Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is confident Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov will sign from Tottenham Hotspur before the start of next season.
"We have made Tottenham an offer on Berbatov and we have good expectations that this deal will go through," Ferguson was quoted in The Sun yesterday.
"Berbatov has been impressive for a long time and he would be a great addition to our attack."
Tottenham appear resigned to losing the 27-year-old who has been a huge success since joining from Bayer Leverkusen in 2006 but would want a fee of around £25 million.
Bosnich keen to revive career
Former Australian goalkeeper Mark Bosnich hopes his two-week trial with Australian A-League club the Central Coast Mariners will signal a late revival for his career.
Bosnich won a Premier League title with Manchester United and also played at Aston Villa before his career came to a shuddering halt when he tested positive for cocaine while at Chelsea in 2003.
The 36-year-old is being given a chance to win a guest spot at the Mariners, who have lost regular keeper Danny Vukovic to suspension for the first seven weeks of the competition starting next month.
"It's the beginning of the beginning," Bosnich told reporters at Gosford, north of Sydney. "I just have to give myself the best chance possible. We'll see what happens from there."
Inter make final offer for Lampard
Inter have made a final offer for Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, reports in the Italian media said.
Coach Jose Mourinho has made no secret of his desire to lure former player Lampard to the San Siro. Reports suggest that Inter have tabled an improved offer of £10 million but won't increase the bid to the £20m that has been mentioned in the English press.
Should Lampard's move fails to materialise Inter have already lined up Porto midfielder Luis Gonzalez as an alternative. The 27-year-old, who is renowned for his incisive passing and leadership abilities, is valued at around £10m.
Keane eyes Spurs quartet
Sunderland have expressed an interest in four Tottenham Hotspur players as they look to strengthen their squad ahead of the new Premier League season.
Midfielders Steed Malbranque and Teemu Tainio plus defenders Pascal Chimbonda and Younes Kaboul are all the subject of a bid by the Black Cats.
Manager Roy Keane had been reluctant to reveal the identity of his transfer targets but said he wanted to make five or six new signings before the start of the season on August 16.
It followed the news that striker Kenwyne Jones had been ruled out for up to two months with knee ligament damage.
Downing not for sale say Boro
England winger Stewart Downing is not for sale, Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate said.
The 23-year-old midfielder has been linked with both Liverpool and Aston Villa this summer after previously being touted as a target for Tottenham and Everton. But Southgate is determined to hold on to his stalwart who signed a new five-year deal with his home- town club last season.
"Stewart Downing is not for sale, it is as simple as that. We know his value," Southgate said.
"We get calls from lots of clubs about people, but we have not had any about Stewart."
Striker McBride returns for Beijing
Brian McBride, the 36-year-old former United States striker who is without a club after leaving Fulham, was handed a surprise place in their Beijing Olympics squad this week.
McBride was one of three over-age players on the list for the under-23 event at next month's Games. The striker said his Olympic chance came after a light-hearted joke.
"We had just finished a game against West Ham and (US international) Jonathan Spector was outside the locker room and (Olympic team assistant coach) Lubos Kubik was there with him," McBride said.
"We all just started talking and Jonathan said jokingly: 'Lubos, did you hear Brian wants to play in the Olympics?' After a few more jokes I told Lubos that I would seriously consider it if he would.
"A few days later (US Olympic team coach) Peter Nowak called me. I was a little shocked but that's really when it became an interest and a possibility."
Hammers favourites to land Behrami
West Ham United are leading the race to sign Valon Behrami from Serie A club Lazio.
The Swiss midfielder, who can also play at right-back, is set to leave the Serie A side and a number of clubs have shown an interest in the Kosovo-born 23-year-old.
Everton were strongly linked with a summer approach but now it looks like West Ham are very close to confirming a deal.
West Ham's new Italian technical director Gianluca Nani is believed to have played a key role in convincing Behrami to join the Londoners. The deal is reportedly going to be worth €6.5 million to Lazio.