Curbishley faces fight with Boro to secure £5m Delap

Alan Curbishley, the Charlton Athletic manager, has made a club-record £5m offer for Derby County's powerful young Irishman Rory Delap, but he faces competition.

Curbishley, who sees Delap as his major signing of the close season, should have the edge because Steve McClaren, the new Middlesbrough manager, values Delap only at £3m. Derby may have to part with Delap, Malcolm Christie and possibly Mart Poom, but Seth Johnson has turned down a move to Rangers.

Terry Venables is leaving Middlesbrough after the club cancelled a meeting with him about his future when McClaren declined the chance to have him as part of his backroom team. The split was complete yesterday when Venables and his advisers were told that Boro would not be keeping him as a director of football.

Harry Redknapp, the former West Ham manager, confirmed yesterday he has held informal talks with Southampton chairman, Rupert Lowe. Redknapp, who left West Ham in May, said: "We just sat down over a glass of wine and talked football, that's as far as it's gone at the moment."

Redknapp also said he was surprised nobody had yet been appointed to manage his old club. "To me, it's an insult to West Ham and the fans that no one has taken it yet," he said.

Steffen Freund has urged Tottenham Hotspur's manager, Glenn Hoddle, to step up his bid to sign Liverpool's unsettled defender Christian Ziege. Hoddle confirmed at the weekend that he had made an offer for the German international.

The Everton manager, Walter Smith, has lined up the £1.5m signing of the 23-year-old Israeli international centre-half Shimon Gershon. Smith wants to bring in the Hapoel Tel Aviv defender for next season and has put a deal in place.

Sunderland have signed the 18-year-old Turkish defender Baki Mercimek on a free transfer from the Dutch side Haarlem. The centre-half was a member of Ajax's youth academy before joining Haarlem.

Dwight Yorke, the Manchester United striker, has been dropped by Trinidad and Tobago for a World Cup qualifier against Honduras after missing a warm-up game.

English Premier League matches will be officiated by professional referees from next season in a move aimed at reducing the number of controversial decisions.

The officials will have the chance to earn up to £60,000 a year as a result of a new scheme, which is designed to improve standards and increase accountability. The initiative will create an élite group of 24 referees, each accountable to a new body, the Professional Game Match Officials Board.