Wigan Athletic have signed Jamaica striker Marlon King from English Championship (second division) team Watford for an undisclosed fee.
"He's a proven finisher who gives us a different kind of goal-scoring threat," manager Steve Bruce said.
King's five million pounds ($9.79 million) transfer to Fulham collapsed last week. Media reports said he failed a medical but that was denied by the 27-year-old.
Mancini misses out on award
Roberto Mancini, who led league leaders Inter to last year's Serie A title, has been overlooked in the Italian Player Association's nominations for 2007 manager of the year.
Carlo Ancelotti, coach of world and European champions Milan, is in the running for the award in tomorrow's ceremony. So too is Fiorentina's Cesare Prandelli and Roma's Luciano Spalletti.
Roma's Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi face competition from Milan's Andrea Pirlo for the Italian player of the year award while Inter's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kaka, of Milan, and Fiorentina's Adrian Mutu have been nominated for best foreign player.
US owners set to take over Derby
Premier League strugglers Derby County are on the brink of being taken over by unnamed American owners, according to media reports.
"This new investment will establish the Derby brand worldwide through successful alliances with sporting teams in the USA, Far East and Africa," the reports quoted Chairman Adam Pearson as saying in the matchday programme for yesterday's FA Cup fourth-round tie with Preston.
"The key aim is to continue to build the infrastructure of the club at Pride Park and obviously develop a squad which is renowned as a Premier League force. This will add new financial firepower to the squad."
Hitzfeld admits Swiss job interest
Departing Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld wants to take over the Swiss national team after Euro 2008.
"To represent a country, to train them for an exact goal and reach the 2010 World Cup - that would be a good stop on the way to retirement," the 59-year-old said. "The pressure and expectation in Switzerland would be great, but not unmanageable."
Jakob Kuhn, the current coach of the Euro 2008 co-hosts, has already stated his intention to step down after the June 7-29 tournament.
Ferguson backs minute's silence
Manchester United are doing the right thing by honouring the victims of the Munich air disaster with a minute's silence, manager Alex Ferguson said.
United plan to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of 23 people - including eight United players - with a minute's silence before the Manchester derby against City on Feb. 10.
"We have spoken to all people concerned with what happened that particular tragic day - the players who were involved and families," he told reporters. "We are not going to be influenced by some outside influence. We will maybe listen to it but I think we have done so much work," he added.
"We have looked into all these things and I think we are doing the best thing for Manchester United and the people concerned."
Roma out of Amauri race
The agent of striker Amauri has ruled out Roma from signing the Palermo player but admitted that Juventus, Milan and Real Madrid are fighting for his signature.
The Brazilian is one of the hottest properties on the transfer market and Palermo have already conceded he will move on in the summer.
Roma had been one of the main candidates to sign him, but his agent insisted today that was no longer the case. "There is a lot of interest around him," commented Mariano Grimaldi. "The price-tag is £19m and Roma are out of the race."
Hungary great Grosics has surgery
Gyula Grosics, the goalkeeper in Hungary's 1950s Golden Team, has had a lung operation and is in intensive care.
Grosics, one of the two living members of the team regarded as the best in the world at the time, was admitted to hospital last Thursday and said a quick operation saved his life.
Grosics, who had recently been fitted with a pacemaker, and former defender Jeno Buzanszky are the only surviving members of the team known as the Magical Magyars.
Iraqi player not joining Man. City
Midfielder Nashat Akram said on Saturday he was disappointed his dreams of becoming the first Iraqi to play in England's Premier League had been dashed by a government decision to deny him a work permit.
Manchester City had hoped to sign Akram from Dubai's al-Ain. But Akram vowed to use the Home Office (interior ministry) decision as motivation to push Iraq to greater heights and qualify for the World Cup in 2010.
"It was my big dream to become the first Iraqi player to play in the Premier League," the 21-year-old said. "I will prove that Iraqi players deserve to play in any league in the world," he said.