Meteb Claims TOFFEES Deal

Emad Meteb's agent claims the Egypt international will be joining Everton in January.

The striker, currently on loan at Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad, saw a summer move to Championship side Bristol City fall through.

But now it is claimed his dream move to England will come to fruition courtesy of a switch to Goodison Park.

"I travelled to England a week ago to agree on the final details of the contract with Everton," his agent Mohamed Hamid told the Egyptian media.

"We agreed on everything. Emad was informed about the course of negotiations, and he is glad about it."

It is claimed Everton could pay as much as £2million to his parent club Al Ahly.

Meanwhile, Everton are understood to have opened contract talks with Jack Rodwell.

The highly-rated 17-year-old's current deal expires at the end of the season and David Moyes is determined to keep hold of the player - who has broken into his first-team this season.

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Crocked Owen sent to Steadman

The Manchester United midfielder has not been fully fit since he joined the Old Trafford outfit from Bayern Munich last summer.

Although the 27-year-old was able to play in last season's Champions League final triumph over Chelsea, the pain he experienced when he returned to training this summer was as bad as ever.

United have tried to be patient, giving Hargreaves a course of injections they felt would allow him to play pain-free for the remainder of the season.

But it is now clear the move has not worked, leaving them little alternative than to send the 27-year-old to Colorado for a meeting with Steadman - who names Ruud van Nistelrooy and Michael Owen among his high-profile clients - after consultations in Sweden and London appear to have drawn a blank.

"We have been trying to manage the situation but that has not given us an answer," United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said.

"In the past 10 days we have sent him to a specialist in Sweden and one in London. There has been no real answer there so now he is in Colorado to see Dr Steadman.

"We are trying to get to the root of it. We have been frustrated and patient but we really need to speed that up now.

"That is why we have sent him to the best available people to try and get a general opinion about where we go from here."

United will wait for Dr Steadman to deliver his verdict before deciding the next course of action for Hargreaves.

No-one is mentioning retirement but there must be a nagging fear that the Calgary-born star will never be rid of a problem he first became aware of prior to his £18million move to United.

"Of course it is difficult when you are out for such a long time through injury," said Ferguson. "It is frustrating for the lad and we want to try and help him.

"With tendinitis at the front of the knee, when he gets involved in football-related training, the pain really surfaces."

It is no surprise United and Hargreaves are placing their faith in Steadman, even though most of his football-related work has centred on cruciate ligament injuries.

"He started his career working with skiers," said Ferguson. "Because he has dealt with so many knee injuries, he has obviously acquired a great knowledge.

"He is not associated with this type of injury but the boy has gone on for too long just hoping injections will do the trick." - teamtalk.com

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Arshavin Wants to Leave Zenit

Zenit St Petersburg forward Andrei Arshavin has reiterated his desire to leave the club, insisting he will not be playing for the side next season.

The Russian season is nearing its conclusion and speculation surrounding Arshavin's proposed move away from Zenit, possibly to the Premier League, is set to mount once more during the winter transfer window.


Arshavin was on the verge of a move to Tottenham following Russia's Euro 2008 campaign over the summer, but the move broke down when Zenit raised the asking price of the player to a reported 27 million euros.

And Arshavin is adamant if such a situation occurs again, this time he is ready for a fight.

"It all comes down to one thing - for Zenit to set a realistic price," Arshavin told Sport Express. "If they do that, I will, of course, leave.

"[If not] I will remain a Zenit player, but only on paper. Next year I don't want to play here and I will not be playing here.

"That is not an ultimatum, rather a natural reaction to what has happened. I always believed we could come to an agreement on good terms and I could leave the team in a proper manner.

"I have conducted myself reasonably, but the longer things go on the less faith I have. It looks like some kind of conflict is unavoidable, although, as God is my witness, I more than anyone don't want that to happen."

Since their UEFA Cup victory over Rangers in May, Arshavin has enjoyed further successes with Zenit, who beat Manchester United to the European Super Cup in Monaco in August.

The player is also experiencing Champions League football for the first time in his career as Zenit continue to battle for a place in the knockout stages in a group featuring Juventus, Real Madrid and BATE Borisov.

But in spite of this increased success, Arshavin's motivation clearly lies elsewhere.

"Everyone tells me that I have won things having stayed at Zenit, in particular the Super Cup," he continued.

"But this isn't the most important thing. The most important thing is a feeling of inner fulfilment, and I don't feel that at all.

"I also feel that my team-mates are not getting any pleasure out of playing with me by seeing me in this way."

It is not yet clear whether Tottenham will follow up their interest in the playmaker in light of recent developments at the club.

Spurs have undergone dramatic stages since they approached Zenit for Arshavin in the summer, with the club instead turning to his Russia international team-mate Roman Pavlyuchenko to fill the gap up front.

The London club also recently replaced Spanish coach Juande Ramos - who Arshavin previously specified as an important factor in his proposed move to White Hart Lane - with Harry Redknapp.

But Arshavin admits he has not been personally following the trials and tribulations of Spurs.

"If I'm honest I haven't seen a single [Tottenham] game. I don't need to - I get a full report of what's happening there," he said.

"After the epic of my failed transfer in the summer, a lot of people at Zenit are following this team now." - sportinglife.com

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Milan Ready For Beckham Talks

AC Milan have confirmed that talks regarding a proposed loan deal for David Beckham will begin on Thursday.

With the England international having completed the MLS season at LA Galaxy, he is now actively seeking a switch to Europe.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid winger is desperate to remain part of Fabio Capello's international plans, and realises he must be playing regular football in order to achieve that aim.

As a result, he looks set to swap life in Hollywood for that in Milan as the Rossoneri close in on a deal with his American employees.

AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani revealed that discussions were due to start next week but have been brought forward in order to push a deal through.

Beckham's lawyers will now meet with San Siro bosses to thrash out an agreement which will see the experienced midfielder head to Italy until the MLS gets underway again in March.

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Barcelona tempt Materazzi

Following his row with Roberto Mancini and teammate Julio Cruz, there are reports Marco Materazzi is considering a move to Barcelona.
The Inter defender made himself very unpopular among fans and players alike when he insisted on taking the penalty – which was saved – in the 2-2 draw with Siena despite the fact Cruz was the designated spot-kick specialist.
If the Nerazzurri fail to win the Scudetto this weekend, many will blame Matrix and that could prove decisive in his consideration of a transfer to La Liga.
It is claimed in Catalan newspaper Sport that new Barca boss Pep Guardiola is looking to bring in more physical players to help complete the highly technical side.
Considering Gabriel Milito is out of action for nine months and Lilian Thuram is set to leave, he is turning to Materazzi.
The reports from Spain suggest Barcelona will offer Deco and Giovani dos Santos as part of the transfer.
The Portuguese international midfielder has long been linked with Inter. (http://www.channel4.com/)

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Ibrahimovic Commited To Inter

Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic has no intention of leaving Internazionale despite speculation linking him with a move abroad.

The Inter forward has been a reported target of Real Madrid and Chelsea, but Ibrahimovic has insisted he intends to remain at the San Siro.

"I am happy at Inter and my future is with Inter," said Ibrahimovic. "I have no problems with coach Roberto Mancini."

The 26-year-old, who is under contract with the Nerazzurri until June 2010, is recovering from a knee complaint which has seen him sit out the past five league games.

Ibrahimovic's absence has hindered Inter's progress to a third consecutive Scudetto as they have seen their lead at the top cut to one point by Roma with one round of games remaining.

The Nerazzurri foward joined Inter in a 24.8million euro (£19.6million) transfer fee from Juventus two years ago and is currently Inter's top scorer with 15 league goals struck this campaign.(www.sportinglife.com)

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Bosingwa Set For Chelsea

Chelsea are set to win the race to sign Portuguese star Jose Bosingwa after agreeing a deal with Porto.

The Blues have struck a deal worth £16.2 million with Porto and the player has flown to London for talks and a medical.

The player's agent Jorge Mendes has accompanied his client as Chelsea look to seal the deal in the next 48 hours.

Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa have all made moves for the 25-year-old in recent months but it appears Chelsea have held them off to land the highly-rated full-back.

Porto announced a deal was done in a statement to the Portuguese Stock Exchange: "We inform the market that we have an understanding with Chelsea for the rights to our player Jose Bosingwa for the price of 20.5million euros.

"More information on the relative agreement of the transfer will be legalised once the player concludes the medical examinations that he is now having with the permission of Porto football club." (www.sportinglife.com)

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ADEBAYOR BLASTS EXIT RUMOURS

Emmanuel Adebayor has labelled reports he is set to leave Arsenal as "rubbish".
The Togo international has enjoyed a fine campaign at the spearhead of the Gunners attack - even if his impressive personal haul of 30 goals so far was not able to secure any silverware for the Gunners.
However, it had been claimed the 24-year-old - signed from Monaco in January 2006 - was ready to follow Mathieu Flamini, who has agreed to join AC Milan on a free transfer, out of Emirates Stadium unless he was handed a new bumper pay deal.
Adebayor, though, has vehemently denied the reports and pledged his allegiance to Arsene Wenger's men.
"I am very happy here. Reports which suggest I have threatened to quit are rubbish," he said in a statement this afternoon.
"I love the club and the fans.
"We have a great set of players here with a fantastic team spirit.
"We have had a good season, but next year we want to go one better by winning a trophy."
(http://www.sportinglife.com/)

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