Everton prepare £400,000 bid to tempt Pearson

David Moyes, the Everton manager, has included the new Scotland international Stephen Pearson on his list of possible purchases. Moyes, who has been told by Everton that he will not have much to spend, is poised to offer £400,000 for the Motherwell midfielder.

Pearson is out of contract at the end of the season and sure to leave Motherwell, who will now look to sell him when the transfer window opens in January. Moyes had received good reports about the player and was impressed as he saw Pearson, a fellow red-head, score for Motherwell in their Scottish Premier League draw at home to Dunfermline on Tuesday night.

Leicester City have made the only concrete offer for him so far. Pearson has also attracted the interest of both Celtic and Rangers - although both have been put off by Motherwell's valuation.

However Pearson's price is falling fast and he is well within Moyes' range for a bargain bid in the New Year.

Moyes has also spoken to Everton's James McFadden about his former team-mate and is building up a complete dossier on the youngster.

Pearson made his Scotland debut as a substitute in the home win over the Nertherlands and would be ready to be part of the Everton squad immediately. They are short in midfield and his kind of running and passing would also suit Moyes' style.

Sean Davis, who had been a leading target for Moyes, now seems to be out of reach. He has come off the transfer list at Fulham and is also disillusioned with Everton over the breakdown of his move at the start of the season.

Davis' knee problems scuppered the transfer and then Moyes' spending on other players left him without the funds to relaunch a bid. Davis, a Londoner, has told friends that he will not go to Everton now because of the previous saga.

Meanwhile, the Bolton manager, Sam Allardyce, is pleading with his club to give him funds to sign the Russian veteran Viktor Onopko. The 34-year-old international captain is Allardyce's main target and his advisers have arrived in England to discuss terms ahead of a possible move in January.

Now Allardyce needs clearance to pay Onopko's wages for the rest of the season and said: "I think he is available but I am yet to have the right conversation with the chairman. If there is money available I would like to produce the right player on 1 January rather than 31 January.

"We are usually a last-minute club. We make offers, people turn us down but then come back at the finish."

Allardyce believes that he needs Onopko as soon as possible because Bolton have a gruelling set of games in December and he wants the deal done and the work permit to arrive in time for New Year's Day.

The Bolton striker Delroy Facey has returned to the club after a loan spell at Burnley. The 23-year-old spent the last three months on loan at Turf Moor, and the Burnley manager, Stan Ternent, is still keen to make him a permanent addition to his squad.

Wolves are ready to snap up Romania's World Cup striker Adrian Ilie after a surprise change of mind by Blackburn Rovers.

Ilie will train with Dave Jones's club and hopes to clinch a contract after they stepped in when Rovers pulled the plug on the deal to take him yesterday.

The former Valencia striker - a free agent since quitting Alaves - thought he had done enough to impress Graeme Souness after scoring in a closed-doors game. But Souness has opted against the move and an annoyed Ilie headed off for Wolves instead. He is likely to sign a contract for the rest of the season.

Clint Mathis, of the United States, is flying in for transfer talks with ambitious Walsall. Mathis, a midfielder, is looking to move across the Atlantic and can leave New York MetroStars to find a new club in the near future.

Mathis is due to train with Colin Lee's club for a few days and has also had an invitation from Rangers. The 27-year-old has been a regular in the United States international side.

The Fulham manager, Chris Coleman, has issued a hands-off warning to any clubs hoping to prise Louis Saha away from the Cottagers.

The French striker has scored eight goals from 13 starts this season, including both strikes in the 2-0 victory over Portsmouth on Monday night.

His form has seen him linked with Manchester United and Arsenal, but Coleman insists the 25-year-old forward is not for sale at any price.

Joe Royle insists there will be no January sales at Portman Road despite the Ipswich Town manager pressing ahead with efforts to sign on-loan trio Shefki Kuqi, Alan Mahon and Chris Bart-Williams on a permanent basis.