South African striker set for loan move to Spurs

Tottenham hope to bring the South African World Cup striker Benni McCarthy to the Premiership, and are in talks with his Spanish club Celta Vigo over a loan deal with a view to a permanent £5.5m transfer.

McCarthy, who is keen to come to England, was due to join Middlesbrough before they turned to the Italian Massimo Maccarone instead. A deal will have to be pushed through fast as McCarthy needs to apply for a work permit and be registered before the transfer window at the end of the month.

The Tottenham midfielder Gustavo Poyet says he will be back in action within six weeks after keyhole surgery on a knee injury. It had originally been feared that Poyet, who picked up the injury in a pre-season friendly against Gillingham on 27 July, might be out for three months or even longer.

Sunderland have sent Emerson Thome to an American knee specialist and may have to do without the Brazilian centre-back for months. Thome, who has trouble with his knee for almost a season, has gone to California to see the leading specialist Dr Richard Steadman for a diagnosis. Thome has had an operation but may have twice come back into action too soon.

Sunderland have apparently agreed a deal with Ajax for the Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Reports in Sweden said a deal between the two clubs, including a transfer fee of around £6.2m, to take the 20-year-old to the Stadium of Light was reached late on Monday night.

Charlton have appealed to the Football Association over the sending-off of their defender Paul Konchesky in the home game against Chelsea on Saturday.

The England Under-21 full-back was shown a straight red card after a collision with the Chelsea midfielder Enrique de Lucas by the referee at The Valley, Graham Barber. But the Charton manager, Alan Curbishley, insisted at the time that he felt the decision was harsh and the club will now go to the FA to try to have the sending-off – and subsequent suspension – quashed.

The Japan international midfielder Alex arrived at Charlton yesterday for a week of mutual evaluation. The Brazilian-born 25-year-old switched nationalities last November before impressing for his adopted country in the World Cup and Curbishley is interested in bringing him to The Valley.

Alex, who is hugely popular in Japan, plays for Shimizu S-Pulse, but has some time on his hands at the moment as the Japanese league has a free weekend between its first and second stages.