Anelka missing from squad as Reid waits on answer

Nicolas Anelka went missing from Paris St-Germain's squad at the weekend as Sunderland wait for an answer about a move back to the Premiership for the striker.

The troubled player was officially injured for the French League Cup game at Troyes, but sources at PSG say he was not in the mood to play and was left at home. Anelka has to decide this week whether to join Peter Reid's club as they appear his best option for playing this season and making the French squad for the World Cup finals. The former Arsenal and Real Madrid striker has been told that PSG have given permission to the Fifa agent Chantal Stanley to find him a club in England. Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool declined the chance to resurrect his career, but Sunderland have agreed to a loan and are waiting for a reply from him.

Anelka was only a substitute in France's last game against Australia and, with a handful of young strikers coming through, could miss out on the final 22 for next summer.

The Leeds United chairman Peter Ridsdale is ready to fly to the Netherlands this week for talks with Feyenoord about signing the Australian Brett Emerton. Ridsdale has told friends that he expects to complete a £8m deal in the next few days – but he faces a fight. Feyenoord want to hold on to the powerful right winger and have stalled on an answer, although the player now wants to leave the club.

Emerton said last night that the time may be right to move to the Premiership if the right offer comes in for him. Ridsdale is hoping to bring back Emerton this week, although he will need a work permit to play for David O'Leary's team.

Liverpool, Blackburn, Newcastle and Arsenal have all been interested in the player, but Leeds are confident that they will be first to get him to sign his name on the dotted line.

Emerton said: "There are a lot of things I've got to consider when a club comes in. I want to make the right decision at the right time. If there was a serious offer I would have to sit down and think about it. There's no doubt I would love to come to England at some stage. If I went to Leeds, it would be a football decision – not just because Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell are there."

The defender Jorge Costa is set to leave Porto and join Charlton on loan, according to reports in Portugal. Porto have reportedly reached a deal for a five-month loan with an option for a full transfer at the end of the season.

The British satellite TV operator BSkyB said it had "no current plans" to sell its 9.9 per cent stake in Manchester United. A Sunday newspaper quoted "close associates" of BSkyB as saying the firm had held exploratory talks about selling the stake to the Irish businessmen JP McManus and John Magnier. However, a spokesman for BSkyB declined to confirm whether any such talks had taken place.

McManus and Magnier built up an 8.65 per cent stake in United over the summer, making them the club's second-largest shareholders and prompting speculation they might be trying to buy it.

Yesterday's report claimed that the horse-racing billionaires were aiming to take control of the club but through a coalition of shareholders rather than a bid. It said that, if successful, the pair would try to persuade United manager Alex Ferguson to postpone his planned retirement in May and provide him with more funds to buy top-class players.

It also added they had already established links with supporters' pressure group, Shareholders United. However, a spokeswoman for the group said that McManus and Magnier had previously assured them they were not trying to take control of the club.

* More than 4,000 spectators travelled to Southampton's St Mary's Stadium to cheer on the Saints' women's team in what turned out to be a 3-0 National Division defeat at the hands of treble winners Arsenal. Striker Angela Banks scored either side of the break for the visitors.