PSV Eindhoven are ready to call a halt to the transfer of Ruud Van Nistelrooy to Manchester United with club president Harry Van Raay widely quoted in the English media as saying: "If United do not want him, we'll have him back."
Early editions of Today's Daily Mirror quoted Van Raay as saying: "If Manchester United make a problem of all this, I will take him back to PSV immediately. The fans never wanted to lose him, and neither did we.
"We knew for his own ambition we had to cooperate and that we could not stop him from going to England."
The Stg£18.5 million transfer was halted on Tuesday when Van Nistelrooy failed a medical on his injured knee - and the player flew back to the Netherlands yesterday after failing another round of tests.
The deal could also be scuppered, reports the Mirror, because insurance premiums could push the overall cost of the transfer up to £21 million.
Leeds' manager David O'Leary is debating whether to discipline Lee Bowyer after he was handed a one-match ban and fined Stg £4,000 by the English FA at a hearing in Sheffield yesterday.
Bowyer has become the first Premiership player to amass 14 yellow cards this season. He was fined £750 for picking up 11 bookings last season.
Leeds' secretary Ian Sylvester said yesterday: "We have a strict disciplinary procedure and we will have to sit down with Lee to see if any further punishment is necessary.
Sunderland midfielder Alex Rae was handed a two-match ban and fined £2,000 for elbowing Derby's Darryl Powell in the Premiership match last February, and Ian Moore of Stockport was given a two-match ban and fined £1,000 for stamping on Barnsley's Chris Barker in March.
Manchester United's Jordi Cruyff has hinted that he would like to join a Premiership club when he leaves the champions this summer. Cruyff is set to leave United on a free transfer after four years at Old Trafford, which have mainly been spent on the sidelines.
The 26-year-old Dutch winger has managed just 54 appearances in that time and is desperate for regular football.
Jorg Albertz is ready to disappoint a host of clubs by signing a new contract for Rangers, according to his agent, Jorg Neblung
In England, Coventry have finally offered a new contract to influential captain Gary McAllister. The 35-year-old can leave for nothing in June, under the Bosman Ruling, when his current contract expires.
Northern Ireland have agreed to play Yugoslavia in a friendly at Windsor Park on August 16th. The match will be Northern Ireland's final match before the start their 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Celtic's Australian striker Mark Viduka yesterday denied reports he had walked out on the Scottish Premiership club and was looking for a move to continental Europe.
Reports in Glasgow's Mail on Sunday said Viduka left the club after being dropped for last weekend's match against Hibernian, but Viduka said the story was a complete fabrication.
--(AFP)
