Andy Carroll's time at Liverpool appears to be drawing to a close. Clive Brunskil
Andy Carroll's time at Liverpool appears to be drawing to a close. Clive Brunskil

Transfer talk: August 23 - Rodgers' Carroll anger, QPR in Cesar bid



Brazil winger Michel Bastos is set to complete his EU8m move to Pro League champions Al Ain in the next few days. Read our full story here.

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Brendan Rodgers, the

manager, has hit out at

's attempts to land striker

Andy Carroll

on the cheap - saying he would need to be a 'nutcase' to consider resurrecting

.

The striker's future has been a major talking point since Rodgers took over at Anfield earlier this summer - with West Ham, AC Milan and Newcastle all linked with moves for the England forward.

But Newcastle's attempts to sign the 23-year-old on loan, with Liverpool paying half the player's wages, just 18 months after selling him to Liverpool for £35m (Dh 204m) have received short shrift from Rodgers, who insists he does not want the player to head to the Sports Direct Arena.

"Newcastle got £35million for this player last year," he said."To even consider wanting to take him on loan is a liberty. There is nothing more on it for me.

"I need a minimum of three strikers. Once the window shuts, that it is it until January. I have got Luis Suarez, Fabio Borini and Andy Carroll.

"I would need to be a nutcase to even consider at this moment to let Andy Carroll go out, unless there are other solutions for that."

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QPR are in talks to sign Inter Milan goalkeeper Julio Cesar, according to reports from the UK

The Brazil international was a key part of the Italian side's Champions League win two years ago but now looks set to leave the San Siro following the arrival of

Samir Handanovic from Udinese

Tottenham have been heavily linked with the 32-year-old but it is understood that QPR have opened talks with the goalkeeper over a move to the English Premier League.

The news comes just days after summer signing Rob Green's blunder set Swansea on course for a surprise 5-0 victory at QPR, sparking a step-up by manager Mark Hughes in the pursuit of reinforcements for his back line.

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Ajax are to sign former Denmark international

Christian Poulsen

on a free transfer.

The 32-year-old midfielder was a free agent following his release by French side Evian at the end of last season and has agreed terms on a contract until June 30, 2014 subject to the successful completion of a medical.

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Adrian Mutu

looks set to complete his move to Ligue 1 side Ajaccio after negotiating his release from Serie B outfit Cesena.

The 33-year-old former

striker is expected to sign a two-year deal with the French club early next week.

"Cesena can confirm that Adrian Mutu's contract, which tied him to the Bianconera for two more years, has been terminated by mutual consent," the club said on its website.

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are set to complete their summer-long pursuit of

Steven Fletcher

after agreeing an initial £12m deal with

for the Scottish striker.

The 25-year-old is set to undergo a medical today ahead of completing his move to the Stadium of Light.

The final deal could be worth up to £14m for the English Championship side if certain performance-related add-ons are reached.

Wolves are also considering a £10m bid from

for their midfielder

Matt Jarvis

.

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Denmark midfielder

Michael Krohn-Dehli

is to join

from Brondby for around EU1m (Dh4.61m).

The 29-year-old winger - who

at

- passed a medical this week and is set to join the Spanish side.

Krohn-Dehli had an unsuccessful two-year spell at Ajax six years ago, and Brondby sporting director Ole Bjur said the player had been keen to test himself overseas again.

"We as a club have tried to help him fulfil this wish if the right offer came along," he told the club's website.

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Alessandro Diamanti

has committed his future to

by agreeing a new long-term contract.

The 29-year-old former

West Ham

striker has agreed to remain at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara for the next five years.

A statement on the club's official website said: "Bologna have reached an agreement with Alessandro Diamanti to prolong his contract until June 30, 2017."

Diamanti, who fired seven goals for the Rossoblu last season, scored the winning penalty as Italy beat England 4-2 in a quarter-final shootout at this summer's European Championships.

Tales of Yusuf Tadros

Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)

Hoopoe

Final round

25 under -  Antoine Rozner (FRA)

23 - Francesco Laporta (ITA), Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA), Andy Sullivan (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG)

21 - Grant Forrest (SCO)

20 - Ross Fisher (ENG)

19 - Steven Brown (ENG), Joakim Lagergren (SWE), Niklas Lemke (SWE), Marc Warren (SCO), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT)

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

What is type-1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is a genetic and unavoidable condition, rather than the lifestyle-related type 2 diabetes.

It occurs mostly in people under 40 and a result of the pancreas failing to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugars.

Too much or too little blood sugar can result in an attack where sufferers lose consciousness in serious cases.

Being overweight or obese increases the chances of developing the more common type 2 diabetes.