A roundup of today's other soccer stories in brief:
Reyes is key target for Keegan
JOSE ANTONIO REYES has emerged as a key transfer target for Newcastle United but Kevin Keegan could find himself competing with Manchester City's Sven-Goran Eriksson for the Spaniard's services.
The former Arsenal forward, now at Atletico Madrid, has recently been watched by scouts from Tyneside and Manchester including Tony Jimenez, Newcastle's recruitment director.
Keegan seemingly envisages deploying Reyes on the left wing next season. It is a position in which Damien Duff is struggling to recapture past glories at St James' Park, and Charles N'Zogbia apparently has his heart set on a summer transfer and is interesting Tottenham Hotspur.
Persuading Reyes to swap Madrid for Newcastle may not be easy. Now 24, he left Arsenal for a loan stint at Real Madrid complaining of homesickness and an inability to cope with London's cold weather. Tyneside is even chillier, but less than prolific recent form at Atletico and a fall from favour within the Spain national squad may yet force Reyes to contemplate a return to the Premier League.
Shola Amoebi, who has not scored in eight appearances for Newcastle this season, was yesterday signed on loan by the Championship leaders Stoke City.
Evans happy to join Sunderland
JONNY EVANS has indicated an enthusiasm for joining Sunderland should he not feature in Manchester United's plans this summer.
The Northern Ireland international centre-half spent last season on loan at the Stadium of Light, returning on a similar arrangement in January.
"I'm really enjoying playing a full part in Sunderland's season," said the 20-year-old, who made three first-team appearances for United this season before linking with the Wearside club.
"If Roy Keane wanted to make my move permanent, it's something I'd definitely talk about."
Hughes expects more from Healy
NORTHERN IRELAND captain Aaron Hughes is confident David Healy will continue terrorising defences all over Europe after another landmark night for the striker. Healy was handed a special award by Uefa president Michel Platini before Wednesday night's 4-1 thrashing of Georgia at Windsor Park in honour of his record 13-goal haul in the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.
Predictably, the Fulham forward marked the occasion with a goal - and, slightly less typically, a second-half own goal - to take his remarkable tally for the province to 34 goals in 64 matches. But Hughes has backed him to reach even greater heights and fire Nigel Worthington's side to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
"We know his goal-scoring record. He turns up, and you know that if he gets chances he's going to get goals as well," Hughes told BBC Northern Ireland.
"He scored another one, and we hope he'll continue to do that."
Mikel contract was forged
CHELSEA ARE considering the pursuit of a claim against Lyn Oslo to recoup the £4 million (€5.1 million) they paid to secure the signing of Mikel John Obi, after it emerged in court that the midfielder's first professional contract with the Norwegian club was a forgery.
Morgan Andersen, a former director of Lyn, was found on Wednesday to have falsified the documents relating to Mikel in 2005. He was given a one-year jail sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay costs. He plans to appeal.
Mikel was at the centre of controversy after he agreed to leave Lyn for Manchester United in April 2005 only to claim he had been coerced into signing against his will and was determined to join Chelsea. The dispute rumbled on for more than a year until Chelsea paid £16 million (€20.3 million) in compensation - £12 million (€15.2 million) to United, £4 million (€5.1 million) to Lyn - to take the Nigerian to Stamford Bridge.
The Norwegian football authorities pursued the matter and the court in Oslo heard that Andersen had amended the contract to make it appear that Mikel, on his 18th birthday, had signed for Lyn when in fact he had not agreed a professional deal with the club.
The prosecutor, Svein Holden, told the court that the contract enabled Andersen to sell Mikel to United and profit from the deal.
Without the contract, Holden claimed "Lyn would have been left with crumbs when Mikel disappeared out of the club".
Legal recourse is available to Chelsea who, like United, acted in good faith throughout.
The ramifications for United should Chelsea sue are unclear.
Mpenza turns down overtures
MANCHESTER CITY striker Emile Mpenza has turned down the chance of first-team action elsewhere to stay at Eastlands.
Belgium international Mpenza (29) was wanted on loan by a number of Championship clubs for the last few weeks of the season.
Mpenza has started just eight of his 14 Premier League appearances this season, scoring twice, and Leicester were one of the clubs apparently keen to offer him more time on the field.
Date extended
THE FA HAVE extended the deadline for Javier Mascherano to respond to his improper conduct charge until 6pm this evening. Mascherano has been on international duty with Argentina, and the FA have agreed to a 24-hour extension.
However, the date for the case - scheduled to be heard by a regulatory commission - has been brought forward to Thursday April 3rd.
