David Platt will be confirmed as a member of Sampdoria's coaching staff today, when the club will announce his official title. Under Serie A regulations the 32-year-old Englishman is not permitted to coach because he lacks a licence.
His position as the assistant to the Football Association's technical director Howard Wilkinson may entitle him to a category-three permit in Italy, but he would need a category-one version to carry out the job alone.
However, a similar problem faced Roy Hodgson when he took over Internazionale in 1995 but the club resolved it when the Englishman was appointed technical director, with the Serie A licence being held by Giovanni Ardemagni. It has been mooted that the Genoese club will get around the problem by appointing the 59-year-old Giorgio Veneri as Platt's coach.
"I have been declining to be interviewed for jobs because I felt I needed a longer period of preparation," Platt said yesterday, "but a chance like this might only come along once in a lifetime and it is an opportunity which I simply could not turn down.
"For several years I have had a driving ambition to move into management but I never thought for a moment that I might be fortunate enough to have the opportunity to start my management career with one of the world's greatest clubs."
Platt was Sampdoria's record signing when he arrived from Juventus for £5.2 million in 1993. He retired as an Arsenal player last May.
Meanwhile, any Newcastle hopes of rapidly signing the French international winger Ibrahim Ba from Milan appeared yesterday to have been dashed by the player himself.
The unsettled Ba revealed that he had spoken to Newcastle's manager Ruud Gullit about swapping Italy for Tyneside but added: "I would be prepared to leave in January."
A £3 million-plus move is being negotiated, with Ba confirming, "Milan have already spoken to the English representatives," and that his morale had suffered this season. "I'm down; how couldn't I be? I never play," he said. The former Bordeaux player has regularly been on the bench as Milan have climbed to second place in Serie A.
Ba is seen as the wide-playing successor to Keith Gillespie, just sold to Blackburn. Portsmouth's Australian international striker John Aloisi will complete his £800,000 move to Coventry today after agreeing personal terms with Gordon Strachan.
Aloisi, 22, the country's second highest scorer with 17 goals, will sign a 4 1/2-year contract at Highfield Road after passing a medical and the former Cremonese striker will complete his move in time to make his debut at home to Derby on Saturday.
Derby have taken Jonatan Johansson on a three-day trial from Rangers with a view to a permanent transfer. If he impresses, the 23-year-old Finland striker would move from Ibrox to Pride Park for about £1.5 million.
