Villa offered £3m Yeboah

Brian Little, the Aston Villa manager, confirmed last night that the club had been offered Anthony Yeboah, Eintracht Frankfurt's £3m-rated Ghanaian striker, and declined to rule out the possibility of a deal.

Yeboah, at 30, does not fit the age profile Little would prefer, but his scoring record means his availability is likely to interest Premiership clubs. Leeds and Arsenal are also thought to have been sounded out, with Bayern Munich keen to keep him in Germany.

Little, who claimed that "little things are developing" in his quest for new recruits, said: "When something like this comes along, you'd want to do your own homework first." Tommy Johnson, the striker for whom Derby County are asking £2m, remains a moreprobable arrival at Villa Park.

Reading's caretaker-manager partnership of Mick Gooding and Jimmy Quinn will learn today whether they have got the job on a permanent basis. The First Division side have lost only one of their last five games since Gooding and Quinn, both 35-year-old pl a yers, took over when Mark McGhee left for Leicester. Ossie Ardiles and Mike Walker, who started his playing career with Reading, are also said to be in the running.

Brian Hamilton yesterday crossed the Edinburgh divide by signing for Heart of Midlothian from Hibernian. The fee for the 27-year-old midfielder may have be settled by a transfer tribunal.