From Barcelona to Bolton for Dutruel
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Your support makes all the difference.The French goalkeeper Richard Dutruel is ready to swap a place in the Barcelona shadows for Bolton Wanderers in a surprise loan deal. The 28-year-old former international is in talks with the Trotters' manager Sam Allardyce about joining the Premiership team for the rest of the season.
Dutruel – now third choice at the Nou Camp – will have to fight for the jersey with Jussi Jaaskelainen, but is prepared to move. Allardyce is also ready to pay the rental fee of around £800,000, which is hefty insurance cover for the Finnish international Jaaskelainen.
Dutruel is due to arrive before the weekend and comes with a good CV despite his recent problems with Barcelona. He joined Barça from Celta Vigo on a Bosman free transfer just 18 months ago, but has lost his place and does not even have a squad number.
Leicester City's transfer-listed midfielder Muzzy Izzet is no nearer to securing a move away from Filbert Street. Izzet went on the list last week after a meeting also involving his agent Jonathan Barnett and the Foxes' manager Dave Bassett. That decision was expected to start a transfer scramble for the services of the Turkish international who is rated in the £8-£10m bracket by City, with Aston Villa and Leeds United thought to be leading the race.
But Barnett yesterday insisted Villa, thought to be the strong favourites to sign Izzet, have made no contact about the possibility of signing the player. Sources close to City are adamant they expect no movement in the Izzet situation in the foreseeable future.
The Wolves manager Dave Jones remains determined to lure the Leicester striker Ade Akinbiyi back to Molineux.
Jones, who has guided his club to the top of the First Division, is in daily contact with Bassett to try and thrash out a deal for Akinbiyi, who left Wolves to join Leicester for £5m last year. He has endured a torrid time at Filbert Street and is without a goal in the Premiership this season.
That has not put off Jones, who last week failed with a bid to take Akinbiyi back on loan with a view to a permanent deal. Jones said: "Hopefully we can thrash something out. It is an on-going situation. He just needs a break and maybe if he comes to us he can put a few in."
The Southampton manager Gordon Strachan's reunion of his Coventry old boys is set to continue, with just a medical now standing between Paul Telfer and his switch to the St Mary's Stadium. The Former Coventry player Paul Williams has already stiffened Strachan's defence by signing, and the Scottish international Telfer is poised to join him on a free transfer. The 30-year-old, who played for Saints' reserves on Monday, is expected to finalise his move in time for Saturday's home Premiership match against Blackburn.
West Bromwich have signed the Southampton striker Uwe Rösler on loan after ending their interest in Sunderland's Danny Dichio. The 32-year-old German has made just five appearances for the Saints this season.
Kevin Keegan hopes to make the Croatian left back Robert Jarni his seventh signing for Manchester City in the next 48 hours. City agreed a £250,000 fee with Jarni's Spanish club Las Palmas yesterday and started to push through the deal for the 33-year-old last night.
Jarni has also accepted terms and now City are waiting for the Football Association to process his international clearance ahead of a possible debut against Gillingham on Saturday. Keegan intends for Jarni to fill his left-back slot and that may mean Stuart Pearce moving to central defence – or concentrating on coaching.
The Watford defender Neil Cox has been taken off the transfer list after winning the approval of manager Gianluca Vialli. The Italian's first action at Vicarage Road was to transfer list Cox, Darren Ward and the Welsh international Robert Page – without having even trained with the squad or seen them play – but Cox was undeterred.
Following the subsequent departures of Page to Sheffield United and Ward to Millwall, Cox has been withdrawn from the transfer list after winning back and holding down his place in the first team.
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