Manchester City have brought John Williams back into football four months after the Venky's Group takeover led to him ending his long association with Blackburn Rovers.
Williams, who had been chairman at Ewood Park for 13 years, will take a senior position at Eastlands, answering to the football administrator, Brian Marwood, in a number of key roles such as overseeing player contracts and developing the club's academy structure.
The appointment will be confirmed in a statement from Eastlands on Saturday morning, with City taking advantage of the change of ownership at Blackburn to bring in a man with significant experience at a top-flight club. Williams is a respected figure in Premier League circles, identified by the FA Cup winners on the basis of the reputation he has fostered in the 14 years since Jack Walker appointed him to the Blackburn board.
Williams, who has turned down several offers from elsewhere in the game, already has a strong working relationship with City's chief executive, Garry Cook, and had been looking for a return to the game since accepting a severance package from Venky's in February, three months after the poultry giant bought the club from the Walker Family Trust. He had been against the sacking of the manager, Sam Allardyce, and felt he could no longer work under the new regime.
His appointment at City will also free up Marwood and Cook to concentrate on what promises to be an extensive period of transfer business, albeit nothing like as extravagant as previous summers under the ownership of the Abu Dhabi United Group.
City have made an opening £25m bid for Alexis Sánchez, their main transfer target, but have been exasperated at times by the complex nature of the negotiations, with Udinese determined to get the best possible deal and the player's various representatives demonstrating how difficult it can be sometimes to close a deal for South America's top footballers.
There is also the significant presence of Barcelona to be considered and their rival bid for the Chilean. Sánchez would ideally move to Barcelona but that is not to say he is against the idea of moving to Manchester, and City have been bemused by reports that he refused to board a plane to discuss a possible deal with them.
On the contrary City are cautiously optimistic, particularly now Barça may be switching their focus to Arsenal's Cesc Fábregas and Manchester United's interest in the player appears to have been exaggerated. The sums involved are not as high as have been purported and that fits into City's plans of cutting back their spending to fit in with Uefa's financial fair-play guidelines.
The emphasis will then switch to offloading the players who do not fit into Roberto Mancini's plans, with around 10 possible departures as the club take calculated efforts to reduce their squad size.
Alexis Sanchez apparently is in no rush to get to his next destination.
Sanchez is a young prospect being pursued by both Barcelona and Manchester City, with each club throwing a hefty bid on the table for him, which has created some drama in the transfer market.
Normally, you'd think a player would be excited that clubs of that caliber would be in pursuit of him, but apparently not Sanchez.
"Barcelona are ahead of [Manchester] City, although the player doesn't really seem to have a preference between the two teams. Of course, we will listen to the player's wishes though. We are not closing things yet, because there are still things to be taken care of," Pozzo said to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Giampaolo Pozzo recently said Sanchez was worth €50m, but Barcelona is hopeful of getting its man for an initial fee of €28m plus €5m in variables, with Spain under-21 winger Jeffren Suarez leaving Camp Nou for Udinese as part of the agreement.
Honestly, and I know I'm in the minority in this one, but I wouldn't want a player that isn't that excited about playing for my club and could easily see himself with someone else.
However, these reports should be taken with a grain of salt, because it's hard to believe that he wouldn't want to play for Barca, a club that knows how to cultivate talent and win on the biggest stages in world football.
Barcelona has proven that it has the world's best club and the best talent in the world. Interest in Sanchez shows that they believe he can be another player that dominates the sport and becomes a household name.
However, if this report is true, and Sanchez could easily see himself with Man City, maybe he hasn't totally bought in to the Barca charm
OTHER BOLLOX
Arsenal are close to agreeing a deal to sign Velez Sarsfield midfielder Ricardo Alvarez, according to the president of Italian side Palermo. Maurizio Zamparini said: "At this moment he has already signed for the Gunners." Metro
AC Milan want to sign five Chelsea players this summer, with Nicolas Anelka, Alex, Salomon Kalou, Didier Drogba and Michael Essien all wanted by Milan vice president Adriano Galliani. talkSHIT
Liverpool are ready to offer Brazilian midfielder Diego an escape route out of Werder Bremen. Diego was handed a huge fine this week for storming out of the team hotel before the last game of the season. Caught Offside
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew is keen to lure Paris Saint-Germain's Turkish international Mevlut Erdinc and AIK Stockholm's striker Teteh Bangura to St James' Park.the Mirror
But PSG - who are now bankrolled by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) - are keen on strengthening their squad and have started the bidding for QPR playmaker Adel Taarabt at £10m. talkSHIT
New Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish has set his sights on ADO Den Haag's Wesley Verhoek as he searches for a replacement for Ashley Young. talkSHIT
But McLeish will not be allowed to spend all of the £20m Manchester United paid for Young on bringing in new players. Daily Express
Stewart Downing could become the next big name to leave Aston Villa as he wants to join Liverpool. Daily Mirror
Liverpool are close to agreeing a double deal for Aston Villa's Stewart Downing and Blackpool's Charlie Adam. The Times
Samir Nasri has given Arsenal hope he may be willing to stay at the club by agreeing to talks with manager Arsene Wenger over a new contract. Daily Telegraph
Newcastle have yet to receive any offers for midfielder Joey Barton, who had previously indicated he was on his way out of the club. Daily Star
West Ham midfielder Radoslav Kovac has become the latest departure post-relegation, joining Swiss side FC Basel. Daily Mail
Wolves are interested in Manchester United defender Jonny Evans. Daily Mail
Blackburn are ready to pay a club record £11m for Roma striker Mirko Vucinic. the Sun
The judge who rejected Tottenham's legal attempts to block West Ham's move to the London Olympic Stadium has warned them against a "knee-jerk" appeal against his decision. Daily Telegraph
Guus Hiddink blew his chance of a return to Stamford Bridge as Chelsea manager because he insisted on bringing Ray Wilkins back to the club if he got the job. Independent
Everton striker Louis Saha is sleeping in an oxygen tent to help him recover from an ankle injury in time to train for the new season. Daily Star
Everton midfielder Jack Rodwell says he would love to be part of a Great Britain Olympic football team next year. "The chance to win an Olympic medal would be amazing," said the 20-year-old. the Sun
League One side Leyton Orient are enjoying a holiday of a lifetime on chairman Barry Hearn in Las Vegas as a reward for their FA Cup draw with Arsenal back in February. Daily Mail
