Soccer Shorts

Other soccer stories in brief

Recruitment drive at Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur are braced for a busy close to the transfer window, with yesterday's purchase of the Egyptian striker Mido merely the start of hectic activity at White Hart Lane, reports Jon Brodkin. Steed Malbranque and Pascal Chimbonda were last night poised to join the club, and at least two players are set to depart.

Spurs yesterday agreed a fee with Wigan for Chimbonda and looked certain to get Malbranque from Fulham in a deal likely to see Wayne Routledge move in the opposite direction. Chimbonda's arrival clears the way for Lee Young-pyo to join Roma, the club from whom Mido has signed for Spurs for £3.4 million.

Villa near Petrov agreement

Martin O'Neill has moved a step closer to making Stilian Petrov his first signing as Aston Villa manager, after the Celtic player's agent confirmed yesterday he had been given the go-ahead to open negotiations with the Premiership club, writes Ewan Murray.

An initial fee of £6 million has been agreed in principle between Villa and Celtic, with that figure set to rise to £8 million after a set number of appearances.

The one factor that may prove a late obstacle to Petrov's move is if Celtic fail in their pursuit of Real Madrid's Thomas Gravesen.

Ronaldinho chastised

Chelsea will have received encouragement for their forthcoming Champions League matches against Barcelona after a falling-out between Ronaldinho and the Spanish club's coach Frank Rijkaard, writes Sid Lowe.

Ronaldinho had to watch Barcelona's opening-night 3-2 victory over Celta Vigo on television after being dropped by Rijkaard for failing to attend a training session on Saturday.

The club claimed the Brazilian was carrying a muscle injury, although it has emerged the decision was a punishment for missing the training session.

Domenech retorts with spirit

France coach Raymond Domenech has criticised Jose Mourinho after the Chelsea boss accused him of treating midfielder Claude Makelele like a "slave".

Makelele (33) had been harbouring thoughts of international retirement after the World Cup but decided to join up with the national team for their upcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers against Georgia and Italy after Domenech named him in his squad, prompting Mourinho to say: "Makelele is not a football player - Makelele is a slave."

Domenech yesterday replied: "His (Mourinho) comments are ridiculous. The fact is that Claude is with us, that he is part of the French national team and that I will ask him to come as long as I believe he is efficient.

"Chelsea don't want me to do that, but that's what I want. The law is on my side. As far as Claude is concerned he is in between and he can't say anything."

In Brief . . .

Owen Hargreaves's agent claims the England midfielder has "no chance" of joining Manchester United before the transfer window closes . . . Juventus have stated they are refusing to sell striker David Trezeguet despite reports of a £17-million offer tabled by Manchester United . . . The former Chelsea midfielder Maniche (28) is poised to sign a three-year contract with Atletico Madrid after the Spanish side reached a €9-million agreement with Dynamo Moscow yesterday . . . Iran's defensive midfielder Andranik Teimourian has joined Bolton Wanderers from Iran's Pro League team Abu Moslem . . . Falkirk have completed the loan signing of Dublin-born striker Anthony Stokes (18) from Arsenal until January.