Sporting briefs

Chamakh: Jean-Louis Triaud, the Bordeaux owner, rubbished speculation linking striker Marouane Chamakh with Arsenal. The Gunners are reported to be weighing up a €6 million approach for the Morocco international. "Arsene Wenger hasn't called me to say he is interested in signing Chamakh," Triaud said. "Who has talked about Chamakh going to Arsenal? Journalists. These are just stories without foundation."

Saenko out: Russia striker Ivan Saenko will be out for the rest of the year with a knee injury, his club Spartak Moscow said. Saenko, 25, who joined Spartak from German club Nuremberg last August, will miss Russia's final four World Cup qualifiers, including an encounter with Group Four leaders Germany in Moscow on Oct. 10. Russia are second in the group.

Court ruling: Prisa's Sogecable unit will appeal a court decision ordering it to pay €29.1 million plus interest to Barcelona in TV rights for the 2007/08 season, the Spanish media firm said. A court on Thursday ruled in favour of the Primera Liga champions, saying Sogecable's Audiovisual Sport unit and Televisio de Catalunya had to make the payment and cover the costs of the legal action.

Manucho: Real Valladolid reached an agreement to sign Manucho from Manchester United. After spending much of last season on loan at Hull City, Manucho was expected to return to Old Trafford . Instead, the 26-year-old has been tempted by the offer of regular first-team football in the Primera Liga and he is due in Valladolid for a medical.

Southampton: Former Charlton and West Ham boss Alan Pardew has joined English League One side Southampton as manager. The Saints, relegated from the Championship into the third tier of English football at the end of last season, were last week saved from financial collapse when Swiss businessman Markus Liebherr took over the club. One of the new owner's first moves was to sack Dutchman Mark Wotte as first-team coach, replacing him with the 47-year-old Pardew.

Hargreaves: Manchester United and England midfielder Owen Hargreaves could be back in action in September, a year after a serious knee injury. The 28-year-old has been plagued by the knee injuries since his £18 million move from Bayern Munich in 2007 and it had been feared that he may not play again this year.