Fulham are trying to renegotiate the transfer fee of Andrew Johnson after his medical showed a possible problem with a past knee injury. They agreed a deal to pay Everton an initial £10.5 million rising by £1.5 million, but are now asking for a reduction.

Fulham faced a similar situation after they agreed to buy Marlon King in January, but after Watford were not willing to significantly reduce the fee, the forward then moved to Wigan Athletic. Fulham must raise their offer for Vincenzo Grella, the Australia midfield player, by £500,000 to about £4.5 million, according to Torino.

Decent bets

Barcelona are confident of selling Samuel Eto’o, with Roma among the clubs interested, which is likely to have a knock-on effect for English teams. The Catalan club want the money to sign a forward and expressed interest in Emmanuel Adebayor, who has agreed a new contract at Arsenal, and Didier Drogba, of Chelsea.

Andrei Arshavin wants to move to Barcelona from Zenit St Petersburg, who claim to have turned down an offer for the Russia forward from Tottenham Hotspur. “We are waiting for a second [bid],” Dick Advocaat, the Zenit coach, said. “I think that they [Tottenham] will return to these negotiations.”

Tottenham claim to have ended their interest, although that will be viewed by many as a negotiation tactic or an admission that the player will move elsewhere. Most suitors have been put off by Zenit’s £24 million valuation. Dennis Lachter, a representative of Arshavin, has said that he has spoken to Juande Ramos, the Tottenham head coach. “Ramos called Andrei and described his vision of his future in the team,” Lachter said. “He said Arshavin will be a key player.”

Dead certs

Charles Itandje has turned down a move to Galatasaray because the Liverpool goalkeeper, who has played seven times since his move from Lens last year, wants to move to Paris Saint-Germain.

Blackburn Rovers have signed Carlos Villanueva on a season-long loan with the option to buy the midfield player, who was voted Chile’s player of the year last season, from Audax Italiano for £4 million. Portsmouth have said that they will loan Omar Krumah to Norwich City, should the Gambian forward obtain a work permit to move to Fratton Park. Bolton Wanderers have rejected an offer for Kevin Davies, the forward, from Hull City.