The 19-year-old has been linked with a move to Real Madrid in recent weeks but the Reds boss says his most prized asset will be staying at Anfield for the foreseeable future

Brendan Rodgers insists he is very confident that Raheem Sterling will sign a new contract with Liverpool.

A sparkling 2014 has seen the 19-year-old establish himself as a key man for the Reds, as well as England, and led to speculation in recent weeks that Real Madrid are monitoring his situation.

Jose Mourinho insists Fernando Torres will not be leaving Chelsea despite the club needing to lose an overseas player.

Premier League rules state that each member clubs' 25-man squad must consist of no more than 17 foreign players, but Chelsea have one extra.

It had been thought that Torres, who has struggled to find form at Stamford Bridge since his big-money move from Liverpool in 2011, would be the man to make way - particularly after the arrivals of fellow forwards Diego Costa and Didier Drogba.

But Mourinho insisted that is not the case.

"Three strikers is fundamental in the squad and we have three," he told Sky Sports News.

"'Nando [Torres] is one of them. We have a good squad.

"The perfect squad would be with this 18 players, not 17, but rules are rules and we are working hard, even here, to not have these kind of problems in the future.

"[We want] to have more English players in our squad which we are going to have in the future but in this moment we are still in the middle of this process.

"So at the moment we have to make a decision about one player not to be on that list."

Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole are two English players to have left Chelsea in the close-season, while Gary Cahill was the last high-profile home-grown player they signed back in 2012
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Newcastle United have bolstered their defence with the signing of Daryl Janmaat from Feyenoord on a six-year contract.

Right-back Janmaat moves to St James' Park for an undisclosed fee after impressing as a regular in the Netherlands side who finished third at the World Cup.

And the former Heerenveen man caught the eye of Newcastle, who have made him the club's sixth signing of the close-season following Ayoze Perez, Jack Colback, Siem de Jong, Remy Cabella and Emmanuel Riviere.

Janmaat fills the void left by Mathieu Debuchy, whose transfer to Arsenal was also confirmed on Thursday.

The 24-year-old told Newcastle's official website: "Newcastle is a fantastic club, with a big history and a great stadium. I have also been told all about how great the fans are.

"This is the perfect move for me, and I am really looking forward to being with the team and getting started here at Newcastle.

"I think we are going to have a great season."

After moving to Feyenoord in 2012, Janmaat established himself as a mainstay at De Kuip and was a key part of the team that finished second in the Eredivisie last season.

Janmaat went on to make five appearances at the World Cup as the Dutch topped Group B, thrashing holders Spain 5-1 in the process, before suffering a penalty-shootout defeat to Argentina in the semi-finals.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew added: "We are delighted to bring Daryl to the club.

"He is the perfect example of a modern full-back; someone who is good defensively but offers a real threat going forward as well.

"Daryl had an excellent World Cup and we are looking forward to him continuing that form for Newcastle."

Chelsea midfielder Oriol Romeu has signed a new three-year contract at Stamford Bridge, the club have announced.

The 22-year-old moved to the Premier League outfit from Barcelona in August 2011 and is now tied to Jose Mourinho's side until 2017.

Romeu made 16 top-flight appearances in his first season at the club, but a knee injury hampered his development.

Since then the Spaniard has found his first-team opportunities at Chelsea limited, leading to a loan spell in La Liga with Valencia last season.

He has subsequently returned to England for pre-season training with Chelsea and played over 70 minutes in a 5-0 friendly victory over Wycombe Wanderers on Wednesday.

Romeu has represented Spain at under-21 level and played for his country at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

 

Sebastien Pocognoli has signed from Hannover 96 Credit: West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich Albion have confirmed the signing of Belgium international defender Sébastien Pocognoli from Hannover 96.

The 26-year-old left-back has become the Baggies’ fourth summer signing on an undisclosed fee. He has signed a three-year deal, plus a year’s option in the club’s favour, after agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.

Pocognoli, who has 12 Belgium caps, narrowly missed out on a place in his country’s Brazil-bound World Cup squad after injury saw him miss the final six weeks of last season.

The 6ft player has top-flight experience in Belgium, Holland and Germany following spells with Genk, AZ Alkmaar, Standard Liege and Hannover.

Pocognoli will meet his new team-mates for the first time when he reports for pre-season training on Monday.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: Stoke's latest intake of scholars, from left, Julian N'Goy, Chris Marques, Kyreen Hamilton, Joshua Williams, Liam Smith, Freddy Yao, Theo Brierley, Toby Wells, Danny Jarvis, Tom Shepherd and Oliver Shenton. Pictures: Malcolm Hart

ACADEMY boss Dave Wright says Mark Hughes is ready to open the floodgates for youth players coming through the ranks at Stoke City.

Wright has signed up 11 new scholars at the Britannia Stadium, including Belgian forward Julien N'Goy and highly-rated Blythe Bridge midfielder Oliver Shenton.

Andy Wilkinson and Ryan Shotton are the only homegrown products in the senior squad at the moment, but Wright is confident that could be about to change.

He said: "We have long-term targets, and in two or three years hopefully there will be a conveyor belt for everyone to see. At the moment it's looking like it could happen even sooner.

"If it does, great, but there is no time pressure, and we don't want to put the burden on one lad to carry the hopes for the youth system. We want to do it right.

"The manager is keen to make a seamless link from the youth team to the first team, and last year we saw Charlie Ward on the bench at Aston Villa and Dan Bachmann on the bench against Leicester City in the FA Cup.

"Our youth players are regularly training with the manager. Olly Shenton has done that already at the age of 16. A clear path is emerging. If they want it and earn it the manager is prepared to give them the chance."

Ward, Bermuda international keeper Dale Eve and striker James Alabi could be among the under-21s prospects sent out on loan over the course of this season to help their case to gain Hughes's attention.

Wright added: "It's going to be very rare that someone will make the step up from the under-21s straight to the first team. We want them to go out and gain first team experience.

"We want clubs to come and ask to take our players, which will mean we're doing something right, but we are also out there actively trying to find the right places for these players to make the next step.

"It might weaken our under-21s side in terms of results, but we will do what's right for the players and the club in the long-term."

One-club man and fans' favourite Wilkinson has just penned a contract extension, but it is looking likely Shotton could be heading towards the exit door as he makes a bid for regular first-team action.

The pair, Carl Dickinson and Andy Griffin are the only youth team graduates to start Premier League matches for the Potters since their promotion back to the top flight in 2008.

Wright said: "It's even harder to produce players for the Stoke team now because they have to be ready to play in the top 10 of the Premier League, but everything is in place now to try to make it happen.

"The chairman, the board and the manager all want to see players being developed to their potential, and as a category one club it's our duty to make sure that if they don't make it in the Premier League they still have a career in the game. We have to be a feeder club."

The 11 new scholars include Australian goalkeeper Chris Marques and Belgian prospect N'Goy, who Stoke have managed to sign from under the noses of several rivals.

The 16-year-old has been on trial with the Potters and featured in the under-17s team which won the Adidas Generation Cup in the United States back in April.

His signing has caught the imagination and gained national attention, but that is not expected to go to his head.

Wright said: "He's quite laid back and I don't think he takes a lot of notice that his name's in the paper... not at the moment anyway!

"He could have gone to a lot of clubs around Europe and quite a few in the Premier League, but he chose us and hopefully it's a sign of how we are going. He felt at home here, wanted to come here and we wanted him here.

"He's already settling in well. He's had to learn English, but he's done it very quickly.

"He's been in and around the Belgium set up and he scores goals for fun. He can make goals out of nothing and he's an exciting prospect."

Celtic manager Ronny Deila has confirmed that captain Scott Brown will undergo a scan after injuring his hamstring during Sunday's pre-season friendly with Rapid Vienna.

The midfielder pulled up in the first minute at the Gerhard Hanappi Stadion before being stretchered off the pitch.

Brown could now miss Celtic's Champions League qualifier against KR Reykjavik on July 15.

"Scott has an injury. We think it is a hamstring but we don't know yet how severe it is," Deila is quoted as saying by Sky Sports News.

"Hopefully it's not big and he will be back quickly. He will have a scan and we will see what happens."

Celtic ended up drawing the game 1-1 after Teemu Pukki's 70th-minute strike had cancelled out Virgil van Dijk's early own goal.