professional career at his hometown club. Perrin has made 227 Ligue 1 appearances for Saint-Etienne and could be keen on a high-profile move which could help him secure his first senior French national team cap having represented their Under 21 side a decade ago. Wenger has found himself short of centre-backs this season with Laurent Koscielny struggling with injuries and Thomas Vermaelen having moved to Barcelona over the summer. This has led to Nacho Monreal and Mathieu Debuchy having to be used in makeshift roles and the shortage of options has been compounded by the decidedly mixed displays put in by World Cup winner Per Mertesacker this campaign.

Monaco boss says return to home country is likely

Leornado Jardim, Monaco's manager says ''it is certain that I will go back home one day''. The 40-year-old was in charge of Sporting before being appointed head coach of the Ligue 1 outfit in the summer, taking over from the sacked Claudio Ranieri. It was a tough start to life at the Stade Louis II for Jardim as an inconsistent start to the domestic season put the pressure on his shoulders right from the off. An upturn in performances and results has left a much more positive mood around the club after the Portuguese boss successfully guided his side to the last-16 of the Champions League and to fifth in Ligue 1. Despite now settling into the new club, the Portuguese manager admits he will definitely return to management in Portugal before he decides to retire. "It's certain I will go back one day," he said. "The ambition will always be to take charge of an elite club that will challenge for the title, but it's difficult to say when. "I have a lot of respect for Sporting, but I could also take charge of another big team."

Lyon president says nobody is leaving the club

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has dashed the hopes of Premier League suitors of his club's finest talents by stating the Ligue 1 side will not sell in January. Lyon striker Alexander Lacazette was on Liverpools radar meanwhile Arsenal were reported to have been keen on midfielder Nabil Fekir. Both players had a key role in helping their team end the first half of the French season in second place. Though Lyon's finances are not as healthy as they were in the first decade of the millennium when they won seven straight Ligue 1 titles, Aulas, 65, insisted the club's premier talents would not be sold, even with four first-team squad members leaving for the African Nations Cup. "The imminent return from injury of Yoann Gourcuff, Clement Grenier and Gueida Fofana mean the transfer window will be an internal one. "There will be no recruitment as it would be unhealthy economically and also psychologically. We want to do it so that those leaving for the Nations Cup will find their place again when they return." No one will be no one leaving, and it's certain there won't be," said Aulas.

Penaifel wins game to move off the bottom of the Primeira Liga

Penaifel moved off the bottom of the league thanks to a 1-0 victory over fellow strugglers Arouca. Midfielder Capela netted the decisive goal after 12 minutes to secure all three points for Rui Quinta's side, his first for the club since arriving from Academico Viseu. Arouca pushed for an equaliser but, even after the visitor was reduced to 10 men after Tony's red card, it was unable to find a way through. The win lifted Penafiel to within two points of Arouca, while Gil Vicente dropped to the foot of the table.

FC Porto closely watching Brazilian forward Douglas Coutinho

Highly rated Brazilian forward Douglas Coutinho is being sought by Portuguese giants Benfica and FC Porto, according to the player's agent. Coutinho impressed for Atletico Paranaense in Brazil's Serie A championship this year and was rewarded with a call-up to the national under-21 team, reports Xinhua. "Douglas Coutinho will go to Europe but we don't know which team yet," Renato Duprat told Globoesporte Tuesday. "There are several European clubs interested but at the moment everything indicates that he will go to Benfica or FC Porto." The 20-year-old has scored 18 times in 38 first-team appearances for Atletico Paranaense after joining the club from Cruzeiro.