|
|
England:
Pires set for Gunners !
Arsenal look set to sign Olympic Marseille's Robert Pires in a £4m deal in a second transfer coup for the club.
Arsenal yesterday confirmed the £7m signing of Cameroon international midfielder Lauren Bisan-Etame Mayer from Real Mallorca.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and vice-chairman David Dein have now met with Frederic Dobraje, the agent of Pires, and personal terms have been agreed.
All that remains now is for a fee to be finalised with the French club, and that would mean the 27-year-old midfielder will go into Euro 2000 as the latest recruit from France on the Highbury payroll.
Pires is in the French squad for the European Championship Finals and scored on Sunday in the 2-0 win over Croatia in Zagreb.
'I want to go to Arsenal very much,' Pires said. 'I have great respect for the manager and of course I know three of the players who are with me with France - Thierry Henry, Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira. They have all told me that Arsenal are a great club. I hope the move happens.'
|
| |
Cole denies walkout !
Andy Cole has moved swiftly to deny walking out on England after being omitted from Kevin Keegan's Euro 2000 squad.
Rejecting suggestions that an argument with the England coach had preceded his exit before yesterday's friendly with the Ukraine, the Manchester United striker said: 'Nothing could be further from the truth.'
In a statement Cole, who has been suffering from an injury that has prevented him travelling to the Low Countries, said: 'I had a meeting with Kevin Keegan yesterday afternoon to discuss the situation regarding my foot.
'I have been carrying the injury for some time now and it has become more and more troublesome and not settled down as I had hoped.
'Obviously a decision had to be made and following the conversation with Kevin we both agreed the risk of not being able to perform fully in such an important tournament was too great a risk to take.
'A lot has been made of my position within the England camp. I can only once again repeat that I am desperate to play for my country and compete at the highest level.
'I also felt that had the injury not occurred I had a great chance of being involved in Euro 2000.'
Cole is now hoping to get the foot injury sorted out once and for all during the close season.
'Obviously on a personal note I am deeply disappointed not to be taking part but the most important thing now is to get the injury sorted.
'I wish Kevin and the boys the best of luck and like the rest of the nation, hope and believe we can be successful in this year's Euro finals.
|
|
|
| |
Sunderland in for Amoruso !
: Sunderland have become the first club to back up their interest in ending Lorenzo Amoruso's Rangers' career with a bid to take him to the Premiership.
Soccernet can reveal that the north-east side have agreed a fee in the region of £4million for the 29-year-old Italian and are now waiting for the player to return from holiday before starting negotiations on his personal terms.
No actual transfer can be completed until the centre-back fully recovers from the surgery on an ankle injury which prevented him from playing in last weekend's Tennent's Scottish Cup Final victory over Aberdeen at Hampden.
That has not discouraged the Wearsiders' manager Peter Reid from instructing an agent to purchase Amoruso in a bid to bolster his side's defence as he attempts to better last year's success, when his newly-promoted side finished seventh.
Dick Advocaat has already made clear his plans for next season with his attempts to lure a direct replacement - Feyenoord's Bert Konterman - to Glasgow.
Soccernet understands that deal will be completed within the next 48 hours and will cost Rangers £4.5m for the Dutch international defender.
Rangers' chairman, David Murray, would only admit to being confident of finalising the transfer of Konterman - smoothing the way for Amoruso's departure.
Murray confirmed both Sunderland's approach for the Ibrox captain and his hope that an agreement will be reached with Konterman and his club in the next few days.
'There has been an inquiry and an initial negotiation with Sunderland about Amoruso,' Murray told Soccernet . 'As for Konterman, we are hopeful of concluding matters with Feyenoord and then the player before the weekend.'
Konterman is currently at Holland's pre-Euro 2000 training camp near Nyon in Switzerland and was expected to take part in a friendly against Servette in Geneva.
Meanwhile, both Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Arthur Numan will discover on Thursday if they have made Frank Rijkaard's final 22-man selection for the tournament.
|
|
|
| |
O'Neill to sign !
Celtic will finally appoint Martin O'Neill as their new head coach on Thursday and bring to an end one of the longest-running sagas in Scottish football.
The Parkhead club expect to make an official announcement to the London Stock Exchange on Thursday morning to be followed by a press conference - providing they can put an end to the farce which has so far dogged the whole project.
O'Neill was due to meet chief executive Allan MacDonald and contracts manager Jim Hone in Glasgow to finalise the details of his protracted switch from Filbert Street.
His arrival at Celtic comes three days later than Parkhead powerbrokers had bargained for after the 48-year-old Irishman agreed to postpone his resignation from Leicester on the request of chairman John Elsom.
Despite the fact that arrangements such as accomodation at a Glasgow hotel have been in place since Monday, O'Neill stalled on making a final decision out of respect for his friendship with Elsom.
On each of the last three days, Leicester officials have attempted to persuade O'Neill that he should stay and finish the job he started with them, rather than take up the challenge of reviving the fortunes of Celtic.
His penchant for indecision meant that delay was almost inevitable in the circumstances though the initial commitment to the task in hand which so impressed Celtic directors has held firm.
He has been offered a four-year contract earning £1.3million a year plus bonuses - a deal which will make him the second highest-paid manager in Britain after Sir Alex Ferguson.
A transfer kitty of up to £20m will be put at O'Neill's disposal as Celtic attempt to put the mistakes made by the Kenny Dalglish/John Barnes era behind them and close the gap on Rangers.
O'Neill has contacted John Robertson and Steve Walford - his assistants at Filbert Street - to request that they team up again in Glasgow. Both returned from holiday on Wednesday and are also expected to make the journey north.
Current assistant head coach, Tommy Burns, is also expected to be retained under the new regime, either with the first team or as head of youth development.
Burns - who will return from club business abroad on Thursday - will provide the new manager with first-hand accounts of the current playing squad, as well as injecting a sense of dressing-room continuity, many of the players now having seen a new coach arrive every season for the past three years.
O'Neill's main objective will be to ensure that scenario is not repeated this time next year.
|
|
|
|
