Tottenham have signed midfielder Gustavo Poyet from Chelsea on a three-year contract. The 33-year-old Uruguayan international has joined for a fee in the region of £2.25 million sterling.
A solitary goal from Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira gave France victory over Japan in the Confederations Cup final yesterday. The French, who were without Zinedine Zidane, Barcelona's Emmanuel Petit and goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, failed to produce the scintillating football they displayed in their semi-final win over Brazil.
Steve McClaren is expected to take over as Middlesbrough manager today after speaking for the first time about his decision to quit Manchester United.
The 40-year-old will move into Bryan Robson's job at the Riverside Stadium after accepting he would never replace Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford.
"I realised I was well down in the pecking order," McClaren told the Mail on Sunday.
Southampton have opened talks with the former West Ham manager Harry Redknapp about replacing Glenn Hoddle. Rupert Lowe, Southampton's chairman, began informal negotiations with Redknapp at the weekend after his first choice, Preston's David Moyes, rejected a switch to the south coast.
Former Barcelona manager Johan Cruyff has ruled out succeeding Alex Ferguson at English premier league club Manchester United. "I am not interested," Cruyff told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme yesterday. "I'm doing other things than being a coach."
Greece have played down reports linking them with a move for former England and Australia coach Terry Venables. Venables was yesterday reported to be considering taking over the Greek national team - which lost 2-0 to England in a World Cup qualifying match on Wednesday. However, Greece press officer Pano Korkodilos denied any knowledge of an approach to Venables.
Scotland manager Craig Brown remains hopeful of convincing Liverpool midfielder Gary McAllister to end his self-imposed international exile and help Scotland qualify for the 2002 World Cup. Brown, who asked the former Coventry City player to return in March this year, told Liverpool's official website that he has not given up hope of having McAllister back in his side.
