MANCHESTER UNITED
Park Ji Sung and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are ready to resume full training after ankle and hamstring injuries respectively and should be in contention for next week’s crucial Champions League match at home to Benfica. “With the hectic December period coming up, it’s great we’ll have those players available,” Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager, said.
CHELSEA
Peter Kenyon has defended the poor form of misfiring striker Andriy Shevchenko. “We did not take a one-year view of Shevchenko,” the chief executive said. “He was identified early on as a player who could improve us and I’m sure he will.”
BOLTON WANDERERS
Ricardo Gardner could be included among the substitutes at home to Chelsea on Wednesday evening. The left back has not featured since rupturing an Achilles in the 1-0 league defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur last season.
PORTSMOUTH
Harry Redknapp has assured David Thompson that he has a future at Fratton Park. “He gives you everything, gets stuck in and doesn’t stop working,” he said. “You want players like that. I understand he wants to play more but so do lots of other people. Midfield is an area I have got quite a few options in.”
ASTON VILLA
Isaiah Osbourne is set to sign a new deal, until 2010, this week. “He’s got great potential and I’ve been very pleased with him,” Martin O’Neill said of the 19-year-old midfield player who has started four of the past five Premiership matches.
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ARSENAL
William Gallas will return to the squad for next week’s Champions League tie against FC Porto. The France defender has made a quick recovery from a thigh injury and will be available to face Chelsea, his former club, on December 10.
READING
Steve Coppell, the manager, is keen to sign Mohamed Aboutrika, the Egypt and Al-Ahly midfield player. Coppell, who watched Aboutrika play in the African Cup of Nations in February, said: “We’re exploring the possibility of doing something on loan.”
EVERTON
David Moyes has told James McFadden, the Scotland forward, that he will be a top-class player if he can add consistency and maturity to his game. “He has got terrific ability,” the manager said. “If he can pull it all together and make the right decisions, then he is a really talented footballer.”
LIVERPOOL
The future of Florent Sinama Pongolle, the France Under-21 forward, remains uncertain. Sinama Pongolle has impressed while on loan to Recreativo Huelva, scoring several goals, but the Spanish club do not have the financial resources to complete a permanent transfer in the immediate future.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Martin Jol, the head coach, is hoping that his team can secure their first away league win of the season when they visit Arsenal, their North London rivals, on Saturday. “We need wins away from home and that is a fact,” Jol said. “But it is not easy.”
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WIGAN ATHLETIC
Gary Teale, the winger, is a serious doubt for the game at home to Liverpool on Saturday after damaging a hamstring in the 3-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Arjan de Zeeuw could return after missing the trip to White Hart Lane with a toe injury.
FULHAM
Chris Coleman, the manager, is struggling to find four defenders to play against Arsenal at Craven Cottage on Wednesday evening. Carlos Bocanegra (hamstring), Franck Queudrue (gashed shin) and Ian Pearce (suspension) miss out, so Philippe Christanval may be rushed back from a groin injury.
MIDDLESBROUGH
Gaizka Mendieta, the Spain midfield player who has two years left on his contract, has been told he can leave in next month’s transfer window. Mendieta, 32, has made only three league starts this season and is unhappy at being on the bench. Gareth Southgate, the manager, said: “I understand his frustration at not being involved. As a senior player, if he’s not playing, we have to look to see if we can help him in some way.”
MANCHESTER CITY
Claudio Reyna, the midfield player who is in the final year of his contract, has dismissed speculation that he will leave the club in January and return to his native United States. “I am enjoying my time here and want to keep playing for my position,” he said.
WEST HAM UNITED
With Danny Gabbidon sidelined with a pulled hamstring, James Collins, his fellow Wales centre back, has made a timely return to training after a groin strain. He suffered the injury in the 1-0 defeat away to Middlesbrough this month.
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BLACKBURN ROVERS
Yiannis Okkas, the Olympiacos striker, has reiterated his desire to join the club in January. The 29-year-old Cypriot is due to spend five days on trial at Ewood Park next month with a view to a permanent transfer. “If the two clubs can agree terms then I will play for Rovers,” he said.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Glenn Roeder, the manager, will be without 15 members of his first-team squad for Thursday’s Uefa Cup tie away to Eintracht Frankfurt. Kieron Dyer (leg) and Scott Parker (back) are the latest players to be ruled out, but Roeder said: ”My take on injuries is always that, if a player is missing, it gives somebody else a chance.”
SHEFFIELD UNITED
Neil Warnock left a message on Keith Hackett’s mobile phone telling the referees’ chief that the absence of video technology had cost his team a point on Saturday after Mike Riley, the referee for the club’s match away to West Ham United, ruled out a late equaliser. “We would have got a point if there had been video technology - that’s a cert,” Warnock said. “It’s definitely time it was introduced.”
WATFORD
Adrian Boothroyd has dismissed speculation that he wants to sign Ade Akinbiyi from Sheffield United in January, but the manager refused to deny that he was interested in David Healy, the Leeds United forward, and Nathan Ellington, the West Bromwich Albion forward.
CHARLTON ATHLETIC
Iain Dowie was dismissed as head coach because he could not fit in with the new coaching structure put in place in the summer, according to Richard Murray, the chairman. “Unfortunately, Iain’s approach, while energetic and enthusiastic, failed to convince the board that he could make the structure work,” he said.