Football: Walker brings Angell to Everton's assistance: New Goodison manager breaks into his signings budget - Ardiles' search for striker founders on Sugar's reluctance to spend

BRETT ANGELL, the Southend striker who in the last two weeks has been going to all points from Birmingham to Portsmouth, taking in Tottenham on the way, has finally found a home at Everton, where he becomes the first purchase of the new manager, Mike Walker.

Angell has signed on loan to clear him for this afternoon's game with Swindon, but he is expected to make a permanent move tonight for a fee of around pounds 500,000, Walker's first dip into the vast transfer pot likely to be available with the pending takeover of the Goodison club.

It is Angell's second spell at Everton having had a chance to impress their former manager, Howard Kendall, earlier in the season on loan. He had just 24 minutes, as a substitute when Walker's former club, Norwich, humbled Everton 5-1.

After Barry Fry's departure from Southend it was expected that Angell, who is out of contract at Roots Hall, would follow him to Birmingham. Then Portsmouth intervened, agreed terms, but could not finalise the transfer and Spurs considered turning to him to fill their goalscoring vacancy. While they dallied Everton took the plunge.

Spurs' search for a new striker to enhance their line-up before today's visit of Manchester United has foundered because their chairman, Alan Sugar, refuses to finance another major purchase. Ossie Ardiles has a little to spend, thought to be around pounds 600,000, but admits that the target he has in mind 'is way out of our range'.

Alan Ball travelled to The Dell yesterday for talks about the Southampton vacancy. The former Saints player said that although he was happy at Exeter he had to speak to the Premier League club 'because if I didn't I would never forgive myself for the rest of my life'.

However, Ball stressed: 'If it is not correct and the job description is not right I will do an about-turn and come straight home.' Should Ball move on, the former Birmingham manager, Terry Cooper, is likely to replace him.

Harry Redknapp, assistant to Billy Bonds at West Ham, signed a new three-year contract with the club yesterday to end conjecture that he would be enticed away. He was a contender to replace Ian Branfoot at Southampton, but said yesterday: 'I'm a West Ham supporter born and bred and I'm more than pleased to stay here and work with my pal Billy Bonds.'

Bonds, who will also put his signature to the deal which will keep the managerial team at the club until the end of 1997, praised Redknapp's role in developing their home-grown talent. He hopes to have more money available to strengthen the squad.

Kevin Keegan, Newcastle's manager, said last night he was no longer interested in signing Les Ferdinand of QPR after making an unsuccessful bid for him several months ago.