EPLGOSSIPS: July 2010

Mascherano set for Hodgson talks-FIFA.com

Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano met up with new manager Roy Hodgson for the first time this morning after returning to pre-season training. The Argentina captain has been uncontactable since going on holiday after the FIFA World Cup™, but was back at Melwood on schedule along with compatriot Maxi Rodriguez.

Hodgson tried to speak to the 26-year-old, who has been heavily linked with a summer reunion with former Reds boss Rafa Benitez at Inter Milan, following the end of the player's involvement at South Africa 2010. However, the 62-year-old Englishman was only able to leave messages for Mascherano telling him he was looking forward to meeting him back on Merseyside as his calls were not returned.

Hodgson will outline his plans to Mascherano in much the same way as he has already done to senior players Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Fernando Torres in an attempt to persuade him he has a future at Anfield. But there still remains a nagging doubt that the combative midfielder, who was offered a new contract in the latter stages of last season, has set his sights on a move to the continent.

James Milner returns to training with Aston Villa later today and is set to have crunch talks with manager Martin O'Neill over his long-term future.

The midfielder, given a month off after England's disappointing 2010 FIFA World Cup™ campaign, has been the subject of a rejected £20m bid from Manchester City.

O'Neill claimed last week that Milner had "intimated" he would like to make the switch to Eastlands after just two seasons with Villa. But the 24-year-old player disputed those claims from the Villa manager and also insisted he had not been offered a new contract.

O'Neill declined to make any comment after Saturday's win over Bohemians in Dublin. But he will be aware of the spotlight that will focus on his discussions with Milner, especially as City are expected to increase their bid in the next few days for the former Newcastle midfielder.

Villa take on Walsall in a friendly at Walsall tomorrow, although that may come too soon for Milner to be involved after his four-week break from action. But it brings back memories of two summers ago when want-away midfielder Gareth Barry - then a target for Liverpool - was jeered by Villa fans in another clash with their neighbours.

He eventually completed a £12m move, to Manchester City, although it did not take place for another 12 months. Emile Heskey, who has announced his retirement from international football, England colleague Stephen Warnock and USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan will also report back for training today after their exertions in South Africa.

Kei Kamara scored one goal and set up another to give the Kansas City Wizards a 2-1 victory over Manchester United in an international friendly on Sunday.

Kamara's through ball set up Davy Arnaud in the 11th minute to give the Wizards the lead. United's Dimitar Berbatov equalised via the penalty spot in the 41st minute after Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad was given a red card after a sliding tackle on Berbatov.

But Kamara fired the winner for the ten-man Wizards in the 42nd minute, heading home a corner just under the crossbar.

A crowd of 52,342 watched in the first event at Arrowhead Stadium since a $325m renovation, although Manchester United lacked such star players as Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Park Ji-Sung.

United will next face the Major League Soccer All-Stars in Houston on Wednesday.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has said that he is ready to bid for Fernando Torres if the Liverpool striker shows interest in moving to Eastlands.

Mancini was given hope that he may be able to sign Torres when new Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson revealed the Spain star has a "beef" with the club in the aftermath of a woeful campaign last season. Torres has yet to publicly commit his future to the Reds and Mancini hinted he would love to continue his spending spree by tempting the former Atletico Madrid player away from Anfield.

Mancini has already splashed out close to £90 million on Jerome Boateng, Aleksandar Kolarov, Yaya Toure and David Silva, but City's Abu Dhabi-based owners are willing to pay the £50 million fee needed to land Torres, as well as chasing Aston Villa midfielder James Milner.

"Torres is one of the best strikers in Europe and is already playing in the Premier League for three years and knows it very well," Mancini said. "But it depends on his situation - his price and whether he wants to come. There are two or three strikers that we could go for, but it is the same situation as it is with James Milner. First there is the price and then it depends if the players want to change team. Until today, Liverpool haven't bought many players."

Although Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill insists he won't let Milner leave unless City meet his valuation of the England international - believed to be around £30 million - Mancini is adamant City won't be held to ransom. "When Manchester City enquire about a 10 million pounds player, the club asks for 20 million pounds. That is not good for us," Mancini said. "James is still a player who interests us but only at the right price."

While the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal have spent little in the transfer market during the close-season, Mancini has continued to throw money around with abandon. The former Inter Milan boss, who took charge of the club in December, believes City's financial muscle has the rest of the Premier League running scared and he won't rule out a challenge for the title this season.

"Are they scared? I think so. At the moment only Manchester City are buying players," Mancini said. "But that is normal because Manchester City want to improve and the other teams are just big teams who would like a lot of people.

"I think all these teams over the years have spent a lot of money - Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool but now City do. We have a big opportunity to win the league if we believe in ourselves and do our jobs. We have improved as a team.

"It depends if we can put together a team in the short time available. In my experience, I know after the World Cup in every country there can be a different situation in the league. Last year, we fought for fourth place until the penultimate game against Tottenham - the aim this year is to try to win the Premier League. That must be our target."

Avram Grant hopes to add more players to his West Ham United squad before the start of the season. The 55-year-old has signed Thomas Hitzlsperger, Frederic Piquionne and Pablo Barrera since being appointed Hammers manager on 3 June.

Co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan are keen to add more depth to the squad after the team only just managed to escape relegation under Gianfranco Zola last term. Moves for defender Tal Ben Haim, who Grant used to manage at Portsmouth, and France international striker Loic Remy have failed to materialise so far, while the club's audacious attempt to sign Joe Cole on a free transfer ended in failure when he opted to sign for Liverpool.

Grant held his first training session with the whole squad at the club's training ground this morning, with Matthew Upson, Robert Green, Jonathan Spector and Valon Behrami all returning from FIFA World Cup™ duty. The Israeli has been pleased with how the team have performed in pre-season but is still determined to add more players to the ranks before their Premier League curtain-raiser against Aston Villa on 14 August.

"The squad is not complete yet, we told the players we want to make the squad as strong as we can," Grant told West Ham's official website. "Even if the club are limited with money, because we are in debt, we know what we are doing and we know we want to do.

"The owners are trying to give their best for the team, so we will buy or loan a few more players. Even if I don't like loans so much - most players here will be players for the long term."

West Ham have reportedly made a £12m bid for highly-rated Remy, who is said to be on the radar of some of Europe's top clubs. Nice chairman Gilbert Stellardo confirmed the London outfit have been in touch with them about a potential transfer, and that the 23-year-old is interested in a move to Upton Park.

"West Ham? Remy is definitely interested," he told Lequipe.fr. "Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal? I have heard about their interest but I have had no contact. The only clubs I have talked to are West Ham and Fenerbahce.

"Fenerbahce have also contacted Rennes about Asamoah Gyan and Lyon about Bafetimbi Gomis. If either of those players leave, it is not impossible that their clubs will turn to Loic as well."

Fulham will rethink their search for a new manager today after top target Martin Jol reluctantly agreed to stay at Ajax. The Cottagers had agreed terms with the former Tottenham boss but Ajax refused to let Jol leave, bringing negotiations to an abrupt halt.

It was a frustrating turn of events for both parties, with Jol keen on a move back to England and Fulham eager to get their man installed three weeks after Roy Hodgson left Craven Cottage for Liverpool. But chief executive Alistair Mackintosh must now go back to the drawing board and mull over targets that could include the likes of Cardiff boss Dave Jones, Alan Curbishley and Mark Hughes.

In a statement yesterday, Fulham pledged to appoint a new manager as soon as possible, saying on fulhamfc.com: "Following talks with Ajax, the club can confirm that it has ceased negotiations for the release of Martin Jol from his contract with the Dutch club. Although Fulham had agreed personal terms with Martin Jol, Ajax were not willing to allow him to leave under any circumstances, and have held him to the terms of the contract he signed last summer.

"Since Roy Hodgson indicated that he wanted to leave Fulham, a shortlist of potential managers was identified, and the club is committed to ensuring that the right candidate is brought on board to continue the club's progress, in the soonest timeframe possible. The chairman and CEO would also like to personally thank Ajax for their conduct throughout this very public process."

Titus Bramble has completed his move from Wigan Athletic to Sunderland. The 28-year-old centre-back has signed a three-year deal and could make his debut for the Black Cats in tomorrow evening's friendly with Hull City in Portugal.

Bramble headed out to the Algarve earlier this week after the two clubs settled on an undisclosed fee, understood to be in the region of £1m, and has passed a medical and agreed personal terms, although the final administrative details were only completed today. Manager Steve Bruce was delighted to have captured a player he first tried to sign 12 months ago after they enjoyed a successful spell together at the Latics.

"Titus was absolutely outstanding for me at Wigan," said the former Manchester United defender. "He matured into a very, very good player, so there was absolutely no hesitation when the chance came to bring him to Sunderland. He was certainly the right player at the right price, and this is a great deal for the football club.

Bramble began his career at hometown club Ipswich Town, where he broke into the first team as a teenager before winning a £5m move to Newcastle United during the summer of 2002. However, his time at St James' Park was blighted by a series of high-profile blunders and despite the backing he received from Sir Bobby Robson, the man who had signed him, and his successor, Graeme Souness, he was never able to win over his doubters.

Defender Alex is to miss the start of the Premier League season after Chelsea confirmed he is to be sidelined for a month with a thigh injury.

The 28-year-old will sit out tomorrow's friendly trip to Ajax because of the knock he picked up in training, as will new signing Yossi Benayoun, who has a groin problem. "There are no more coming that didn't play against Crystal Palace, so Yossi Benayoun is out and Alex has a problem in his thigh but with the other players it is the same squad," coach Carlo Ancelotti, whose side beat Palace 1-0 at the weekend, told chelseafc.com.

It is the second such blow in successive days for Chelsea, who yesterday saw goalkeeper Petr Cech ruled out for a month with a torn calf. Tomorrow's game will therefore give back-up keepers Hilario and Ross Turnbull the chance to stake a claim to begin the season in the first team. "I think that against Ajax we will play 45 minutes each for Turnbull and Hilario, and I think Turnbull will start the game," Ancelotti said.

France star Thierry Henry scored a goal on his New York Bulls debut but it wasn't enough to help his team past Tottenham on Thursday.

Robbie Keane and Gareth Bale scored as Spurs rallied with two second-half goals to beat the Red Bulls 2-1 in an international friendly between Henry's Major League Soccer side and the English Premier League club at the Red Bull Arena. "I would say that the reception was tremendous every time I touched the ball," Henry said.

Henry scored in the 24th minute of the first half for the Red Bulls. He made a near-post run past Verdan Corluka and then dove feet first to deflect a cross from Estonian national team player Joel Lindpere past goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini.

Keane equalised in the 62nd minute, tapping the ball into an open net after Andros Townsend's corner kick was misjudged by 'keeper Greg Sutton. Under pressure from Bale, Red Bulls Jeremy Hall then headed a backpass past a surprised Sutton in the 72nd minute. Bale was credited with the goal.

Henry's arrival in the USA follows his release from Spanish club Barcelona and coincided with Henry's confirmation that he has retired from international football after making 123 appearances and scoring a record 51 goals for France. Henry, who turns 33 next month, signed a four and a half year deal with the Red Bulls. He is the latest in a list of veteran football stars lured to American soil with a chance to extend their careers and the promise of a lucrative contract.

Henry, a former FIFA World Cup™ and European champion with France, is the highest-profile player to join MLS since David Beckham signed with Los Angeles three years ago. "He'll be a massive hit here in New York I'm sure," Spurs manager Harry Redknapp said. "He's a world-class player still. He could play on any team in the Premier League in England. He's still good enough."

Playing his first match since France was eliminated from the 2010 FIFA World Cup with a loss to South Africa on 22 June, Henry was received a loud ovation when introduced. It didn't take long for Henry to impress. He had some deft exchanges with Lindpere and executed a freeing backheel pass and a bicycle kick that went wide. In Spurs, Henry was facing an old rival. He starred for Arsenal from 1999-07 and said last week he doesn't like to even say the name of Tottenham.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed he is in regular contact with Kaka, and would love to tempt the attacking midfielder to the Premier League.The Italian worked with the Brazilian at AC Milan and is open to the idea of signing him from Real Madrid, who are now led by former Blues manager Jose Mourinho.Ancelotti told The People: "Kaka would do well for my cause and I speak to him on a regular basis. It would be a multi-million pound operation."

Chelsea have been rocked by the loss of goalkeeper Petr Cech for a month.

The Czech Republic international injured his calf in training yesterday and scans revealed a small tear.

Cech will miss the rest of the club's pre-season programme, and is unlikely to feature in the Community Shield against Manchester United at Wembley on 8 August.

A spokesman for Chelsea confirmed: "Petr will be out for around a month after scans showed a tear in his right calf.

"He is expected to miss the rest of the pre-season campaign."

Chelsea are covered in Cech's absence by Ross Turnbull and Hilario. Both goalkeepers played a part in Chelsea's double-winning season last term.

Cech missed a month of last season after sustaining a similar injury against Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League.

Turnbull, signed on a free transfer from Middlesbrough last summer, made his debut for the club in the Champions League against APOEL last season.

His Premier League debut came against West Ham and although he conceded the goal which enabled Inter to put Chelsea out of the Champions League at Stamford Bridge, Turnbull had a competent game.

Hilario is the more experienced of the two reserve goalkeepers and is likely to get the nod at the start of the season.

The Portugal goalkeeper, 34, was between the posts when Manchester City defeated Chelsea 4-2 at Stamford Bridge last season but he is almost certain to play against Manchester United in the Community Shield on 8 August and in Chelsea's opening game of the season at home to West Bromwich Albion the following weekend.

Harry Redknapp believes Tottenham Hotspur could win the English top-flight title this season. The 63-year-old masterminded Spurs' highest-ever Premier League finish of fourth last term, setting up the club's maiden UEFA Champions League campaign.

And the former midfielder has claimed he has the players to end what would be a 50-year wait for the league crown at White Hart Lane. "I feel we could contend for the title, we have got the players here," said Redknapp, who has only added Brazilian midfielder Sandro to his first-team squad so far this summer.

"We have to aim for it. We could win the championship. Last year, we went in saying we wanted to finish in the top four and if you don't aim for things, you have no chance."

Despite praising his current squad, Redknapp admitted he would need to strengthen it if Spurs are to compete in the Champions League on top of their domestic commitments. Tottenham will enter the competition in the final play-off round next month, when they will face a two-legged tie for a place in the lucrative group stage.

Redknapp, whose side play their latest pre-season friendly against New York Red Bulls in the early hours of tomorrow morning, said: "The Champions League is massive. Forget budgets, we just want to be there.

"If we can get into the group stage, we can make an impact. We have good players, some fantastic ones at our club. And they can get better.

"We are going to have to rotate at times - we cannot play the best players all the time. I feel that, if we can bring one or two players in, it will make a difference."

Redknapp also reiterated his sadness at losing out to Liverpool in the race for Joe Cole, revealing just how close the England playmaker had come to becoming a Tottenham player.

The Technical Sub-Committee of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) approved several requests from member associations and confederations to implement the experiment with two additional assistant referees during the 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 seasons at a meeting held today, Wednesday, 21 July 2010 in Cardiff, Wales. The full list of approved requests can be found below.

At a previous Special Meeting of the IFAB held in Zurich on 18 May 2010, the Board had reviewed the experiment with two additional assistant referees that was carried out in the 2009/2010 UEFA Europa League, and had decided to continue the experiment until the 126th IFAB Annual General Meeting in 2012, but not to limit it to a single confederation. Therefore, confederations and member associations wishing to conduct this experiment were invited to inform IFAB of their interest for a decision to be taken at the meeting of the Technical Sub-Committee in Wales.

Four basic criteria had been established in order to approve the experiment:

1. The experiment must be conducted in member associations’ professional leagues and competitions or at confederation level (club competitions only).

2. The experiment must be completed in time to allow a decision to be taken in 2012.

3. The additional costs incurred by conducting such an experiment must be covered by the relevant league, member association or confederation.

4. It is mandatory for all matches in the applicable competition to be officiated with two additional assistant referees.

Based on these criteria, the following requests were approved, provided that the protocol established by the IFAB for the experiment is followed:

Asian Football Confederation (AFC): AFC President’s Cup 2010 (24-26 September)

Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF): Campeonato Baiano de Futebol Feminino 2010 (Sept-Dec 2010), Campeonato Carioca de 2011

Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación (FMF): Torneo Clausura 2011, Torneo Apertura 2011 and Torneo Clausura 2012

Fédération Française de Football (FFF): Coupe de la Ligue 2010/2011 (League Cup)

Union des associations européennes de football (UEFA): UEFA Champions League 2010/2011 and 2011/2012, UEFA Europa League 2010/2011 and 2011/2012, and UEFA Super Cup 2010 and 2011.

Also approved, but pending confirmation of the specific competitions, were official competitions of the Federação Baiana, the Federação Paulista and Federação Pernambucana in Brazil.

Finally, FIFA and the Technical Sub-Committee confirmed that goal-line technology will be on the agenda of the next Annual Business Meeting of the IFAB in October 2010.

Joe Cole is looking forward to the challenge of playing for Liverpool, insisting his move to Merseyside was decided purely on football terms. Much was made of the wage demands - reportedly £90,000 per week - the England international was making having become a free agent following his release by Chelsea.

And having previously played for West Ham United he was expected to remain in London, with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur both interested, but was convinced Anfield was the place to start afresh. Cole said he remembered the atmosphere when he played at the ground for the Blues in the UEFA Champions League semi-final of 2005, which the Reds won on penalties before going on to lift the trophy in Istanbul, and was looking forward to experiencing that on a more regular basis.

"This is a massive club. I tried to take everything out of the equation, take the financial and location side out, and just thought in football terms," said the 28-year-old playmaker, who has signed a four-year contract after passing his medical.

Carlo Cudicini has described his emotion at returning to action for Tottenham Hotspur, eight months after suffering serious injuries in a motorcycle crash. The Italian goalkeeper fractured both wrists and his pelvis when his superbike collided with a car while he was riding to Spurs' training ground last November.

The 36-year-old was forced to miss the rest of last term, but made his long-awaited comeback with 45 minutes in the pre-season friendly win at Bournemouth a week and a half ago before completing the whole of Saturday's match against San Jose Earthquakes.

"I feel fine," Cudicini told his club's official website. "Of course after eight months out there was a bit of emotion at going back to the pitch, but it was a nice feeling to be back and having the chance to get minutes on the pitch. That's what pre-season's all about."

Cudicini spent the early part of the summer working overtime with coach Tony Parks at Spurs Lodge to complete his rehabilitation. "We split the rehabilitation into two parts," he explained.

"The first was in the summer and Parksy did a great job with the physio team and the doctor, and now it's the second part: hard training and going into matches. At the moment, fingers crossed, everything is going well."

Cudicini, who will hope to keep his place for tomorrow's game against New York Red Bulls, will once again battle with Heurelho Gomes to stand between Spurs' sticks this season. The pair could face further competition from Stipe Pletikosa, with manager Harry Redknapp this week confirming he was trying to sign the Spartak Moscow keeper.

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson signed highly-rated young Rangers defender Danny Wilson in a deal worth up to £5million on Wednesday.

Hodgson made his first signing since taking charge of Liverpool when he swooped for England midfielder Joe Cole earlier this week and teenage centre-back Wilson became the latest arrival at Anfield just 48 hours later. Liverpool have been tracking Wilson for several months and the 18-year-old was pulled out of the Scottish champions' pre-season tour of Australia to allow him to complete his move.

Wilson agreed a three-year contract with the English Premier League team and he told Liverpool's official website: "It's a great feeling to sign for Liverpool. Wherever you go everyone knows Liverpool FC and I am just very happy to be here. This is a massive challenge for me. This is one of the best leagues in the world and I will be playing for one of the biggest teams in the world."

Wilson made his debut in October 2009 and went on to make 25 appearances, which included UEFA Champions League action. The Scotland Under-19 international won both the PFA Scotland and Scottish Football Writers' young player of the year awards. Although he has only just started his career, Wilson is confident he can make the grade at Anfield.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson heaped praise on Gabriel Obertan after the winger steered his side to their second successive pre-season tour victory. The 21-year-old capped an impressive all-round display by hitting the only goal against Philadelphia Union in the 76th minute at Lincoln Financial Field.

The strike was Obertan's first in United's colours since joining from Bordeaux last year. The Frenchman's debut season at Old Trafford was marred by injury, but he looked full of running against the Union and broke the stiff resistance of the Major League Soccer outfit with a neat finish after being played in by teenage striker Danny Welbeck.

"Goals always help players of course, and when they are forwards in particular," said Ferguson. "There is a goal in Gabby, there is no question of that.

"The best aspect of his goal was his run, the timing of his run, and the timing of the pass and the weight of the pass. It made it a really good goal. He has taken it well."

Steven Gerrard has intimated he intends to stay at Liverpool, after admitting he is impressed with manager Roy Hodgson's plans and believes it "will be fantastic" to play alongside new signing Joe Cole. The Reds captain, who has been linked with a summer move to Real Madrid, welcomed the arrival of his international team-mate after the former Chelsea star agreed a four-year deal yesterday.

And having kept silent on his thoughts on the appointment of Hodgson and his future because of his captaincy duties at the FIFA World Cup™, Gerrard has now spoken out.

"I wanted the chance to meet Roy Hodgson privately and having done so, I'm very impressed with his plans for the future," said the 30-year-old. "I know Joe well through the England set-up, so it will be fantastic to play alongside him in a red shirt for Liverpool."

Gerrard cut a disconsolate figure at times last season as the club limped to seventh place in the Premier League - their worst finish for a decade. New Real coach Jose Mourinho, who twice tried to sign the England midfielder when he was manager at Chelsea, began the charm offensive early by making public his admiration for the one-club player.

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson hopes speculation about the future of Steven Gerrard will come to an end now the captain has publicly declared his commitment to his boyhood club.

The 30-year-old midfielder refused to talk about his future while he was at the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa with England. But on his first day of pre-season training Gerrard was keen to stress how much he is anticipating the coming campaign and playing alongside international team-mate and new signing Joe Cole.

"I made it clear that I simply needed to concentrate on the World Cup and then have a decent holiday with my family", said the midfielder. "I wanted the chance to meet Roy Hodgson privately and having done so, I'm very impressed with his plans for the future. I've only returned to training today at Melwood with some of the other World Cup players, but I can't wait for the new season to start. I know Joe well through the England set-up so it will be fantastic to play alongside him in a red shirt for Liverpool".

And for Hodgson, who has met Gerrard only briefly after taking over from Rafael Benitez on 1 July, that is exactly what he wanted to hear. "It's a great piece of news and fingers-crossed the speculation about Steven will go away", said the 62-year-old Englishman. "The club has made no secret and I have made no secret that I came to work with people like Steven Gerrard, not to see him disappear before I get chance to work with him. It seems now with that commitment that this will happen. It gives everyone a boost without question.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes Wayne Rooney is still developing as a player.

Rooney had a disappointing FIFA World Cup™ for England and failed to find the target as they exited the tournament at the last 16 stage after being beaten 4-1 by Germany. His form was in stark contrast to the previous domestic campaign when he scored 34 goals in all competitions for United.

But Ferguson expects his talismanic striker to kick on when the season opens in August. Ferguson told ESPN: "He had an improvement in terms of his timing and movement in the penalty box. His positioning also improved from the previous season.

"He got us over 30 goals and if he does that again and adds a little bit to his game then that is what we expect. The boy has got an incredible armoury of talent and what we have to do is to wait for that maturity.

"We also do nurture it and try to advise and coach in a fashion which will improve his game. But the most important thing I think he needs now is maturity and, when he gets that, I think you will see the complete footballer."

Ferguson blamed fatigue for the disappointing performance of a number of star names in South Africa and re-iterated the need for a winter break to help club and country. He said: "The FA has to give the country the best possible chance of doing well in the World Cup.

Rangers have agreed to sell 18-year-old defender Danny Wilson to Liverpool in a deal worth up to £5million. Liverpool have been tracking Wilson for several months and are now set to complete the transfer after the teenager was pulled out of the Rangers squad that set off on a pre-season tour of Australia this evening.

Rangers chief executive Martin Bain told the club's official website: "We have agreed a deal in principle with Liverpool for the transfer of Danny Wilson. Liverpool's offer will see the club receive £2million up front with add-ons linked to games played, taking the total value of the deal to £5million."

Rangers had anticipated Wilson's departure towards the end of last season after the centre-back refused a new contract offer. Liverpool`s interest initially failed to materialise as Rafael Benitez left the club but new manager Roy Hodgson has approved the deal and Wilson could join Joe Cole and his new team-mates at their Swiss training camp.

Bain, who last week oversaw the £2million sale of midfielder Kevin Thomson to Middlesbrough, added: "Danny was entering the final year of his contract with the club and had indicated that he felt it was in his interests to move on. Given that and the value of the offer from Liverpool, it was deemed appropriate to accept that offer given the player wanted to go. We are aware that with Kevin Thomson and Danny leaving the club in the last week that there is a need to add to the first team squad. Our efforts remain focused on doing that during this transfer window. We have been active in that regard with the resources that we have and we do recognise that we have to add to a squad that is light in numbers."

Chelsea midfielder Deco is keen to return to Brazil to be with his ill son, and expects to have his future sorted by Monday.

The Brazil-born former Portugal playmaker looks set to be released from his Blues contract, with Rio de Janeiro-based Fluminense reportedly a possible destination. He told Brazilian newspaperLance: "It's been 13 years since I left Brazil for playing in Europe.

"Now I want to go back home and play in my country because I have never been able to win a title there. I want to return to Brazil most of all because of personal reasons but I am still under contract at Chelsea and I have to resolve that. I expect to have my situation resolved before July 26."

Deco joined Chelsea from Barcelona two years ago and played 28 games last season as Carlo Ancelotti's side clinched a Premier League and FA Cup double.

» Date	Player Name	To	From	Type
20/07/2010	Mattia Destro Striker	Genoa	Inter	Co-Ownership
20/07/2010	Mido Striker	Middlesbrough	West Ham United	Full Ownership
20/07/2010	Gianmarco Zigoni Striker	Genoa	Milan	Co-Ownership
20/07/2010	Rodney Strasser Midfielder	Genoa	Milan	Co-Ownership
20/07/2010	S. Papastathopoulos Defender	Milan	Genoa	Full Ownership
20/07/2010	Nnamdi Oduamadi Striker	Genoa	Milan	Co-Ownership
19/07/2010	Joe Cole Midfielder	Liverpool	Chelsea	Free Transfer
19/07/2010	Borja Valero Midfielder	Villarreal	West Bromwich	Loan
17/07/2010	Edinson Cavani Striker	Napoli	Palermo	Loan
17/07/2010	Mario Mandzukic Striker	VfL Wolfsburg	Dinamo Zagreb	Full Ownership
17/07/2010	Luque Midfielder	Almería	Barcelona	Full Ownership
16/07/2010	Adriano Midfielder	Barcelona	Sevilla	Full Ownership
16/07/2010	Andrea Raggi Defender	Bari	Bologna	Loan
16/07/2010	Ibrahima Sonko Defender	Portsmouth	Stoke City	Loan
16/07/2010	Kevin Thomson Midfielder	Middlesbrough	Rangers	Full Ownership
16/07/2010	Frédéric Piquionne Striker	West Ham United	Portsmouth	Co-Ownership
16/07/2010	Eliseu Midfielder	Málaga	Lazio	Full Ownership
15/07/2010	Pedro León Midfielder	Real Madrid	Getafe	Full Ownership
15/07/2010	Ali Al Habsi Goalkeeper	Wigan Athletic	Bolton Wanderers	Loan
15/07/2010	Aritz Aduriz Striker	Valencia	Mallorca	Full Ownership
15/07/2010	Beranger Defender	Tenerife	Espanyol	Free Transfer
14/07/2010	S. Almiron Midfielder	Bari	Juventus	Full Ownership
14/07/2010	Marqués Midfielder	Parma	Espanyol	Free Transfer
13/07/2010	Stephen McManus Defender	Middlesbrough	Celtic	Full Ownership
13/07/2010	Matteo Darmian Defender	Palermo	Milan	Co-Ownership
13/07/2010	Cristiano Lupatelli	Bologna	Cagliari	Free Transfer
12/07/2010	Artur Boruc Goalkeeper	Fiorentina	Celtic	Full Ownership
12/07/2010	Clinton Morrison	Sheffield Wednesday	Coventry	Free Transfer
12/07/2010	Joe Ledley Midfielder	Celtic	Cardiff	Full Ownership
12/07/2010	Carlo Nash Goalkeeper	Stoke City	Everton	Free Transfer
12/07/2010	Pedro Mosquera Midfielder	Getafe	Real Madrid	Full Ownership
10/07/2010	O. Martins Striker	Rubin	VfL Wolfsburg	Full Ownership
09/07/2010	F. Parravicini Midfielder	Livorno	Siena	Loan
09/07/2010	Riccardo Meggiorini Striker	Bologna	Genoa	Co-Ownership
09/07/2010	Valdes Midfielder	Sporting	Atalanta	Full Ownership
09/07/2010	Jesús Alberto Dátolo Midfielder	Espanyol	Napoli	Loan
09/07/2010	Matteo Contini	Zaragoza	Napoli	Full Ownership
09/07/2010	Jesús Alberto Dátolo Midfielder	Espanyol	Napoli	Loan
08/07/2010	Francesco Bolzoni Midfielder	Siena	Genoa	Loan
08/07/2010	Florent Cuvelier	Stoke City	Portsmouth	Free Transfer
08/07/2010	Milan Jovanovic Striker	Liverpool	Standard Liege	Free Transfer
08/07/2010	Simon Kjaer Defender	VfL Wolfsburg	Palermo	Full Ownership
08/07/2010	Gergely Rudolf Striker	Genoa	Debrecen	Full Ownership
07/07/2010	Sebastián Eguren Midfielder	Sporting de Gijón	Villarreal	Free Transfer
06/07/2010	Dmytro Chygrynskiy Defender	Shakhtar Donetsk	Barcelona	Full Ownership
05/07/2010	Kris Boyd Striker	Middlesbrough	Rangers	Full Ownership
04/07/2010	Valeri Bojinov Striker	Parma	Manchester City	Full Ownership
04/07/2010	Daniel Opare Defender	Standard Liege	Real Madrid	Full Ownership
03/07/2010	Sidney Govou Striker	Panathinaikos	Olympique Lyonnais	Free Transfer
02/07/2010	Yossi Shai Benayoun Midfielder	Chelsea	Liverpool	Full Ownership