West Ham seek Bright future

Football

West Ham and Queen's Park Rangers, quiet in the transfer market by comparison with their London rivals, both lined up deals yesterday. West Ham hope to sign Mark Bright, the Sheffield Wednesday striker, for pounds 400,000, while Rangers moved for the Reading midfielder, Simon Osborn.

Bright's Hillsborough team-mate, Chris Waddle, has turned down the post of player-coach to concentrate on playing. David Pleat, the new Wednesday manager, is now waiting to hear whether Roland Nilsson is to return after a year in Sweden.

Millwall, having secured Tranmere's Chris Malkin, were busy again. They paid Crystal Palace pounds 250,000 for Bobby Bowry, a midfielder, and agreed a pounds 700,000 fee with Kaiserslautern for Uwe Fuchs, the striker who was on loan to Middlesbrough last season. Fuchs is considering the move.

Bolton have had talks with Gerry Taggart, the Northern Ireland centre- back valued at pounds 2.5m by Barnsley, increasing the likelihood of Alan Stubbs leaving the Premiership newcomers. Relegated Leicester have signed Scott Taylor and Paul Holsgrove from Reading, the fees to be settled by tribunal.

Wolves, the First Division's biggest spenders during the past year, must sell before they buy again, Graham Taylor warned yesterday. Brighton, seeking to sell the Goldstone Ground and build a new stadium, are to share Portsmouth's ground from January.

Rangers, who will formally sign Paul Gascoigne on Monday, expect to learn today whether Florin Raducioiu, the Romanian striker, is to join them from Espanol of Barcelona.