Football: Dalglish signs Gallacher and Le Saux

WITH the transfer deadline at 5pm tomorrow Blackburn Rovers dominated a depressed market yesterday, but not with cash.

Rovers' striker Roy Wegerle and Kevin Gallacher, of Coventry, exchanged clubs before Dalglish reopened negotiations with Chelsea for their left-sided midfielder, Graeme Le Saux who is 21. A deal was finally agreed, at a valuation of pounds 700,000, the Blackburn striker Steve Livingstone moving to Stamford Bridge in the second exchange of the day.

Dalglish will be pleased with his day: he has added two players of quality and made little impression on Jack Walker's millions. Livingstone, 23, himself a former Coventry player, has been keeping Wegerle out of the Blackburn team.

The Wegerle-Gallacher exchange was priced at pounds 1.5m, with Rovers adding cash at their end, the Scot being two years younger. On the face of it Daglish has the better of the deal - Gallacher has 12 caps and scored 36 goals in 117 games for Coventry - but Bobby Gould, who has worked with Wegerle before, at QPR, seemed satisfied with the extra versatility Wegerle will give. Gould said: 'Roy has tremendous technical ability and, subject to a medical and other details, he will play against Sheffield United.'

Another completion had Darren Beckford moving to Oldham for possibly a third of the pounds 925,000 Norwich paid Port Vale for him two years ago. The transfer has been rumoured for a month, Joe Royle expressing anger at reports that Ian Marshall was to move to Carrow Road in exchange. Marshall is now injured and unlikely to play for a month.

Mike Walker announced the Beckford move to be a straight cash deal at pounds 500,000. Oldham said pounds 300,000. Beckford, 25, scored 13 goals in 50 games for Norwich and, like his brother Jason, now with Birmingham, started at Manchester City.

Two moves may yet be completed: Nottingham Forest and Southend were still negotiating a price for Stan Collymore, 22, the 6ft 4in former Stafford Ranger, who has scored 13 goals in 22 matches for the First Division club and who was playing at Notts County last night. Forest are expected to have to pay pounds 2m but their assistant manager, Ronnie Fenton, confirmed: 'We are keen to sign him.'

Everton would not expect that much for their former Scotland striker Mo Johnston, 30 this month, who has been attracting Middlesbrough's interest.

Barnet, who have to convince the League that they have fulfilled their contractual obligations to their players in wages and signing-on fees before tomorrow's deadline, tried to ease their financial problems by agreeing to sell the striker Gary Bull, 26, to Notts County for pounds 350,000. But Bull, who has scored 127 times in four seasons for Stan Flashman's club, could not agree personal terms. Barnet were fined pounds 50,000 last November for financial irregularities.

David Webb, still reviewing Chelsea's staff, allowed the goalkeeper Kevin Hitchcock to go to West Ham on loan while recalling the Russian international Dmitri Kharin to the squad for tonight's match at Leeds.

The Middlesbrough defenders Alan Kernaghan and Chris Morris have withdrawn from the Republic of Ireland squad for next week's World Cup home qualifying match against Northern Ireland. Both are injured.