Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas last night edged closer towards addressing the club’s lack of midfield creativity after the club reached “an agreement in principle” with Valencia for Spain midfielder Juan Mata.

Valencia tonight announced they had reached “an agreement in principle” with Chelsea for the sale of Juan Mata to the west London club.

Armenia Under-21 4 Republic of Ireland 1

Real Madrid have confirmed they have reached an agreement with Feyenoord for the signing of Royston Drenthe.

Republic of Ireland Under-21s coach Don Givens has drafted senior squad members Stephen Quinn and Darron Gibson into his party for the friendly against Holland on Tuesday, March 27.

Scotland Under-21 player Craig Samson was arrested after members of the team broke a curfew to go to a nightclub, it emerged today.

Host nation Portugal received a boost today when star midfielder Luis Figo returned to training with the rest of the squad.

Aston Villa striker Darius Vassell is facing the prospect of a spell on the sidelines with a knee injury - but manager John Gregory is hoping the England Under-21 player will be able to delay the operation until the New Year.