Macken agrees £5m City transfer

Manchester City, second in the Nationwide First Division, last night agreed a £5 million fee with Preston for the striker Jon Macken, and in the process earned Manchester United £1m for a player they once rejected.

City have had no problem finding the net this season but Kevin Keegan, the manager of the free-scoring promotion chasers, has an injury worry over Paulo Wanchope, while their top scorer, Shaun Goater, has also been carrying an injury.

Preston could not afford to refuse the offer even though they are obliged to give Manchester United a substantial slice of the profit they will make from selling on a player they lured from Old Trafford five seasons ago for £300,000 in a deal that included a sell-on clause.

Burnley, City's fellow First Division promotion chasers, have approached Everton in an ambitious move to sign Paul Gascoigne and have contacted Everton about the former England midfielder's availability. Burnley are willing to take on Gasciogne's contract for the rest of the last two months of the season, and offer him the option of joining full-time.

The West Ham goalkeeper Craig Forrest has returned to training after a five-month absence following surgery to remove a cancerous cyst.

Leicester City said yesterday that negotiations to sell their Filbert Street stadium to an as-yet unnamed party were at an advanced stage.