Venables may have to sell £10m Bowyer to Liverpool

Terry Venables' first act as the Leeds United manager may be to watch over the sale of Lee Bowyer. Venables flew in from Spain yesterday to take up his new role, with the future of Leeds' key players at the top of his agenda. His first task was a hastily arranged meeting with the club's coaches, Eddie Gray and Brian Kidd, and the chief scout, Ian Broomfield. He will meet the players today.

Gérard Houllier, Venables' counterpart at Liverpool, is closing in on a £10m deal for Bowyer, which should be concluded before the end of the week. Leeds need to bring in cash to help the fight to keep their England defender Rio Ferdinand.

Bowyer has made it plain that he will not sign a new deal, and with a year left on his contract Leeds are under pressure to accept a compromise figure. They were looking for £15m, while Liverpool's opening bid was around half that, but Anfield insiders believe the deal will be completed by Friday.

Bowyer's arrival would strengthen Liverpool's midfield, where a lack of goals has cost them dearly in the past.

If Bowyer's departure is swiftly followed by another expensive sale, it will be a major fillip in the battle for Ferdinand, with Manchester United waiting in the wings. The new manager's statement that he would like Ferdinand to remain at Elland Road, may force the defender to ask for a transfer if he wants to leave. Leeds would then probably be able to hold out for £35m.

Leeds fans were given hope that Ferdinand might stay when the club's chairman Peter Ridsdale said the defender's agent was "extremely complimentary" about the new manager.

Ridsdale met Pini Zahavi for the first time since the World Cup in London on Monday, and he said, "I don't think that Terry's appointment has tipped the balance because it was already in our favour; Rio is a Leeds United player who is not for sale.

"This was simply the first opportunity I have had to discuss Rio with his agent since the speculation began. I won't know Rio's views until I have spoken to him personally but his agent was extremely complimentary about Terry Venables and also said he understood that Rio would be impressed."

Ferdinand, who cost £18m from West Ham in 2000, is on holiday in Las Vegas and has said as long as the club wants to keep him, he is happy to stay.

Leeds seem willing to sell other players, having agreed a fee with Sunderland for Robbie Keane. That came before David O'Leary's sacking, however, and Venables will have his own ideas on which players are surplus.

Liverpool's interest in Bowyer has not deterred them from signing another midfielder, the Frenchman Alou Diarra on a free transfer from Bayern Munich. The former under-20 international has agreed a five-year deal.

Diarra joined Bayern Munich two seasons ago from the French Second Division side, Louhans-Cuiseaux and was a member of the France squad that competed in the World Youth Cup last year.

He failed to break into the Bayern first team during his spell but is the first of Liverpool's four transfer targets to seal his move to Anfield. The club have also lined up a bid for French striker Bruno Cheyrou while Senegal World Cup pair El Hadji Diouf and Salif Diao are also targets.

Joseph Yobo has agreed to join Everton, but only on loan for one season, despite four days of talks about a permanent £3.5m switch from Marseilles. The Nigerian international has sought advice from friends and advisers about the move and does not want to commit to a three or four-year deal The 21-year-old, who snubbed Juventus this week, called the likes of Arsenal's Kanu and Bolton's Jay-Jay Okocha before making his decision.

Despite reports that a full-time deal has been concluded, Yobo has insisted on this arrangement and Everton, desperate to bring in players on a budget, have seen the positive side of the arrangement, too.

Birmingham have finally secured the services of Paris St Germain midfielder Aliou Cissé in a £4.5m package – £1.5m in transfer fees and Cissé's four-year contract of around £3m.