Duberry leaving Leeds to search for starting role

While Rio Ferdinand decides whether to ask for a move away from Leeds, his colleague Michael Duberry has rejected the chance to fight for a first-team place under the new manager Terry Venables.

Ferdinand, a target for Manchester United, was reportedly on the brink last night of putting in a transfer request. Meanwhile the 26-year-old Duberry, a £4.5m signing from Chelsea in 1999 who received abuse over his role in the court case involving Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate, was thought to be ready to go.

"Michael has told the manager how he feels," said Duberry's agent, Phil Graham. "It's nothing to do with the new manager ­ this is how he's felt for a long time. He feels he needs first-team football."

Duberry signed a new five-year deal with Leeds in December but is determined to leave, despite the change of manager, and has already courted interest from Blackburn, Bolton and Everton.

Bowyer, for his part, was busy trying to wrap up his £9m move to Liverpool. The Merseysiders did complete one signing yesterday, pinning the Senegal striker El-Hadji Diouf to a five-year contract.

Across Stanley Park, the £5m defender Joseph Yobo has officially joined Everton after being granted a work permit. The Everton manager David Moyes has switched his search for a new goalkeeper to Bohemians Prague's Slovakian international Kamil Contofalsky from Mart Poom. Moyes is at the end of his tether over the Poom deal with Derby seeking a fee of £5m while Contofalsky is available at around £1.2m.

The Birmingham City manager Steve Bruce is signing striker Jovan Kirovski from Crystal Palace while he waits on Clinton Morrison to follow the same route. Bruce has agreed a deal for the one-time Manchester United trainee, who he signed for Palace last summer on a one-year deal. Kirovski can sign for nothing at the end of his contract and Birmingham will apply for a work permit for the American international.

The Newcastle United manager Sir Bobby Robson is poised to sign the Peruvian international left-back Martin Hidalgo. Hidalgo was on Tyneside yesterday to play a practice game and a decision is expected before Newcastle head for the Netherlands later this week.