Football: Ferguson seeks pounds 4m Ball

MANCHESTER UNITED are trying to buy Everton's teenaged left-back, Michael Ball.

United's manager, Alex Ferguson, has contacted the Goodison club about signing the England Under-21 defender and would like to push through a transfer before the Champions' League deadline on Sunday.

Ferguson, who watched Ball last weekend, thinks he could secure a quick transfer because Everton are deep in debt and with doubts about long-term position at the club of their owner, Peter Johnson, the banks want their books balanced.

Ferguson is willing to pay pounds 4m or more for Ball, a first-team regular at Goodison for the past two seasons, but Everton have said that the 19- year-old is not for sale. However, it seems that Ferguson hopes to have put United first in the queue should Ball become available.

Newcastle's hopes of signing the Internazionale defender Taribo West appear to have been reduced now that the player has apparently settled his differences with the Serie A club.

Reports in Italy claim the 24-year-old defender has resolved his problems with the Inter coach, Mircea Lucescu, and has agreed to stay with the club at least until the end of the season.

Newcastle's manager,Ruud Gullit, was awaiting the outcome of a pounds 4.2m offer to take the Nigerian international to St James' Park. It is understood that a second attempt to clinch West's signature was to be made later this week, but yesterday's news looks to have scuppered Newcastle's plans.

The Sheffield Wednesday striker Guy Whittingham has returned to Portsmouth on a month's loan to help his old club's battle against relegation from the First Division. Whittingham started his career at Fratton Park after leaving the Army in 1989, scoring 88 goals in 160 League appearances before moving to Aston Villa and then Wednesday.

A reform of Fifa's world rankings yesterday saw a marked improvement for the home nations - aside from England, who dropped out of the top 10.

Football's world governing body has revised the way the ranking points are awarded with results in the past eight rather than six years now taken into account. Fifa has also responded to criticism that teams have risen up the list too quickly through new weighting factors for matches.

England have dropped since December from ninth to 11th as Spain and the Netherlands benefit from the changes. But for Scotland there is a surge of 12 places from 38th to 26th, likewise the Republic of Ireland, up to 44th. Northern Ireland climb 19 places to 67th and Wales, who have slipped in recent rankings, move up 23 places to the relative respectability of 74th.