Transfer Gossip

FRIEDEL TO VILLA, ROBINSON TO BLACKBURN, BENTLEY TO SPURS
Paul Robinson is close to being offered a career lifeline at Blackburn Rovers after the Ewood Park outfit agreed to sell Brad Friedel.

The club announced in a short statement last night that they had agreed to sell the American to an unnamed Premiership outfit. The club is believed to be Aston Villa, with the Midlanders set to pay £2.5m for Friedel.

Blackburn stipulated that the departure of Friedel was dependent on the recruitment of his replacement and that is set to signal Robinson's exit from White Hart Lane. That, in turn, could hasten the departure of David Bentley from Ewood Park and his return to North London.

'Negotiations are under way as to how the package can be agreed to the satisfaction of all parties, particularly as Arsenal are believed to have a sell-on clause for their former player. Tottenham had an initial bid, thought to be around £9m, rejected for the winger last week and are aware that Blackburn want around double that figure for the 23-year-old England international', reports The Independent.


SPURS TO SELL BERBA ON THE CHEAP TO ANYONE BUT UNITED
Relations between Tottenham and Manchester United have reportedly deteriorated to the extent that the North London club are willing to sell Dimi Berbatov on the cheap to either AC Milan or Barcelona.

Spurs have reported United to the Premier League over their pursuit of the Bulgarian striker, with chairman Daniel Levy sparking a war of words with Sir Alex Ferguson by branding the Scot an "unbelievable hypocrite", and are reputedly now willing to sell Berbatov to his European suitors for a cut-price fee of £25m. United are believed to have been told that Berbatov would cost £30m.

According to The Sun, Samuel Eto'o will be the pivotal figure behind any deal. 'The Catalan giants will only move for Berbatov, 27, if they can persuade the Cameroon striker to leave,' the newspaper reports. 'Milan are also waiting to find out if they can land Eto'o before making a bid for Berbatov.'


NOBODY LIKES ADEBAYOR
Were Berbatov to move Barcelona then it would end any hope Emmanuel Adebayor had of moving to the Nou Camp. And, from the sounds of it, the Togo striker has already realised he won't be leaving Arsenal this summer.

The Sun reports him telling an unidentified team-mate: "I'm not sure if I'm going to leave now."

Adebayor's popularity has plummeted this summer - and not only with Arsenal fans.

'AC Milan dropped out of the chase for the Togo star and Barca coach Pep Guardiola is not happy with his massive wage demands and the attitude of Adebayor's advisors. 'Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was furious that Adebayor, 24, turned down a new £60,000-a-week Arsenal deal - twice his current pay.'


CHIMBONDA TO BECOME VERY RICH
The reason behind Pascal Chimbonda's imminent move to Sunderland has been revealed: the full-back is poised to become the club's highest-paid player.

If The Sun is to be believed, 'Black Cats boss Roy Keane will hand the French right-back a £56,000-a- week deal valid for the next four years.

'The contract convinced Chimbonda, 29, to snub Everton and Newcastle - who were also trying to land his signature.'

Meanwhile, Teemu Tainio last night became Roy Keane's first summer signing.
Keane said on the club's official website: "I'm delighted to sign a player of Teemu's experience and quality, he'll be a valuable addition to our squad.

"Teemu has showed versatility, playing in different midfield positions for both Tottenham and his previous club, Auxerre."

The Finn is understood to have signed a three-year deal.


PENNANT FOR ROVERS
These are busy times at Blackburn and they could become even busier over the coming days. The Sun says that, with Bentley poised to depart, Paul Ince has identified Jermaine Pennant as his replacement.

A £6m bid is mooted - although Pool are likely to demand rather more after spending £6.7m to buy Pennant from Birmingham a couple of years ago.


NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS FOR LAMPARD
There's no real news or update on Frank Lampard's situation other than The Guardian reporting that Chelsea are 'insistent that they will not bow to his demands and offer him a five-year deal.

The chances of the 30-year-old leaving for Internazionale to be reunited with Mourinho this summer are rapidly receding, though, with some form of compromise likely - probably a four-year deal with an option for a further season,' the newspaper suggests.

Perhaps, but it's just as likely that Lampard will sign a pre-contract deal with Inter in January in the knowledge that he will be a free agent next season and can expect many, many millions of pounds from Inter as a signing-on fee.


HARPER TO REPLACE A BIG FIGURE AT BORO
Middlesbrough are expected to make another bid for Reading's James Harper after granting Lee Cattermole permission to talk to Wigan.

The two clubs have agreed a fee of £3.5m - money that could then be used by Gareth Southgate to fund another bid for the £5m-rated Harper. Well, that's what The Times reckons anyway.


AND THE REST...
Sunderland boss Roy Keane is making a £6million move for Aiden McGeady...Hull have agreed a £2.5million fee with Tottenham for Anthony Gardner...Chelsea striker Claudio Pizarro is ready for a move to Real Betis...El-Hadji Diouf is set to see out the remaining season of his Bolton contract...Bristol City's record signing Emad Meteb has gone AWOL just seven days after joining the club...Ipswich are set to make a £1million bid for FC Moscow's Roman Hubnik...Nottingham Forest have joined QPR in the race for Crystal Palace's £2million-rated star Ben Watson...Everton boss David Moyes is ready to splash the Andy Johnson transfer cash on Wagner Love. Johnson is heading to Fulham for £10.7million...West Ham plan to offer Freddie Sears a long-term deal in a bid to stave off interest from Arsenal and Tottenham...Hull are poised to sign Nigeria international Seyi Olofinjana after agreeing a £2million fee with Wolves...Hull will complete the signing of Marlon King within the next 24 hours...Chelsea defender Tal Ben Haim is set for talks with Manchester City...Real Betis are set to make a £1.5million bid for Chelsea's Claudio Pizarro...Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate has opened the door for Rangers to take Adam Johnson on loan.