Football: Iversen may have to wait

Tottenham Hotspur are on the verge of signing the Norwegian striker, Steffen Iversen, after agreeing a fee with his club, Rosenborg Trondheim. The fee is reportedly around pounds 2.5m - which would make him Norway's most expensive player.

The deal will not go through until Rosenborg are eliminated from the European Cup, which may happen on 4 December when they face Milan in the last round of Champions' League matches. If they win in Milan they will overtake the Italians in Group D to qualify for the quarter-finals next March - and Iversen will stay put.

Darren Huckerby, the 20-year-old former Lincoln striker, has completed his pounds 1m transfer from Newcastle to Coventry City. He has signed a three- and-a-half year contract for the Highfield Road club.

Sunderland will put the pounds 120,000 earned from this week's transfer of Brett Angell to Stockport County by towards the purchase of the Israeli striker, Ronen Harazi, from Beitar Jerusalem. The 26-year-old has trained at Roker Park this week and should complete a pounds 400,000 move this weekend.

Chelsea have continued the reduction of their wage bill by sending two forwards out on loan to First Division sides: Mark Stein to his former club, Stoke, and Gavin Peacock to his first club, Queen's Park Rangers.

Ruud Gullit, the Chelsea manager, has denied reports that he is about to sign the Fortuna Dusseldorf goalkeeper Georg Koch for pounds 2m, but admitted that the player has been watched. "We've been looking for a keeper both in England and abroad," Gullit said. "But the ones we looked at weren't good enough and Frode Grodas did really well at Blackburn last week." Chelsea also have the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international Nick Colgan on their books to cover for the injured Dimitri Kharin and Kevin Hitchcock.

The former Middlesbrough midfielder Jamie Pollock has received international clearance to resume his career in England following his pounds 1.5m move to Bolton Wanderers from the Spanish club, Osasuna.

Paul Merson has agreed a new deal that will keep him at Arsenal for the next three years. Skipper Tony Adams, French midfifielder Patrick Vieira and Dutch striker Dennis Bergkamp are all poised to sign new contracts.