Today in the Premier League

Arsenal

Cesc Fabregas has hailed Emmanuel Adebayor's importance to the side. "Emmanuel is one of the best in the world, without any doubt," the Spaniard said. "You can't fault him in any way. He has improved amazingly and I don't think we could live without Adebayor right now."

Aston Villa

Chief executive Richard Fitzgerald has resigned, just over a year after joining the club. "The club has made significant progress off the field in the last 13 months and would like to thank Richard for his contribution during that period," said a statement. "The club wishes him every success in the future."

Birmingham City

Alex McLeish is hoping to complete the signings of defender Gary Cahill and Georgian international midfielder Levan Tskitishvili, who has been training with the Blues. "We're in the race for Cahill and we're hopeful of bringing him to Birmingham City," McLeish said.

Blackburn Rovers

The AZ Alkmaar coach Louis van Gaal said Andre Ooijer rejected a return to the Netherlands. "He is a Dutch citizen, and he has experience," Van Gaal said. "But he would prefer to remain at Blackburn Rovers." The defender joined Rovers in 2006 for £2m from PSV Eindhoven.

Bolton Wanderers

Manager Gary Megson remains on the lookout for a replacement for Nicolas Anelka after failing in his attempt to sign Barcelona's Icelandic forward Eidur Gudjohnsen. "We need a quality replacement for Nic, and Eidur would have fit the bill," he said. "But unfortunately he's at a huge football club and he wants to stay there."

Chelsea

The Stamford Bridge pitch has been awarded a score of 4.8 out of 5.0 in the Premier League ratings – despite hosting nine home matches between December and January. "I can't believe it," the head groundsman Kevin Fowler said. "I have been here 10 years and I have never seen this amount of grass in January."

Derby County

Paul Jewell has expressed his disappointment at Manchester City's refusal to contribute to the wages of on-loan defender Danny Mills. "I asked if they could help with the wages because we have lost Danny now for the season," he said. "His wages are quite high but they wouldn't play ball."

Everton

David Moyes believes that the Premier League should take a break during the African Nations Cup after losing three players to the tournament. "That would be the correct respect for Africa and the players," the Toffees' manager said. "It is not a fair playing field if you cannot field your best team."

Fulham

Alexei Smertin has praised the impact manager Roy Hodgson has had since taking over from Lawrie Sanchez. "Now it is better because we are playing more football. Training sessions have also changed for the better and we are confident that we can get out of trouble," the Russian midfielder said.

Liverpool

Rafael Benitez believes his team have the ability and experience to finish fourth in the League and claim the last Champions League spot. "We are best placed to finish fourth," he said. "We feel we can do it and we must start winning again; that will take us higher."

Manchester City

The club have made an unexpected £5m offer for Portmouth's Zimbabwean striker Benjani Mwaruwari. Sven-Goran Eriksson has been looking to improve his attacking options after having bids for CSKA Moscow forwards Vagner Love and Jo rejected.

Manchester United

Park Ji-Sung believes Manchester United can win the treble for the second time after the arrival of several new players last summer. "The team is better than last season and the year before," he said. "We have a good opportunity to win all competitions."

Middlesbrough

Goran Slavkovski hopes to join the club on loan before the transfer deadline tonight. The 18-year-old Swedish striker is owned by Internazionale but has so far failed to break into the starting XI at the San Siro. "Middlesbrough are a perfect club," he said.

Newcastle United

Goalkeeper Shay Given has called for patience with the club's new manager Kevin Keegan. "I think everybody has got carried away a bit," the Republic of Ireland international said. "There's a lot of work to be done and Kevin has not got a magic wand. It is not going to happen overnight."

Portsmouth

Kitman Kevin McCormack has announced he is to give up smoking as part of the club's "Respect Pompey" campaign, which aims to tackle socio-economic issues by working alongside the local council. "I feel I should set an example to people – and youngsters in particular," he said.

Reading

The Royals have denied Udo Nwoko's claims that the striker passed a medical at the club after a successful trial. "He did not meet the required standard. We did not hold even preliminary discussions with Leixoes regarding a potential transfer," said director Nicky Hammond.

Sunderland

Dwight Yorke will miss the trip to Anfield on Saturday through injury. "We lost Dwight Yorke to a calf problem at half-time [against Birmingham on Tuesday] and that means he's going to miss the game this weekend, so that gives us something to think about," said manager Roy Keane.

Tottenham Hotspur

Younes Kaboul has denied rumours he is unhappy following the signing of Jonathan Woodgate. "I feel great at Tottenham and I still want to give my best for this team," he said. "I am quite satisfied with the first part of the season. I know how far I can go. I can still improve a lot."

West Ham United

Christian Dailly has praised the club after leaving to join Rangers until the end of the season. "It's a brilliant club, it's massive. There are so many West Ham fans everywhere you go," said the Scotland international. The defender had been the Hammers' longest-serving player, having moved to Upton Park in 2001.

Wigan Athletic

Emile Heskey has revealed he is more concerned about fighting a relegation battle with Wigan than gaining a place in the England squad. "At the moment my priority is helping Wigan stay up," he said. "If the England call comes, it comes – that would be great. But I have to concentrate on us getting some more points."