Villa takeover gathers momentum: The battle to take control of Aston Villa is hotting up with a British-based consortium known as "AV06" now entering the fray.
Deputy high court judge and leading solicitor Nicholas Padfield QC is understood to be at the helm of the new takeover bid.
Villa chairman Doug Ellis is believed to have already received a number of proposals from Padfield and his backers, who are currently unnamed. AV06 already have plans in place for appointing David O'Leary's successor and have lined up a list of players who could be brought in to boost a squad that narrowly avoided relegation from the Premiership last season.
Former Oxford University graduate Padfield and his consortium members have joined lifelong Villa fan Michael Neville and American billionaire Randy Lerner in the race to be Villa's new owners.
Lennon absent as Celtic begin again
Captain Neil Lennon is suspended for Celtic's opening Scottish Premier League game, against Kilmarnock at Celtic Park this afternoon. Defender Bobo Balde (stomach) and strikers Craig Beattie (hamstring) and Shaun Maloney (groin) are missing, while midfielder Stephen Pearson also has a groin problem.
Rangers captain Barry Ferguson (heel) could be out for the opening five games of the season and is definitely out of tomorrow's clash at Motherwell. Chris Burke (ankle), Ian Murray (thigh) and Kris Boyd (suspension) are also sidelined.
Blackburn finally land McCarthy
Blackburn have completed the signing of Benni McCarthy on a four-year contract from Porto. Rovers have not revealed the fee, although it has been reported to be in the region of £2.5 million.
Manager Mark Hughes will hope the 28-year-old South African can prove a suitable replacement for Craig Bellamy, who moved to Liverpool earlier in the summer.
Blackburn chairman John Williams said: "We tried to sign Benni 12 months ago and we have been tracking the situation since then. We are delighted that we have managed to bring him to Rovers."
In brief . . .
Portsmouth striker Lomana LuaLua and midfielder Richard Hughes have signed new three-year contracts . . . The Premiership club have also signed former Liverpool midfielder David Thompson (28) on a one-year contract . . . AC Milan have announced the signing of Parma defender Daniele Bonera (25) . . . Bulgarian left back and free agent Ivaylo Petkov (30) is confident of signing for Celtic next week . . . Austria Vienna striker Filip Sebo (22) is set to clinch his move to Rangers after his club admitted defeat in their battle to retain the Slovak . . . Birmingham have signed Arsenal midfielder Fabrice Muamba (18) on a season-long loan . . . West Brom defender Curtis Davies (21) has signed a four-year contract extension at The Hawthorns . . . Steve Bull, the greatest goalscorer in Wolves history, has been made a vice-president at Molineux.
