January Transfer Centre (ALL non United transfer talk).

[Wazza1989]

Portsmouth Accept Tottenham Bid For Defoe

Tottenham Hotspur are finally set to land striker Jermain Defoe from Portsmouth today, according to Sky Sports.

It is thought that the two clubs had been in talks over a proposed transfer for some time, and Pompey have agreed to let the 26-year-old go for a fee of £15 million.

Apparently, the England international, who has won 32 caps and scored 6 goals to date, will arrive at White Hart Lane later on to undergo a medical.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp is believed to be a keen admirer of Defoe, as he was in charge at West Ham when the striker arrived at the club and responsible for handing him his first-team debut with the Irons.

The 61-year-old took the striker to Portsmouth last January in a deal worth approximately £7.5 million, and is set to sign him for a third time within the next 24 hours.

Although his form in front of goal has dried up a little of late, the 5ft 6in forward remains one of the Premier League's top scorers this season with seven goals.

goal.com

[RedForceRising]

Gunners in talks over Arshavin deal
http://www.teamtalk.com/football/sto...756347,00.html

Zenit St Petersburg have confirmed talks are taking place with Arsenal regarding a deal for Russian playmaker Andrei Arshavin.



Arshavin has been looking to leave the UEFA Cup holders in search of a move to a major European league.

He impressed at Euro 2008 and was linked with Arsenal's North London rivals Tottenham, along with Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, after the tournament.

However, in recent weeks speculation concerning a possible January move to Arsenal has increased after he was given permission to discuss his departure from Zenit.

Reports suggest Zenit are demanding a £20million fee for Arshavin, but the Gunners value the 27-year-old at considerably less.

Zenit, though, have told Sky Sports News that they are confident of agreeing a deal to sell the playmaker to Arsenal this month.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has been looking to reinforce his squad after losing captain Cesc Fabregas for several months due to a knee injury.

Wenger has previously been coy on any interest in Arshavin, but admitted over the weekend that he was aiming to sign a player of 'special class'.

He also confirmed that availability for the knockout phase of the Champions League would not be an issue, with Arshavin unable to feature against Roma after appearing in the group stage for Zenit.


Boss Hughes 'wants rid of City trio'
http://www.teamtalk.com/football/sto...755509,00.html

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes has reportedly made Brazilian duo Elano and Jo and Israel defender Tal Ben Haim available for transfer.



According to The Guardian, Hughes 'has identified a small but influential group of Manchester City players he fears are trying to lead a dressing-room mutiny'.

The report even suggests that one fringe player has been to see the club's executive chairman Garry Cook to complain about Hughes' management.

Ben Haim, who cost City £5million when they signed him from Chelsea in July, is likely to join his old manager Sam Allardyce at Blackburn.

Jo, a £19million former club-record signing from CSKA Moscow, has been linked in Italy with a move to Inter Milan, while other reports have suggested the 21-year-old could make a loan move to Everton.

Dietmar Hamann, Michael Ball, Javier Garrido, Kasper Schmeichel, Nedum Onuoha and Darius Vassell are all thought to be available, while other reports suggest that former starlet Michael Johnson could also be sold.

[RedForceRising]

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester City have made a £24m bid for Barcelona's 25-year-old midfielder Yaya Toure and will double his wages to tempt him to Eastlands. (The Sun)

City have also offered midfielder Scott Parker £100,000 a week to quit West Ham and join them. (Mirror)

Andrei Arshavin is threatening to buy himself out of his contract at Zenit St Petersburg or go on strike to secure his dream move to England. Arsenal are interested in signing the Russian international but have baulked at the £20m asking price. (Daily Express)

Tottenham have made a revised bid of £12m for Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing. (The Independent)

Aston Villa will step up their efforts to sign Emile Heskey after Marlon Harewood was put on standby for a £2m switch to Stoke. (Mirror)

Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez has revealed his desire to play for Real Madrid. (The Sun)

Tevez has threatened to quit United and that has alerted Real and also Manchester City. (Daily Mirror)

Hull manager Phil Brown will tie up the £2.5m deal for Kamil Zayatte this week and then bid £4m for Sunderland striker Michael Chopra. Brown also wants Wigan's 31-year-old midfielder Kevin Kilbane. (The Sun)

Chelsea have told manager Luiz Felipe Scolari he will not be given any money to spend in the transfer window. (Daily Star)

Manchester City want Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz, West Ham forward Craig Bellamy and his midfield team-mate Scott Parker, Arsenal defender Kolo Toure and Newcastle keeper Shay Given. (Daily Star)

Liverpool will resist an £8.5m offer for centre-back Daniel Agger from AC Milan and the Reds are also determined not to sell Andrea Dossena. (Daily Star)

AC Milan are also keen on Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant. (The Sun)

Wigan boss Steve Bruce has compared midfielder Antonio Valencia to Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo and says he will not be sold during the transfer window.

The £15m-rated Valencia, 23, is a target for Liverpool, Tottenham and Real Madrid. (Various)

Liverpool and Tottenham will miss out on defender Glen Johnson, who will sign a new deal with Portsmouth. (Daily Star)

Fulham target Carlos Kameni is close to leaving Espanyol after clashing with a fan of the Spanish side and the keeper could be signed for £3m. (Daily Star)

Arsenal want Portsmouth midfielder Niko Kranjcar - and they have also made a move for Everton's Mikel Arteta. The Gunners have also offered striker Nicklas Bendtner and £5m cash for West Ham defender Matthew Upson. (The Sun)

Sunderland striker El-Hadji Diouf has issued a come-and-get-me plea to Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce. (The Sun)

Everton and West Ham have been alerted to the availability of Manchester City midfielder Michael Johnson. (The Sun)

Portsmouth want £5m-rated Nigerian Christian Obodo as a replacement for Lassana Diarra, who has joined Real Madrid. (The Sun)

Pompey and West Ham are in a battle for the signature of £300,000-rated Norwegian defender Stefan Strandberg, 18. (The Sun)

Sunderland and Wigan are chasing £800,000-rated Plymouth winger Craig Noone. (The Sun)

Newcastle want to sign former Portsmouth and Tottenham midfielder Pedro Mendes on loan from Rangers, with a view to a £1.5m move. (Mirror)

Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce wants to sign France international defender Gael Givet on loan from Marseille. (Mirror)

Middlesbrough winger Gary O'Neil wants to rejoin Portsmouth. (Mirror)

Edgar Davids wants to return to Tottenham on a play-as-you-pay basis. (Metro)

Wigan are closing in on 23-year-old Colombian striker Hugo Rodallega and will sign him as soon as he gains a work permit. (Metro)

Charlton are set to sign striker James Scowcroft and midfielder Carl Fletcher from Crystal Palace. (Mirror)

Fulham midfielder Leon Andreasen is set to leave the club to return to Germany, with Hannover favourites to seal a £2m transfer. (The Sun)

Leeds boss Simon Grayson is plotting a £300,000 move for Norwich midfielder Wes Hoolahan. (The Sun)

Doncaster want to sign Oldham striker Lee Hughes but only if the price is lowered from £400,000. (Star)

Gillingham are determined to resist an offer from Ipswich for striker Simeon Jackson. (The Sun)

Brighton manager Micky Adams has made a £50,000 bid for Preston's 24-year-old midfielder Joe Anyinsah. (Daily Star)

Ipswich are keen on Stockport keeper Owain Fon Williams and are also checking on Hatters left-back Jim McNulty. (Daily Star)

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish plans to lure £3m Argentine striker Gaston Sangoy, who plays for Apollon Limassol, to the club if Cameron Jerome leaves. (The Sun)

Wolves are after 24-year-old Charlton midfielder Darren Ambrose, who had been on loan at Ipswich. (The Sun)

Stoke are keen on signing Spartak Moscow's former Arsenal winger Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, who had been on loan at Birmingham, on a loan deal, with a view to a £2.5m move. (The Sun)

Reading and Wolves look set to miss out on midfielder Andrew Surman, who says he is happy to stay at Southampton. (The Sun)

Rangers captain Barry Ferguson has vowed to snub any bid from Newcastle United. (Daily Star)

Newcastle have targeted Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc as a possible replacement for Shay Given. (Daily Star)

Birmingham City will launch a £3m offer for Rangers striker Kris Boyd within days. (The Sun)

Middlesbrough are poised to test Celtic's resolve with a bid of around £5m for Aiden McGeady. (Daily Mail)

[Lucky7]

Making an ultimately doomed attempt to add one Touré brother to your lopsided first-team squad may be regarded as a misfortune. Going after two of them looks like carelessness. Ignoring, for once, his Oscar Wilde, Mark Hughes has "made a stunning £24m bid for Barcelona midfield star Yaya Touré", according to The Sun. That's after spending much of the current window and its official four-week prequel being linked vaguely with his big brother Kolo. It might not be plain sailing though as "Barca will fight tooth and nail to keep Touré". Apparently Touré jnr is known as "the new Patrick Vieira in Spain". Hopefully that's the new old Patrick Vieira, not the new new one.


Perhaps concluding that we're all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at Niko Kranjcar, Arsène Wenger has decided Portsmouth's Croatian midfielder is the man to inject some much-needed fancy-touches-but-goes-missing-for-half-a-season into his midfield, at a January bargain price of £4m.


David Moyes has decided he can resist everything except temptation and Manchester City's perma-knacked whizzkid midfielder Michael Johnson, available for a nominal fee and comes with two weeks' supply of Savlon and tubular bandages. And Tony Adams has nothing to declare but his genius and an interest in Udinese's £5m-rated Nigerian ace Christian Obodo, who may or may not be the man to fill the Lassana Diarra-shaped hole at the heart of the Portsmouth midfield.


Wisely steering away from the Mill's Wildean theme, the Mirror reports that Shola Ameobi called police to a burglary at his home, only for it to turn out "his £500,000 pad" hadn't been turned over at all. It was just really messy. "The place just looked as if it had been burgled," said one policeman, pursing his lips and refusing to help clear it up this time oh my goodness just look at the state of that carpet.


Also in the Mirror, Spurs are poised to swoop, with a great shattering, belly-flopping whump, for Ghanaian midfielder Stephen Appiah and Espanyol full-back Steve Finnan. Gary O'Neil wants to leave Middlesbrough and go back to Portsmouth, something Gareth Southgate is apparently "blocking", no doubt by hurling himself against the doorjamb and wedging his legs against a nearby nest of occasional tables. It's for your own good Gary. You'll thank him. And, according to an odd headline, Joe Kinnear is desperate to "bring Pedro Mendes back to Britain". A mere £1.5m will rescue him from his garlic-stinking hell at a faraway place called Glasgow Rangers.


In the Star, David Beckham "has kicked Posh into touch by insisting she will not live with him in Italy". Ah ha. "Everyone knows how much I love my wife and my children – but at the same time I love being able to sit for hours picking my nose in front of MTV Base," he didn't say, in fact ending that sentence with the word "football".


The Mail believes Boro will attempt to replace consistent, if vaguely underwhelming, wing ace Stewart Downing with inconsistent but occasionally really-quite-good Celtic wideman Aiden McGeady, if (a) Downing hooks it; and (b) Celtic stop asking for £10m. And in an exclusive story that either (a) will definitely happen; or (b) perhaps might, you know, not, Manchester City are about to sign "[John] Terry, Valencia's David Villa, Barcelona's Lionel Messi or Milan's Kaka". And while we're here don't miss tomorrow's Mill Exclusive: City poised to sign Spiderman, Zorro, the mythical Kraken, Yaya Touré and Damien Hirst's jewel-encrusted skull.


More convincingly, rumour has it that Wenger is considering a move for the previously spurned Matthew Upson. Peculiar Alan Curbishley signing Julien Faubert could be leaving West Ham and going, frankly, somewhere else, yes Nantes, why not? Blackburn could be in for Marseilles left-back Gaël Givet. There's some kind of incorrectly-pronounced Givet-and-go-style pun in there.


And Steve Bruce is prepared to spend £4m on Necaxa striker Hugo Rodallega, scorer of a frankly underwhelming 15 goals in 36 games in the Mexican league last season. Still, as Oscar would no doubt have said, the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about in connection with a potentially tasty Central or South American, who you subsequently manage to flog to a Champions League club for several million quid profit.

[spellbound]

Gunners in Arshavin talks
Zenit confident playmaker will move to Emirates Stadium

Zenit St Petersburg have told Sky Sports News that talks are taking place with Arsenal regarding a deal for Andrei Arshavin.

Maxim Mitrofanov, the club's general director, has told Sky Sports News chief news reporter Bryan Swanson that he hopes a deal can be done within the next two weeks.

Russian schemer Arshavin has been looking to leave the Uefa Cup holders in search of a move to a major European league.

He impressed at Euro 2008 and was linked with Arsenal's North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, along with Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid after the tournament.

However, in recent weeks, speculation concerning a possible January move to Arsenal has increased after he was given permission to discuss his departure from Zenit.

Reports suggest Zenit are demanding a £20million fee for Arshavin, but the Gunners value the 27-year-old at considerably less.

Zenit, though, have told Sky Sports News that they are confident of agreeing a deal to sell the playmaker to Arsenal this month.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has been looking to reinforce his squad after losing captain Cesc Fabregas for several months due to a knee injury.

Wenger has previously been coy on any interest in Arshavin, but admitted over the weekend that he was aiming to sign a player of 'special class'.

He also confirmed that availability for the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League would not be an issue, with Arshavin unable to feature against Roma after appearing in the group stage for Zenit.


Top player
Meanwhile, Zenit coach Dick Advocaat is resigned to losing Arshavin during the January transfer window.

Advocaat said: "I am aware that Arsenal are interested, but I don't know any more than that. However, I am expecting Arshavin to leave Zenit for another club.

"He is a top player and he could play for any team and any of the top teams in England, Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea or Liverpool.

"He was voted player of the year by the sports writers last season - and we know that they know everything!

"Arshavin played well for us last season, but he didn't play as well as he can. There is still more to come from him and people will see that.

"In principle, I have already bought Arshavin's successor, Danny, because I thought Arshavin was going to leave last year so did Zenit. Danny can play in the same position as Arshavin so we won't be disrupted when he goes."

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,195...756237,00.html

[thekeanefella]

an overrated egotist , perfect for the gooners

[red dave]

I rate him I think he has alot of talent but 20 millions worth maybe not .

One thing I may add though is that his bottle well a truely went in that semi vs Spain where the hell was he he didnt even touch the ball.

[piazza]

They really need a defender and a midfielder more than him, not to mention he's the most overrated player in the world.

[canto]

I rate him I think he has alot of talent but 20 millions worth maybe not .

One thing I may add though is that his bottle well a truely went in that semi vs Spain where the hell was he he didnt even touch the ball.

ya same i think hes a quailt6y player but i dont think hes worth 20 millon based on a seasons peformances!

[RN10]

Can't believe he's going to arsenal and not spurs, he is such a great player and will make such a difference to arsenal argh i hate arsenal lol

[Burkey]

Arsenal need someone who can put their foot on the ball and control the game not another player who can get on the end of chances.

[spellbound]

Shav Off

ARSENAL look set to miss out on Russian star Andrei Arshavin because of cash demands.


The Zenit St Petersburg playmaker is on wages of around £100,000 a week.

And Zenit opened talks with the Gunners by insisting they wanted £25m for Arshavin, 27. That is way out of the Emirates club’s league.

Boss Arsene Wenger will probably have to offload Kolo Toure – a target for Manchester City – and Nicklas Bendtner to finance a signing.

Even then it is unlikely the Gunners will be able to go above £12m for Arshavin.

An Arsenal source revealed last night: “Considering his age, the money they are asking is way too high. I don’t think there is too much chance of it happening.”

It could be Zenit will reduce their asking price dramatically in the transfer window if nobody comes in for Arshavin.

Chelsea are not in the running, with owner Roman Abramovich refusing to keep on spending at Stamford Bridge.

Wenger is under increasing pressure from fans to bring in a big-name signing.

But with Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood insisting last week the club does not intend to pay big money, it seems highly unlikely a deal will be concluded.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football/...743/Shav-off-/

[abojodeh]

hehe he will be worse than Gallas in attitude

[spellbound]

hehe he will be worse than Gallas in attitude

Then he'll fit in well at Emirates.

[Dazza]

I rate him I think he has alot of talent but 20 millions worth maybe not .

One thing I may add though is that his bottle well a truely went in that semi vs Spain where the hell was he he didnt even touch the ball.

One could say the same about Cristiano in a lot of games.

[red dave]

One could say the same about Cristiano in a lot of games.

Ive never seen a player so built up during a build up for a game and not even show any passion in it.

Im sorry but I dont think Ronaldo has ever gone missing like that .

[dlan4327]

MAN CITY FAIL

At capturing Santa Cruz. Among other things. Apparently the Citizen's have had a large bid rejected.

Mark Hughes told reporters that the offer was "significantly larger" than the £12m bid Blackburn rejected last summer.

One can only assume it was a bid in excess of £18m - 20m considering City's hefty transfer budget.

[RedForceRising]

Defender Puygrenier joins Bolton
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/foot...rs/7820684.stm

Bolton have signed defender Sebastien Puygrenier on loan from Russian side Zenit St Petersburg until the end of the season.

The 26-year-old played in Zenit's Uefa Super Cup victory over Manchester United in August and his move is subject to international clearance.

The Frenchman moved to Zenit last summer after spells in his homeland with Stade Rennais and Nancy.

It is Bolton boss Gary Megson's first signing of the transfer window.


Defoe deal goes through
Spurs favourite completes return to Lane
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,195...769604,00.html

Jermain Defoe has completed his return to former club Tottenham and could now figure in Sunday's game against Wigan.

The finer details of his big-money switch to White Hart Lane from Portsmouth have now been tied up and he could be pitched straight into Harry Redknapp's starting XI.

During his first spell at Tottenham, between 2004 and 2008, the 26-year-old scored 64 goals in 177 appearances and established himself as a firm favourite with the club's supporters.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has spoken of his delight at bringing Defoe back to North London.

Welcome home

"We are delighted to welcome Jermain back to the club," said Levy.

"We had previously been keen for Jermain to sign a new contract to extend his initial stay but at that point in time he felt it was in his interests to move on in order to guarantee himself more starts. I know the club is close to his heart and that he is thrilled to be back and to once again link up with Harry."

Manager Harry Redknapp echoed the words of his chairman, having signed Defoe three times throughout his career.

"I am pleased to have him here and I am sure the supporters are looking forward to seeing him back in a Spurs shirt.

"Because I know what a top class player he is as well as a proven goalscorer."

9 January 2009

Joe Anyinsah [Preston - Carlisle] Undisclosed
Lee Bowyer [West Ham - Birmingham] Loan
Chris Burke [Rangers - Cardiff] Free
Nick Chadwick [Hereford - Shrewsbury] Loan
David Cox [Kilmarnock - Elgin] Loan
Mark Davies [Wolves - Leicester] Loan
Jermain Defoe [Portsmouth - Tottenham] £15m
Kris Doolan [Auchinleck - Partick Thistle] Undisclosed
Michael Gray [Wolves - Sheffield Wednesday] Loan
Martin Gritton [Macclesfield - Chesterfield] Undisclosed
Graham Kavanagh [Sunderland - Carlisle] Free
Roy O'Donovan [Sunderland - Blackpool] Loan
Sebastien Puygrenier [Zenit St Petersburg - Bolton] Loan
Lee Trundle [Bristol City - Leeds] Loan
Mark Tyler [Peterborough - Bury] Loan
Nathaniel Wedderburn [Stoke - Notts County] Loan

8 January 2009

Lee Baker [West Brom - Kidderminster] Loan
Hameur Bouazza [Fulham-Birmingham] Loan
Louis Briscoe [unattached - Mansfield]
DJ Campbell [Leicester - Blackpool] Loan
Chris Casement [Ipswich - Wycombe] Loan
Lee Cook [Fulham-QPR] Undisclosed
Ritchie De Laet [Stoke - Man Utd] Undisclosed
Stuart Elliot [Doncaster - Grimsby] Loan
Matthew Etherington [West Ham - Stoke] £2m
Scott Garner [Leicester - Mansfield] Undisclosed
Liam Hatch [Peterborough - Darlington] Loan
Graeme Owens [Middlesbrough - Blackpool] Loan
Phil Picken [Chesterfield - Notts County] Loan
Adam Proudlock [Darlington - Grimsby] Free
Dean Sinclair [Charlton - Grimsby] Loan
Jason Taylor [Stockport - Rotherham] Free
Jake Thomson [Southampton - Bournemouth] Loan
Rhoys Wiggins [Crystal Palace - Bournemouth] Loan
Thierry Gatheussi [Hibernian - Inverness] Undisclosed
Filipe Morais [Hibernian - Inverness] Undisclosed
Colin Cameron - [Dundee - Arbroath] Loan
Scott Anson [Kilmarnock - Annan Athletic] Loan
Ryan McCord [Dundee United - Stirling Albion] Loan

[RedForceRising]

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Real Madrid want to seal a £15m deal for Wigan's Antonio Valencia. (Star)

Manchester United and Chelsea face a summer battle for Villarreal's £12m-rated keeper Diego Lopez. (Star)

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes fears he will be priced out of a move for striker Roque Santa Cruz, who Blackburn are valuing at £18m. (Star)

But Hughes is set to make a £17m take-it-or-leave-it offer for Santa Cruz, which could be enough to seal the transfer. (Mirror)

And City may make improved offers for West Ham pair Scott Parker and Craig Bellamy but say they have not bid for Newcastle keeper Shay Given. (Star)

Arsenal's hopes of signing midfielder Niko Kranjcar have been dashed after Portsmouth insisted he will not be leaving the club in January. (Star)

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate wants to keep Tottenham target Stewart Downing until the summer. (Star)

Bolton have bid £2m for Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton. (Various)

Sunderland have insisted El-Hadji Diouf and Michael Chopra will not be sold this month. (Star)

Hull are eager to complete a £1.5m deal for West Ham midfielder Luis Boa Morte. (Mirror)

And Hull boss Phil Brown is also set to make a £2m move for Derby midfielder Paul Green. (Star)

Portsmouth defender Herman Hreidarsson is set to become the latest player to leave Fratton Park by joining Celtic in a £500,000 deal. (Mirror)

Everton want Hearts duo Christophe Berra and Andrew Driver. (Various)

Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill has told left-back Nicky Shorey he can leave the club, with West Ham and Tottenham both interested. (The Sun)

Tottenham have failed with a £6m bid to capture Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones. (The Sun)

But Spurs have targeted Lens striker Aruna Dindane as an alternative and will make a £4m bid. (The Sun)

And the north Londoners are set to seal the signing of Polish keeper Sebastian Przyrowski from Polonia Warsaw for a fee of £1m. (The Sun)

Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce is taking Benfica's Ivory Coast defender Marco Zoro on trial. (Mirror)

Bolton will sign defender Sebastien Puygrenier on loan from Zenit St Petersburg - and drop their interest in West Ham's Callum Davenport. (Mirror)

Newcastle's Alan Smith has been told his swap deal with Middlesbrough striker Mido is off. (The Sun)

Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor has urged the club not to sell defender and former skipper William Gallas. (The Sun)

Middlesbrough face a battle to sign Crystal Palace midfielder Ben Watson, with Everton, West Ham and Fulham among their competition. (Express)

Newcastle winger Charles N'Zogbia says Arsenal is his first-choice destination should he secure a move away from Tyneside. (Express)

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish faces competition from Portsmouth for the signature of West Ham midfielder Lee Bowyer. (Mirror)

[RedForceRising]

BREAKING GOSSIP

West Ham reject an improved bid from Manchester City for striker Craig Bellamy. (Sky Sports News, 1200 GMT)

France striker Karim Benzema, a reported target of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona, has said his future at Lyon depends on the club's performance in the Champions League last 16 against Barcelona. (1029 GMT, Press Association)

Bolton manager Gary Megson claimed he has ended his interest in Joey Barton after the club had a £2m bid rejected for the Newcastle midfielder. (0915 GMT, Press Association)

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Zenit St Petersburg forward Andrei Arshavin will sign for Arsenal in the January transfer window, despite the Russian club turning down a £10m bid. (The Sun)

Wigan striker Emile Heskey has agreed a pre-contract deal to join former club Liverpool as a free agent in the summer. (Daily Mail)

Manchester City are closing in on a £12m deal to sign West Ham striker Craig Bellamy. (Independent)

Portsmouth will offer Manchester City £6m for striker Benjani, who they sold to the Eastlands club, and midfielder Michael Johnson. (The Sun)

Portsmouth manager Tony Adams could also offer Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton a chance to get his career back on track by taking him to Fratton Park. (Daily Star)

Portsmouth are also interested in signing Real Madrid forward Javier Saviola in a bid to fill the gap left by the departure of Jermain Defoe. (Daily Mirror)

But the latest player to be heading out of Portsmouth could be defender Herman Hreidarsson, with Reading thought to be his preferred destination. (Various)

Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones is a target for Aston Villa but manager Martin O'Neill will have to pay £12m for the Trinidad and Tobago international. (Daily Mirror)

Newcastle are giving a trial to Danish winger Peter Lovenkrands - the former Rangers man is a free agent after his release by Schalke. (The Sun)

The Magpies are also interested in taking Manchester City's Brazilian striker Jo on loan until the end of the season at St James' Park. (Daily Mail)

Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas could be on his way out of White Hart Lane after he was stripped of his role as vice-captain by manager Harry Redknapp. (Daily Mirror)

Redknapp has received an offer for goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes but has rejected it as he wants to keep the goalkeeper in light of his improved form. (Independent)

Everton and Fulham are checking on £2m-rated Norway winger Trond Olsen, who plays for Bodo Glimt. (Daily Mail)

Benfica defender Marco Zoro joined up with Blackburn on Sunday to start a trial with the Ewood Park outfit. (Various)

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes wants to sign Chelsea's second-choice goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini for £3m. (Various)

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish has lined up a £1m bid for Doncaster defender Matthew Mills. (Daily Mirror)

Stoke are setting a deadline of Monday for striker James Beattie to complete his £3m move from Sheffield United. (Daily Mirror)

Fulham have entered the race to sign Watford midfielder John-Joe O'Toole, who has scored eight goals this season. (Times)