Former England midfielder Joe Cole has returned to boyhood club West Ham on an 18-month contract after leaving Liverpool on a free transfer.

Liverpool signed Cole from Chelsea in 2010 but he was sent off in his first match and missed a penalty in his second, setting the tone for a miserable time at the club. He then spent a season on loan at French team Lille.

Cole scored five goals in 42 matches in all competitions at Liverpool.

He says of his first spell at West Ham from 1998 to 2003 that "this is where I learnt my trade and I'm happy to have another chance to be here."

Cole won eight major trophies at Chelsea, including three Premier League titles, and played 56 times for England.

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Chelsea has signed Senegal striker Demba Ba from Newcastle on a 3 ½-year contract.

Ba joined the European champions on Friday and is eligible for Saturday's FA Cup match at Southampton.

Ba was halfway through a three-year Newcastle contract but Chelsea activated a release clause in his deal.

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Preparing to return from injury, Italy forward Giuseppe Rossi appears close to completing a transfer from Villarreal to Fiorentina.

The Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Fiorentina is prepared to pay a €9.5 million ($12.45 million) transfer fee.

Rossi's contract would reportedly be worth €2 million ($2.6 million) per season, plus bonuses.

Rossi has been out for 14 months, since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a game against Real Madrid in October 2011. He underwent surgery a day later, then tore the same ACL again and had another operation in April. He is expected to start playing again in March.

The 25-year-old Rossi has been with Villarreal since 2007. The United States-born striker began his career with Manchester United.

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Bayern Munich says it has signed Germany under-21 defender Jan Kirchhoff on a three-year contract from next season onward.

Kirchhoff will arrive on a free transfer from Bundesliga rival Mainz.

Bayern sports director Matthias Sammer says he is very pleased to have signed "a highly talented" player.

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Chelsea captain John Terry says he is "devastated" at the prospect of veteran midfielder Frank Lampard leaving the club.

The 34-year-old Lampard's contract expires at the end of the season, and there are no signs he will be offered a new deal.

Writing on his Instagram social networking account, Terry says "devastated is an understatement. We should retire the number 8 shirt in honour of Lamps."

Lampard has won every major trophy alongside Terry since joining Chelsea from West Ham in 2001.

Below a picture of them lifting the FA Cup in May, Terry added a series of tributes on Instagram, including "theheartbeat" ''legend" and "goal machine."

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Giuseppe Rossi has left Villarreal to join Fiorentina for €9 million, Italian media reported.

The Italian striker has been injured for most of the past two seasons but is expected to make a full recovery in the coming weeks.

Another Italian international, Davide Astori, is close to a move to the Premier League, with Southampton on the verge of signing him for €10 million.