Football news

Midfielder Blaise Matuidi could leave St Etienne next year to join Arsenal for a fee estimated at £10 million. The U-21 international was a target of Arsene Wenger last summer but the Ligue 1 club opposed any possible move.

Matuidi is set for talks with St Etienne as he considers his future.

"I asked myself questions after Arsenal showed their interest," Matuidi said.

"An opportunity to join them is not something ordinary. It gives you great self-esteem - it is Arsenal. At the end of the season we will have talks, anything is possible."

Rocchi setback

Tommaso Rocchi suffered another injury setback in training this week and could face a period on the sidelines.

The Lazio striker missed the start of the season after fracturing his foot while playing for Italy in the Olympics. He recovered in time for last weekend's game against Bologna and scored his team's goal in a 3-1 defeat.

Rocchi fell to the ground in pain during Thursday's friendly against Aprilia and limped back to the dressing room. Initial reports suggested that the problem could be serious and may rule him out of action for a month.

Bergkamp to focus on coaching

Dennis Bergkamp, the former Holland and Arsenal striker, is mulling a return to English football as a coach.

"People ask me the question if I could come back to England one day to coach and I say yes," the 39-year-old said.

"I always enjoyed it there and it's a fantastic country to be involved in football. Maybe in the future I will be back in some way."

Bergkamp has already started working towards his coaching badges.

"As soon as I obtain my badges I would like to work with youngsters, probably over in Holland," he said.

Bergkamp played over 400 games for Arsenal and 79 times for Holland.

Beckham option

David Beckham's potential move to Milan is still at an 'exploratory' stage, a senior Major League Soccer official said, insisting the player will need to return for the start of the 2009 MLS season.

MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis, who has the final say on all player transactions including loans, said the deal will not go ahead unless Galaxy are sure that Beckham will return for the opening of the season in March.

"We are in exploratory talks to look at whether the opportunity makes sense for Galaxy and David. If it does then things will go forward," Gazidis said.

With the European transfer window only opening in January, Beckham would have less than three months to play with Milan before he is needed to be back in the States.

Nakamura poised for Japan return

Celtic's Shunsuke Nakamura is reportedly poised for a return to Yokohama F-Marinos in Japan's J-League. Japan media reported that Nakamura will rejoin Yokohama, who are preparing an offer of more than $10 million, to re-sign the midfielder in January's transfer window.

Yokohama officials said they had been in contact with Nakamura but no agreement had been reached.

"There's a lot of speculation but nothing has been decided," Yokohama's Masanori Hakamada said.

Although a price tag of $10 million would be beyond the budget of most J-League clubs, Yokohama are backed by Japanese auto giant Nissan.

Redknapp blasts Slovenian ref

Harry Redknapp blasted referee Darko Ceferin after Portsmouth's 3-0 UEFA Cup defeat to Braga in Portugal on Thursday.

The Slovenian official cautioned two Portsmouth players and disallowed Papa Bouba Diop's header for a foul.

"From the start of the game I just felt the referee had no idea whatsoever, it was frightening," the Portsmouth manager said.

"Where was he from? Slovakia? Slovenia? I'm sure it's a good league there and he's been handling lots of big games."

Portsmouth's next group match is against Milan at Fratton Park on November 27.

Linesman admits mistakes

Alex Verstraeten, the Belgian assistant referee for the match between Manchester United and Celtic, said he had committed a mistake at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Celtic lost 3-0 but Dimitar Berbatov's opening two goals appeared to be offside.

Verstraeten said: "This is the first time we have made a mistake in 52 international matches. We have not yet talked about it as a group. I admit to the mistakes, but we also ask for understanding.

"Some players argue their case in front of us. But no Celtic player protested at the time. That proves the offside decisions were very tight."