Celtic in move for £2m Wilmots

Celtic are making an unexpected move for the Belgian international midfielder Marc Wilmots. The Schalke 04 player, who will cost around £2m, was in Glasgow yesterday for talks.

Celtic are making an unexpected move for the Belgian international midfielder Marc Wilmots. The Schalke 04 player, who will cost around £2m, was in Glasgow yesterday for talks.

Wilmots' performances for Belgium at Euro 2000 also alerted Tottenham Hotspur, but Celtic have stepped in first. The 31-year-old playmaker has also been speaking to Bordeaux, but flew to Scotland after meeting the French club on Saturday.

If the Celtic manager, Martin O'Neill, signs Wilmots it would probably mean the end of his interest in Aston Villa's Alan Thompson, valued at £2.5m. O'Neill also still wants midfielder Neil Lennon from his former club, Leicester City.

Ironically, Wilmots' move could also help Celtic's bitter city rivals Rangers in their push to secure the signature of Emile Mpenza, Wilmots' team-mate for club and country. Mpenza would be more open to move to Glasgow if his friend joins Celtic.

Nicky Barmby's move to Liverpool from Everton has been overshadowed by the news that the club captain, Jamie Redknapp, will be out until Christmas. Barmby completed a medical at Anfield yesterday - the final all clear will not be available until test results arrive today - but the club have revealed that Redknapp needs knee surgery that could exclude him for five months.

The Blackburn Rovers manager, Graeme Souness, hopes to clinch the £3.5m signing of the Fulham captain, Chris Coleman, this week. Souness has stepped in with a new offer for the former Rovers defender, who would become his biggest buy of the summer.

Per Frandsen is leaving Blackburn to return to Bolton Wanderers after a miserable spell at Ewood Park. The Danish midfielder will move to the Reebok for £1m, around half of what he cost last season.

Another of Bolton's Danish contingent, Claus Jensen, will decide whether his future lies with either Charlton Athletic or Ipswich Town this week. Jensen is flying home from Bolton's pre-season trip to his homeland after both the Premier League newcomers had offers of £4m accepted for his services.

Leeds United are to play all their Premier Reserve League fixtures at York City's Bootham Crescent next season in an effort to protect a new playing surface at Elland Road.

Norwich are giving a trial to the brother of the Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, once of Leeds. Carlos Hasselbaink, aged 31, is available after a spell with FC Haarlem.

Anther ex-Leeds player, Tony Yeboah, will answer tax evasion charges in a Berlin court next month, his lawyer said yesterday. Now with Hamburg SV, the Ghanaian striker allegedly failed to pay tax on 2.3 million marks (£756,000) he received after extending his contract with Eintracht Frankfurt in 1993.

Manchester United's Dwight Yorke scored in the 73rd minute to help Trinidad and Tobago beat Canada 2-0 at Edmonton, avenging the Gold Cup semi-final defeat, in their opening game of the North American World Cup qualifying semi-finals.