Chelsea given hope as Hiddink says he will listen to offers

Guus Hiddink hinted yesterday that he may be ready to return to Chelsea despite previously distancing himself from the Stamford Bridge job. Hiddink, who is currently manager of Turkey's national team, said that he would consider any offer that came his way.

Speaking from the Turkish training camp in the Netherlands ahead of their game against Belguim next week, Hiddink said: "At the momentthere's nothing concrete to talk about, but if there was a concrete offer I would think about it. We'll play this game and then see. The moment things are concrete, I'll go to where I have to be."

Meanwhile Nigel Reo-Coker, John Carew and Robert Pires are among 10 players released today by Aston Villa. First-team squad members Moustapha Salifou and Isaiah Osbourne have also been allowed to leave Villa Park along with youngsters Durrell Berry, Ellis Deeney, Calum Flanagan, Harry Forrester and Arsenio Halfhuid.

Former England Under-21 captain Reo-Coker had featured regularly for Villa since signing from West Ham in 2007 but will now be looking for a new club, as will Norwegian forward Carew who spent the second part of last season on loan at Stoke.

Pires has been tipped to join former Arsenal team-mate Thierry Henry in Major League Soccer in the United States and the 37-year-old was never likely to extend his original six-month contract.

Reo-Coker moved to Villa Park from West Ham for £8.5m four years ago and captained the side several times during his stay. He featured in 30 Premier League games last season.

Norwich have signed forward James Vaughan from Everton for an undisclosed fee as Canaries manager Paul Lambert looks to build a squad capable of keeping the East Anglia club in the Premier League.

The former England Under-21 international has agreed a three-year deal at Carrow Road, subject to the completion of relevant paperwork. Vaughan has had loan spells at Leicester, Derby and Crystal Palace in the past few seasons after struggling to establish himself at Goodison Park.

The 22-year-old came through the ranks with Everton but his first-team opportunities remained limited.

Wales beat Northern Ireland 2-0 in Dublin last night to finish their Carling Nations Cup campaign with a win. Aaron Ramsey and Rob Earnshaw scored, with the latter saying: "I'm very pleased. We needed it. The whole team needed it because it just gave us a lift and a boost because we are working hard."