NEW DONS BOSS EYES SIGNINGS

New Aberdeen manager Mark McGhee is already looking at potential signings as he starts to build a side for the start of the season.

Motherwell's out-of-contract midfielder Stephen Hughes is high on McGhee's list of targets.

But the new Dons boss admits he will face tough competition to persuade Hughes to follow him to Pittodrie.

McGhee said: "Stephen knows I would like to bring him to Aberdeen. Scott Leitch (McGhee's assistant) is meeting with Stephen in Glasgow this weekend where we will talk to him about it further.

"Apparently he has been offered a very attractive contract from Hearts so there is competition for people like Stephen Hughes."

And McGhee admits the Dons may struggle financially to offer Hughes as much as the other clubs who are chasing the signature of the former Rangers player.

"I hope the fact that I am here is a factor for Stephen," McGhee said. "But young players like Stephen Hughes, who have a young family, are entitled to try to provide for their family and therefore try to get the best deal possible.

"Working with me again won't be at the top of his list of reasons for choosing a club but if there comes a point where we are neck and neck with someone else then hopefully because it is me that will sway it."

However the new Aberdeen boss said he has no intentions of attempting to lure any more of his former playing staff from Fir Park to the Granite City.

He said: "I'm not going to go back there and start pillaging Motherwell. I have too much respect for what they are trying to do. Stephen Hughes is a different kettle of fish as he is out of contract and available.

"There are some great players at Motherwell who are going to go on and become even better. But at this moment in time they would be out of our price range."

McGhee admits he is not going to be given a huge amount of money to splash during the summer but is hopeful of bringing new faces to Pittodrie.

The former Wolves, Reading and Leicester boss also said he may have to wait until the January transfer window before he can afford to really compete in the market.

He said: "Any football manager would always want to spend more than he is given. If Real Madrid can pay £80 million for a player then there appears to be no real limit to what can be spent. But in terms of competing with the other SPL clubs the budget is a good budget.

"This is a club that can attract players. I know in recent years it has been difficult to do that but I think if the team can make it into the Europa League and maybe find a bit of money we can attract a couple of better players at Christmas."

Aberdeen's director of football Willie Miller said McGhee would be supported as he bids to bolster his new team.

Miller added: "I think we already have an exciting squad but we have to solidify that. Mark knows what he has to work with in terms of brining in new players.

"We have invested heavily in youth development in the last five years and we are beginning to see the fruits of that now. Mark is excited at working with the young talent but he also has some finance available to bring in new players as well."

NIJHOLT KEEN ON MOTHERWELL JOB

Former Motherwell defender Luc Nijholt is dreaming of a return to Fir Park as the club's new manager.

The 47-year-old Dutchman, who became popular with the 'Well fans during his time in Lanarkshire in the early 1990s, is in the frame to replace Mark McGhee who departed for Aberdeen on Friday.

Nijholt, who helped Co Adriaanse win the Austria title with Red Bull Salzburg, would relish the chance to move back to Scotland.

"I have always said that if the timing was right I would love to go back and manage Motherwell," he told the Scottish Daily Express.

"I won a Scottish Cup there and had a great time and the club will always have a very special place in my heart.

"I still look out for Well's results and have a lot of friends in Scotland so the manager's job would be a dream for me.

"I have picked up a lot of experience in Holland and working with Co Adriaanse, who is a top coach, and I definitely want to go in to management again in my own right.

"If that was at Motherwell it would be a dream come true for me, especially as the club are also in Europe next season."

Good scottish football news

Rangers will flop.

They will beat real madrid

Andyman how much ££££ will you give me if rangers beat real madrid

BB 2 minutes!

Lauren will enjoy reading that..

Football news in a football thread and no.. "ILY" BS..

Fantastic footy news you posted.

MORATTI: DUO WILL NOT MOVE

Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti is confident striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will remain at the San Siro.

Speculation has been rife that Ibrahimovic is set to move to Barcelona this summer, with Samuel Eto'o going the other way, and increased still further following a recent dinner between Moratti and Barca president Joan Laporta.

The Inter supremo admits a swap deal was mooted but insists both have decided to keep their respective forwards.

"I talked with Laporta but in the end we decided to keep our own players: them Eto'o and us Ibrahimovic," Moratti told Sky Italia.

"It was a dinner to satisfy both our curiosity for what we were reading.

"Ibra wanted to go to Barcelona and we wanted to know what interest there was on their part.

"But we both understood that each one of us liked their own player a lot, I talked well of Ibra and he of Eto'o."

He added: "I believe it would be difficult for the Swede to leave because we are 100 per cent happy with him.

"Moreover, he seems nice to me because he is cheerful and very professional.

"It's not the first time we've found ourselves in this situation. We're not going to lose any sleep, however, and I think that at the end he will stay."

Reports have linked Inter with Chelsea pair Ricardo Carvalho and Deco, both of whom played under Nerazzurri coach Jose Mourinho at Porto.

Carvalho followed Mourinho to Stamford Bridge after winning the Champions League in 2004 and Moratti admits the Chelsea defender could once again be reunited with the Portuguese coach.

He said: "Deco and Carvalho? We haven't made a decision on the first one yet, we're looking at what we can do, and we're working on the second.

"We are, in fact, on the hunt for a defender."

Deco has revealed that he is keen to join Inter after admitting he is unhappy with life at Stamford Bridge and his former coach claimed on Saturday he hopes a deal can be completed for the midfielder.

AZ WARN CHELSEA OVER DEMBELE

AZ Alkmaar have warned Chelsea that they will have to move quickly if they are to convince them to sell prize-asset Moussa Dembele.

Widespread reports have suggested the forward is high on new coach Carlo Ancelotti's wish-list, with the likes of Genoa, Juventus, Fiorentina and Sevilla also monitoring his situation with the Dutch champions.

AZ technical director Marcel Brands has stopped short of ruling out a potential sale in the summer, but has warned his club will not become embroiled in protracted negotiations.

Brands went on to reveal that Dembele's agent, Patrick Vervoort, has informed him of interest from Stamford Bridge.

"I know through his agent that Chelsea are following Moussa," said Brands in De Telegraaf.

"But Genoa registered their interest a few weeks ago.

"I will certainly not say no [to a move], but if there is nothing by 22nd June he will report for the club's first training session of pre-season."

Dembele has professed to being flattered by interest from overseas but insists he is more than happy with his current paymasters.

"I am certainly not against such a development," Dembele told Het Laatste Nieuws.

"I am indeed in a good position. I can continue at AZ, where it is excellent, or move to a foreign club."

BENZEMA SET TO STAY WITH LYON

Lyon director Bernard Lacombe is confident Karim Benzema will still be at the Stade Gerland next season.

The young striker is one of the world's hottest properties at the moment, with Inter Milan and Real Madrid among the clubs reportedly considering tabling a 40 million euro bid.

Speculation is also rife that Manchester United are ready to use some of the money earned from the impending sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to bring Benzema to Old Trafford.

However, Lacombe insists he has not received any offers for the 21-year-old.

"The fax is not overheating," he told le Dauphine Libere. "Even if you should never say never in football, there is a lot of noise about nothing at this moment.

"The idea is still to keep Karim for another season."

Benzema's agent has also confirmed the France forward is keen to remain at Lyon for another year at least before seeking a move to a bigger club.

"OL don't need liquid assets and Karim wants to stay until the 2010 World Cup," said Karim Djaziri. "On our part a departure is not on the agenda."

Benzema, who has come through the ranks at the Ligue 1 giants, scored 23 goals in all competitions this season - an average of a goal every other game.

GORMAN SET FOR HOOPS MOVE

John Gorman expects to be reunited with Jim Magilton as QPR's assistant manager.

After managerial spells at Swindon, Wycombe and Northampton and time spent as Glenn Hoddle's number two at Southampton, Tottenham and England, Gorman joined Magilton at Ipswich last season.

He now seems set to follow the former Northern Ireland international to Loftus Road and will hold talks with the London club next week.

"Things are ticking at Rangers and it is nice to be back. I have not signed a contract yet, but have a meeting at the club on Monday," Gorman told the East Anglian Times. "Jim Magilton deserves to be back in management and I am delighted to be continuing my association him.

"We are looking ahead with confidence to the 2009/10 campaign and will be making a big note of the matches against Ipswich when the fixture list is published next week.

"It is a famous club that I have always rated and Loftus Road is a wonderful stadium for football."

BIRMINGHAM SWOOP FOR DANN

Birmingham have signed Coventry's 22-year-old centre-back Scott Dann for an undisclosed fee.

The England Under-21 international was also linked with Wolves who beat Birmingham to the Championship title last season.

But Birmingham have won the battle for Dann's signature and describe the undisclosed fee as a club record for a defender.

Dann began his career with Walsall before moving to Coventry in January 2008, playing 49 times for the Sky Blues last season and scoring four goals.

One of those goals was the winner for Coventry against Birmingham at the Ricoh Arena.

Thanks Andy, i am reading all the news you are posting.. Thanks.

No problem

We shall be at the mighty 10000 soon

See if i can find some more

Wow, that is a shocker!

Love this type of news, thanks.

More to come!!

Big brother can wait

Yep need some more news if you have any, thanks Andy.

GOLD DELIGHTED WITH DANN DEAL

Birmingham chairman David Gold has spoken of his delight at securing the signing of Coventry defender Scott Dann.

The Premier League new boys agreed an undisclosed fee with Coventry, thought to be in the region of £4million, for the highly-rated 22-year-old, who becomes Birmingham's third signing of the summer.

Dann follows Christian Benitez and Stephen Carr in committing to St Andrews and having fought off competition from a number of rival top flight clubs, Gold is confident Birmingham have signed a player of considerable potential.

"It's a very exciting signing for us, it's very important for us because we've lost a couple of our central defenders," Gold told Sky Sports News.

"Sadly, Liam Ridgewell has been injured and we probably won't see him back before close to Christmas.

"He's a very exciting player and he scores goals from defence, which is an extra. He's a record signing for our defence. We've broken the record and for us it's a substantial signing.

"He was a must-have player, we've been tracking him for a long time and we've fought off some ferocious competition from a number of serious clubs.

"It's always a great feeling when you beat off competition to win the battle, and by competition I mean clubs that will be battling with you next season.

"If you can outmanoeuvre those clubs then you've got a greater chance of survival."

Gold went on to reveal he expects to bring in a further three players and while he is not afraid of getting the chequebook out again, he admits boss Alex McLeish could bring in some free transfers to keep the club on track financially.

"I've got to say it's a delicate balance, you like to bring in some free transfer as well," he said.

"When you're spending money you need to ensure you're doing so wisely and carefully.

"Be sure that you're buying a player who is going to make a difference, young enough to hold his value so if the worst happens, you'll have a saleable commodity.

"I would think we're probably been linked with five to six players at the moment and if we can get another three I would be quite pleased with that.

"It's a very difficult situation and this is where the likes of (owner, David) Sullivan, (chief executive, Karen) Brady and of course Alex play a massive part in this football club, they are massively skilled.

"Our board has been in place for 16 years, we've been in the Premier League for six or seven seasons. We've got great experience of what works and perhaps doesn't work so well."

ROVERS SNAP UP YOUNG KEEPER

By Fotis Voinikas

Blackburn have completed the signing of young goalkeeper Nikos Giannakopoulos from Asteras Tripolis.

The Greek club will receive €60,000 (£52,000) for the deal while they will also pocket 30 per cent of any future fee the 16-year-old generates.

The shot-stopper went on trial at Rovers at the end of May and did enough to earn himself a contract at Ewood Park.

Despite his young age, Giannakopoulos seemed unfazed by his big move and insisted that he would adapt quickly to the English lifestyle.

"I know that my life will change," he said. "I feel ready to realise my dream playing for Rovers.

"I will try my best to show my quality and stay many years in England. The people of Blackburn showed me how much they trust me and they told me that I have the credentials to succeed.

"They told me that with hard work I will have the chance to play at the first team very soon.

"I know the English language so I think it's not going to be so difficult for me to adjust to the English way of life."

BB i can watch tomorrow on E4.

ROBINHO URGES TEVEZ SWOOP

Robinho has urged Manchester City to launch a bid for Argentina star Carlos Tevez.

Tevez's future is uncertain as he nears the end of a two-year loan agreement at Manchester United.

City have been linked with a bid for the bullish forward, although the Red Devils appear keen to strike fresh terms with Tevez's representatives, with Cristiano Ronaldo set for Real Madrid.

Brazilian attacker Robinho is keen to play alongside Tevez at Eastlands and is hopeful the affluent club could land his services this summer.

Robinho said in The Sun: "We would definitely complement City's attack. I hope my club make a move for him.

"It would be a pleasure to play with Carlos. He is one of the best players in the world and it is a shame he is not having more opportunities at his current club.

"If he leaves United - as I have been reading in the last few days - and if the interest of City gets confirmed, of course I will try to convince him to join us.

"I am sure we would make a fiercesome duo up front. He is so fast and combative with great technique."

He added: "If Carlos comes to City, and if the club manages to get two or three players of the same quality we can aspire to big things.

"This season was not our best, but this was also our first year together and I don't regret the option I made a year ago. In the coming season fans can definitely expect to see us in the top spots of the league."