THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BLACKBURN, England — Blackburn is in talks over the possible sale of England midfielder David Bentley to Tottenham.
Blackburn chairman John Williams told BBC Radio Lancashire on Tuesday that his club was in negotiations but had not accepted a bid for the 23-year-old winger.
Tottenham has money to spend after selling Ireland captain Robbie Keane to Liverpool for 19 million pounds (C$38.6 million).
Blackburn has already rejected offers from Spurs and Aston Villa for Bentley, who Blackburn valued at 17 million pounds (C$34.5 million).
Fulham expects England striker Andy Johnson to complete his medical Tuesday
LONDON — Fulham expects England striker Andy Johnson to complete his medical Tuesday, taking him closer to a move from Everton.
Fulham is expected to spend a club record of about 12 million pounds (C$24.4 million) on the 27-year-old forward, who lost his place to Aiyegbeni Yakubu last season.
Arsenal defender Kolo Toure should have recovered from malaria in time to start the Premier League season
LONDON — Arsenal defender Kolo Toure should have recovered from malaria in time to start the Premier League season next month.
Toure, 27, was diagnosed last week but returned to training Sunday and manager Arsene Wenger said he expects him to be in the team to face West Ham on Aug. 16.
"Kolo had a little resurgence," Toure said. "But he recovered quickly from it.
"In two days he was OK. He has started to practice now but it will take him another two weeks to play for us."
Wigan completes the signing of Middlesbrough midfielder Lee Cattermole
WIGAN, England — Wigan has completed the signing of Middlesbrough midfielder Lee Cattermole.
The 20-year-old England under-21 international, who was Boro’s youngest ever captain, signed a three-year contract.
The clubs did not disclose the fee but British papers reported that Wigan will pay about 3.5 million pounds (C$7.1 million) to Middlesbrough, which is raising funds to bolster its squad.
"He’s young, he’s courageous, he’s a tireless worker and I think he can have a great career in football, hopefully for this club," Wigan manager Steve Bruce said. "He only turned 20 in April, and already he has played nearly 70 games in the Premier League, as well as in the UEFA Cup.
"That’s exceptional. He can be a great leader of the future."
Hull signs Tottenham defender Anthony Gardner on loan until January
HULL, England — Hull has signed Tottenham defender Anthony Gardner on loan until January.
"We’ve agreed terms of a loan with a view to a permanent deal," Hull manager Phil Brown said. "The original asking price was a little bit rich so we backed off, but the asking price has come down a wee bit."
The 27-year-old one-time England international played just six times for Spurs last season and spent four months on loan at Everton without making an appearance.
Levante players reportedly forced to take summer jobs due to Spanish club’s financial woes
VALENCIA, Spain — Levante players have reportedly been forced to take summer jobs due to financial problems at the Spanish club.
Levante’s psychologist warned about "anxiety and depression" in the Valencia-based squad as players returned to training after being relegated last season to the second tier.
"There are people experiencing sleeping problems, with anxiety, while others have lost weight through the ordeal," Jose Carrascosa was quoted as saying in Tuesday’s edition of Marca newspaper.
"This includes players that have had to resort to working through the vacation to be able to live," Carrascosa added.
A last-minute agreement kept Levante’s players from boycotting the season’s last match at Real Madrid. The players were due unpaid wages amounting to a reported 18 million euros (C$28.9 million) at the time.
The players reportedly only received 20 per cent of their salaries for the past two seasons.
Bundesliga coaches unanimously pick Bayern Munich as team to beat this upcoming season
DUESSELDORF, Germany — The Bundesliga coaches unanimously picked Bayern Munich to win a 22nd title this season but fans aren’t as convinced.
All 18 coaches responded to an annual poll released Monday by German news agency DPA by saying Bayern’s money and quality of players would allow it to defend its title in the Bundesliga’s 46th season. The season kicks off Aug. 15.
"Whoever has the biggest budget and spends the most money is the favourite — that’s the way it is in this business," said Armin Veh, who coached VfB Stuttgart to the title two years ago.
However, Kicker magazine said that in a poll of 116,000 fans, only 50.2 per cent thought Bayern would win the title, as opposed to 17.4 per cent for last season’s runner-up, Werder Bremen, and 9.9 per cent for Schalke, which took third.
Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf picked Bayern, but didn’t rule out his side.
"All the teams at the top last season have chances again for the title," said Schaaf, whose team has often challenged Bayern in five straight seasons of finishing in the top three.