=>04/03/2003. According to reports, Lazio are keen on Marseille defender Daniel Van Buyten.

With Jaap Stam´s future at the club far from certain, the Belgian international would look the ideal replacement.

Last month he revealed that Manchester United were keen to sign him.
SA Italy

will follow former team-mate Rio Ferdinand from Leeds to Manchester United in a £6m deal this summer ( Daily Star).

"Expect Crespo to be swapping sunny Milan for rainy Manchester in a swap deal with Veron "

Steve McManaman says Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson´s attempts to psyche out Real Madrid before the Champions League clash on Tuesday are doomed to failure ( Daily Express).

Newcastle face a Premier League tribunal investigating complaints of alleged mistreatment and bullying made by two of the club´s 18-year-old academy players ( Daily Mail).

George Best has backed Wayne Rooney to fulfil his billing as the next superstar of English football ( The Sun).

=> "lequipe.fr"

Un Géorgien à Schalke 04

Le milieu de terrain international géorgien de Fribourg ( D2 allemande), Lewan Kobiaschwili, a confirmé lundi s´être engagé pour la saison prochaine en faveur de Schalke 04 ( D1).

Kobiaschwili, 25 ans, à Fribourg depuis 1998, a indiqué avoir signé un contrat jusqu´en 2006 avec l´actuel 6e du Championnat d´Allemagne.

Milieu offensif, le Géorgien a inscrit 20 buts en 120 matches de Bundesliga avec Fribourg, qui est descendu en deuxième division la saison passée.

Selon le quotidien l´Alsace de lundi, l´Olympique de Marseille suivrait attentivement le buteur du Racing Club de Strasbourg, Danijel Ljuboja.
"Pascal ( ndlr : Johansen), que j´ai régulièrement au téléphone, m´avait déjà dit au mercato d´hiver qu´Alain Perrin m´appréciait et aimait bien mon jeu. Il m´en a reparlé il y a une quinzaine de jours. Mais vous savez, je ne me prends pas la tête avec ça. Entre un intérêt et une offre réelle, il y a une marge. Pour l´instant, ma priorité est de tout faire pour aider le Racing à se maintenir" a confié Ljuboja.

Acheté à Sochaux 3,8 millions d´ euros à l´intersaison 2000, l´international de la Serbie-Montenegro a encore un an de contrat à Strasbourg, jusqu´en juin 2004

Stan Collymore is considering a return to football - as manager of Southend United. ( Daily Star and Daily Mail).

Derby Country are set to tell Fabrizio Ravanelli he must take a 90% pay cut or leave the club. ( Daily Express)

Expect Crespo to be swapping sunny Milan for rainy Manchester in a swap deal with Veron(BBC)

Turkish reports claim Liverpool will make a summer bid for Bayer Leverkusen play-maker Yildiray Basturk. ( The Times)

Matthew Etherington has revealed he is considering options because of a lack of first-team opportunities at Spurs. ( Daily Mirror)

Veteran striker Teddy Sheringham is weighing up offers from other clubs as Spurs stall on a new contract. ( The Sun)

Newcastle are thought to be planning a summer raid for Benfica winger Simao Sabrosa. ( The Times)

Montpellier : Descamps signe un contrat pro de trois ans
08 avril 2003 - 12 h 00 -

Après Lafourcade Gathuessi et Mezague, c’est Jean-Matthieu Descamps qui vient de signer son premier contrat pro, pour trois saisons, en faveur du club montpelliérain.

Louis Nicolin pense à l’avenir. Plusieurs jeunes espoirs formés au club étaient très convoités. Lafourcade, Gathuessi, Mezague et Descamps n’étant que stagiaire, le président montpelliérain s’est donc empressé de leur signer un contrat pro. L’attaquant Jean-Matthieu Descamps est le dernier à parapher un contrat de trois ans avec le club de l’Hérault.

( sporever.fr)

Bochum recrute Diabang

Mamadou Lamine Diabang, qui porte cette saison les couleurs de l´Arminia Bielefeld, jouera la saison prochaine à Bochum. L´attaquant sénégalais s´est engagé pour quatre saisons, mais son contrat ne vaut que pour la première division.

( lequipe.fr)

=>au passage.....!

=>Ali Benarbia has hinted he may not still be at Manchester City for the start of next season.
The popular Algerian was credited as one of the main factors behind City´s return to the Premiership under Kevin Keegan last season.

However, he has not been as influential in the top flight and said he did not know whether he would see out the remaining year of his contract.

"If you are someone like Nicolas Anelka, who has played all the games this season, then you can think about next year," he said.

"For me it is totally different. I can´t think about next season until this one is over.

"I´m not surprised that I haven´t played so many matches this year but it´s one of the reasons why I haven´t been able to reproduce my form from the season before.

If the manager and the team need me I am ready to play

Ali Benarbia

"I play one game, then miss two, then I play a couple and miss another three. Under those circumstances, it´s hard to get into a rhythm.

"I have been working hard in training and I have shown people what I can do, so if the manager and the team need me I am ready to play."

Keegan is looking to trim his squad and Darren Huckerby and Paul Ritchie are already out on loan, while the future of loan signing Marc-Vivien Foe is in doubt after Keegan refused to meet Lyon´s £7m asking price.

Djamel Belmadi has not impressed since joining in January, and defender Steve Howey also looks set to leave after a bust-up with Keegan.

Meanwhile, Joey Barton hopes Kevin Keegan will keep faith with him and hand him his second start for the Premiership encounter with Middlesbrough on Saturday.

The midfielder admitted he had a few nerves on the eve of his Blues´ debut in the 2-0 defeat at Bolton on Saturday.

But despite that result, Barton said he felt he had a lot more to offer.

"I just want to play football and when you get over the first ten minutes that is all a Premiership match is - a game of football - eleven versus eleven," he told the club´s official website.

"There were nerves on Friday night before the game but they were not too bad.

"I think I believe in my own ability enough to get on with that. I knew I would not be out of place if I played as well as I can."

Esteban Fuertes, actuellement prêté par Lens à River Plate, aimerait rester chez les “Millionnaires”. Le club de Buenos Aires envisagerait de demander à son homologue artésien de renouveler le prêt en fin de saison.

Vers un échange Ambrosini-Tacchiniardi?

Les relations entre le Milan AC et la Juve sont excellentes depuis le transfert de Baggio chez les Rossoneri. C pour cela que Lippi, cherchant à renforcer son équipe au plan défensif, envisage de recruter Massimo Ambrosini, joueur de niveau international mais qui a du mal percer dans la Dream Team milanaise. En contrepartie, Tacchiniardi, lui aussi eternel grand espoir qui n a jamais confirmé, interesse Ancelotti. Affaire à suivre...
Par ailleurs, les 2 clubs ont trouvé 1 accord de non agression: la Juve beneficiera du soutien du Milan pour recruter Stam, et inversement pour Chivu et le Milan AC.

Enfin, d´après F. Baldini, directeur sportif de l´AS Roma, son club s´interesserait de près à Ibrahimovic ( Ajax) et Legrotaglie ( Chievo Verone)

"Pochettino attendu à l´Espanyol" ( lequipe.fr)

Le défenseur argentin du Paris SG Mauricio Pochettino a assisté dimanche au match de championnat d´Espagne entre le Celta Vigo et son ancien club, l´Espanyol Barcelone, où il a joué de 1994 à 2000. Les dirigeants catalans tentent de le faire revenir.

Le président de l´Espanyol Daniel Sanchez Llibre serait favorable à un retour de son ancien joueur dès cet été. Les deux partie ont promis de s´entendre sur un éventuel transfert à la fin de la saison 2002-2003.

Deux conditions toutefois pour que Pochettino retourne en Espagne : qu´il obtienne un bon de sortie du Paris SG et que l´Espanyol Barcelone se maintienne en Liga.

En 2000, Pochettino avait quitté le club catalan alors en pleine crise financière pour rejoindre le Paris SG.

"L´Athletic Bilbao suit Montero" ( lequipe.fr)

En fin de contrat à Guingamp au mois de juin 2003, Jean-Louis Montero a été supervisé par l´Athletic Bilbao. D´origine basque par ses parents, l´ex-Sedanais a été notamment formé à la Real Sociedad de San Sebastian

=>Manchester United are showing an interest in United States goalkeeper Tim Howard, as doubts persist over long-term future of Fabian Barthez. ( The Times and The Sun)

Manchester City may face the wrath of the Israeli Football Association after it emerged that Eyal Berkovic´s season could be over because of injury. City played Berkovic for the full 90 minutes on Saturday in his first game back from a serious groin injury. ( The Independent)

"Milan Baros is being lined up by Newcastle in the summer "

Former Middlesbrough midfielder Emerson wants to return to the Riverside this summer. ( Daily Mirror and Daily Star)

Leeds caretaker manager Peter Reid has told James Milner to pile on the muscle this summer so he can follow in Wayne Rooney´s footsteps next season. ( The Sun)

Spurs defender Dean Richards is hoping to be given the all-clear to resume training after spending a month on the sidelines with a back injury. ( The Sun)

Brighton´s 44-year-old goalkeeper Dave Beasant is looking for a one-year deal to extend his career into its 25th year. ( Daily Mail)

Newcastle stars Titus Bramble and Kieron Dyer have come to the aid of their cash-strapped former team Ipswich. The pair coughed up £2,000 to enable the Suffolk side´s Under-14 team to play in next week´s Nike Cup at Sunderland. ( Daily Star)

Newcastle have joined Arsenal and Manchester United in the chase for Spurs´ £10m-rated defender Stephen Carr. ( The Sun)

=>BBC........

Malbranque hints at Fulham exit

Steed Malbranque is a fans´ favourite at Fulham
Fulham midfielder Steed Malbranque has hinted he could join Jean Tigana in leaving the club in the summer, raising fears of a player exodus from Loftus Road.
The Frenchman was brought to west London two years ago by Tigana, who paid £4m to take him from Lyon.

Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier is known to be a fan of Malbranque, and the midfielder admitted he was "flattered" by the rumours linking him with a switch to Anfield.

"I have three more years to run on my contract but I most certainly have the possibility to leave at the end of the season," he said.

"I´m concentrating on the matches we have left, but at the appropriate time, I´ll study the offers open to me, if any come up.

"I´m flattered that a club like Liverpool might be interested. But I´m young and I want to play matches."

The players have big questions about their futures and I don´t have the answer

Jean Tigana

Tigana will leave the club in the summer after a two-year contract extension was withdrawn.

That will mean his successor will have to deal with eight players whose contracts or loans expire at the end of the season.

Andy Melville, Maik Taylor, Lee Clark and John Collins are among those whose contracts expire in the summer.

Steve Marlet, the club´s record signing has also warned the fates of the French quintet of himself, Malbranque, Sylvain Legwinski, Louis Saha and Alain Goma are "linked to Tigana´s".

Tigana admitted his departure has thrown many of his star´s futures into jeopardy.

"The players have a big question about their futures and I don´t have the answer," he said.

"They didn´t say much to me in the meeting when I told them I was leaving.

"We just talked for five or 10 minutes but I´ve told them they must serve the club."

Fulham : Malbranque sur le départ ?

Les rumeurs vont bon train concernant l´exode des joueurs en fin de saison suite à l´annonce du départ de Jean Tigana en juin. Steed Malbranque, arrivé à Londres à la demande de l´entraîneur français, pourrait ainsi décider de changer d´horizon.

Sur le site internet de la BBC, le milieu de terrain des Cottagers évoque, en effet, son possible départ de Fulham " Il me reste encore trois ans de contrat mais je pourrais avoir la possibilité de quitter le club en juin. Je suis pour le moment concentré sur les derniers matches de la saison, mais au moment opportun, j´étudierais les différentes propositions qui se présenteront. Je suis également très flatté de l´intérêt que me porte Liverpool. Mais je suis encore jeune et ma priorité est de jouer. "

Steed Malbranque ne devrait pas être le seul à s´interroger sur son avenir dans quelques semaines. Les joueurs "issus" du championnat de France et lié par conséquent à Jean Tigana, pourraient également suivre la même démarche. Steve Marlet, Sylvain Legwinski, Louis Saha et Alain Goma sont dans ce cas de figure.

Enfin, le successeur de Jean Tigana devra étudier les cas de huit joueurs dont les contrats arrivent à terme, ou qui sont prêtés. Parmi eux, Andy Melville, Maik Taylor, Lee Clark ou encore John Collins.

( lequipe.fr)

Kanoute´s future in doubt

Kanoute has not made an impression this year
Freddie Kanoute has denied rumours he wanted to quit West Ham - but his agent has warned he ultimately wants to play European football.
The Hammers are four points from safety in the Premiership relegation zone and fighting for survival.

Kanoute, 25, dismissed reports he would like to move after the campaign´s final match on 11 May at Birmingham, but his long term future is still in doubt.

"I haven´t said I want to leave or spoken to anyone about leaving - so you can tell people it´s not true," Kanoute told the club´s official website.

"I´m just coming back from injury. I just want to play and we´ll see what happens in the summer."

Kanoute´s agent Willie McKay said his client remained loyal to West Ham despite interest from Liverpool and Fulham last year - but still wanted to test himself against Europe´s best.

"I think Freddie wants to play for a club who are in Europe. That´s always been his aim," he said.

"He could have left last year as both Liverpool and Fulham were interested in him - but he stayed.

"Gerard Houllier´s still a big fan of his and Freddie´s had a frustrating season.

"Obviously he wants to play and he´s not playing at the moment, is he?"

Kanoute, a substitute in the 1-1 weekend draw at Southampton, and has only scored three goals this season.

( BBC)

Spurs set for summer spending

Hoddle has had little cash to strengthen his squad
Tottenham boss Glenn Hoddle will be given the backing of the White Hart Lane board to strengthen his squad this summer.
The under-fire former England boss will have a substantial transfer kitty to dip into according to Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.

But, in a letter to supporters, Levy also criticised the performances of Hoddle´s side over the last three months.

Spurs are eighth in the Premiership and struggling to catch Liverpool and Blackburn in the race for a Uefa Cup spot.

"This summer, we intend to strengthen and add depth to the squad in preparation for next season," wrote Levy.

"While our performances in the latter part of 2002 were good, our start to this year has not seen us perform at a level we all desire and expect."

Levy insisted Spurs are in good shape despite the collapse of the transfer market and their failure to land a host of targets - including Fernando Morientes and Michael Ricketts - in January.

"Our club is in a stable financial position but the market is not, so I look forward to next season on our steadfast footing."

Hoddle has already spoken of his desire to strengthen his squad at the end of the season.

He has also said the club needs to secure European to help entice a higher quality of player to the club

( BBC)

"Conserver les joueurs prêtés" ( lequipe.fr)

Après la prolongation des contrats de ses techniciens, l´OGC Nice cherche maintenant à conserver les joueurs arrivés au club l´été dernier sous forme de prêt.

Selon Gernot Rohr, Rennes aimerait récupérer 600 000 euros pour lâcher Yohann Bigné et 300 000 pour Christophe Meslin. Nice aurait également entamé des négociations avec Marseille pour s´approprier définitivement Damien Grégorini et Jacques Abardonado.

L´OGCN négocie aussi avec Romain Pitau et Abdelmalek Cherrad pour leur faire prolonger leur contrat. Pitau a reconnu être tout proche d´accepter une proposition de deux années supplémentaires.

Enfin un accord de principe a été trouvé avec Bakary Diakité, un jeune attaquant allemand de 22 ans qui arrive en fin de contrat avec l´Eintracht Francfort.

"Thomert reste au club" ( lequipe.fr)

En mauvais termes depuis plusieurs semaines, Olivier Thomert, l´attaquant du RC Lens, et Joël Muller, son entraîneur, ont finalement enterré la hache de guerre. Muller a précisé que son joueur avait un plan de carrière avec les Sang et Or.

Gervais Martel, le président du Racing, a également précisé que Thomert était un joueur d´avenir mais qu´il devait encore faire ses preuves sur le terrain et qu´il serait toujours Lensois la saison prochaine.

Arrivé à Lens l´été dernier en provenance du Mans, ayant signé un contrat qui court jusqu´en 2007, Olivier Thomert avait été approché par les clubs anglais de West Ham et de Southampton.

"West Ham : Kanouté n´est pas partant" ( lequipe.fr)

Frédéric Kanouté a démenti les rumeurs faisant état de son départ de West Ham, sur le site internet du club londonien. "Je n´ai jamais dit à qui que ce soit que je voulais partir, et je peux affirmer que ces rumeurs sont fausses".

=>son agent s´est charge de dire a sa place qu´il partait alors....