Sam Allardyce was last night trying to pull off his biggest
coup as Newcastle manager by stealing Boltons Tal Ben Haim from
under the nose of Chelsea. The Israel defender has been talking to
Chelsea about a free transfer to Stamford Bridge on £60,000-a-week
wages.
But Allardyce has promised to match Chelseas £3m-a-year offer as
well as guarantee Ben Haim, 25, first-team football. Allardyce also
hopes to land Paris St Germains Czech defender David Rozehnal for
£2m and is confident of completing the signing of Joey Barton from
Manchester City, despite Citys refusal to pay the midfielder a
£300,000 loyalty bonus.
Albert Luques move to PSV Eindhoven has broken down for a third
time over his £45,000-aweek wage demands.
