This, together with Leverkusen's exit from the UEFA Cup, seems sure to clear the way for a move for Jens Nowotny. Arsenal, Man Utd, and Fiorentina are all said to be interested.

Nowotny has allegedly said that his preferred destination is Highbury. But if no premiership club comes in for him soon it seems likely that he'll be snapped up when the Italian mid-season transfer window opens. Our correspondent James says that one possibility being discussed in Germany is that a club like Arsenal could do a deal for Nowotny now, which involved him staying at Leverkusen till the end of the season.

See here and here for previous Nowotny stories.

Meanwhile the Mirror this morning reckons that Arsenal are moving into pole position for the signing of another central defender. Tottenham's Sol Campbell is of course on a free at the end of the season, and despite Alan Sugar's desperate efforts to persuade Spurs fans that Sol might be staying with them, no-one believes it for a moment. It's long been thought that his move to Man Utd was practically certain, but Alex Ferguson has apparently said something recently about being happy with his defenders and having no plans to add to his squad.

Add in the fact that Campbell is said to want to stay in London ("to be close to his family"), and hey presto Sol's being linked to Chelsea and Arsenal.

So, would we want the Spurs player? I think the overwhelming majority would say yes, although as with Rio Ferdinand some of us are still not completely convinced about Campbell (at his age surely he should be challenging Adams and Keown a bit more closely for England places).

Would he want us? No (see this newsreel piece from March).

Most likely it's just agents and/or Tottenham themselves, trying to push Man Utd into making a big offer before it's too late for Tottenham to charge a transfer fee.

And finally, TeamTalk go out on a limb and say we're set to swoop for Marcelo Salas. One from the "keep saying it and eventually you'll be right" school of transfer prediction.