Tottenham beats Liverpool to Sigurdsson's signature

The 22-year-old becomes Andre Villas-Boas' first signing as Spurs' head coach in an £8 million deal.

 Sigurdsson is understood to have agreed a salary package worth £50,000-a-week after Spurs fought off competition from Liverpool.

 The Reds had been in pole position to sign Sigurdsson as the player appeared keen to re-unite with Brendan Rodgers, with whom he worked at Swansea during a loan spell last season.

 But Tottenham made their move for the former Reading man and agreed a deal in principle last week.

 Sigurdsson scored seven goals last season in 19 appearances for Swansea and was keen to return to the Premier League.

 The Swans had agreed terms to make Sigurdsson's move permanent but their hopes were ended when Rodgers departed to take over at Anfield.

 His arrival could raise questions over the future of Rafael Van der Vaart, who has been strongly linked with a return to Germany where Hamburg and Schalke are both monitoring his situation.

 Spurs are expected to be active in the transfer market ahead of the coming season as they back Villas-Boas, who was formally appointed on Tuesday, to get the club back in the Champions League.

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Fergie makes Moutinho move

The club are understood to have approached Porto with a view to signing their attacking midfielder.

 United are now preparing a £25million bid after getting fed up with Spurs’ demands for Luka Modric.

 we revealed last month that Modric was boss Alex Ferguson’s No 1 target and United were ready to bid £25m rising to £30m.

 But Spurs have now quoted £40m for the Croatian and United will not pay that.

 Moutinho, 25, would follow Ronaldo and Nani on the successful track from Portugal to Old Trafford. Spurs and Chelsea are also interested in the player, who this week praised Andre Villas-Boas.

 AVB is set to take over at White Hart Lane and was Moutinho’s old boss at Porto. But, despite that, Moutinho still prefers the move to United.

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Benfica ready to cash in on Man United and Chelsea target

Manchester United and Chelsea have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Axel Witsel after Benfica signalled their willingness to cash in on the Belgium international.

 Witsel, who signed for Benfica from Standard Liege last summer, enjoyed a terrific debut season in Portugal, and played a key part in the Lisbon side's march to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

 According to reports, Benfica are ready to sanction the sale of Witsel this summer.

 However, the Portuguese side are demanding £20m for the Belgium international - more than three times the £6.3m they paid Standard for his services last July.

 United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is reported to be a long-term admirer of the combative midfielder, who sparked controversy in 2009 following a reckless challenge that resulted in Anderlecht defender Marcil Wasilewski breaking a leg - an incident that saw him banned for eight games.

 New Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo is also thought to be on the hunt for a new central midfielder this summer, with Witsel's international team-mate Marouane Fellaini also linked with a switch to Stamford Bridge.

 However, the two Premier League giants will have to fight off competition from Spanish champions Real Madrid, with Bernabeu boss Jose Mourinho keen to strengthen his midfield before the start of next season.

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Hands off!: Arsenal 'not interested' in selling Van Persie

Robin van Persie will hold crunch talks with Arsene Wenger this week, as Arsenal insist they are not "in the remotest bit" interested in selling him.

 Italian champions Juventus claim they have had a rock-bottom £8million approach for van Persie turned down, but the Gunners claim they have not had an offer and will fight to keep their captain.

 Juve are only prepared to go up to £15m for the 28-year-old Dutchman, who only has 12 months left on his current deal.

 Manchester City are also poised to move in for van Persie this week. Van Persie is on holiday after playing at Euro 2012, but is planning on talking to Arsenal manager Wenger by phone this week.

 He has already made it clear he will not sign the new £130,000-a-week, three-year contract the Gunners are offering.

 Meanwhile, Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood said: “As far as I am aware, nobody has made any offer for him and he is away so we are not in any dialogue at all.

 “We are not in the remotest bit interested in selling him.

 Despite Hill-Wood’s stance, Arsenal face a dilemma over whether to sell van Persie this summer or lose him on a free at the end of the coming season.

 They are prepared to hold van Persie to his contract unless a) the transfer fee offered becomes too much to turn down and b) the Dutchman makes it clear he will sulk his way through the final year of his deal.

 Unless Juventus increase their offer, City are the only serious contenders.

 Although Paris Saint-Germain and ambitious Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala are also in the frame. 

 Arsenal sold midfielder Samir Nasri to City last summer when he only had a year left, and now face the same situation with van Persie.

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Villas-Boas appointed new Tottenham manager

The former Chelsea boss emerged as the outstanding candidate during a process that lasted almost three weeks since Spurs sacked Harry Redknapp last month.

 Chairman Daniel Levy was so impressed by Villas-Boas during a series of talks that he shelved plans to talk to Laurent Blanc, the former France coach who started the process as the leading candidate.

 The 34-year-old fits the club’s desire for a young, progressive manager who can get Spurs back in the Champions League with an attacking brand of football, while lowering the average age of the squad and making shrewd signings in the transfer market.

 To that end, the Portuguese will be heavily backed this summer, with Spurs ready to spend up to £70 million on new players, although that will be partly offset by the anticipated departure of £35m-rated Luka Modric to Real Madrid.

 Villas-Boas will look to convince Modric to stay and assess the rest of the squad when their pre-season preparation kick in to gear next week, but has already been heavily involved in proposed transfers.

 Tim Sherwood, the club’s technical co-ordinator, is also expected to receive a promotion as the Londoners take a more consultative approach towards transfers than under Redknapp.

 Tottenham believe they have beaten Liverpool in the race to sign midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson for £8m from Hoffenheim, with the 22-year-old having agreed personal terms and completed a medical.

 Jan Vertonghen, the Ajax captain, is also likely to join in a £9.6m deal once he has resolved a dispute with the Dutch club over his entitlement to a 15 per cent share of the transfer fee.

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Juve Van Persie bid rejected

Juventus have had a €10 million offer for Arsenal striker Robin van Persie rejected by the North London club, according to an Italian report.


 Juve had tabled an unsuccessful bid for Van Persie, who scored 27 goals for the Gunners last season and has been the subject of speculation linking him with Juventus, Manchester City and Paris St Germain.


 The report said Juve would have to increase their offer to stand any chance of landing the Netherlands international.


 On Sunday, Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini suggested that he was unlikely to sign Van Persie for the Premier League champions.


 City have been strongly linked with a swoop for 28-year-old Van Persie, whose future, having entered the final 12 months of his contract at the Emirates.


 Mancini told Sport Italia: "Van Persie? He is an Arsenal player and I don't want to disrespect Wenger. "We have four strikers and we will start the pre-season in five days.

 It's unlikely there will be major changes in such a short time."

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BREAKING NEWS: Giggs, Bellamy and Richards selected in 18-man Team GB squad

Stuart Pearce has announced his 18-man squad that will represent Team GB at this summer's Olympic Games in London.

 The manager also revealed his three 'over-age' players earlier in the week, as he included Craig Bellamy, Ryan Giggs and Micah Richards. David Beckham, however, was reportedly omitted to make up for a lack of defensive options.

 The final squad is as follows: Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jason Steele 

 Defenders: Micah Richards, Ryan Bertrand, Steven Caulker, Craig Dawson, Neil Taylor, James Tomkins 

 Midfielders: Joe Allen, Ryan Giggs, Tom Cleverley, Jack Cork, Aaron Ramsey, Danny Rose 

 Strikers: Craig Bellamy, Scott Sinclair, Marvin Sordell, Daniel Sturridge The squad kick off their campaign against Senegal at the end of the month.

 Their next Group A game is against United Arab Emirates on July 29 at Wembley, before they face Uruguay at the Millennium Stadium three days later.

 Fans will get the chance to preview the Team GB team in a warm-up fixture with Brazil at the Riverside Stadium on July 20.

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