Emile Heskey is still without a club after leaving Aston Villa in May. The veteran striker has been training with former club Wigan this summer and this week turned down offers from Blackpool to play for them next season.
The 34-year-old has been linked with a move to a number of Championship sides including Blackburn, Ipswich and Hull City over the summer. And Blackpool boss Ian Holloway had hoped to beat them to his signature only to be turned down.
“Unfortunately he has got other things in the pipeline and he is not interested in coming to us. So that is dead and buried,” Holloway said.
Ghezzal linked with Torino move
Algeria international striker Abdelkader Ghezzal, 27, is being linked with a move to Serie A newcomers Torino.
Ghezzal has been playing in the Italian league since 2005.
Last season, he was on loan at Cesena and Levante in the Spanish league before returning to his parent club Bari.
Torino have already signed Mario Santana and Guillermo Rodriguez from Cesena as the Maroons are looking to add more players to their squad with Sampdoria’s Angelo Palombo also in talks to join the newly-promoted side this summer.
Arshavin could join Galatasaray
Andrei Arshavin is ready to part with Arsenal and join Galatasaray in Turkey, his agent was quoted as saying yesterday.
The Russia captain spent the second half of last season on loan at Zenit SP and he is expected to leave Arsenal this summer.
Galatasaray is one possible destination, with Arshavin’s agent, Dennis Lachter, indicating a move to Turkey is possible.
Lachter said: “We have no problem going to Turkey.”
Arsenal are thought to want £7m for a player who they paid £15m for in the winter of 2009.
Rangers sign striker Sandaza
Rangers have signed striker Francisco Sandaza from St Johnstone after he turned down a new deal with the Perth side.
The move means that instead of playing in the top flight this season, the 27-year-old Spaniard will link up with Gers boss Ally McCoist in the Third Division.
The former Dundee United frontman Sandaza came close to signing a pre-contract agreement with Rangers in January before the deal fell through.
He said: “I’m delighted to finally come here and to play for this great club. I wanted to come in January but that didn’t happen.
“I can’t wait to start playing for this team. When I arrived four years ago I didn’t speak any English but I knew I wanted to play for a big club like this, at Ibrox in front of a full stadium.”
Chelsea close on Moses deal
Chelsea appear to be getting closer to signing Wigan forward Victor Moses and Marseille right-back Cesar Azpilicueta.
Blues chief executive Ron Gourlay is said to have contacted Latics chairman Dave Whelan on Monday to discuss a fresh bid for Moses.
Marseille president Vincent Labrune, meanwhile, has told L’Equipe his side have received a “very serious” offer for Spaniard Azpilicueta.
Chelsea have already had a bid rejected for Moses, with Whelan said to be holding out for at least £8.5 million.
Murray – don’t take titles away
Former owner David Murray has hit out at the possibility of Rangers being stripped of league titles as part of an investigation into alleged undisclosed payments to players.
The Scottish Premier League last week appointed an independent commission to determine whether Rangers breached rules in relation to Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) payments and arrangements for players between 2001 and 2010.
Murray said: “During my stewardship of Rangers no rules were breached and I reject any suggestion that anything was done which amounted to cheating.
“I cannot be anything other than angered at the suggestion Rangers should be stripped of titles or other competition victories.”
Referees banned for poor show
The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) has suspended three referees for poor officiating in domestic league matches.
Krasimir Popov, Dimitar Manolov and Ivan Mihaylov have been taken off the roster for an unspecified period, the BFU’s refereeing commission said, less than a week before the start of the new Bulgarian league season.
“It’s true that the three referees have been taken off the list,” Nikolay Dzhuganski, who was appointed as the commission’s chief last week, was quoted as saying by the local media.
“There are several reasons (for their suspension) with poor refereeing and lack of adequate reports in some matches among them,” added Dzhuganski.