Torino move for Manninger

Italian side Torino Calcio have signed goalkeeper Alex Manninger on a six-month contract.

Six-month contract
The 26-year-old Austrian international will compete with Luca Bucci for the No1 jersey. In the summer Torino, who are struggling at the wrong end of the Serie A table, will have the option to sign him for the next three years.

Contract cancelled
Manninger was without a club after RCD Espanyol cancelled his contract less than a month after he had signed for the Spanish side in July. The goalkeeper had always denied that the decision was taken by mutual agreement. "I am extremely disappointed with what has happened with Espanyol," he said at the time. "They have unilaterally decided to cancel my contract."

Serie A return
Now Manninger will return to Serie A, where he appeared for AC Fiorentina last season while on loan from English side Arsenal FC. Manninger moved to Arsenal from Austria's Grazer AK in June 1997 as understudy to David Seaman but, despite a first-team run when the England goalkeeper injured his back in 1999, he never won a regular starting place in the team.