Chelsea chase Darijo Srna, Robinho stays at City

Rumours that Chelsea are planning a January spending spree are gathering pace. The latest big name signing to be linked to Carlo Ancelotti's side is Shaktar Donetsk right-back Darijo Srna, according to the Evening Standard.

The 27-year-old Croatian international would cost as much as £10m, but the Chelsea boss in anxious to buy in January ahead of a possible transfer ban in the summer. Ancelotti is also without Jose Bosingwa for three months, while Juliano Belletti and Paulo Ferreira have failed to impress so far this term.

Sol Campbell's dream of a return to the big time isn't going to come true after all. Reports that the former Arsenal man was being lined up as defensive cover by Sir Alex Ferguson were apparently wide of the mark.

Campbell has been released from his contract at Notts County but Ferguson does not want him despite his injury crisis. "Campbell was a great player. But he is not a player we are thinking about bringing to United," he said.

Manchester City's Robinho says he intends to remain at Eastlands despite rumours linking him to Spanish giants Barcelona. In an interview to be broadcast on the BBC on Saturday, the Brazilian forward says: "I am very happy here [at City]. I think I'll stay here five years or 10 years, I don't know."

The news will come as a massive fillip for City as it was widely believed he wanted to leave. Robinho joined the club in the summer of 2008 from Real Madrid, for a British transfer fee record of £32.5m, but he's barely featured for City this season following an ankle injury he picked up playing for Brazil in the summer.
 
"I am enjoying playing English football. It is very beautiful," said Robinho in the interview. "With every game I play, I feel more comfortable. I hope to continue playing football in England for a long time."
 
The comments contradict reports that surfaced last month in the British press with the Guardian reporting that the Brazilian "has reiterated that he wants to leave the club and has instructed his father, Gilvan de Souza, to set up a meeting between officials from Eastlands and their counterparts from Barcelona."
 
Robinho was back playing for City at the end of November and says he's determined to help the club fulfill their potential. "There are still a lot of games to go and we want to be top," he told the BBC. "To finish in the top four would not be bad but we are going to fight for the title until the end. I think the morale of the team is improving. It is a winning spirit and our mentality has to be that of the team that wants to win and that wants to be champions."

Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce may offer James Beattie an escape route out of Stoke. The striker was reportedly involved in a physical confrontation with Stoke boss Tony Pulis and appears to have no future at the club.

'Big Sam' as Allardyce is known would offer Beattie a rather bigger challenge should the pair fall out.

Blackburn are poised to complete the signing of France Under-21 midfielder Amine Linganzi from St Etienne in January, according to the Mirror.
 
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish has confirmed that he's in talks to sign Slovakian striker Jan Novak from MFK Kosice for a reported "bargain" fee of £2m. Like most other Premier League managers this week, McLeish has been linked with Real Madrid's ageing Ruud van Nistelrooy but the Blues' boss dismissed the rumour. "Ruud, with the kind of level he has been in his career, might not see himself going down from a club like Real Madrid to Birmingham," said McLeish, who sees the 24-year-old Novak as more likely Birmingham material.
 
Novak has been training with the Birmingham squad this week and McLeish has liked what he's seen. "He's showed up quite well in training…  his form is good and he is going to the World Cup. He's a player we'll talk to over the next couple of days about what the possibilities are."
 
It appears the Christmas sales have started early at Crystal Palace with the Daily Mail reporting that the entire playing staff at the Championship side has been put up for sale "in a bid to resolve the financial problems which saw the squad having to wait for their November wages".
 
Just how many clubs will be interested in the contents of Crystal Palace – who currently lie 11th in the Coca-Cola Championship – remains to be seen, but the Mail says: "Wigan and Sunderland are thought to be interested in Darren Ambrose, Victor Moses and Julien Speroni".  ·