Chelsea have confirmed their interest in signing Barcelona's French World Cup and Euro 2000 winning midfielder Emmanuel Petit for a fee reportedly around the £7 million (sterling) mark. Chelsea managing director Colin Hutchinson said yesterday: "We have had some discussions with Barcelona about Emmanuel Petit and we are hopeful of doing something. We have not got an agreement as yet but talks will continue."
Petit made his name in England with Chelsea's London rivals Arsenal and formed a celebrated midfield partnership with international colleague Patrick Vieira, climaxing with the 1998 domestic double. However, since his move to Barcelona last summer he has found first-team football increasingly difficult to come by, something he badly wants ahead of the 2002 World Cup.
Meanwhile, England defender Sol Campbell held talks with Serie A club Inter Milan on Monday. Campbell, who has turned down a new contract offer from his club Tottenham Hotspur, has been linked with several clubs, including Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Barcelona.
The Milan club have already strengthened their defence for next season with the signing of former Everton defender Marco Materazzi from Perugia.
Henrik Larsson's future at Celtic should be finalised when the Swedish striker meets with club bosses next month. The Treble-winners have been in negotiations with the Swede for months now even though he still has two years remaining on his present contract.
But it appears Larsson is not prepared to continue discussions into next season and is putting pressure on Celtic to meet his demands when they meet again in early June.
Galatasaray's notorious Romanian star Gheorghe Hagi risks between 10 months and four years in jail for insulting a referee in a March game. Hagi (36) had already been punished with a six-match ban for the same outburst during a league game against Genclerbirligi on March 10th.
The veteran first got a yellow card for a harsh argument with the referee after he disallowed a goal by the player following consultations with his assistant who spotted a handball. Hagi then kicked the ball in the air, spat in the referee's face and stamped on his foot, provoking a red card.
A Turkish prosecutor in Istanbul charged the footballer with three separate violations - assault, insult against a person holding an official title and insult via the media. If convicted of all, he could face between 10 months and four years in jail. But convictions of insult are usually converted into fines in Turkey.
