Football Dispatch

Thursday Football
31 May 2007
David Gill and Carlos Queiroz were a two-man raiding-party, yesterday. The Manchester United chief executive and assistant manager romped through Portugal, Wednesday, and in a matter of hours, secured the signatures of starlets Nani and Anderson. At a combined price-tag of 31M-pounds, the two youngsters join 17M-pound signing Owen Hargreaves as part of Sir Alex Ferguson's midfield shake-up at Old Trafford. Upon regaining the Premiership crown three weeks ago, the United manager announced that he had earmarked three potential additions to pursue over the course of the summer. Apparently, the gaffer wasted no time in getting down to business. He has attained his trio before the end of May. Anderson, at 19-years of age, debuted for Porto this season and has been named in Brazil's squad ahead of the summer's Copa America. He was also awarded the Golden Ball at the 2005 U-17 World Cup. In awe at the move, he remarked, "What can I say? It's a dream the size of the world!" Nani, Sporting Lisbon's 20-year-old prodigy, was no less ecstatic. "Ever since I was a boy," he reflected, "I always wanted to play for Manchester United; and now that dream has come true. I am very happy." United had initially tabled a 10M-pound bid for the Portuguese international. Sporting, however, proceeded to entertain a 14M-pound overture from Tottenham Hotspur before accepting an identical offer from United.

Sepp Blatter has been elected to a third, successive term as FIFA president. He was the sole candidate on the ballot, yesterday, as the 208-member body convened in Zurich for its annual congress. Blatter, a staunch opponent of video technology in football, stressed that FIFA and its member organizations must, instead, "be tough in the application of our rules." He also reiterated his desire to stamp-out systemic corruption, cheating, and racism in the game.

Newcastle have agreed terms with Mark Viduka. The Middlesbrough marksman's contract has expired at The Riverside and he has joined Sam Allardyce at St. James' Park on a free transfer. The 31-year-old scored 14-goals in the Premiership last season and is an insurance policy should one of Michael Owen or Obefemi Martins bolt Tyneside in the summer.

Allardyce will also be hoping to land Joey Barton in the coming weeks. Newcastle midfielder Scott Parker has agreed in principle to a switch to West Ham. Alan Curbishley has long coveted the former Chelsea man and sees him as the sturdy backbone the club so desperately requires. Hammers will pay 6.5M-pounds for Parker -- a 2M-pound profit for the Magpies.

Bryan Robson is poised to break Sheffield United's transfer record. The new Blades boss is prepared to shell-out 4M-pounds for Jason Koumas. The 27-year-old Wales international was one of the stand-out players in the Championship last season before losing the play-off final to Derby on Monday. He has been entertaining offers from several Premiership clubs and will make a decision in the coming weeks.

After losing-out on Nani, Tottenham Hotspur have turned their attention to Morten Gamst-Pedersen. The Norway international has been one of the Premiership's foremost attacking midfielders since arriving at Blackburn Rovers from Tromso in 2004. And while he recently agreed a new contract at Ewood Park, Spurs boss Martin Jol is hopeful that he can convince Mark Hughes to sell one of his most-prized assets.