Internet deal brings an extra £20m for Houllier

The Liverpool manager, Gérard Houllier, has received another £20m to spend on his squad after the club announced a deal with its media advisors, Granada Media, to show delayed coverage of Premiership matches on the Internet.

The Liverpool manager, Gérard Houllier, has received another £20m to spend on his squad after the club announced a deal with its media advisors, Granada Media, to show delayed coverage of Premiership matches on the Internet.

Under the terms of the deal, which is likely to set the mould for other clubs to follow, Liverpool will be able to show delayed coverage of their matches via the Internet, on WAP-enabled mobile phones and through digital television. An archive of edited highlights will also be available.

The service is expected to be available in Britain within a year-and-a-half as new, faster connections to the Internet are extended across the country.

Houllier is likely use part of the money to step up his bid to lure Middlesbrough's £5.5m-rated left-back Christian Ziege to Anfield.

Aston Villa want £8m for Ugo Ehiogu, which may price him out of a move. The club's chairman, Doug Ellis, has put the valuation on Ehiogu because he wants a £4m profit, with half the fee going to Ehiogu's previous club, West Bromwich. Now Manchester City, who are prepared to offer £7m, along with Sunderland and Middlesbrough, are ready to give up the chase.

Ellis's offer of £1m as a one-off settlement has been rejected by Albion, who are holding out for 50 per cent.

Villa announced yesterday that they have given up hope of their striker Benito Carbone signing a new contract.

Sources in Spain say the new Barcelona president, Juan Gaspart, will offer Arsenal £22m for Emmanuel Petit and Marc Overmars to try to replace the Real Madrid-bound Luis Figo.

Gaspart made the promise of signing the Arsenal pair, among a group of players, to fans before he won the club's presidential election. The new president spoke to his coaching staff yesterday, but was preparing to fly out for discussions. Petit has reportedly told friends that he expects to be a Barcelona player by Friday in a £8m transfer.