"Hands off," an angry John Aldridge warned Gerard Houllier last week. "Joe Murphy is not for sale at any price." "But Liverpool have not bid for Joe Murphy at any price. I don't know where that story came from, but it's simply not correct," said the puzzled Liverpool boss on being told of Aldridge's comments.

Ah, but we know where it came from: Houllier, apparently, said `howarya' to Tranmere's young Irish goalkeeper when they met at an awards ceremony in Cork last week, before making some complimentary remarks about his progress. Voila! "Murphy set for Anfield" screamed the back page headlines around Merseyside next day. (Mind you, Liverpool goalkeeping coach Joe Corrigan WAS spotted at Tranmere's game against West Brom last week. . .).

Arsenal, meanwhile, are being tipped as Robbie Fowler's next port of call because (a) Arsene Wenger has been given £35 million to spend and (b) he said last week that "we need somebody who will score scruffy goals - Fowler can do that". He may have proved to be a scruffy non-goal scorer in last week's Old Firm derby but Celtic striker Mark Viduka is still all set for a six million move to Everton before the transfer deadline later this month, so they say.

We could be wrong but, based on a midweek interview we read with Barcelona's Emmanuel Amunike, we reckon he's looking for a transfer. "To say that I want to play for Barcelona would be a lie, they've treated me like a slave. I can't train with the team or have a massage. Nothing, like a madman or a sick man." Yep, we think Amunike is available.