Preston midfielder Daniel Johnson will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the month.

The Jamaica international had been in discussions over a new deal with the Deepdale club but has now told them that he wants a new challenge.

He has made more than 300 appearances and scored 57 goals since arriving from Aston Villa in 2015.

We can confirm both Daniel Johnson and Josh Onomah will be leaving the club at the end of their respective contracts.

We d like to wish both players all the best for the future.

— Preston North End FC (@pnefc)

Manager Ryan Lowe told the club’s website: “We’re disappointed but DJ wants a new challenge.

“I had a fantastic relationship with DJ and all the players did and I’m sure a…

Former FIFA referee Duarte Gomes has leapt to the defence of VAR amid the furore surrounding Liverpool s Premier League defeat to Tottenham, calling the technology s introduction the best thing to happen to football .

The use of VAR is a hot topic in the English top flight again after Luis Diaz was incorrectly denied a goal in Liverpool s 2-1 loss to in-form Spurs.

Darren England – the VAR official on duty at the time – misunderstood the on-field call to chalk the goal off for offside, inadvertently clearing an incorrect decision.

Liverpool have reacted furiously to the incident, which played a part in their first defeat of the season, with boss Jurgen Klopp suggesting the game should be replayed on Wednesday.

However, Gomes – a retired Portuguese …

With all eyes falling on Dusseldorf, England clawed their way to a EURO 24 semi-final spot as they secured a nail-biting penalties victory against Switzerland on Saturday evening.

Although Gareth Southgate might have elected to change up his tactics and start with a back three, the Three Lions once again struggled to find any real fluidity for large spells.

Mounting what was a sensational last-gasp comeback against Slovakia last weekend as they managed to avoid what would have been an infamous European collapse, England had to pull off another great escape here.

Watching Breel Embolo tap home from close range with just 15 minutes left, the European giants were once again facing another EURO 24 exit.

However, Bukayo Saka then produced a moment of individu…

The mascots for the Euro 2012 football championships to be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine were officially unveiled Tuesday at a Warsaw ceremony attended by senior UEFA officials and the two national football federations.

Like Euro-2008 co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland which had their twins Trix and Flix, the 2012 mascot also features footballing brothers, each wearing a jersey in their national colours, white and red for Poland, blue and yellow for Ukraine.

As in the 2008 championship, the names of the mascot brothers will be decided in a vote open to the public on UEFA s official website www.uefa.com. The result will be announced December 4.

Inspired by Polish and Ukrainian surnames, voters will be able to choose between Slavek and Slavko or Siemko and Str…

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has agreed a new deal with the Premier League club until 2018. 

The former Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers and Wales boss led Stoke to ninth last season, their highest finish in the Premier League era.

And the Welshman, who took over from compatriot Tony Pulis in May 2013, is in the midst of another impressive campaign with the Staffordshire club.

Stoke sit 10th in the table with 42 points and are only a point adrift of Swansea City in eighth.

Hughes told Stoke s official website: I think it s exciting times for Stoke City; everyone can see there s more progress to be made and we want to see how far we can take the club. 

I came here 18 or so months ago and it s gone as well as I could have hoped we ve certainly…

Frenkie de Jong is unsure whether he will be fit for the Netherlands Euro 2024 opener against Poland as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury.

De Jong was included in Ronald Koeman s final 26-man squad for the Euros despite an ankle issue preventing him from featuring for Barcelona since April 21.

The midfielder was limited to just 30 appearances in all competitions through 2023-24, as the Blaugrana finished a distant second to Real Madrid in LaLiga and exited the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.

He is yet to join in with team training despite linking up with his international team-mates ahead of warm-up matches against Canada and Iceland.

Speaking to reporters after going through an individual session on Sunday, De Jong said: I m no…

Russia 2018 will be the best World Cup in history, according to the nation s former striker Roman Pavlyuchenko.

The showpiece tournament is just over eight months away, with 15 nations having already qualified for the 32-team event.

But there remain fears the World Cup, which begins on June 14 next year, could be marred by racism, hooliganism and homophobia.

However, Pavlyuchenko – the former Tottenham striker who represented Russia 51 times – believes his homeland will deliver an outstanding tournament.

I m absolutely sure that fans will like it and I m sure that it will be the best World Cup in the history of the World Cup. All the fans will come here and enjoy it, I m absolutely sure, he told the Mirror.

There is a misconception that goin…

Frenkie de Jong has been ruled out of Euro 2024 after failing to recover from an ankle injury.

De Jong has emerged as a fixture in the Netherlands midfield since making his senior international debut in 2018, winning 54 caps and scoring two goals.

However, he has not played since sustaining an ankle injury during Barcelona s Clasico defeat to Real Madrid on April 21.

Oranje boss Ronald Koeman revealed De Jong had taken part in non-contact training on Sunday, but acknowledged he was unlikely to feature against Poland in their Group D opener later this week.

Koeman also said De Jong s place in the squad would be reconsidered if it looked like he would be unable to play during the group stage, and it has now been confirmed that he will miss the tournament.

Joe Kinnear was a man who did things his own way.

As a dependable full-back, he served as a key member of a star-studded Tottenham side before embarking upon a managerial career which brought him huge acclaim with Wimbledon’s ‘Crazy Gang’, but ended in a hail of expletives, controversy and at times ridicule at Newcastle.

No slave to political correctness, Kinnear told it how he saw it and was admired and respected by those closest to him on a journey which began in Ireland and for the most part revolved around London, but notably also took him to Nepal.

Kinnear, who has died at the age of 77, was born Joseph Reddy, the youngest of three children to Guinness Brewery stoker Joe and Margaret Reddy, in Dublin on December 27, 1946, he and older sisters Shirley a…

Jude Bellingham salvaged England s Euro 2024 hopes before Harry Kane s extra-time finish proved the difference in a 2-1 comeback victory over Slovakia in Sunday s last-16 clash.

Gareth Southgate s team appeared to be heading for an early exit in Gelsenkirchen after Ivan Schranz opened the scoring midway through the first half with his third goal of the Euros.

Phil Foden saw an equaliser disallowed soon after the interval and Declan Rice was denied by the post late on, only for Bellingham to deliver a heroic overhead-kick equaliser five minutes into stoppage time.

Kane then headed home from point-blank range just 50 seconds into extra time for the fastest such goal in Euros history, stealing victory from the jaws of defeat to tee up a last-eight meeting with Switz…