Manchester City are set to hold talks with Nigerian starlet Macauley Chrisantus next week.
The 17-year-old striker was one of the stars of the recent World Under 17 championship as he helped Nigeria seal the title.
Christantus is currently plying his trade in his homeland with Abuja but a move to England could soon be sealed.
The youngster's agent, Adam Mohammed, confirmed that he and the player are set to hold talks with Sven Goran Eriksson.
"I can confirm Sven has written inviting myself and the boy for a discussion and we will be in England next week to conclude talks," he told the News of the World.
Mohammed admitted that an application for a work permit could be a stumbling block, but he voiced his optimism that one would be granted second time round.
"But there may be a snag with the issue of a work permit," he added.
"However, if it is refused first time we will get it second time if the club appeals."
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Ajax, Internazionale and Milan are also reportedly keen to snap up the youngster, but it appears that City have won the race to secure Chrisantus' services.
Meanwhile, Eriksson has called on striker Georgios Samaras to utilise his strengths, which he believes are his ability to be a powerful target man.
"Georgios has to decide what type of players he wants to be. He shouldn't be doing lots of tricks; he should be using his physical power. For me he is a central striker - and a good one," Eriksson told the News of the World.
"There is a big difference between the Samaras that I see now and the one I saw when I arrived in July. He could have gone in the summer but said he wanted to fight for his place and I'm happy that he did."
28 October 2007
Harry Redknapp could celebrate his new Portsmouth contract by signing out-of-favour striker Eidur Gudjohnsen from Barcelona.
Portsmouth are on Monday expected to announce that Redknapp has agreed a new £7million, three-and-a-half-year contract at Fratton Park - and one of his first moves will be to instruct club officials to beat Manchester City in the race for Gudjohnsen.
Barca director of football Txiki Beguiristain admitted only last week that he had made a mistake signing the Iceland international because of the emergence of some of his club's youngsters.
He said: "Eidur still believes he has a chance here but at the moment the coaches are giving more time to Giovani and Bojan Krkic."
Redknapp was touted as a potential successor to Martin Jol at Tottenham but Pompey have moved to ward off any potential future interest by offering him a bumper pay packet.
27 October 2007
Sam Allardyce is not worried by the prospect of rival clubs coming in for Michael Owen, with the Newcastle chief claiming the striker is out of reach.
Reports suggest Manchester City chief Sven Goran Eriksson is contemplating tabling an offer in the January transfer window.
Owen has just over 18 months to run on his present contract and talks over a new deal have not yet started.
There is a fear Owen could walk away for nothing in 2009, but Allardyce is not concerned by the speculation and will not contemplate a cut-price sale.
"You probably can't afford him,' was his answer to if he had a message for interested parties.
"There's no clause in Michael Owen's contract now, full stop. There's no way Michael can leave unless we want him to. Saying that, if Michael was as determined as some players are when they decide they want to go, that would be a different story."
Allardyce claims the club will review Owen's situation in the summer.
He added: "At the moment, we're hoping Michael stays fit and plays continuously for Newcastle from now until the end of the season. If he does that, we can have a good look at the situation then."
27 October 2007
Rolando Bianchi has stressed his determination to fight for a place in the Manchester City side, but concedes he needs Sven Goran Eriksson to change his tactics.
The big-money signing made an immediate impact upon his arrival from Reggina when scoring on his City debut against West Ham United.
But the Italian has not started a Premier League game for almost two months and has previously hinted he may have to reassess his situation when the January transfer window approaches.
For now, though, Bianchi will look to force his way back into Eriksson's plans, but accepts he is not the striker the City boss currently needs.
"Eriksson told me he needs a quick striker," Bianchi told Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Now I'm not in the group of players who are useful and I don't know if, on a tactical level, something will change soon. I can only work and change the situation only with engagement and by taking advantage of the chances I'll have. I'll do everything to allow the coach to change his mind."
If Bianchi's prospects fail to improve, then he admits he would prefer a return to Serie A, saying: "I'm here now and I want to struggle for a place. Should I not be able to do this, my thoughts would be to come back to Serie A. For me, playing is important."
27 October 2007
Cardiff have signed Manchester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel on a month's loan.
The 20 year old goes straight into the squad for the visit of Scunthorpe on Saturday after a proposed move to Coca-Cola Championship rivals Coventry collapsed earlier this week.
"The Bluebirds confirm the signing of Kasper Schmeichel from Manchester City initially on a month's loan," read a Cardiff statement.
"The keeper will link up with the squad and will take the number one shirt vacated by Ross Turnbull, who has returned to Middlesbrough."
27 October 2007
Manchester City striker Valeri Bojinov could be back in action by January, according to the club's fitness coach.
Bojinov ruptured cruciate knee ligaments during the Manchester derby win over United in August.
The Bulgaria international was forced to return to Italy for surgery but is now back at City's Carrington training complex to continue his rehabilitation work.
According to City fitness coach Stefano Marrone, City fans could be in for a very welcome post-Christmas present.
"Players need targets for motivation, so anything around January would be great," Marrone told www.mcfc.co.uk
"That would mean being fully fit for normal training in December and then he would be ready for the Premier League in January. We are still at a very early stage of his recovery, so it is difficult to say for certain, but that is our target."
27 October 2007
Chelsea boss Avram Grant has told Shaun Wright-Phillips he will have to fight for a starting spot in The Blues' first XI.
The England international was omitted from the squad to face Schalke in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, and is now struggling to force his way back into contention for the weekend visit of former club Manchester City.
"We have 25 players in the squad, most are international players, and we are allowed only to play 11 and five from the bench," said Grant.
"Every game we play there are five or six international players, good players, who are not in the squad. It's not personal against anyone. I'm thinking about the team. Shaun is a professional. He wants to play of course, he wants to be in the squad. He's ready for the next games. I want players to be happy at the end of the year. They will look back and say I gave my contribution to my team. Sometimes during the season they will not be happy if they are not playing. But they need to be ready for each game we need them in the future."
27 October 2007
Who has the loudest fans in the Premier League?
Decibel meter readings taken across home matches for all Premier League teams during August and September, showed that the loudest home crowd was Sunderland.
Average peak volume of the Sunderland crowd at home reaching 129.2 decibels & 150; louder than a rock concert (115 decibels) and almost as loud as an air raid siren/military jet (130 decibels).
As a volume of 110-115 decibels can cause hearing damage after just 15 minutes, football fans are being advised to wear ear protection if they want to hear the referees whistle clearly across their supporting career.
The findings are especially embarrassing for Arsenal and Manchester United, whose grounds dwarf the 49,000-seater Sunderland home ground by 11,000 and 21,000 seats respectively.
Quietest home fans were Fulham who could only muster an average maximum volume of 115.4 decibels at home.
And although not the loudest, Everton fans proved that they have the stamina to keep it up all match. Their chants were the most frequent (one every three minutes on average) and longest (52 seconds each on average) of all teams studied.
The ear-bending research was commissioned by 118118 who are searching for the best and loudest football chants in the country.
NOISE LEAGUE TABLE:
Sunderland
Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester City
Aston Villa
Everton
Chelsea
Middlesbrough
Derby County
Newcastle United
West Ham
Birmingham City
Arsenal
Portsmouth
Blackburn Rovers
Bolton Wanderers
Liverpool
Manchester United
Wigan Athletic
Reading
Fulham
26 October 2007
England Under-21 skipper Steven Taylor has been told to cut out "crap" performances in a candid message from boss Sam Allardyce.
The young defender was frozen out of Allardyce's squad for the win against Spurs, not even making the bench, and has yet to agree a new deal with the club.
Taylor was heroic for his country at Euro 2007 but has suffered at club level under Allardyce, paying the price for Newcastle's 3-1 defeat at Manchester City, along with Czech stopper David Rozenhal.
Allardyce has ordered Taylor to learn from United's Brazilian stopper Claudio Cacapa and the way he uses brain rather than brawn to snuff out danger.
Big Sam reckons he now has the strength in depth to axe stars - even if their performances dip for just one game.
Four Allardyce summer signings, Habib Beye, Cacapa, Abdoulaye Faye and Jose Enrique are now the first choice defence.
Newcastle are looking to build on their strongest start for 10 years by beating Reading tomorrow and asked about Taylor's future, Allardyce said: "It's not about me dropping players, it's about players dropping themselves because they played crap at Manchester City. If you play that badly, you're likely to lose your shirt. That's not just Steven Taylor - it's most of the back four on that day. One poor performance can cost you. It's frustrating and disappointing for the player in question, but that's the nature of the game. Steven trains his hardest every day and of course he will be frustrated. Basic repetitive training is the answer, particularly for defenders. That hasn't happened too much in the past here. No disrespect to previous Newcastle managers, but it doesn't look as though it has. The perfect example for Steven is Claudio Cacapa. He's not as quick as Steven, not as young but his brain gets him in to positions before the forwards. He makes it look simple. That's one of the big things to learn as a defender - reading the game."
26 October 2007
Sven Goran Eriksson admits he would personally 'open the gates' for Shaun Wright-Phillips should he ever wish to return to Manchester City.
The Swedish tactician has been told he is free to spend in the January transfer window, after convincing City owner Thaksin Shinawatra of his buying credentials by virtue of the club's fine start to the season.
Eriksson has vowed to be prudent in the market and only invest in quality, with Wright-Phillips certainly of the calibre he covets.
The England star, who never figured regularly under Eriksson's regime with the national side, has never truly established himself at Chelsea and will be one of those hugely disappointed by Jose Mourinho's departure, as it had looked as though he had finally convinced the Portuguese of his ability.
And if he were ever to seek a Stamford Bridge exit, Eriksson would be more than willing to take the player back to Eastlands.
"I'd personally open the gates for him tomorrow if he wishes to return here," he told a newspaper.
"I won't pay his salary personally but I'll certainly open the gate. Shaun has pace, good technique and is very direct. He's a good player, one I admire."
