Gareth Southgate appears to be warming to the idea of allowing Stewart Downing to leave Middlesbrough and of using the money to strengthen his squad. The manager, however, still needs to persuade Steve Gibson, his chairman, who has rejected allowing the England winger to leave.

Downing refuses to withdraw the transfer request that he made on Monday. The player has twice turned down moves to Tottenham Hotspur, signing an improved contract each time, most recently last February.

Southgate, who is looking for a left back, asked about Gareth Bale, the Tottenham defender, moving in the opposite direction as part of a deal, but neither the Wales full back nor his club are keen. Southgate also wants a central midfield player to replace Gary O’Neil, who wants to return to the South, possibly to Portsmouth, for personal reasons. Southgate is interested in Jimmy Bullard, of Fulham, as a replacement.

Decent bets

Portsmouth have expressed an interest in Yohann Pelé, the goalkeeper who has spent his career at Le Mans. The 26-year-old, who was once a target for Liverpool, received a call-up to the France squad for a friendly against Tunisia in October.

Hermann Hreidarsson wants to leave Portsmouth before his contract ends in the summer. The Iceland defender has lost his place at left back to Nadir Belhadj.

West Bromwich Albion are in talks with Marc-Antoine Fortuné, the Nancy striker, who has scored only once this season in 19 games. Peter Lovenkrands has been released by Schalke 04 and the Denmark winger has been linked with Fulham and Rangers, his former club. Horsens, the Danish side, have asked Burnley about taking Besart Berisha on loan. The Albania forward, 23, is on loan at Rosenborg, in Norway.

Tottenham are considering a move for Sebastian Przyrowski, the 27-year-old Polonia Warsaw goalkeeper. The 6ft 3in Poland player, who could be back-up to Heurelho Gomes, wants to move to England and would cost £1 million.

Blackpool have signed Graeme Owens, the Middlesbrough winger, on loan for a month. Norwich City are not looking to extend their loan deal with Wigan Athletic for Antoine Sibierski when it expires next week. The forward has scored only twice in 15 games for the East Anglian side.

Graham Stack will be allowed to leave Plymouth Argyle, whom the goalkeeper joined on a two-year deal from Reading in the summer. He has not played since September and was on loan at Blackpool last month.

Dead certs

Matthew Etherington has agreed a £3 million move to Stoke City from West Ham United. The winger could be followed out of Upton Park by Calum Davenport, the defender, who is in talks with Bolton Wanderers, with a fee of about £3 million close to being agreed.

Stéphane Mbia, the Rennes midfield player, says that he has rejected a move to Everton. “The Everton offer was the best on the table, and I almost signed, but I am fine here for now,” Mbia said.

Long shots

Wigan firmly expect Emile Heskey to see out the six months remaining on his contract. Aston Villa and Liverpool are keen on the England forward, but Wigan believe that they can resist their interest. Julien Faubert has said that would prefer to remain in England, should he be sold by West Ham. Otherwise he would move to Lyons or Paris Saint-Germain.

Everton have been linked with a loan move for Giancarlo Maldonado, the Atlante and Venezuela forward. “They want to take him on loan with an option to buy at the end of the deal,” José Antonio Garcìa, the president of the Mexican club, said. “He told us he wants to play in England.”