Rio Ferdinand is likely to deliver a hammer blow to Leeds United and their manager Terry Venables today by confirming his desire to move to Manchester United for what would amount to a British record £30 million transfer.
The England centre half is currently considering his future having met Venables on Sunday after returning from a short break in Nice.
Ferdinand emerged from that meeting stressing that he was faced with "a huge dilemma" and had "the toughest decision" of his life ahead of him, but it seems increasingly likely that the 23-year-old will take his first step towards following Lee Bowyer out of Elland Road by telling Leeds officials he wants to leave.
It may only be 20 months since Leeds paid £18 million for his services, but his barnstorming displays at the World Cup whetted Ferdinand's appetite with the desire for silverware and Champions League football.
The centre half currently earns £30,000 a week at Elland Road and has four years remaining on his contract, but would be prepared to forgo a £1 million loyalty bonus to move over the Pennines, where he should be able to double his wages.
The exodus from Elland Road should already be under way by the time Ferdinand tells the chairman Peter Ridsdale of his decision, with Bowyer edging closer to completing his £9 million transfer to Anfield.
The 25-year-old former Charlton midfielder spent yesterday discussing personal terms and undergoing a medical at Liverpool's training complex.
Though negotiations took longer than expected, Gerard Houllier will resume talks this morning in an attempt to complete the deal before Liverpool leave for a pre-season tour of France.
Kenny Cunningham's hopes of pinning down a regular place in the Republic of Ireland's first team have been boosted by the 31-year-old defender's decision to join Premiership newcomers Birmingham City.
Cunningham decided to leave Wimbledon for St Andrews despite interest from Sunderland. The £500,000 deal depends on Cunningham passing a medical.
Fulham manager Jean Tigana is keen to add Parma's Martin Djetou to his summer signings after completing a deal for Junichi Inamoto yesterday and closing in on the purchase of the Dutch midfielder Victor Sikora.
Sikora is almost certain to join this week for about £3 million from Vitesse Arnhem and Tigana hopes Djetou will follow, possibly on an initial season's loan.
The Parma player is best known as a central defender but can also operate as a holding midfielder.
Juninho is mulling over a fresh offer to return to the Premiership after Middlesbrough stepped up their bid for his signature.
A spokesman said yesterday: "We can confirm that we have made a revised offer to Juninho and negotiations are ongoing. We are hopeful that both parties can eventually agree a deal to bring Juninho back to Middlesbrough."
The Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp yesterday flew to France to discuss personal terms with David Ginola after being given the go-ahead to match the French winger's wage demands.
Peter Osgood has revealed that he has been sacked from his public relations role at Chelsea after a "personality clash" with chairman Ken Bates.
