Uruguayan boy-wonder Fabian Estoyanoff has signed for Valencia for 5 seasons from Uruguayan club Fenix, and will be officially presented to the Spanish club on Monday. It is likely that Valencia will loan out the 22 year old to another Spanish club for one year, and that club might be Cadiz who was recently promoted to the top-flight. Liverpool boss Rafa Benítez has clinched the signing of Valencia midfielder, Mohamed Sissoko ahead of Merseyside rivals Everton. The Reds' manager has agreed an €8million deal with his former club to take the 20-year-old to Anfield, only hours after David Moyes thought that he had done enough to take the player to Goodison Park. Sissoko was ready to fly to Merseyside to meet with Everton chiefs, but when he heard about Liverpool's interest he was determined to sign forthe European champions. Liverpool fans must be a satisfied bunch as the club that they support have signed captain Steven Gerrard & defender Jaime Carragher to new contracts that will keep them at the club till the end of the 2008-2009 season.

Valencia have called off the transfer of Jan Kromkamp from AZ, days after Ches director Javier Subirats said his arrival was 'imminent'. And the reason ? The transfer fee. The news comes as something of a shock, as the two clubs were reported to have agreed a principle price of 7 million euros. Yet the manner of the collapse suggest the Dutch club have moved the goal posts, so to to speak, over what clearly was not an 'agreed' fee, and Valencia have pulled the plug. "Of course I am disappointed, in how AZ worked but also how Valencia cancelled the deal" saida somewhat dejected Kromkamp. "Everything took much too long. Now I need some rest. Hopefully I can get some days off for a holiday from AZ." Clearly the former Spanish champions lost patience with negotiations, and may now turn their attention back Bayern's frenchman Willy Sagnol, or coveted Benfica right-back Miguel. The club even opt against acquiring a new right back at all if the price is too steep, considering regular first team player Curro Torres has performed well and is unlikely to accept a bench spot, whilst Los Ches have just snapped up promising young full-back David Cerrajeria from Alicante. Still, reports suggest a new recruit remains sought after. Meanwhile, the AZ starlet is still hoping for a big move but seems to have cottoned on to the ambiguities of the transfer season, "There is a slight chance I can move to Porto. But I don’t want to count on anything anymore."

Claudio Lotito's Lazio and newly promoted Genoa have expressed an interest in bringing the international to Serie A. Andre Ooijer has been around for a number of years, plying his trade in PSV Eindhoven’s backline. But their run to the Champions League semi final, where they were somehwat undeservedly eliminated by AC Milan, has showcased the talents of many PSV players across Europe – see Park’s move to Old Trafford. Lazio and Genoa are keen to make additions to their threadbare squads, although the hefty fee likely to be demanded by the more financially secure Dutch giants could scupper the deal. Nevertheless, any inkling of the Dutchmans availability and it won’t just be the Italian duo who come knocking. Craig Bellamy is happy with his move from Newcastle United to Blackburn Rovers. The Welsh striker spent last season on loan to Glassgow Celtic after having a fallout with United coach Grame Souness. His now former club, meanwhile are trying to sign Villareal's striker Diego Forlan. If Forlan decides to move back to the UK it would be purely for economic reasons as Newcastle could provide a bigger salary for him than his current club. However Villareal are in the qualification rounds of the Champions League while Newcastle have not even made it to the UEFA Cup. Real Zaragoza have signed Sergio García from Barcelona and have agreed a deal to bring Borussia Dortmund's Ewerthon in as they strengthen their strikeforce. The Aragónese outfit were determined to bring in new strikers after selling David Vílla to Valencia, as well as allowing Goran Drulic and Javi Moreno to leave the club in the last few weeks.


JOSE THEODORE TEAM : MONTREAL CANADIENS BORN: Laval, Quebec, September 13, 1976 HEIGHT: 5'11" WEIGHT: 179-185 lbs. UNIFORM #: 60 (Montreal). CATCHES: Right JUNIOR TEAM: St-Jean Lynx QMJHL / Hull Olympiques QMJHL

Born in Laval, Quebec, Jose Theodore played with the Richelieu Riverains in the Quebec Midget AAA Hockey Leauge. In 1992-93, he joined the QMJHL's St-Jean Lynx and played there for parts of three years. He was selected 44th overall by the Montreal Canadiens at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft then spent the better part of the 1994-95 season with the Hull Olympiques. During the 1994-95 season, he led the league 32 wins and helped his club reach the Memorial Cup tournament. A member of Canada's Gold Medal World Junior team in 1996 and the tournament's Top Goaltender, Theodore split his first four professional seasons with Montreal and Fredericton of the AHL. He made 30 appearances in 1999-00 and recorded five shutouts with an impressive 2.10 goals against average and was a member of Canada's World Championship team where he was named to the Second All-Star Team. During the 2000-01 season, Theodore became a workhorse for the Canadiens after a season-ending injury to Jeff Hackett and became the team's number one netminder the following year. The 2001-02 season was a dream season for the Laval, QC native leading the Habs to their first playoff appearance in four years and capturing numerous awards including the George Vezina Trophy as Top Goaltender and the Hart Memorial Trophy as Most Valuable Player. Coming off a career year in 2001-02, Theodore and the Canadiens struggled the in 2002-03, missing the post season, yet rebounbing in 2003-04 with a career high 33 wins, and was subsequently named to Canada's entry in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, Second Round, Forty-fourth Overall. In the 2001-02 NHL season Theodore played spectacularly, capturing the starting goaltender position from Jeff Hackett and almost single-handedly getting the team into the play-offs. His regular season play earned him the Vezina Trophy and the Hart Memorial Trophy that year. In the play-offs his success continued when the Habs beat the top ranked Boston Bruins. Theodore became an immediate fan favourite in the hockey obsessed town of Montreal. The next season, however, Theodore faired poorly. His play was consistently mediocre or worse and the team failed to make the play-offs. Over the summer of 2003 Theodore's popularity fell dramatically after his father and brothers were arrested as part of a loanshark ring, and when Theodore was photographed fraternizing with local Hell's Angels. Despite these problems, he had another strong season in 2003-04 as he earned a career winning record of 33-28-5 and earning 6 shutouts, one shy of his current record.





Song for the day - "Drag You Down" - FINGER ELEVEN