Football: Hodgson wants Sforza to follow him to Blackburn

Football

Blackburn Rovers are hoping to bring over Ciriaco Sforza from Internazionale to link up again with the English coach, Roy Hodgson, who will be making the same switch this summer.

It could cost Rovers pounds 3m to accommodate Hodgson's wish for the Swiss midfielder to follow him from Milan. Hodgson groomed Sforza for the Swiss national side when he was their coach, before taking him to Italy.

Hodgson plans five major signings this summer with the backing of Rovers' owner, Jack Walker, and Sforza is one player he confident of capturing. Hodgson's other targets apparently include Milan's French striker Christophe Dugarry, the Monaco pair Ali Benarbia and Emmanuel Petit, and the Swedes Anders Andersson, a midfielder, and Pascal Simpson, a striker.

Paul Ince has apparently been offered an improved two-year contract by Inter's president, Massimo Moratti, in a bid to keep him in Italy.

Graham Taylor is back, almost, to square one. The former England manager, who has been working as general manager at Watford, has assumed control of team affairs at Vicarage Road, where he was manager from 1977 to 1987. Taylor will also continue as general manager, with Kenny Jackett reverting from team manager to first-team coach.

Since Elton John returned to Watford for his second spell as chairman, the club have also announced a restructuring of the board of directors. Watford suffered a disappointing end to the season, slipping out of the Second Division play-off places after drawing too many games.

Matthew Le Tissier has agreed to extend his 11-year career with Southampton, following the club's Premiership survival at the weekend.

"I'll still be here next season," he said. "I've always been a strong supporter of the club and I've made my views clear. What I've said all along is that as long as we're in the Premier League I would be happy to stay."

If, as he expects, George Graham completes the signing of the Rangers defender David Robertson for Leeds United, the fee for the 28-year-old Scottish international is likely to be decided by the home international tribunal. The Scottish champions want around pounds 1.5m for Robertson, but Leeds are believed to willing to offer only pounds 500,000.

Arsenal have signed a pounds 250,000 deal with a local school to help develop future Highbury players. They have teamed up with Highams Park School to allow a selection of promising 14-year-old footballers to join the academic roll at the comprehensive and train with the Premiership club in their spare time.

Richard Carr, an Arsenal director who will become one of the school's governors, said: "We're very excited by the idea. In three years' time we will have 30 talented young footballers based at the school who will be able to hone their skills every evening after they complete an hour's supervised homework."

The scheme is the brainchild of Liam Brady, who is Arsenal's head of youth development

Kilmarnock will ask for extra Scottish Cup final tickets after selling their 23,000 allocation for the match at Ibrox on 24 May. Hundreds of fans have been turned away from Rugby Park following the public sale of tickets for the clash with Falkirk, the club's first final for 37 years.

Killmarnock's club secretary, Kevin Collins, said: "The tickets disappeared like snow off a dyke! We were sold out in a few hours." Falkirk, of the First Division, sold the 7,500 tickets they put on public sale.

n Alex Ferguson was named as the Carling Manager of the Year yesterday, after leading Manchester United to their fourth Premiership title in five years.