Liverpool eye Elliott

Leicester's Scottish centre-back Matt Elliott could well be sold to Liverpool shortly in order to fund a mid-season spending spree by manager Martin O'Neill.

The Liverpool manager Roy Evans has now indicated he would be willing to meet Leicester's anticipated asking price of £4 million for 29-year-old Elliott.

Newcastle United manager Kenny Dalglish will move swiftly to quell the growing rebellion by the St James' Park fans by making a second attempt to lure Gary Speed away from Everton.

Two weeks ago Dalglish offered the Merseyside club a £5.5 million package - £4 million in cash plus the unsettled defender Darren Peacock - in the hope of landing the Welsh international midfielder.

Although Everton manager Howard Kendall rejected the offer, Speed's departure from Goodison Park is now regarded as inevitable. Indeed, if, as now expected, Dalglish increases his offer by £500,000 a deal could go through in the next few days.

Kendall's reluctance to sanction the sale of his captain until now is perfectly understandable, for had Speed joined Newcastle before Sunday he would have been free to play for the club against Everton in this weekend's FA Cup third-round tie at Goodison.

But, with the Football Association requiring a seven-day registration period for its flagship tournament, Speed will not now be eligible to play in Sunday's televised game.

The pressure on Dalglish to introduce new blood to one of the largest senior squads in the Premiership is intense after a dismal run of form which has reduced Newcastle to bitpart players in this season's chase for the title.

With Sheffield Wednesday also interested in signing Speed, Dalglish would like to tie up any deal in the next 72 hours.

As the pressure continues to mount on the Manchester City manager Frank Clark the man most closely monitoring what is a complex and ever-changing scenario is Joe Royle.

Royle, out of work since resigning his post at Everton in late March, rejected the chance to take over at West Bromwich Albion last week and is expected to be named as the new coach of Northern Ireland early in the New Year.

However, if Clark was to leave Maine Road in the next 10 days - a distinct possibility bearing in mind City's current plight - Royle would be likely to accept any invitation to return to a club which he served with such distinction as a player back in the late '70s.

AC Milan's former world footballer of the year, George Weah faces surgery for a spinal disc injury and will be sidelined for at least two months. Weah's club confirmed yesterday that their doctors had examined the Liberian striker, who last played a Serie A match against Bari on December 7th.

French international midfielder Christian Karembeu yesterday joined Spanish champions Real Madrid from Sampdoria for £2.1 million and has signed a four-year contract with his new employers.