Zola tracks Diamanti and Chamakh & Joleon Lescott deal almost done

West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola admitted after yesterday's 2-1 defeat by Tottenham that he is desperate to bring in a striker at the east London club, complaining that at the moment his options up front are Carlton Cole or himself. The Hammers are seen as the likeliest destination for Bordeaux's striker Marouane Chamakh, but Zola will have to sell defender James Collins - probably to Stoke or Aston Villa - to raise the funds to bring the Moroccan hitman to Upton Park. And the name of Alessandro Diamanti of Livorno has also entered the equation, although the 26-year-old is known to have sparked interest from Inter Milan too...

One of the ugliest and most protracted transfer deals of recent seasons should finally come to an end today when Joleon Lescott finally signs for Manchester City in a deal that the Guardian says will be worth £22m to Everton. The 27-year-old England international is still to agree personal terms and must take a medical at Eastlands, but it's unlikely he'll ever return to the Liverpool club with anything less than a police escort after secretly encouraging City to continue ratcheting up the pressure on Goodison Park boss David Moyes...

Moyes has a hit-list of four players who he wants to bring in with the proceeds of the Lescott sale, according to the Sun, the first of whom is Lokomotiv Moscow's attacking midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov. The Russian club want £10m for the 24-year-old international. In defence, Moyes is looking to replace the Man City-bound Lescott with one from the following: Stoke City's Ryan Shawcross; Philippe Senderos of Arsenal; or Steven Taylor of the recently relegated Newcastle... ·