Chelsea are reportedly close to clinching a deal for Marseille striker Didier Drogba. The French club had rejected an £18m bid from the Blues, but are expected to make an announcement on the centre forward's future today or tomorrow.
Marseille president Christophe Bouchet said: "This must happen quickly, so as not to get in the way of the preparations of both clubs. We are heading towards Didier's departure, but you never know - nothing has been signed."
Chelsea travel to the USA on Wednesday to continue their pre-season programme and Jose Mourinho is keen to clinch the deal before then.
The Chelsea coach insists that Ivory Coast international Drogba and Benfica midfielder Tiago should both be on board or the deals will be called off. Tiago has been priced at £10m by his club.
Another striker on the move is Blackburn's Andy Cole who has moved to Fulham on a two-year deal. The 32-year-old, who moved for an undisclosed fee, still had a year to run on his contract at Ewood Park but was given permission to speak to Fulham.
The capture of Cole, who is the second highest scorer in Premiership history and has 15 England caps to his name, has delighted the Cottagers boss, Chris Coleman.
"We are delighted to have signed Andy - his pedigree speaks for itself," said Coleman. "I know he will be 100 per cent committed every time he pulls on the Fulham shirt, and I am sure that his knowledge and understanding of the game will benefit the less experienced players around him.
"He will join us for training tomorrow and I am looking forward to working with him."
One striker who doesn't seem sure what is happening is Everton's Wayne Rooney. The Toffees' chairman, Bill Kenwright, said he hoped his future would be settled soon - but admitted a sale would 'revitalise' the club's fortunes.
More talks are planned with the England star who has two years remaining on his current contract. "Wayne's sale would revitalise the club - but a five-year contract would also revitalise us," said Kenwright. "If we do that, the fact is we'd have kept one of the major stars in world football.
"David Moyes and I will be personally dealing with Wayne's future in the next week or so. You cannot allow a player like Wayne to go into the last year of a contract and lose a major asset. He's got two-years left on his contract, and that situation cannot continue forever," he added.
"It's a double-edged sword and I know what I want to happen. The facts are that he hasn't asked for a transfer, and we would like him to stay."
While Rooney's future remains up in the air, Thomas Gravesen is definitely staying at Goodison Park, according to his agent. The Danish international has 12 months left on his contract and has been linked with a move to Celtic.
However, his agent, and former Danish international John Sivebaek said:"I've not heard anything from Celtic so I think he'll stay at Everton for one more year. We don't know about a new contract - it's difficult to say because we've not had any discussions with Everton yet."
Gravesen would be free to leave Everton at the end of the 2004-05 season and has been critical of the club's ambitions in the past. "Thomas is coming back from holiday in the next few days so we will see what is going on in the near future," added Sivebaek. "It depends on the team and some other things but I can't really say at the moment.
"He's been very happy at Everton and would be happy to stay for one more year. But he has to go on with his career - he's been there for five years and wants to see what he can do next."
