Haaland rules out lawsuit against Keane
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Your support makes all the difference.Alf Inge Haaland is not considering legal action following Roy Keane's admission that he deliberately set out to injure the Norwegian player.
Keane's revelation in his autobiography that he deliberately tried to injure the Manchester City midfielder could lead to City's insurers suing the United player, while Haaland himself may opt to try to recoup lost income and personal sponsorship deals. But the player yesterday claimed his only current goal is to get himself fit and play a part in City's return to the Premiership.
The 29-year-old former Leeds player had an operation on a knee last year. But complications meant he was restricted to just four appearances for the Maine Road club from the bench last season, the last one at the start of January.
Yet Sky Sports News reported that Haaland had told them he was not considering legal action and was concentrating on getting fit again.
"It's been pretty frustrating. I've been through three operations so it's been a period I would rather forget," Haaland said. "I'm still injured. I've had a scan again that should tell me if I require more surgery. Time will tell. It's something the doctors have to find out."
The Rennes defender Julien Escude has insisted he is determined to leave the Breton club to join Manchester United. The 23-year-old, who is rated in the £5m bracket, was disappointed to see talks between Rennes and United officials stall last weekend.
The Rennes communication manager, Jerome Poupard, declared that the club still needed to think about the offer and would give their definite decision by 25 August. But whatever the outcome, Escude already sees his future in England.
"As soon as I got back to the club in June I told them about my intentions to leave," he said. "I think I have had my time in Rennes. When I arrived I was only a little Ligue 2 player but since then I have progressed and I have learnt enough here. I am determined to leave."
The unsettled Turkey defender Alpay Ozalan has rounded on Aston Villa after the club released details of his wage demands. He has handed in a transfer request ahead of their opening game against Liverpool on Sunday, knowing the new window closes on 31 August.
Villa revealed that Alpay was looking for a 50 per cent increase on his current deal and they would not meet that request.He said: "They could have offered to make me the highest paid player in the UK and I still wouldn't have signed. It's not the answer and isn't good enough for me because of the way they treated me last year."
The 29-year-old said he was unhappy at the way in which the Villa Park club looked after him during a six-month battle to regain his fitness.
Liverpool's England Under-21 defender Stephen Wright has finally agreed to join Sunderland in a £1.5m deal. The Sunderland manager, Peter Reid, has been in talks to sign Wright after agreeing the fee with his Liverpool counterpart Gérard Houllier.
West Bromwich Albion have signed the midfielder Lee Marshall from Leicester City for £700,000. Marshall has signed a three-year contract and is in line to make his Albion debut in Saturday's Premiership opener at Manchester United.
The US international Joran Kirovski has signed for Birmingham on a Bosman free transfer from Crystal Palace. The former Manchester United player, whose other clubs also include Borussia Dortmund and Sporting Lisbon, was granted a work permit yesterday.
The Manchester City manager, Kevin Keegan, plans to sign a goalkeeper on loan after Nicky Weaver suffered a setback in his recovery from a knee operation. Weaver broke down in training on Saturday and may now need surgery for a second time on his problematic knee.
The highly-rated Paris St-Germain defender Frederic Dehu insists he has no intention of leaving despite rumours linking him with Manchester City and Tottenham.
"This season is going to be exciting and I will give my maximum to help PSG win the title." the 29-year-old centre-half said.
The Football League was reported yesterday to be on the verge of signing a £6m highlights TV deal with Carlton and Granada that would represent a spectacular climb-down. The move comes despite the recent defeat in court over the collapse of ITV Digital.
The deal will be for three years, meaning that the 72 clubs would receive only £2m a year between them.
* England's first home game of their Euro 2004 qualifying campaign will take place against Macedonia at Southampton's new St Mary's stadium on 16 October.
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