Football: City open to pounds 7m offers for Kinkladze

Manchester City are preparing to sell their coveted Georgian midfielder Georgi Kinkladze and are open to offers of pounds 7m. Kinkladze's future at Maine Road has been put into doubt by his poor form in City's disappointing start to the season of two defeats and a draw.

Liverpool were linked with a move for Kinkladze yesterday after the manager, Roy Evans, watched him in action last week. Kinkladze has an unwritten agreement with the chairman, Francis Lee, that he will be sold if City receive a bid of pounds 7m.

Nottingham Forest are pricing striker Dean Saunders out of a move to Everton by asking for pounds 1m. Howard Kendall, the Everton manager, is willing to pay around pounds 600,000 for the 33- year-old Welshman.

Blackburn Rovers are giving the Norwegian centre-back Tore Pedersen the chance to fill Henning Berg's boots. The former Oldham player has joined Blackburn for training with a view to a pounds 700,000 transfer from the Hamburg side St Pauli following Berg's recent transfer to Manchester United.

Tony Dorigo will tomorrow leave Leeds to join Graeme Souness at Torino. The former England international's free transfer to the Serie B club has been put on hold for 24 hours because of a national holiday. But the Australian- born 31-year-old has agreed personal terms with Souness.

Dorigo's erstwhile team-mate, Tony Yeboah, looks set to reject a move to Newell's Old Boys of Argentina for family reasons. Yeboah's agent, Hayden Evans, said: "Tony has to give a decision today, but I don't think he would want to take his family out to South America."

Terry Venables is preparing to take complete control of Portsmouth. Venables became chairman of Pompey last November and bought a 51 per cent share in the club from the former managing director Martin Gregory in February for pounds 1.

At the same time, the former England coach secured a three-year option to buy the 45 per cent of shares which Gregory still holds. Venables is now to spend pounds 3.5m on the shares.

The Norwegian club Molde have cleared the way for Petter Rudi to join Sheffield Wednesday in a potential pounds 750,000 deal later this year.

The 23-year-old midfielder can remain with the club until the end of the Norwegian season on 19 October.

Crystal Palace have completed the transfer of the Israeli international Itzhak Zohar. The 26-year-old midfielder moves to Selhurst Park in a pounds 1.2m transfer from Royal Antwerp of Belgium.

Zohar, capped 29 times, has started training with the south London club, having been granted international clearance and received his work permit.

John Dennis is confident of signing the West Ham striker Iain Dowie after the Barnsley chairman and manager, Danny Wilson, held extensive talks with the Northern Ireland international at Oakwell yesterday in an effort to persuade the 32-year-old to move north. A fee of around pounds 500,000 has been agreed with the Hammers but Dowie now wants time to think over the deal.

Dennis said: "[Dowie] has one or two things he needs to talk over with West Ham and with his family before giving us an answer, but I believe the situation will be resolved within the next couple of days."

Manchester United have destroyed thousands of pounds worth of Eric Cantona souvenirs after removing them from the club shop's shelves. Cantona had demanded a pounds 750,000 cut from the profits of the merchandise.

Players at Newport AFC are having to chip in to pay for their team-mate Leigh Hall to have a cartilage operation. The player needs pounds 1,300 for private treatment. Otherwise Hall faces being out for the whole season on the NHS waiting list.