Keane confirms knee op for Kenwyne Jones

Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones will undergo a knee operation on Monday, manager Roy Keane revealed after his side's 1-0 defeat to Ajax.

The Trinidad and Tobago forward suffered knee ligament damage on international duty against England in June.

And Keane confirmed that he will go under the knife tomorrow to determine the seriousness of the injury.

'Kenwyne's going in tomorrow for an operation and we will know in 24 hours of the exact damage so fingers crossed,' Keane said.

'We'll know one way or another tomorrow so I'll be saying a few prayers tonight.'

Kieran Richardson is less of a concern for Keane, with the former Manchester United winger's absence for today's match merely a precaution.

'Kieran just had a stiff back the last couple of days,' Keane explained.

'There was no point risking him today. I'd be very surprised if he wasn't on the flight to Ireland with us on Wednesday.'

The Black Cats created the bulk of the opportunities against Marco van Basten's team at the Stadium of Light, but went down to Klaas Jan Huntelaar's strike nine minutes after half-time.

Daryl Murphy skimmed the outside of the post just before the interval and El-Hadji Diouf brought a fine save out of Maarten Stekelenburg with a late free-kick, but the hosts were unable to find the net.

Sunderland have had a busy summer in the transfer market, bringing in the likes of Tottenham trio Pascal Chimbonda, Teemu Tainio and Steed Malbranque as well as Diouf from Bolton.

But Keane insists he has spent the last few days focusing on this match - which was staged as part of the celebrations to mark the 35th anniversary of the victorious 1973 FA Cup run - rather than looking for new players to further boost his squad.

'The last few days we all had to switch off,' Keane said.

'We had this game coming up and sometimes have to prioritise, focus on that. But I'm sure tomorrow we'll be back on that roundabout with speculation of who's going where.

'I've said for the last week or two we're hopeful of two or three players coming on board.

'We have two or three weeks to play with but don't want to get backed into a corner at the end of August.'

Keane is satisfied with his current squad, but reiterated he would like three new players before the Barclays Premier League season kicks off against Liverpool in under a fortnight.

'We saw today a lot of good stuff,' he added.

'I was generally pleased with the game today. But we probably need three players.

'Even at the end of last season I thought we needed another top striker at the football club.'

This article was taken from: Soccernet.espn.go.com

Essien Agrees New Five-Year Chelsea Deal

Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien has signed a new five-year deal at Stamford Bridge.

The Ghana international, currently in China on the club's pre-season tour, is therefore contracted to the club until 2013.

Essien's commitment follows yesterday's confirmation that goalkeeper Petr Cech had signed a new five-year deal.

Essien, who signed from Lyon for around £24million in 2005, said: 'I am really pleased to have extended my contract with Chelsea.

'I am very happy here. We have a great team and fantastic fans who have always made me welcome.

'With the addition of the new manager (Luiz Felipe Scolari), I am feeling very positive about the season ahead.'

Scolari, who took over from Avram Grant recently, was pleased to tie Essien down amid continued speculation about the future of fellow midfielder Frank Lampard.

'I have not been here long but it is clear to me that Michael Essien is one of the best midfield players in the world,' he said.

'I have always admired him and it is good news for me and for Chelsea that he signs for so long.'

Left-back Wayne Bridge also signed a new deal earlier this week.

This article was taken from: Soccernet.espn.go.com

AC Milan Deny Receiving Bids For Kaka

AC Milan have denied receiving a 150million euros offer from Chelsea or any other club for Kaka.

The Brazilian playmaker is rumoured to be a top target of the London outfit but the Rossoneri are adamant they will not sell their star player.

'The offers for Kaka are only in the newspapers and they make up stories,' club vice-president Adriano Galliani told the club's official website.

'Today there are talks of a 150million euros offer and tomorrow it will be 200.

'Nothing is true, neither from Chelsea nor from any other club have we received that kind of offer.'

Galliani admitted holding talks with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich earlier this summer and inquiring about the possibility to bring Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko back to the San Siro this summer.

'It is true that I was on Abramovich's boat,' said Galliani. 'It's true that he has had me as his guest and that I asked him for Shevchenko and he asked me for Kaka.

'But it finished 0-0 as we told him no for Ricky (Kaka) and they said no for Andriy.

'In any case there was no mention of numbers. Hence, I don't know where the figures read in the newspapers come from.

'We have a great relationship with Chelsea from a human level, but that doesn't mean they will say yes for Sheva and we will say yes for Kaka. I believe Kaka is happy at Milan.'

Galliani's denials come on the back of a similar response from Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon, who yesterday said the club had made no offer for Kaka, and were instead focusing on Real Madrid's Robinho.

This article was taken from: Soccernet.espn.go.com