Football: Leeds fail to buy Van Hooijdonk

DAVID O'LEARY, the Leeds United manager, yesterday confirmed that he had made a bid for the Nottingham Forest striker Pierre van Hooijdonk - but he had refused to meet the asking price.

O'Leary has been searching for a new forward since taking over at Elland Road last month, despite United now having scored seven goals in their last two Premiership matches.

Van Hooijdonk was seen as the perfect partner for his fellow Dutch international Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, but the Irishman has now pulled out of a move for the City Ground rebel. The Forest manager, Dave Bassett, is eager to offload the 28-year-old who has only recently returned to the East Midlands after staging his one-man strike at the start of the season.

O'Leary said: "I made an inquiry. I was prepared to take a chance on him, but not at the pounds 6m we were quoted. I was prepared to go as high as pounds 4m, but the deal is dead now."

Carlton Palmer is leaving Southampton to join Barnsley in an exchange deal. The experienced former England midfielder will move to the First Division side with the Welsh international left-back Darren Barnard going to The Dell.

The Sheffield United manager Steve Bruce has again been told to sell before he can buy - although a new man is pulling the purse-strings at Bramall Lane. The London-based Italian lawyer Carlo Colombotti was yesterday named as the Blades' new plc chairman, taking over from Mike McDonald, who has stepped down to become a non-executive director.

The move ends months of uncertainty and negotiations at the club but, despite an immediate pounds 2m cash injection, none of that will be made available for fresh faces. United also announced a pounds 6m loss for the last financial year, forcing Bruce to trim the wage bill.

Lou Macari will be promoted to become assistant manager at Bramall Lane. The former Celtic manager has been scouting for the Blades this season.

Liverpool will hold fire on any move to bring the AZ67 Alkmaar defender, Peter Wijker, to Merseyside. Gerard Houllier, the Anfield manager, went to the Netherlands on Sunday to watch the 6ft 3in stopper at Sparta Rotterdam. "We will not be making a move just yet but we will see how he progresses," the Frenchman said.

Manchester United have made clear the desire of Europe's leading clubs to start the revamped Champions' League next season.

The Football Association will plead for a 12-month delay to the new-look League at a meeting with Uefa today after 14 of Europe's top clubs, including United and Liverpool, reached agreement for it to be expanded from 24 to 32 teams.

The clubs have turned their back on the breakaway Super League plans put forward by Media Partners, but are united in wanting the changes, which are set to offer them far greater financial rewards, to be in place for next season.

However, when Uefa meet with representatives of their 51 member federations in Geneva today, the FA chairman Keith Wiseman is set to call for the status quo to be retained until the season after next.

While United do not want to be seen as being directly critical of the FA, it is clear that its viewpoint is at odds with the wishes of the leading clubs in Europe. The United director Maurice Watkins said: "Manchester United have been attending these club meetings and my understanding was that the clubs would not be unhappy if this started at the beginning of next season. I was under the impression that was what Uefa were proposing to do."