Dead certs

Charlie Daniels, the left back, has joined Leyton Orient on loan from Tottenham Hotspur.

Derek Asamoah, the former Northampton Town striker, has joined Nice.

Alexandre Pato, the Internacional forward linked to Chelsea, has joined AC Milan.

Decent bets

Everton hope to follow up the imminent arrival of Leighton Baines, the Wigan Athletic left back, with the capture of FC Porto’s Luis González. Despite interest from Newcastle United, Baines should complete his move tomorrow in a deal that could be worth up to £6 million. Everton’s initial offer of £4 million plus winger Andy van der Meyde was rejected.

Everton have made an offer of £11 million for González, £4 million less than the midfield player is valued by his club, but they face strong competition from Juventus and Lyons.

El-Hadji Diouf’s agent has said that the forward could be leaving Bolton Wanderers. Diouf has attracted interest from Lyons and Newcastle.

Bordeaux have increased their offer for Souleymane Diawara to about £2.5 million. Charlton Athletic are hoping to recoup more of the £3.7 million that they paid to Sochaux for the defender last summer.

West Bromwich Albion are in talks with Bastia about signing Frédéric Mendy. The 25-year-old Senegal forward scored four goals in 21 matches last season. West Bromwich, still in talks with James Morrison, the Middlesbrough midfield player, are also close to a deal to buy Pedro Pelé from Southampton. His arrival could allow Curtis Davies to leave for Tottenham Hotspur.

Long shots

Aston Villa have rekindled their interest in Craig Gordon, the Scotland goalkeeper, who will be allowed to leave Heart of Midlothian for about £9 million. Villa are without Thomas Sorensen, the first-choice, for the start of the season because of a hamstring injury, but Sunderland are also interested in Gordon.

Jan Koller, the 34-year-old Czech Republic forward, has been linked with Birmingham City after saying that he wants to leave AS Monaco because he was on the substitutes’ bench last week. “I am very disappointed,” he said. “If this situation continues, I will look for another solution for this season.” Words by Gary Jacob and James Ducker

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