Football: Sherwood to make pounds 4m move to Spurs

TIM SHERWOOD will become George Graham's most expensive signing when he completes a pounds 4m transfer to Tottenham today. The Blackburn Rovers captain agreed terms last night after initially stalling on the deal to take him to White Hart Lane last week.

Sherwood headed for London yesterday to finalise contract details with Spurs, although his salary is not likely to be the fortune he was expecting. In fact, Blackburn insiders believe he may even have accepted a lower wage at Tottenham than the contract they had offered, which was worth just under pounds 1m a year.

However, Sherwood had ensured the move was inevitable by claiming Spurs had offered better terms and saying his farewells to team-mates last week. The manager, Brian Kidd, did not block Sherwood's exit and will use the money to sign a Premier League midfielder, who could arrive at the weekend.

Nwankwo Kanu has been granted a work permit, which means that the former Internazionale player, signed three weeks ago for pounds 3m, is now free to play for Arsenal. The club were yesterday contacting him to arrange the Nigerian's return to London and he could be available for Saturday's Premiership visit to Upton Park.

The Middlesbrough manager Bryan Robson is hopeful that his club's plans for the future will help secure the signature of Juninho after all. Boro were not commenting any further on their move for the pounds 10m-rated Brazilian after the player himself and his club Atletico Madrid insisted that he is staying put, at least until the summer.

Yet Robson's confidence that the 24-year-old could soon be back on Teesside - rebuffing Aston Villa's overtures - suggests that a deal which would allow Juninho to stay in Spain until the end of the season could still be struck. "He's got no fears coming back to Middlesbrough," Robson said.

John Barnes, the former England midfielder, played a full 90 minutes in a 5-0 win for Charlton's reserves at The Valley yesterday afternoon. The 35-year-old Newcastle player, who has made just one substitute appearance in the League this season, is on a week's trial and may sign on loan until the summer.

The Republic of Ireland manager, Mick McCarthy, has cleared the way for Charlton's Mark Kinsella and Wimbledon's Kenny Cunningham to face each other at The Valley on Monday night. McCarthy has released the pair even though the Republic face Paraguay in a friendly just 48 hours later. Both players will arrive in Dublin on Tuesday morning. "It's a one-off arrangement," McCarthy said.

The Iran striker Mohamad Ali Karimi was sent off for kicking the referee in a 2-2 draw with Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday. Ali Karimi pulled the shirt of Toru Kamikawa and kicked him in the shins after the Japanese official had sent off a team-mate.