Football news

Tottenham Hotspur are still interested in signing Real Madrid striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar despite having secured the services of Peter Crouch, manager Harry Redknapp said.

Redknapp, who signed England forward Crouch on Monday, said he needed plenty of competition among his forwards if he was to achieve his goal of winning a place in Europe next season.

"If you look at his goalscoring it's absolutely incredible," Redknapp told reporters ahead of today's Asia Trophy final against Hull City.

"If he's available, he's a player that interests me. If Darren Bent does go then maybe we'll be interested in Huntelaar again."

Juve want to keep Trezeguet

Juventus have every intention of holding on to David Trezeguet club director Alessio Secco told reporters yesterday.

The Frenchman has attracted interest from a number of top European clubs this summer amid speculation he could leave Turin but Secco has other plans for the veteran forward.

"I have already made it clear that Trezeguet is not a problem for us, but an option.

"David has unique characteristics and we are happy to keep him with us. If he asks to be released and if an offer comes in, we will consider it," Secco said.

"So far we have not received any offers in line with his worth. Therefore he will remain with us."

Elano heads to Galatasaray

Manchester City playmaker Elano has joined Turkish side Galatasaray for an undisclosed fee, the Premier League club confirmed yesterday.

Elano was a fans' favourite at Eastlands when he joined the club from Shakhtar Donetsk two years ago, but he decided to move on after falling out of favour with manager Mark Hughes last season.

"Manchester City can confirm that Elano has completed his transfer to Turkish side Galatasaray," a statement on the club's website announced.

The 28-year-old, who is believed to have cost Galatasaray around eight million pounds, scored 18 goals in 80 appearances for City.

Everton reject bid for Lescott

Everton have rejected an improved £18 million ($29.67 million) offer from Manchester City for defender Joleon Lescott, having turned down a £15 million bid two weeks ago.

"We can confirm we have received an offer of £18 million for Joleon Lescott from Manchester City and that offer has been rejected outright," the club said.

The 26-year-old England international, who joined Everton from Wolves in 2006, is currently on tour with the club in the United States.

City failed in their bid to buy England captain John Terry from Chelsea but did strengthen their defence on Wednesday with the acquisition of Kolo Toure from Arsenal.

Hleb moves back to Stuttgart

Barcelona midfielder Aleksandr Hleb has agreed a one-year loan move to former club VfB Stuttgart.

The Belarus international had originally been included in the swap deal that took Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barca from Inter with Samuel Eto'o going in the opposite direction on Monday.

However, Spanish media reported the player preferred a return to the Bundesliga rather than a move to the Serie A.

The 28-year-old struggled to break into Pep Guardiola's treble-winning side last season and had been left out of the squad for their tour of the United States, which started on Wednesday.

Bayern Munich, Klinsmann settle contract

Bayern Munich yesterday reached a settlement with former coach Juergen Klinsmann to end his contract after he was sacked in April.

Klinsmann, who surprisingly joined Bayern in 2008, was given a two-year deal until 2010 but was axed five matches before the end of his first season.

"Bayern and Klinsmann have mutually agreed today to immediately end the contract running to June 30, 2010," the club said.

Both sides had agreed to keep details private.

Jupp Heynckes took over for the remainder of the season, guiding them to second place and a spot in this year's Champions League.

Alonso hands in transfer request

Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso has handed in a transfer request in an attempt to seal a move to Real Madrid, according to reports in England yesterday.

Real are keen to make Alonso their latest big-money signing but Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has been holding out for a £35 million transfer fee.

However, the Spanish club aren't willing to pay more than £28 million and the Liverpool Echo claims Alonso has tried to force Benitez to sell by asking to leave.

Benitez is now believed to want Alonso to either complete the move or commit to Liverpool by the weekend.

On Wednesday Liverpool sold defender Alvaro Arbeloa to Real for £3.5 million and they expect the delayed four million pounds move of Andrea Dossena to Napoli to be concluded by the weekend.