Bellamy sent to Coventry for £6.5m

Norwich City's coveted striker Craig Bellamy is set to join Coventry City in a £6.5m deal. The two clubs agreed a fee last night after the 21-year-old Wales international turned down the offer of an improved Carrow Road contract.

Norwich City's coveted striker Craig Bellamy is set to join Coventry City in a £6.5m deal. The two clubs agreed a fee last night after the 21-year-old Wales international turned down the offer of an improved Carrow Road contract.

"We've agreed a fee with the club and terms with the player and Craig is on his way to Coventry for a medical," the Coventry chairman, Bryan Richardson, said, adding that three Premiership clubs and one First Division side had also been after Bellamy.

Liverpool will host England's first World Cup qualifier to be played away from Wembley while the new national stadium is being built. Kevin Keegan's side will take on Finland at Anfield on 24 March, although the first ground to be used away from Wembley will be Villa Park, which will host England's friendly against Spain on 28 February.

Gianfranco Zola has given his word to Chelsea that he wants to stay at Stamford Bridge. The 34-year-old Italian says reports that he wants to join Napoli stem from two months ago when, he admits, he was on the brink of leaving.

Chelsea want to buy the Dutch winger Boudewijn Zenden from Barcelona for £8m if the player decides against a move to Lazio.

"It is no secret we have been interested in the player and we have agreed a fee with Barcelona," Chelsea's managing director, Colin Hutchinson, said.

The Aston Villa captain, Gareth Southgate, claims he has no plans to withdraw his transfer request at Villa Park.

"Nothing that has happened over the course of the summer, since I put my transfer request in, has convinced me to withdraw the request," said Southgate, who was booed during his side's Intertoto Cup matches earlier this month.

Leeds confirmed the £4.25m signing of Dominic Matteo from Liverpool yesterday. Matteo will go straight into O'Leary's side for the game against Everton at Elland Road on Saturday.

Everton's attempt to take Duncan Ferguson back from Newcastle has fallen through. The Merseysiders agreed a £3.75m fee with the Magpies last Friday for the 28-year-old Scot, who cost £7m two seasons ago when he moved in the opposite direction. A club statement said: "Everton have now been informed that the player was not able to agree the terms of his release from Newcastle and that the transfer is off."

Manchester City have agreed a £500,000 fee with Rangers for the Scotland defender Paul Ritchie. The 24-year-old, who enjoyed a successful loan spell at Bolton last term, has yet to start a competitive game this season after completing a Bosman switch to Ibrox during the summer. City are also moving for the Ecuadorian Ulises de la Cruz.

Blackburn are trying to bring the former Arsenal striker Kaba Diawara back to England. The manager, Graeme Souness, is in talks with Paris St-Germain about a £3m deal.

The Charlton full-back Chris Powell will not know until the end of this week whether he is to be suspended for the first time in his career. Powell faces a three-match Premiership ban after being sent off in a testimonial match against Vicenza on Saturday, but Charlton have appealed on the grounds that referees in such matches normally ask for a player to be substituted, as was the case with West Ham's Paolo Di Canio against Bilbao the following day.

The Irish Football Association have dropped a threat to bar Neil Lennon, Gerry Taggart and Steve Lomas from the Premier League this weekend after they withdrew from the Northern Ireland squad for yesterday's friendly against Yugoslavia.

"In each of the cases there are niggling injuries and that withdrawal on this occasion is justified," an IFA spokesman said