Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor will miss this weekend's Manchester derby after the English Football Association (FA) confirmed a three-match ban for the striker for stamping on Robin van Persie. The FA also confirmed the ban will begin immediately, ruling him out of City's match at Old Trafford on Sunday. Adebayor had admitted the charge and was dealt with under the FA's fast-track disciplinary system.
A separate charge of improper conduct, brought after the former Arsenal player ran the length of the pitch to taunt Gunners fans with a goal celebration, will be considered at a later date. City may contest the improper conduct charge - they have until September 30 to respond to that allegation. Elsewhere, Lucas Neill yesterday had a medical at Everton ahead of a move to the Goodison Park club on a free transfer.
Neill, 31, was expected to sign for three years, having turned down offers from West Ham, his former club, and Sunderland. The Australia international is currently out of contract, with his lucrative deal at West Ham expiring in the summer. West Ham had offered Neill a one-year extension with significantly reduced wages. The Australian turned down Liverpool to join West Ham from Blackburn in January 2007, reportedly for more than £70,000 (Dh424,839) a week.
Everton have stepped in, hoping to land Neill to solve their defensive injury problems. Everton captain Phil Neville is out for three-months with knee ligament damage, sustained at Fulham on Sunday. Everton also have Phil Jagielka out until November, and have sold Joleon Lescott to Manchester City. Moyes revealed on Wednesday his concerns about the strength in depth of his squad. He said: "We lost five players in the summer and now we have lost Phil [Neville], that's six. And we have only brought three in.
"That does make things difficult for us, I just hope we are able to cope with it." West Ham have completed the signing of Mexico international striker Guillermo Franco, 32, who was a free agent following the expiry of his contract with Villarreal. Franco, who has scored four goals in his last six games during Mexico's World Cup qualifying campaign, said: "This is a very important stage in my career and I hope to score lots of goals for the club this season and then play at the World Cup."
* With agencies
