SOCCER:Claudio Ranieri, the former Chelsea manager, will be offered a return to the Premiership by Manchester City's prospective new owners, despite the misgivings of the current board. The 55-year-old Italian has been identified as a target by Thaksin Shinawatra, the deposed Thai prime minister who is on the verge of seizing control of the club.

Thaksin and his team of advisers met City's chief executive, Alistair Mackintosh, in London yesterday for further talks about a proposed takeover that, if everything goes according to plan, will be concluded at the end of next week.

Ranieri would not have been on Mackintosh's personal shortlist but it is a measure of how advanced the takeover discussions are that Thaksin has effectively taken control of the appointment process along with Keith Harris, the football finance expert who has been advising him on his bid.

Mackintosh, who will stay in his current role at the club once the takeover is finalised, has not raised any formal objection but it is known he did not want a foreign manager to take over at the City of Manchester Stadium when he first started thinking about replacing Stuart Pearce after a run of poor form in March. Privately, there is an element of doubt within the City boardroom that the right man has now been found.

Ranieri is coming to the end of a short-term contract with Parma, having taken over in February when they were in the Serie A relegation places. His arrival coincided with a sharp improvement in form and they have subsequently ensured their survival in Italy's top league.

In his previous job Ranieri lasted only eight months at Valencia before being sacked. Prior to that, he was Jose Mourinho's predecessor at Stamford Bridge, taking Chelsea to a second-place Premiership finish and the Champions League semi-finals in 2004.

Roman Abramovich did not view Ranieri - who was known to fans and the press as the Tinkerman, due to his constant changes to his team - as the right man to win Chelsea a league title, but there are different priorities at City and it is believed Ranieri has already been contacted, despite his claims last night that he knew nothing about it.

Bryan Robson may make a comeback to become the manager of Sheffield United. The Bramall Lane board are keen to move swiftly after the departure of Neil Warnock in the wake of the club's relegation from the Premiership.

Club officials were conducting talks with Robson in Spain yesterday with a view to installing him at the head of a new management team which includes another former Manchester United player in Brian Kidd.

As a fall-back the United board also have Warnock's former assistant Kevin Blackwell, now in charge at Luton, on their shortlist. But their coach Stuart McCall, who had been interested in taking over, will now leave to manage his former club Bradford having been passed over for a role he thought was his. It is understood McCall told players prior to Warnock's departure that he was in line for the job but that presumption seems to have rebounded on his chances.

Robson's first task will be to resolve the futures of several players who have been tipped to leave United in the aftermath of their drop into the Championship. Phil Jagielka is a £5 million target of several Premiership clubs and the goalkeeper Paddy Kenny and midfielder Michael Tonge have also been earmarked for big-money moves. United are resigned to losing Jagielka but want to retain the nucleus of their squad for a promotion assault next season.

Warnock has emerged as the leading contender for the vacant managerial post at Leicester City, with sources revealing the 58-year-old has had discussions with the club's owner, Milan Mandaric.

Warnock wants to return to football at the earliest opportunity.

Guardian Service