Veloso Deal in the Balance

The attempt to bring Miguel Veloso to the Reebok (to play that is, not go on one of the stadiums tours) is at a delicate stage, with Bolton having made their final offer to Sporting Lisbon and the Portuguese club making extremely unsubtle attempts to draw bids from other clubs.

‘They’ve made it clear what kind of money they want, and we won’t pay that,` said Wanderers boss Gary Megson, taking a break from sticking pins in 4,000 effigies of Bolton fans.

Meanwhile, Veloso`s bessie mate, Yannick Djalo has claimed that the midfielder is happy where he is, so ner. ‘Miguel Veloso has told us today that he is going nowhere and that he will not be moving from the club during the winter market despite English clubs` interest,` he said.

However the players agent, Paulo Barbosa reckons that Djalo was just having a giggle: ‘It was a joke. He actually said, “He can`t go if I don`t go with him.” He is my player too?it`s why I can confirm it was a joke,` he laughed, without the slightest concern for the fee he will lose out on if Veloso stays where he is.