Yobo delays permanent Everton move

The Everton defender Joseph Yobo will sign a five-year contract with the Merseyside club once he changes agents in the next few weeks. The Nigerian international, who has rapidly become a cult hero at Goodison Park, has given notice to his former representative to sign up with a new English-based company and does not want to finalise his £4.5m transfer from Marseille until the switch is complete.

Yobo agreed to sign a contract at Everton once they decided to make his loan from the French club permanent. The defender will sit down to go through all of the details, which are already in place, in the new year, but only when he is under new management.

The Manchester City manager Kevin Keegan is ready to sign Djamel Belmadi, Marseille's 26-year-old Algerian international midfielder, for £1.5m. Belmadi is a friend of the City striker, Nicolas Anelka because the pair were together at Paris St-Germain and their understanding has impressed Keegan and his staff during his two days of training.

Portsmouth, the First Division leaders, have completed the signing of the Derby County striker Deon Burton for a fee that could rise to £250,000. The Jamaica internationalstarted his career at Fratton Park eight years ago and spent one month on loan with Harry Redknapp's side at the start of the season, scoring three times in six appearances. Burton is available to face Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium tomorrow. He has agreed a contract that runs to June 2004.

The Bayern Munich midfielder, Owen Hargreaves, has suggested he will turn down a move to the Premiership. "Bayern are one of the best sides in the world," said the 21-year-old England international, who was recently criticised by the club for hinting that he might move on. "I like it here and can move to England at the age of 25 or 26. It's not good for a young player to switch teams often."

Asked about reported offers from Arsenal and Liverpool, he said: "Everything could have happened very quickly if I had definitely wanted to move."

Meanwhile, the Germany coach Rudi Völler has recalled the Tottenham Hotspur wing-back Christian Ziege to his squad for next week's benefit match in Gelsenkirchen. Germany are to face a team made up of overseas players in the Bundesliga on Monday to raise money for victims of flooding in August, which badly affected areas in the south-eastern part of Germany.