Football: Atkinson makes Palmer a priority

RON ATKINSON, the new Nottingham Forest manager, has moved swiftly to bring in fresh recruits as he attempts to keep the City Ground club in the Premiership.

Atkinson has tabled a bid for the Southampton midfielder, Carlton Palmer. The Saints' manager, Dave Jones, confirmed that the former England man, who has been unable to settle on the south coast, is set for a move to Nottingham.

Atkinson and Palmer have previously worked together at West Bromwich and Sheffield Wednesday. "He leads by example, closes people down and covers every blade of grass," Jones said of Palmer, whom he signed from Leeds for pounds 1m in September 1997.

Palmer at one stage looked set to join Barnsley, only for the deal to fall through when the Yorkshire club's full-back, Darren Barnard, refused a deal which would have taken him to The Dell.

The Aston Villa manager, John Gregory, has received a boost with the news that the club's backers are ready to support his quest to sign Juninho, Atletico Madrid's unsettled Brazilian forward.

Villa's financial director, Mark Ansell, said: "The board have already confirmed to John Gregory that, should the players become available that he wants, then he can bank on our support. It is down to the fantastic success of the last 12 months that makes it even more possible to support further purchasing of players."

Gregory, who has spent pounds 21m in the last six months, knows that he may have to spend over pounds 10m to bring Juninho, once of Middlesbrough, back to England.

Chelsea's influential midfielder Gustavo Poyet has been ruled out of action for three months. The Uruguayan is recovering from knee surgery after damaging medial ligaments following a challenge by Southampton's Moroccan forward Hassan Kachloul in Chelsea's 2-0 victory at The Dell on Boxing Day.

Ian Wright was last night undergoing an operation on his knee. The West Ham striker, who damaged his cartilage during the FA Cup third-round tie at home to Swansea, is likely to be out for four to six weeks.

The Bolton Wanderers manager, Colin Todd, has accused Arnar Gunnlaugsson of "pure greed" after the Icelandic striker rejected the club's new contract offer. "He's advised by his agent that he can get a certain number of pounds and that seems to be what he's holding out for - but we've made our final offer," Todd said. "We are not in the Premiership, we are a First Division club."

Sheffield Wednesday's Northern Ireland international midfielder Jim Magilton has joined Ipswich Town on a month's loan, and will make his debut in the First Division game at Sunderland on Sunday.

Sheffield United's former Everton midfielder, John Ebbrell, has been forced to retire due to an ankle injury.

Ian Stott intends to concentrate on his campaign to become chairman of the Football Association, following his resignation as Oldham Athletic's chairman.

Stott stood down on Monday following a board meeting at Boundary Park, when he admitted causing the club embarrassment over his claims that the Latics were in merger talks with their neighbours, Bury and Rochdale. All three clubs were quick to deny Stott's claims that secret negotiations were taking place.

Stott remains on the Oldham board as vice-chairman and has swapped roles with David Brierley, who steps up to become chairman. Stott, who is a member of the FA's management committee, announced his quest to succeed Keith Wiseman at the FA last week.