Keegan eager to put Van Hooijdonk alongside Anelka

Kevin Keegan is in talks with Pierre van Hooijdonk about a return to English football alongside another sometime problem striker, Nicolas Anelka.

The Manchester City manager has switched his interest to the fiery Dutchman after failing to sign Robbie Fowler. Van Hooijdonk is free to speak to interested clubs as his contract with Feyenoord runs out at the end of the season and he is keen on a return to England, which he previously left in disgrace.

The striker had a long and ugly dispute with Nottingham Forest when he demanded a move. The row ended with Dave Bassett sacked as manager and the club relegated. Keegan thinks his man-management skills can cope with Van Hooijdonk in the same way that he has brought the best out of Anelka, City's top scorer.

If the deal falls through City could go for Derby's Malcolm Christie, Celta Vigo's Benedict McCarthy or Kaiserslautern's Miroslav Klose.

Michael Ricketts has opened the door to a move to Tottenham by demanding a transfer from Bolton Wanderers after months of bitter feuding. The once-capped England striker is wanted by Spurs, who are haggling over a player-swap deal for him, but Ricketts and Bolton made the transfer easier by confirming he wants to move on. Ricketts' wish to leave – first revealed a month ago and then oddly denied – means that he loses the "loyalty money" in his contract and that will help Spurs to negotiate a price with Bolton, who are talking to the French striker Pierre Yves André, of Nantes.

Everton will have to pay more than £1m to Major League Soccer to sign the US World Cup player Brian McBride at the end of his loan spell. McBride signed a long-term deal with Columbus Crew before heading for Everton and MLS – which own all the players in its league – would demand a six-figure sum.

Everton's "forgotten" Chinese player, Li Wei Feng, has left the club after failing to make the grade in the Premiership. The 24-year-old defender went home at Christmas for treatment on his broken nose. He had been due back at Goodison Park at the end of this month, but his contract has been terminated. He has rejoined his former club, Shanzhen Jian Lia Bao, formerly Shanzhen Kejian.

The Blackburn Rovers manager Graeme Souness is set to solve his left-back problem by signing Parma's Slovakian international Vratislav Gresko on loan from the Serie A club with a view to a full-time move. Souness pulled out of a move for Celta Vigo's Juanfran yesterday after the Spanish international was valued at £4m by his club.

Fulham are chasing new transfer targets after blaming Sergei Rebrov's agent for the collapse of his cut-price move from Tottenham. The Cottagers were close to finalising a deal for the Ukrainian striker, but the player's representative, Sandor Varga, raised his "personal concerns" about the move.

The Cottagers are deciding whether to open talks with an unnamed club over a deal for John Collins. The Scottish midfielder, who will be 35 later this month, has been out of favour for most of the season.

The midfielder Tim Sherwood is expected to complete a move from Tottenham to Portsmouth this week. Birmingham hope to complete the signings of Arsenal's defender Matthew Upson and the Marseilles midfielder Piotr Swierczewski. Slovan Bratislava's Slovakian striker Robert Vittek is also due back at City for a second trial this week.

Aston Villa have completed the loan signing of Joey Gudjonsson. The 22-year-old Icelandic midfielder from Real Betis has set his sights on a permanent move. Derby are hoping to move out Georgi Kinkladze and his £30,000-a-week wages to the Saudi Arabian club, Al-Hilal, this week.

Paul Gascoigne is being offered a route back into British football by the small but ambitious Welsh League leaders Total Network Solutions. The former England midfielder is still looking for a club after bids to join Chinese teams fell through and he is due to have talks with the village side, based in Llansantffraid, in the next few days.