Vieira ready to move onPatrick Vieira has accepted that Arsenal are ready to sell him and he will not try to stay if the club reach an agreement for his departure.
Juventus are trying to negotiate a deal for the midfielder and face competition from Real Madrid. Of those two, Vieira's preference would be Real but he would be willing to return to Italy, despite an unsuccessful spell at Milan in 1995-96 and concerns about racism.
He has said in the past that he would not play for another Serie A club because of an "intolerable atmosphere of racism". He was particularly upset at the abuse that marred Arsenal's Champions League game at Lazio in 2000.
Sources at Juventus claim Vieira has agreed in principle to a contract offer from them. That was denied in other quarters but there is no question about the Italian champions' determination to sign the 29-year-old and there were unconfirmed reports in Italy last night that three Juve directors had flown to London to try to finalise the deal. Their existing offer, including a player exchange, has been rebuffed.
Juventus club administrator Antonio Giraudo said the clubs were still some way from agreeing a transfer. Vieira could be joined in Turin by Robert Pires, who has also been linked with the Italian champions after turning down a 12-month extension to his Arsenal contract, having asked for two more years.
Chelsea defend Mourinho
Hostilities between Chelsea and Arsenal flared up again last night after Chelsea strongly backed manager Jose Mourinho despite his controversial claims about Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein's role among the game's power-brokers.
On Tuesday Mourinho claimed Arsenal have been given an easier ride with the Premiership fixture list and insinuated that the presence of Dein on the Football Association's board had negative implications for Chelsea.
The FA yesterday branded Mourinho's comments "unnecessary, unhelpful, bad for the image of the game and inaccurate", while the Premier League insisted that he was wrong to imply that Dein had any influence over fixtures, saying the comments were "unfounded and display a lack of understanding".
Chelsea however have refused to back down and say Mourinho was fully entitled to defend the club against criticism from Arsenal.
In a statement, Chelsea said: "Over recent months there has been a series of critical comments from Arsenal about key individuals at Chelsea, and the club as a whole.
"These were not isolated incidents. Like any club, Chelsea believes it is entitled to defend itself publicly against such criticism, when appropriate, and is fully supportive of Jose Mourinho when he does so."
Ferguson warns Ferdinand
Alex Ferguson has warned Rio Ferdinand his contract stand-off is having a negative effect on Manchester United's pre-season preparations.
Ferdinand's agent Pini Zahavi revealed earlier this week that talks over a new deal had stalled. Ferdinand has rejected a £100,000-a-week offer to extend his current deal, which has two years to run, and is believed to be holding out for an extra £20,000.
Ferguson said: "We want Rio to sign because it puts the whole matter to rest. It has created speculation and an unnecessary agenda for the club we don't want. Rio has received a fantastic offer, and I think there is going to be another meeting between his agent and David Gill, which I hope will happen soon.
He added: "We are going to China to get ready for the season and the Champions League tie and want to do so knowing everyone at the club just now is remaining at the club."
In Brief
Newcastle United's desire for a striker to replace the departed Craig Bellamy is leading them ever closer to Middlesbrough's Mark Viduka. No bid has yet been received by Boro, who would be willing to offload a player they bought for £4.5 million from Leeds United last summer. Kieron Dyer has agreed a new four-year deal with Newcastle, while Turkey international Emre Belozoglu is expected to complete his move to St James's Park tomorrow.
Liverpool's Sami Hyypia has been offered a one-year extension to his current agreement which has 12 months to run. This comes as Liverpool continue to chase Real Zaragoza's Argentinian centre-back Gabriel Milito, which despite a new £7.5million offer is believed to be a long way from completion. Zaragoza have already offered Miliro (24) a three-year extension to his current package which has two years to run.
Mikel Arteta (23) is to become an Everton player after reducing his wage demands. Real Sociedad are believed to have dropped their price from £2.8 million to £2.2 million and the midfielder's demands have fallen below £30,000 a week from £33,000.
Wigan have signed of Tranmere full back Ryan Taylor (20) for an undisclosed fee.
Paulo Wanchope has signed for Qatari champions Al Gharafa after the Q-League side agreed a nominal fee with Malaga for his services.
Sunderland have had a £100,000 bid for Stoke's 25-year-old Irish left-back Clive Clarke rejected. Stoke director of football John Rudge says Manchester United are interested in goalkeeper Ben Foster.
