Roy Keane, the Sunderland manager, has confirmed defenders Ian Harte and Sammy Kuffour are training at the Stadium of Light and could join the club on a permanent basis. Harte has been released by Levante, the Spanish club, while Kuffour has been told he is free to leave Roma and Keane said: "We are having a look at them and it's good for them to look at what we are doing here, but there's no chance of them signing before the weekend."

Bryan Robson, the Sheffield United manager, is interested in signing winger Stelios Giannakopoulos from Bolton Wanderers on a permanent basis. Robson has confirmed the two clubs have agreed a loan deal for the Greece international, but Robson hopes to convince Giannakopoulos to commit long-term at Bramall Lane. Robson said: "We're taking talks further forward. At the moment we need to convince Stelios that Sheffield United is the right club for him to progress his career."

Real Madrid are hoping to make the most of the current turmoil at Tottenham Hotspur with a surprise bid for Dimitar Berbatov. After being strongly linked with Manchester United at the start of the summer the Bulgarian forward, who scored 23 goals last season, was set to stay at White Hart Lane for at least the current campaign. But with the current uncertainty surrounding the future of the manager Martin Jol, Real are back prepared to pay £20 million for the 26-year-old.

The question marks over Jol's position have also affected Tottenham's pursuit of Matthew Taylor, the Portsmouth midfielder. After weeks of talks, the clubs had finally agreed a fee of £5 million with Harry Redknapp, the Portsmouth manager, set to use the fee to bolster his attempts to sign the Bolton striker Nicolas Anelka, but the Tottenham board have now called off the transfer.

West Ham United have emerged as a possible destination for the Senegal forward El-Hadji Diouf, who is keen to leave Bolton before the transfer window closes. Diouf has claimed that Tottenham, Celtic and Lyons are among five clubs looking to sign him, but Bolton's valuation of £10 million is proving prohibitive. However, Alan Curbishley, the West Ham manager, is prepared to spend close to the 26-year-old's price tag.

FC Twente have completed the loan signing of Nikolay Mihaylov, the Liverpool goalkeeper. Liverpool signed the Bulgarian youth international in the summer from Levski Sofia on a five-year deal, but the the 19-year-old does not have a work permit to play in England.

Lawrie Sanchez, the Fulham manager, is considering a move for Thomas Gravesen, who is unsettled in Scotland with Celtic. The former Real Madrid and Everton player has failed to make an impact at Parkhead after joining last summer and has yet to feature for the Scottish champions this season. His agent warned Sheffield United that the player would not be interested in a move to the Coca-Cola Championship but Gravesen will jump at the chance to join Fulham in a £1.5 million deal, although Real Betis are also interested.

Sanchez is also closing on the Watford striker Darius Henderson, who has put in a transfer request at Vicarage Road. Henderson was allowed to speak to Preston North End earlier this summer but decided to fight for his place under Adrian Boothroyd. However, he now wants an immediate return to the Premiership, with Sanchez looking to add a striker following the knee injury suffered by Brian McBride last weekend.

Steve Bruce, the Birmingham City manager, could sign the Atletico Madrid player Peter Luccin to boost his midfield options. Bruce has been looking to bolster his squad following Hossam Ghaly's ill-fated transfer and Luccin, 31, has emerged as a target. The French player is looking to leave the Spanish capital and said: "I prefer to see what other options there are."

Barnsley have pulled out of their attempt to sign the Newry captain Richard Clarke, with the Irish club's manager claiming too many agents were involved in the deal. Clarke has previously interested Sheffield United, Bury, Cheltenham Town and Gillingham.