Football news

Hamburg SV have agreed a transfer deal with Schalke 04 for goalkeeper Frank Rost.

They will pay an initial fee of 800,000 euros and another 200,000 if they stay in the first division league.

Rost, 33, has signed a contract with Hamburg SV to June 30, 2009 and is expected to join the club immediately.

Juve back in for Mascherano

Juventus are believed to have rekindled their interest in Javier Mascherano and hope to beat Liverpool for his signature.

West Ham boss Alan Curbishley insisted last week that Mascherano could not leave Upton Park because of FIFA regulations. However, Liverpool are hopeful that FIFA would give their green light for a loan move.

But Juventus, who last week said they would not be pursuing Mascherano, now look to be back in the bidding.

Juve's sporting director Alessio Secco has flown to London for talks with West Ham to re-open negotiations. He is expected to offer defender Jonathan Zebina to the Hammers as part of the deal.

Inter refused Figo bidding war

Inter balked at the £5.7m per season offered by Al-Ittihad, so they had no choice but to release Luis Figo, the club said yesterday. The Portuguese veteran will be a free agent at the end of the season, but has already penned a new contract with the Arabian side.

"We had offered Figo a year-long extension to his contract, but not at the same figures as the Saudis were proposing," Inter technical director Marco Branca said.

"He made a choice, but until June he will stay with us. It was simply implausible that he would be allowed to leave in January."

The Al-Ittihad deal makes the 34-year-old former Sporting, Barca and Real Madrid player one of the highest paid players in the world.

Trezeguet tempted by Diego call

David Trezeguet admits he'd run to Boca Juniors if legend Diego Maradona requested his services.

"Diego would like me at Boca? I'd find it difficult to say no if that was the case. He puts such passion into his football, but right now that option isn't on the table," he told Argentine newspaper 'Ole'.

It is believed that this will be Trezeguet's last season at Juventus after becoming the club's most prolific foreign scorer in Serie A. Although he is a French international, he spent his formative years in Argentina and was a youth team player for Platense.

Former Napoli hero Maradona has returned to his homeland as a director for Boca Juniors.

Chelsea linked with strikers

British media yesterday linked Chelsea with moves for strikers Milan Baros and Darren Bent. The Daily Mirror claims Baros, of Aston Villa, has emerged as Jose Mourinho's main target after the Stamford Bridge supremo was first asked £25 million for Bent from Charlton.

Baros has failed to make a major impact at Villa Park since his switch from Liverpool and Chelsea are believed to want another forward to take the pressure off Andriy Shevchenko.

However, The Sun reported that Bent could still be heading across London. The newspaper says Chelsea have now been asked to pay £18 million for him and are preparing their response.

Cagliari's Esposito out for season

Cagliari have lost midfielder Mauro Esposito for the rest of the season. The winger damaged knee ligaments in training on Thursday.

Scans have now confirmed that Esposito is unlikely to see action for six months, although it is not yet known whether he will need surgery or not.

The injury to Esposito means Antonio Langella's expected departure may be put on hold until the summer.

Fanfan in Reading talks

Jose Karl Pierre Fanfan is in talks over a move to Reading. The 31-year-old defender has been without a club since leaving Rangers in the summer. The Frenchman was a target for a host of sides in France but a move failed to materialise.

He remains without a club but according to L'Equipe, Reading are trying to tempt him into a move to the Madejski Stadium.

Steve Coppell is thought to be keen to add some veteran presence to his relatively inexperienced defence.

Cesar eyes Italian comeback

Former Inter and Lazio man Cesar Aparecido is looking for a return to Italy because his family is "homesick."

The left-winger was loaned out to the Brazilian club in the summer after failing to settle at Inter, but could return to the San Siro - or another Serie A side - in the next few weeks.

'Saudade' is the term given by the South Americans for the anxiety they feel away from their homeland, but in a bizarre twist, Cesar's Brazilian family is missing the Italian lifestyle.