ARSENAL received another injection of young foreign blood yesterday with a warning from manager Arsene Wenger that the club's ageing stars could be on their last legs at Highbury.

Wenger took his summer spending through the £12 million barrier by signing Holland winger Marc Overmars and announcing further deals to bring in Portuguese striker Luis Boamorte (19), from Sporting Lisbon and mid-fielder Alberto Mendez-Rodriguez (22) from German side FC Feucht.

The influx of new faces follows hot on the heels of the signing of 26-year-old French defenders Emmanuel Petit and Gilles Grimandi from Monaco earlier this month.

And with the £7 million Overmars only 24 and having the "best years of his career ahead of him" according to Wenger, the foreign revolution is bound to ruffle a few feathers among the more established names at Arsenal.

Wenger said: "I needed to restructure my squad. I wanted players who are used to winning things and familiar with the pressures of a big club.

"But I also needed to bring in younger players. We have the best players in the country in the 28 to 35 age group, but between 20 and 28 they are all at Manchester United, Newcastle or Liverpool.

There could be more fresh faces to follow before the Arsenal's Premiership campaign kicks off, too, with Wenger promising: "It's not all over yet. I might still bring in one or two more, players before the season starts."

Overmars is convinced that after five years of phenomenal success at Ajax he can go on to enjoy more glory, both home and abroad, with Arsenal.

A European Cup winner in 1995, he said: "I have won prizes with Ajax and want to continue doing so with Arsenal.

"I spoke to Dennis Bergkamp and he said nice things about the club. I like what I have seen of the Premier League. I think there will be more freedom for me and with my speed I can make use of the spaces.

Liverpool are facing a European challenge in their bid to sign Fabrizio Ravanelli from Middlesbrough. The Merseysiders' resolve to link the unhappy Italian with the equally prolific Robbie Fowler will be put to the test after Ravenelli's agent, Pino Pagliara, admitted "two major clubs" from Spain and France have also joined the hunt.

Liverpool's negotiations with Middlesbrough have become deadlocked over the transfer valuation, with the Anfield club unwilling to pay the £9 million asking price that would give the Teessiders a £2 million profit on a player who scored 31 goals last season.

But this latest development could push Liverpool further towards reaching a compromise with the relegated north east club rather than risk being dragged into an auction.

Everton's chairman, Peter Johnson, insists that the appointment of a new manager is close and has pleaded with fans to remain patient.

Former Blues boss Howard Kendall will be given an opportunity to put forward his case for a third spell at the club when he meets Johnson on Merseyside today.

Bobby Rob son is still uppermost in Johnson's mind though Barcelona will not give any indication about the long-term future of their manager until after the Spanish Cup Final on June 28th.

And Johnson is giving serious consideration to a partnership between Kendall, who won the FA Cup, the European Cup Winners' Cup and two Championship titles, and one of his stars of the 1980s, Andy Gray.

Johnson said: "My message to the fans is to be patient. The situation has almost crystalised and the wait has been worthwhile. We wanted to get the best man for Everton and I'm sure we are going to do that."

Sky Sports pundit Gray - described by Johnson as "a very impressive man" - is just the latest in a long line of candidates to be interviewed.

Gray is believed to have insisted on having full charge of team affairs if the chairman decided on a joint partnership with Kendall.

He is insisting on naming his own backroom staff and said after his meeting with the chairman: "We had talks lasting two hours, getting to know each other. I liked what the chairman had to say about his ambitions for the club and I explained my own ambitions.

"A lot of positive things were said. It was very informal and no decisions were taken. We talked about the general state of play and now the next move is up to Everton."