HAVING stolen the little known Frenchman Patrick Vieira from under the noses of AC Milan, Arsene Wenger pulled off another Galtic coup yesterday when he signed the wonderkid of French football from under the noses of Paris St Germain.
Arsenal have confirmed that Nicholas Anelka, a 17 year old striker rated the best prospect in France, will join them in the summer on a two year contract with an option for another two years.
In other transfer activity yesterday, Danish international Claus Thomsen agreed to join Everton for £900,000 after the Ipswich midfielder agreed personal terms. The 26 year old will complete a medical today.
West Ham's unsettled striker Florin Raducioiu is to return to his former club Espanyol - a move which will allow the London club to bid for Celtic's Pierre Van Hooydonk.
Celtic are ready to make a another bid for Republic of Ireland and Aston Villa captain Andy Townsend, according to reports in today's British tabloids. Although Villa manager Brian Little turned down Celtic's approaches some weeks ago, it is believed that the Glasgow club are willing to up their offer to £1 million for the veteran midfielder.
In a postscript to Kenny Dalglish's arrival at Newcastle, the club's chairman Sir John Hall issued a strong denial yesterday of the suggestion that the frantic search to find a successor for Kevin Keegan caused a rift within his family.
Hall it had been said, favoured Bobby Robson of Barcelona above Kenny Dalglish, while his son Douglas, one of the club's directors, preferred Dalglish. However, Sir John said yesterday: "Talk of a family feud is ridiculous, an absolute nonsense which has annoyed me.
Middlesbrough's Fabrizio Ravanelli was also anxious to issue denials yesterday. A quote from the striker in an Italian newspaper on Tuesday said that he tipped his club for relegation and also criticised club officials including manager Bryan Robson.
"Middlesbrough are in a bad situation because we are at the bottom of the table," said Ravanelli. "But I did not say anything about relegation to a woman journalist. With the unity of the players and if we give 100 per cent in every game, we can sort out the situation."
