Transfer News: Onuoha and Taiwo head for Rangers to bolster defence

Queen's Park Rangers yesterday agreed a fee with Manchester City believed to be £2.5 million for the defender Nedum Onuoha and were close to sealing a six-month loan deal for left-back Taye Taiwo from Milan.

Onuoha, an England Under-21 player, who spent last season on loan at Sunderland, has made only three appearances for City this season but featured regularly when Mark Hughes, QPR's new manager, was in charge at the club.

Taiwo joined Milan from Marseilles in the summer but has struggled for a regular first-team berth at San Siro. The 26-year-old Nigeria international had been linked with a move to Arsenal but now looks set to join QPR, with completion of the deal subject to a work permit.

Hughes said yesterday he had made a second unsuccessful bid for the Blackburn Rovers captain, Christopher Samba, and warned: "There comes a point where you need to draw a line under some deals, because you think they're not going to progress."

QPR are also in talks with Chelsea over the Brazilian defender Alex, while they hope to secure a work permit to complete the loan signing of Sao Paulo striker Henrique.

Liverpool have moved closer to signing Joao Carlos Teixeira, a 19-year-old midfielder from Sporting Lisbon, for a fee believed to be around £850,000. Asked about the move, the Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish offered the cryptic response that "there might be something about that" but added that Teixeira was not being considered as a first-team player as he "is only a kid".

Blackburn are on the verge of signing striker Anthony Modeste on loan from Bordeaux until the end of the season. The 23-year-old, who has struggled since leaving Nice in 2010, is due at Ewood Park for a medical.