Football: Southampton sign Monkou

Southampton yesterday signed the Chelsea defender, Ken Monkou, for pounds 750,000 and the Arsenal winger, Perry Groves, for a similar figure.

Ian Branfoot, the Saints manager, has now spent half the pounds 5m he received from the close-season sales of Alan Shearer, John Gittens, Neil Ruddock and Barry Horne. He has already paid nearly pounds 1m for Kerry Dixon and David Speedie.

Groves cost just pounds 65,000 when George Graham bought him from Colchester in September 1986, just a few months after becoming Arsenal manager, and his move is likely to be only the first of several Highbury departures.

'If I get the right offers for some of our squad players I will let them go,' Graham said. That will alert clubs to the likely availability of figures like the David O'Leary and Andy Linighan. 'Perry Groves was an outstanding asset to us but the fans never really appreciated him - he received a lot of unjustified criticism,' Graham added.

Tottenham Hotspur said they had complained to the Football Association over comments a referee is reported to have made about their striker, Gordon Durie. The Oxfordshire official, Dermot Gallagher, booked Durie following an incident involving opponent Andy Pearce, during Spurs' 2-0 home defeat against Coventry earlier in the week. Gallagher was reportedas saying that he booked Durie for 'ungentlemanly conduct' because the Scottish international had 'feigned a head-butt to get an opponent sent off'.

He was also said to have suggested that Spurs were disappointed with their performance. 'We have made a complaint to the Premier League and they have said they will deal with it,' the Spurs coach, Doug Livermore, said. 'We are in a situation when we are not allowed to comment on referees but now we see a referee not only commenting on Pearce and Durie but also our performance.'

Cardiff yesterday paid pounds 85,000 to buy the 23-year-old central defender, Derek Brazil, from Manchester United. Adrian Heath, released by Manchester City, is considering an offer from Burnley. Frank Bunn, the Oldham striker forced out of full-time football by injury, has joined Stalybridge Celtic of the GM Vauxhall Conference.