Nigeria Content Online

Nigerian
striker John Utaka has ended his three-and-a-half-year stay at
Portsmouth after agreeing to a two-and-a-half-year deal with French
Ligue 1 side Montpellier.

“John has signed a
two-and-a-half-year contract and could play against St Etienne on
February 5,” the Ligue 1 club said on their website (www.mhscfoot.com)
over the weekend.

The move sees the
Nigerian international returning to a familiar terrain having
previously spent five years in the French top flight division between
2002 and 2007.

Following his
switch from Qatari club Al-Sadd to French side Lens at the end of the
2002 FIFA World Cup, Utaka went on to make over a hundred appearances
for the 1998 French champions before leaving for Rennes at the start of
the 2005/2006 season.

While at Rennes,
Utaka scored 22 goals in 63 games, prompting the then Portsmouth
manager, Harry Redknapp to bring him to the south coast for £7 million
in the summer of 2007.

But despite scoring
on his Premier League debut against Derby County at Pride Park, Utaka
never lived up to his hefty price tag as he only scored 13 goals in the
115 appearances he made for Pompey with his last coming in last
Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Burnley in the English lower division.

Montpellier, whose
roll call of famous ex-players include: Current French national team
boss Laurent Blanc, former Colombia star Carlos Valderrama and
legendary Cameroonian forward, Roger Milla, are currently in the
top-half of the Ligue 1 table but have managed only 17 goals in 20
games this season.

Martins’ move uncertain

However, with the
transfer window set to close at midnight Nigerian time today, Obafemi
Martins’ move to Birmingham is in danger of falling through. Martins
was announced as Birmingham’s latest January signing last week after
they came to an agreement with the striker’s parent club Rubin Kazan to
take him on loan.

However, his hopes
of a move are hanging in the balance as the two parties enter
discussions before Martins can undergo a medical and Birmingham can set
about getting a work permit.

With the transfer
window set to close, Birmingham face a race against time to get a deal
done for Martins as Alex McLeish desperately tries to recruit a new
striker after missing out on Robbie Keane who is close to completing a
switch to West Ham United.

Torres to Chelsea?

Another move that
looks set to be completed today is Fernando Torres’ switch from
Liverpool to Chelsea which could cost the Blues as much as £50 million
along with the London side’s French striker Nicolas Anelka, who is
expected to head to Anfield.

Liverpool have asked for Nicolas Anelka to be included in Chelsea’s bid for Torres.

Torres submitted a
written transfer request on last Friday which was rejected by
Liverpool, but that did little to deter Chelsea from making a second
offer for the Spaniard of £40 million in cash plus teenage striker
Daniel Sturridge.

Chelsea had a bid
of £35 million for Torres, who reportedly has a buyout clause of £50
million written into his Liverpool contract, rejected on Thursday.

With the Spaniard
pushing both clubs to negotiate over a move before the transfer window
closes at midnight today (11pm in the UK), Liverpool have asked for
Anelka, and not Sturridge, to be included in the deal to meet their £50
million valuation.

The deal, upon completion, will see Anelka returning to a club he had previously played for as far back as the 2001/2002 season.

If the deal does go
ahead, it will smash the British transfer record, set in 2008 when
Manchester City paid Real Madrid £32.5m for Brazilian forward Robinho,
who is now with Italy’s AC Milan.

Busy market for Liverpool

The exit of Torres
would be a sad end to a Liverpool career which promised so much – he
scored 65 goals in 91 Premier League starts – but delivered nothing in
terms of silverware for the former European champions who over the
weekend snapped up Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez from Dutch side Ajax
in a deal worth £23 million.

Liverpool are also
on the verge of completing a move for French international midfielder
Blaise Matuidi from French side Saint Etienne.

The Times reports
that Director of Football strategy at Anfield, Damien Comolli, is a
known admirer of the player after holding a similar position at the
Ligue 1 club. His connection with the player is thought to hold the key
with regards to a Liverpool bid.

Matuidi started his
senior career at Troyes in 2004, but moved to his current employees at
the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in 2007. His impressive recent form has
also led to international recognition, with Laurent Blanc handing the
player his first Les Bleus cap against Bosnia.

Matuidi would
occupy a similar role to Lucas should he move to Liverpool, with the
defensive midfielder adding some bite for the club in the centre of the
pitch and allowing skipper Steven Gerrard to push forward.

Meanwhile, reports
have it that Manchester City will not allow Shaun Wright-Phillips to
leave the club, despite the player being on the fringes of the squad
and making just two Premier League starts this season.

The winger was signed in the summer of 2008 by the then manager,
Mark Hughes, who is keen on bringing him to Fulham this January, and
the 29-year-old is believed to have handed in a transfer request in
order to find first team football and hasten his exit.