Dacourt moves to Roma on loan until end of season

OLIVIER DACOURT has joined Roma on loan after completing a medical with the Serie A side yesterday.

The 28-year-old France midfielder will be on loan until the end of the season when Roma will have an option to make the deal permanent having already agreed a fee with Leeds.

The provisional contract Dacourt has signed runs until 2006.

Dacourt joined Leeds from Lens in May 2000 for £7 million (10.75 million) but found himself out of favour with boss Terry Venables after branding the club's league position "a disgrace".

Dacourt last played against Hapoel Tel Aviv in October and is expected to go straight into the Roma side for Sunday's game against Chievo.

Meanwhile, Bolton manager Sam Allardyce yesterday admitted he had rejected a player exchange deal with Tottenham for Michael Ricketts. It is the second time White Hart Lane boss Glenn Hoddle has moved in for the striker. Ricketts has returned to form in recent weeks with four goals in five games after a barren spell.

Allardyce said: "There has been some interest from Tottenham over Michael in a player exchange mode and not transfer money mode.

"It is just not to be and not of any interest to us at the moment. Tottenham are trying to nick the player, which I can understand from their point of view. We are nowhere near at the moment".

Allardyce admitted that Ricketts would probably love to move to Tottenham.

"We won't consider it until it's right for the football club, not Michael Ricketts," said the Bolton boss.

Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor will try to finally resolve the transfer deadlock involving defender Alpay and he has not ruled out the possibility of the Turkish international playing for the club again.

Alpay has been on the transfer list since last summer and has not played for Villa's first team since the home Premiership game with Southampton two months ago.

In an ideal world Taylor would like to offload the player who has just returned from a training camp with his country in Dubai.

But Villa have received no concrete bid for the player, although Blackburn did make an inquiry with a view to John Curtis moving from Ewood Park in the opposite direction. Taylor said: "Alpay has come back from his trip and trained very well and I obviously need to sit down and talk to him again.

"We are talking about a player who cost a substantial amount of money (8.57 million) but who played more games for Turkey than for Aston Villa last year.

"It would be silly of me to say the position is closed to such an extent that there's not a way back for him at Villa".

Bordeaux defender David Sommeil is playing a waiting game after Manchester City made a six-month loan offer for his services.

Sommeil is sitting by the telephone after the Premiership side made an official offer to Bordeaux. "A fax arrived at the club and my agent Pape Diouf confirmed their interest in me," Sommeil said . "Both clubs have now to reach an agreement. President Jean-Louis Triaud is set to return to the club and I just need to wait for my phone to ring.

Sommeil, who would be the second key player to leave Bordeaux during the winter transfer window after captain Christophe Dugarry joined Birmingham last week, admits playing in England is his priority.