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Today's top transfer talk

DAVID DUNN will end his Birmingham nightmare by moving to Bolton.

The former England midfielder, 27, had his medical at the Reebok Stadium yesterday and is set to complete a £1million move in the next 48 hours.

Blues chief Steve Bruce needs to recoup cash after spending £3.5m on Luton striker Rowan Vine yesterday. Vine, 24, passed his medical at St Andrews and penned a 3½-year deal with the Championship leaders. He is set to make his debut for Blues against Leeds at home on Saturday.

Injury-prone Dunn has played just 11 games this season and 55 times since signing from Blackburn for £5.5m in July 2003. Bruce reluctantly decided to let Dunn move back to his native North West due to his poor injury record.

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ERIC DJEMBA-DJEMBA has joined Burnley on loan from Aston Villa until the end of the season. Clarets boss Steve Cotterill views Djemba-Djemba as the ideal replacement for Micah Hyde, who moved to Peterborough for £75,000 yesterday.

The 25-year-old failed to make an impact in the Midlands following a £1.3million switch from Manchester United in January 2005. But Cotterill is confident the Cameroon ace can regain his best form.

He said: "Eric has good pedigree and we are hoping that once we get him fit he will be a good addition to the squad for the rest of the season. "It shows something about the boy's character that he is prepared to drop down from the Premiership to play for Burnley."

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ALAN PARDEW believes bad-boy Ben Thatcher will add the fighting spirit Charlton need to stay up. Thatcher, who infamously KOd Portsmouths Pedro Mendes in a clash in August and was banned for eight weeks, joined the Addicks in a £500,000 deal yesterday. And boss Pardew believes the ex-Manchester City defender will help his side scrap their way out of relegation trouble.

Pardew said: I think he is a committed player and has the character we need to get us going. His discipline problems never entered my mind. I just felt we are going to need a tougher, harder edge if we are going to get out of this mess.

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BRIAN LAWS has blasted Charlton chief Alan Pardew for failing to ring him before making a £1.3million swoop for Madjid Bougherra. Sheffield Wednesday boss Laws rejected the bid for his Algeria defender Bougherra, 24. And he rapped: Im not happy Ive not even had a courtesy call from Charltons management to ask if the player is available.

Is that the reason theyre at the bottom of the league? They didnt do it in the right way.

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HARRY REDKNAPP hopes to make West Hams Yossi Benayoun his next Portsmouth signing.

The Israeli midfielder, 26, has struggled this season and wants out of Upton Park. He is likely to move to Pompey, initially on a six-month loan deal. Redknapp yesterday snapped up Charltons former Liverpool defender Djimi Traore in a £1million deal, which sees Andy OBrien move in the other direction.

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WEST HAM have joined the race for Blackburn skipper Lucas Neill. The Hammers want to swap Paul Konchesky and receive cash, but Rovers are not keen.

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STEVE COPPELL has made a fresh £1.5million bid for Colchester full-back Greg Halford.

The Reading boss failed with a £1m approach for Halford, 22, last week. But Premiership rivals Sheffield United are also closing in on the the highly-rated defender. Coppell is moving to keep unsettled midfielder Steve Sidwell and is prepared to offer him a £23,000-a-week pay deal.

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MANCHESTER CITY reject Danny Mills will have to take a £20,000-a-week wage cut if he wants to make his loan move to Hull permanent after being shown the door at Eastlands.

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Villa will allow Milan Baros join Lyon, where he will be reunited with former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier, but want to bring in a replacement first.

Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is determined to buy British even though his attempts to land a top Premiership striker have been rejected by four clubs.

He has been snubbed by Liverpool, who will not let him buy Craig Bellamy, while Tottenham want to keep Robbie Keane and Chelsea are refusing to allow Shaun Wright-Phillips leave on loan.

On top of that, Watford have accepted a £10m bid from West Ham for England under-21 international Ashley Young and the price is too high for Villa even though Randy Lerner is willing to give O'Neill funds in the transfer market.

"Our ambition is to get world-class players into our team - to join some of the very good players we already have here," said O'Neill.

"The top sides in the country are very good and have the squads to match. Our aim and ambition is to have a squad capable of sustaining things throughout the season.

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CURBS' £4M FOR UPSON

WEST HAM last night launched a £4million bid for Birmingham's Matthew Upson - but City responded by telling the cash-rich Premiership strugglers they would have to double their offer.

Upson still has 18 months left on his contract and Championship leaders City are reluctant to sell. The 27-year-old former England centre-back is also wanted by Newcastle and Spurs, but West Ham are the first to make a formal bid.

The Hammers, three points adrift in the drop zone under new boss Alan Curbishley, face a defensive crisis, with Danny Gabbidon and James Collins suffering from hamstring strains.

But since the takeover of Upton Park by Icelandic businessman Eggert Magnusson and the appointment of Alan Curbishley as manager, the club have found themselves held to ransom in the transfer market.

With Upson previously available for £6m, the Hammers must decide how desperate they are to bolster their squad in their battle to stay in the top flight.

Upson moved to St Andrews in January 2003 for a knockdown £1m after becoming frustrated with life in the reserves at Arsenal.

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Alan Curbishley has completed the signing of Calum Davenport from Tottenham to bolster his defence in West Ham's bid for Premiership survival.

Davenport, 24, was at White Hart Lane for just over two years but has struggled to hold down a regular place, despite a recent run in the team following Ledley King's bruised foot.

"We have reached agreement with West Ham for the transfer of Calum Davenport to Upton Park," confirmed a statement on the Spurs website, tottenhamhotspur.com.

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Henzie denies United exit rumours

Manchester United defender Gabriel Heinze has denied reports he is on his way out of the club in the January transfer window.

The Argentina international has struggled to regain his place in the side with Patrice Evra impressing at left-back and Sir Alex Ferguson also interested in Southampton youngster Gareth Bale.

But despite interest from Italian giants AC Milan Heinze, who cost nearly £7million three years ago, could see out his contract until the end of the season.

He told the Daily Star: "I know the interest from Milan for me but now the decision remains with Manchester United.

"I have a contract signed until June 2007 and I do not want to go anywhere. I do not want to be sold in January. I want to wait until June to see what happens.

"I am happy in Manchester with my work and I want to try and get back in the team, but it is the coach who picks the 11."

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£2m Ben Haim is too much for Chelsea

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon attempted to pacify Jose Mourinho last night by releasing a statement detailing the reasons behind the club's decision to pull the plug on their attempts to sign Tal Ben Haim.

Mourinho's fragile truce with the Chelsea board was back in the balance after the club claimed that they could not reach an agreement with Bolton after nearly two weeks of talks.

Bolton wanted £2m for the defender, who is out of contract at the end of the season, but Chelsea were not prepared to back their manager's judgement and offered a fraction of that figure.

Manager Sam Allardyce has now warned rival clubs they will not be allowed to pick up in-demand centre-back Tal Ben Haim on the cheap and unless their valuation of the player is met by next week he will stay at the Reebok.

"At the moment it looks like he will be here for the rest of the season," said the Wanderers boss. "We have not had an acceptable offer from any club at the moment.

"Unless that changes in the next few days we won't be accepting anything, probably going into next week, because whatever comes in that week means we would have no time to go out and spend that money on somebody else."

Allardyce admitted he was looking for a replacement for the centre-back but did not have the money to bring one in unless the club received a transfer fee for Ben Haim.

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Birmingham reject Hammers' Upson bid

Birmingham have rejected a £4million bid from West Ham for central defender Matthew Upson. Blues boss Steve Bruce has constantly stressed he is under no pressure to sell Upson during the January transfer window.

And in any case the bid made by the Hammers falls well short of Blues' valuation of the former Arsenal player - believed to be around £6million.

Alan Curbishley has injury worries regarding the defensive trio of Daniel Gabbidon, James Collins and Anton Ferdinand and was hoping Upson could solve his problems.

Upson's former club Arsenal would be entitled to a 25 per cent cut of any fee above the £2.5million City paid for him in January 2003.

Bruce is hoping Upson will help Championship leaders Birmingham gain promotion back to the Barclays Premiership and then have a rethink about his future after rejecting a new five-year contract last season.

Bruce's number two Eric Black has emerged as a possible candidate for the vacant Coventry post after Micky Adams was sacked yesterday.

Black previously had a spell in charge of the Sky Blues but was ousted to allow Peter Reid to take over the reins nearly three years ago.

Bruce does not want to lose the services of Black and has consistently praised the part he has played in City's revival this season

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Bayern exits may mean Hargreaves stays

The chances of England midfielder Owen Hargreaves joining Manchester United in the summer have become even more remote with Bayern Munich set to lose the services of several midfielders.

On Tuesday, Sebastian Deisler announced his immediate retirement and that, coupled with the impending transfer of Ali Karimi to Al-Ahli, has left Bayern short of cover in the squad.

The situation will become more acute in the summer when Mehmet Scholl intends to retire and Hasan Salihamidzic will complete an agreed move to Juventus.

That will leave Bundesliga champions Bayern with just four recognised midfielders in Mark van Bommel, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Andreas Ottl and Hargreaves.

Bayern general manager Uli Hoeness has indicated that the situation will mean that players will not be allowed to leave.

"It is not the case that we are care-free," he said. "We have got to start being careful with our squad."

Instead, Bayern will themselves be in the market for midfield reinforcements, but Hoeness added that academy prospects would also be given their chance.

"Sometimes enforced restructuring like this is not a bad solution," he said.

United have been interested in Hargreaves since his impressive performances for England during the World Cup in Germany last summer.

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Bobby Zamora could soon be leaving West Ham to provide insurance for Reading as they seek to continue their impressive start to life in the Premiership.

Royals boss Steve Coppell realises that goals are of paramount importance if his club are to compete with the big boys in the top flight.

Bobby Zamora could soon be leaving West Ham to provide insurance for Reading as they seek to continue their impressive start to life in the Premiership.

Royals boss Steve Coppell realises that goals are of paramount importance if his club are to compete with the big boys in the top flight.

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Former Liverpool and Portsmouth midfielder Patrik Berger wants to quit Aston Villa before his contract expires in the summer.

The Czech Republic star has just completed a loan spell with Stoke City and wants to move to the continent to play out the rest of the season.

Villa boss Martin O'Neill revealed: "His agent had mentioned about the possibility of him going somewhere abroad for the last few months. If that materialises, fine.

"If not, then he just gets his head down here and the team will get picked on merit as far as I am concerned. If he is doing well enough, then he will be back in contention."

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Bolton boss Sam Allardyce is unhappy he has lost the race to sign Birmingham midfielder David Dunn.

He has been pipped by Blackburn's last ditch bid for the player who grew up a crossfield pass away from Ewood Park.

"It looks like he's going to Blackburn," said Allardyce. "He's told me that's where he wants to go - simple as that.

"At the 11th hour they have pinched him. We are extremely disappointed but there is not a lot we can do about it.

"I always feel let down when you have got so far down the road spending so much time showing the player this is the best place to be to get his career back on track.

"But it was not quite a big enough pull compared to the town where he was born and bred."

Meanwhile, Allardyce has told Chelsea their £2m offer from defender Ben Tal Haim is nowhere near enough.

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Fernandes has medical at Everton

Fernandes has played for the Portuguese national side Everton are in talks with Benfica to sign midfielder Manuel Fernandes, who is currently undergoing a medical at their Bellefield training ground.

The 20-year-old spent the first half of the season on loan at Portsmouth, who were priced out of a permanent deal. A statement on Everton's website said: "He will come for an initial six-month loan. Then we would have an option to make the move permanent in the summer."

Fernandes played 12 games for Pompey, scoring once in the Carling Cup. "We have been in discussions with Benfica and representatives regarding the possibility of a loan move until the end of the season," added Everton chief executive Keith Wyness.

"As part of that process he is currently undergoing a medical at Bellefield. However, the transaction is not complete."

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Wigan eager to clinch Diop deal

Wigan hope to complete the signing of Fulham midfielder Papa Bouba Diop within 24 hours.

Latics boss Paul Jewell has said that Fulham have accepted a £5m offer for the 28-year-old Senegal international. Jewell is desperate to strengthen his squad following a seventh successive Premiership defeat that has plunged the club into the relegation reckoning. He said: "The offer has been accepted by the club, we're now waiting for the player to say yes or no."

The Latics boss has been frustrated in his attempts to bolster his squad and halt Wigan's slide down the table, which culminated in Sunday's 2-0 defeat at the hands of Everton.

Jewell revealed: "If there is a team that has tried to get more players, made more phone calls, had more meetings and been let down more than we have then I would like to know who they are.

"The last three weeks have been unbelievable because we have got close to getting players in on so many occasions, only for them to fall through for differing reasons."

Fulham signed Diop from Lens in July 2004 for an undisclosed fee but injuries have limited him to only 13 Premiership appearances for the Cottagers this season. He signed a contract extension last April to keep him at Craven Cottage until 2009 after being linked with Arsenal and Juventus.

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Blues reject £6m Upson offer

West Ham have upped their bid for Matthew Upson to £6m - but Birmingham are still refusing to sell. Last week, the Hammers made a £4m offer for Upson, which was turned down because Birmingham boss Steve Bruce feared his departure would send "negative vibes" through the club. And Bruce has made it clear it will take a "mega bucks" offer for him to allow Upson, who has 18 months left on his contract, to leave before the summer.

Bruce has confirmed his interest in Sheffield Wednesday defender Madjid Bougherra although there has been no formal bid for the Algerian international. "I spoke to their manager a week or so ago about a couple of their players and Bougherra was mentioned but that's as far as it has gone," he added.

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RAFA RECRUITS TEENAGE FRONTMAN

Liverpool have signed 18-year-old Dutch striker Jordy Brouwer from Ajax. The teenager is manager Rafael Benitez's third signing in the transfer window, with Sampdoria's Italy Under-21 goalkeeper Daniele Padelli and Boca Juniors' Emiliano Insua both having joined on loan.

"We have made a good signing for the future in Jordy," said chief executive Rick Parry of the Holland Under-19 international. "He has had a youth contract at Ajax but has opted to build his career at Liverpool.

"We have been monitoring his progress and look forward to developing his potential at Anfield." Benitez has previously made it clear more needs to be invested in the Reds' youth policy.

As a result, he has brought in Padelli, 21, until the end of the season - with the option of a permanent deal - and left-back Insua, 18, on an 18-month loan

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Davies seals transfer to Fulham

Simon Davies has joined Fulham from Everton for an undisclosed fee. The Welsh international midfielder, 27, was deemed surplus to requirements at Goodison Park and is keen to get started on a deal that runs until 2010.

"The style of play that manager Chris Coleman has developed here will suit my game," he told the club's website. Davies joined Everton from Tottenham for £3.5m in May 2005 and has made 53 appearances, scoring a solitary goal in a spell hindered by injuries.

"I'm really happy to have joined Fulham as Chris is a manager I know and admire very much," added Davies. "I've wanted to come back to London for a while now so it's a good move for me, and I'm eager to train hard and contribute as much as I can to the rest of the season's campaign."

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The saga over Boltons Tal Ben Haim, a Mourinho target, goes on. Chelsea suggested loaning Shaun Wright-Phillips and Lassana Diarra in exchange but Bolton could not afford their £70,000-a-week combined wage.

Instead, the Trotters have stated their Israeli centre-back, 24, can go in exchange for the signing of Diarra plus £1million. Kenyon said he would get back to Bolton on that one. The ball is in his court.

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