Football: Kendall applies for Wales job

HOWARD KENDALL wants to be the next manager of Wales. A letter of application from the former Everton manager should reach the Football Association of Wales over the weekend.

Kendall's interest in the vacancy caused by the resignation of Bobby Gould sets up the possibility of a managerial partnersip which, it seems, would be highly popular with the FAW. The Chester City manager, Kevin Ratcliffe, has been widely backed to land the job - but there are concerns at the FAW about his lack of top-level coaching experience.

That problem could be overcome by giving Kendall the manager's job and making Ratcliffe, Everton's captain when the club won the Football League twice with Kendall in charge in the 1980s, his assistant. Ratcliffe could then be groomed to take on the top role in the future.

The FAW is in no hurry to make an appointment, however. Its secretary- general, David Collins, said: "We are not going to make a rushed selection. We will be looking for the best possible candidate, a fully respected football manager, and no deadline for making the appointment has been set."

The administrators at Crystal Palace say they have received a pounds 20m offer for the club from a "major player in the leisure and sports management business". However, the deal is conditional upon Ron Noades, the club's former owner, selling the Selhurst Park freehold. Under the proposed deal Mark Goldberg would continue as chairman and would retain a "substantial" share of his current majority shareholding, although he is not part of the consortium.

Arsenal will accept offers for their England Under-21 international Stephen Hughes. The midfielder is among four players put on the transfer list by the Gunners yesterday. Christopher Wreh, Alberto Mendez and Jason Crowe are the other men surplus to the requirements of the Highbury manager, Arsene Wenger.

The Polish international midfielder Dariusz Adamczuk has signed a four- year contract with Rangers after completing his free-transfer move from Celtic, while Dundee United are hopeful of signing the Israeli international midfielder Jan Telasnikov from Beitar Jerusalem.

Newcastle United are set to signing the French defender Franck Dumas from Monaco in a pounds 600,000 deal as the Magpies manager, Ruud Gullit, rebuilds his defence. Dumas, 30, will provide cover for his fellow new recruits Marcelinho Elena and Alain Goma. Nikos Dabizas and Laurent Charvet are likely to leave St James' Park.

After his release by Aberdeen, Mike Newell, the 34-year-old former Everton and Blackburn Rovers striker, has joined the Nationwide Conference club Doncaster Rovers as player-coach.