Wantaway Lyon striker Fred is believed to have rejected initial contract offers from both Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain.

The Brazilian has fallen out of favour at Stade Gerland and has been given permission to leave by Les Gones boss Alain Perrin. PSG were originally thought to have been his first choice, but either their £40,000 a week offer wasn't good enough or, as is now reckoned, he would rather try the fresh challenge of playing in England.

Which makes a rebuttal of Spurs seem even more unusual, especially with Jermain Defoe's exit set to lighten their wage bill. He could be waiting for a starting spot to be freed up by the departure of a certain finely-cheekboned Bulgarian...

And speaking of cheekbones, the likelihood of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar coming to England is increasing by the day, with Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool scouts spotted watching him score a brace for Ajax against AZ Alkmaar at the weekend.

Tottenham's presence added fuel to the rumours that Maarten Stekelenburg could be set to replace under-fire keeper Paul Robinson at the Lane, although perhaps they too were watching Huntelaar as a potential replacement for Dimitar Berbatov, who if the rumours are believed is set on a move to Man United.

Quite what Sunderland were doing at the game is anyone's guess...

The Black Cats are looking to shore up their creaky defence, however, with France youth international Jean-Yves Mvoto. The 19-year-old has not broken into the PSG first team yet this season but is highly rated and would be available for a fee of around £300,000 as he is only signed to youth terms by the Parisians.

Fulham target Eddie Johnson is reported to have flown into England ahead of a proposed move from the South Dakota Jazz or something. The 23-year-old USA striker was given the green light to quit a national team training camp in California with the Cottagers set to agree terms with MLS.

Bolton are set to complete the £3 million signing of Iceland defender Gretar Steinsson from AZ, with the 26-year-old right back preparing to leave the Netherlands.

"This is a fantastic chance for me. Five years ago I was on trial at Bolton but I wasn't good enough. Now I am."

Either Steinsson has improved or Bolton have done the reverse. Discuss.

Portsmouth, meanwhile, have entered the race to sign sulking Arsenal midfielder Lassana Diarra. Diarra arriving from Chelsea was one of the more unusual sideways moves last summer and, seemingly slighted at being overlooked in the Gunners midfield for Mathieu Flamini, the 22-year-old would be available for £5.5 million. An amazing accrual of transfer value of £3.5 million in four Premier League starts, or just under £900,000 per game in six months.

Bayern Munich defender Daniel van Buyten is eyeing a move to Celtic after finding his opportunities at the Allianz Arena limited this season.

"Celtic is one of my options," the former Manchester City man said. "I have not spoken with them but I know [Gordon Strachan] has asked for details about me.

"Scotland is a fabulous country for football and the atmosphere is great."

Note how he felt compelled to include the "for football" disclaimer...

Reda Maher / Eurosport