Blues told to pay City

LONDON: Premier League leaders Chelsea must pay Manchester City £3.5 million for teenage striker Daniel Sturridge, with the final bill possibly hitting seven million depending on appearances. A Professional Football Compensation Committee hearing on Thursday ruled an initial payment of £3.5 million was due, with additional payments of £500,000 after each of 10, 20, 30 and 40 first-team appearances. A further payment of one million pounds will be due if Sturridge makes a full international appearance. Sturridge, 19, joined Chelsea in July on a four-year deal after his contract expired at City, but the clubs could not agree a fee which was determined by the tribunal.

Bremen deny report

BERLIN: Bundesliga side Werder Bremen on Friday rejected reports of an $11.5 million offer for Germany play-maker Mesut Oezil from Juventus. “We have received no such offer,” Bremen’s media director Tino Polster said after Italian daily sports newspaper Corriere dello Sport reported Juventus had made Bremen a multi-million euro offer for Oezil. The 22-year-old has played for Germany seven times and is set to travel to World Cup in South Africa.

Stoke pull out

STOKE: Stoke City pulled out of a deal to sign England goalkeeper David James from Premier League strugglers Portsmouth on Friday. City boss Tony Pulis had hoped to sign James, 39, on loan until the end of the season with a view to the former Liverpool star making a permanent switch to the Britannia Stadium when his Pompey contract expires in June. But the move appears to have stalled over Stoke’s desire for Portsmouth to continue paying a portion of James’s wages.