Former Liverpool wing-back John Arne Riise is close to sealing a return to the English Premier League, with Fulham expected to agree a deal with Italian Serie A side Roma.
“He’s coming for a medical. If that’s okay we’ve got ourselves a very good player,” said Fulham manager Martin Jol of the Norway left-back.
Riise’s younger brother Bjorn Helge Riise is already on the books at Fulham and came off the bench in Thursday’s Europa League first qualifying round, second leg goalless draw with NSI Runavik of the Faroe Islands.
Anelka accepts libel defeat
Nicolas Anelka will not contest a court decision to rule against him in his legal action with L’Equipe over their reporting of his World Cup outburst, his agent said.
Anelka had claimed €150,000 in damages from L’Equipe over their coverage of his altercation with coach Raymond Domenech at half-time of France’s 2-0 Group A defeat by Mexico on June 17 last year.
Anelka was subsequently banned for 18 matches by the FFF, effectively ending his international career.
L’Equipe were cleared of libel by a court in Paris on July 1, with the two journalists who had written the report, Raphael Raymond and Damien Degorre, judged to have just been doing their job.
Barcelona still lead Sanchez race
Gino Pozzo, the son of Udinese owner Giampaolo Pozzo, believes Barcelona are still the number one candidates to sign highly-rated winger Alexis Sanchez this summer.
Udinese confirmed this week that Napoli had joined the race to acquire the Chile international.
“First of all we want to exhaust all possible negotiations with Barcelona and for that we will need to wait until next week to see what happens,” Pozzo said.
“We are in no hurry because Alexis is competing in the Copa America. We are talking about a 50 million euros transfer deal, and Napoli and Inter are far away from those figures.”
Aquilani wanted to stay in Italy – agent
Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani wanted to remain in Italy next season but received no suitable offers, according to his agent.
Aquilani spent last season on loan at Juventus but was not offered a permanent stay despite making 33 Serie A appearances for the Turin giants.
The 26-year-old was linked with a move to Milan and Napoli this summer but confirmed earlier this month he will play for the Reds outfit next season.
“Alberto’s thoughts were to stay in Italy, but this was not possible,” Aquilani’s agent Franco Zavaglia said. “He had a positive season (at Juventus).
“I don’t know if in this market there will be the possibility for him to return to Italy and it’s a shame that our players are forced to go and play away from Italy.”
Amauri eager to stick with Juve
Amauri hopes to remain at Juventus after returning to the club this summer following a successful six-month loan spell at Parma.
The 31-year-old has been linked with a move to Parma, Milan and Palermo, but his agent insists the player wants to stay in Turin and prove himself to new coach Antonio Conte.
“Amauri is currently in pre-season training with Juventus,” Giampiero Pocetta told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“He is a proud man and he has every intention to prove his worth to new Juventus coach Antonio Conte.”
The Brazil-born player is under contract with Juve for a further season.
Reja excited by Cisse arrival
Lazio coach Edy Reja hopes his club will soon complete the signing of Panathinaikos forward Djibril Cisse.
The Serie A outfit held talks with Panathinaikos to sign the France international but the deal remains on hold, with Lazio still having to offload a striker.
“It would be a great signing,” Reja said. “I call Cisse ‘the beast’ for how he moves on the pitch.
“I hope he arrives but, before that, we need one for one of our forwards to leave.”
Cisse, who is under contract with the Greek outfit until June 2013, is set to move to Lazio in a six million euros transfer deal and will sign a four-year contract.
Motta not eyeing Inter exit
Thiago Motta’s agent insisted the Italy midfielder wants to stay at Inter next season and has not turned down a move to Arsenal.
Reports in Italy have linked the 28-year-old with a move away from the San Siro this summer, with the Gunners among the clubs reportedly interested in his services.
However, his agent Daniele Canovi told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “The player has never turned down an offer from Arsenal.
“He wants to remain at Inter and if the coach (Gian Piero) Gasperini wants him, he will continue to wear the Nerazzurri colours.”
Motta joined Inter in summer 2009 from Genoa and played a key role in the club winning a Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League treble in his first season.