Soccer Shorts

Rossi in demand in ItalyGiuseppe Rossi's future at Manchester United has come into doubt after it emerged that several of Italy's leading clubs were investigating whether Alex Ferguson could be persuaded to sell the talented 19-year-old attacker, reports Daniel Taylor.

Rossi is currently on loan at Parma and, having marked his debut in Serie A by scoring a splendid winner against Torino on Sunday, his agent Andrea Pastorello said that AC Milan, Juventus, Roma and Inter Milan had all inquired about the teenager's potential availability, while Barcelona are also said to have registered an interest.

That may alarm Ferguson but it is unlikely to surprise him given how highly he rates Rossi, who struggled to make much of an impact during a loan spell at Newcastle earlier this season.

Ferguson has spoken about Rossi being an integral part of United's future and the Old Trafford hierarchy have repelled a number of potential buyers over the last year.

Ferguson's problem may be keeping Rossi happy when his loan deal expires at the end of the season. United will have Louis Saha, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Wayne Rooney vying for places in attack.

Ferguson's priority remains to sign the midfielder Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich. However, Bayern's manager, Felix Magath, indicated that no one would be leaving the German club in this window. Guardian Service

A step-up for Keogh

Wolves have completed the signing of Republic of Ireland under-21 striker Andy Keogh from Scunthorpe.

The 20-year-old has joined the Championship club for an initial fee of £600,000, which could eventually rise to £850,000, and has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal. He has scored seven goals so far this season in League One.

McLeish in more talks

Alex McLeish has entered a second and possibly final round of talks with the Scottish FA and could be unveiled as Scotland's manager within 48 hours.

Former Rangers manager McLeish, who held initial discussions with the SFA last week, has emerged as front-runner to replace Walter Smith, who moved to Rangers a fortnight ago.

Gillespie is charged

Sheffield United forward Keith Gillespie has been charged with violent conduct by the English FA for throwing a punch following his dismissal at Reading on Saturday.

The Northern Ireland winger, who has already been banned for three matches after elbowing Stephen Hunt in the Premiership encounter, yesterday also asked his club for a transfer.

No Van Nistelrooy U-turn

Ruud van Nistelrooy has told the Netherlands coach Marco van Basten he is no longer available for the national team.

The 30-year-old Real Madrid striker, who has been capped 54 times by his country, has not featured at international level since last summer's World Cup.

His announcement will come as a blow to van Basten, who thought he had built some bridges with the former Manchester United player.

Italian league in decline

Italian soccer is losing ground to its European rivals with ageing stadiums, problem terraces and a television free-for-all driving supporters away, a study of European leagues published yesterday has concluded.

"Italy's stadiums are totally decrepit . . . there's a big imbalance in television rights . . . I'm pretty pessimistic unless there's a rethink," said Philippe Piola, head of entertainment studies at the Euromed business school in Marseille and co-author of the report with Ineum management consultants in Paris.

In brief . . . .

Ashley Young(21) yesterday completed the formalities of his £9.65 million move from Watford to Aston Villa . . . Birmingham have rejected a £6 million from West Ham for defender Matthew Upson(27) . . . Manchester City have agreed to terminate the contract of former USA midfielder Claudio Reyna(33) . . . New West Ham signing Lucas Neillhas a clause in his contract allowing him to leave the club if they are relegated . . . former Manchester United manager Ron Atkinsonhas been appointed director of football at non-league Kettering . . . Middlesbrough striker Massimo Maccaroneis set to join Italian club Siena on a free transfer early next week, according to the player's agent.