Arsenal and Chelsea remain locked in a battle to land Southampton's teenage striker Theo Walcott. The Championship club confirmed they have received offers from two "top Premiership clubs" - thought to be Arsenal and Chelsea - and are expecting a third to materialise shortly.
Arsenal had a bid believed to be £12 million rejected at the weekend but manager Arsene Wenger is hopeful a successful conclusion can be reached.
Southampton chairman Rupert Lowe admitted the club had received two bids. "We have now received a couple of offers and the indications are another may follow," he told www.saintsfc.co.uk. "These have not been accepted or rejected at this stage."
Tottenham, Manchester United and Liverpool have also expressed interest in the youngster who can walk out on the club for a tribunal-set fee because he is only 16.
Walcott, a boyhood Arsenal supporter, is thought to prefer a move to Highbury, but Chelsea's financial muscle will dwarf any offer on the table from other clubs.
Chelsea remained silent on speculation they were among the two clubs to have lodged a bid for the player and while the interest in the youngster continues to grow, Southampton boss George Burley believes Walcott's best interests would be better served by staying put. He said: "At the moment he is in the best place and doing tremendously well. He is playing regularly which is fantastic at his age.
"There has been a lot of talk but you have to consider the boy's future and I feel the best place for him right now is at Southampton. I have not spoken to him about his future but he is enjoying his training.
"I said from day one that I want to keep him as long as possible and this is the best place for him to develop and learn. I have worked with a lot of good youngsters but I have never had a 16-year-old playing regular first-team football before."
Walcott could leave for the tribunal-set fee despite having a pre-contract agreement with the St Mary's club to sign professional terms when he turns 17 in March.
The frontman has burst onto the scene in the Championship this season, after becoming the youngest player ever to represent Southampton - aged 16 years and 143 days - in the opening day draw with Wolves. He continued to be used from the bench until making his first start at Leeds in October - which he marked with his first senior goal.
Arsenal, meanwhile, expect to generate more gate revenue than any other club in the world after the move to the Emirates Stadium this summer. With all 150 executive boxes and 85 per cent of the lucrative club-level seats paid for, and with season tickets oversubscribed, the FA Cup holders have succeeded in their primary objective in moving to the 60,000-seat ground.
The club's managing director Keith Edelman, speaking to commemorate the final season at Highbury before the move, was understandably bullish. "Our gate income in the new stadium will probably be the highest in the world," he said. "That will be because we will have 60,000 fans and we've got higher-priced tickets and more premium tickets than any other club in the UK."
Gate revenues at Spain's biggest clubs are restricted by fans' covenants ensuring club members must be consulted on price increases, in Germany by custom and in Italy by growing apathy. Premiership clubs set their own prices, guaranteeing year-on-year increases in gate revenue for most of them. Arsenal benefit from being based in London and can justify their prices in comparison with theatre or opera.
Meanwhile, Stephen Carr has added to Newcastle's injury worries after he was found to be suffering from an abdominal injury which the club fears is related to the hernia problem he had an operation on earlier this season and from which he has only recently returned to the first-team. The right back was in such pain in Saturday's defeat at Fulham he was withdrawn at half-time and is almost certain to miss this weekend's home game against Graeme Souness's former club, Blackburn Rovers.
