Football: Gray linked with Everton

Andy Gray, the former Everton and Scotland centre- forward who is now a high- profile television commentator for Sky Sports, has been linked with the managerial vacancy at Goodison Park.

However, Gray has denied reports that he is to have talks with the Everton chairman, Peter Johnson, this weekend. Yesterday Gray told the Independent on Sunday: "I've always said that I have the best job in the world at Sky, but that the only two jobs that might tempt me to reconsider my position at Sky are the management jobs at Everton or Aston Villa.

"People have remembered I've said that in the past, and have put two and two together to make five." A talismanic and popular player at all his clubs, Gray turned out for Aston Villa, Wolves, Dundee United and Rangers as well as Everton, but has no managerial experience.

It has been suggested that, if Gray takes control of team affairs at Goodison, Howard Kendall, at present Sheffield United's manager, would return to Everton, where he was both player and manager, to fill the role of general manager.

Chelsea have added yet another foreigner to their playing ranks with the signing of the French defender Bernard Lambourde from Bordeaux for pounds 1.5m on a five-year contract.

A 6ft 2in stopper who can also play sweeper, Lambourde, 26, was with Cannes before joining Bordeaux a year ago. He follows the Dutch international goalkeeper Ed de Goey, who left Feyenoord for pounds 2.25m and a five-year deal last week, to Stamford Bridge. Chelsea's manager, Ruud Gullit, has also signed the Nigerian defender, Celestine Babayaro, and the Spanish striker Gustavo Poyet.

Another Premiership manager who prefers to shop abroad is Arsenal's Arsene Wenger. He has agreed an initial fee of pounds 1.8m for Sporting Lisbon's Luis Boa Morte, a Portuguese Under-21 winger. Wenger is also close to agreeing a fee of between pounds 4m and pounds 5m for the Ajax and Holland winger Marc Overmars.

Not to be outdone, Barnsley have signed Macedonia's centre-forward, the 21-year-old Georgi Hristov, from Partizan Belgrade. The fee is not yet known.

Only three days after beating England in their final match at Le Tournoi de France, Brazil opened their Copa America campaign with a 5-0 win over Costa Rica in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, on Friday. Ronaldo scored twice while Romario, Djalminha and Costa Rica's captain Ronald Gonzalez, with an own goal, were also on target.