Wolves winger Matt Jarvis has signed a new five-year deal, committing him to Molineux until 2015.

Jarvis, 22, had two years left on his remaining contract but the club have sought to tie him up following a debut season in the top flight which saw him make 34 Premier League appearances.

“We’ve been talking to Matt and his representative for a long period of time,” said Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey. “He was very keen to commit to us and we were very keen to commit to him.”

Moxey added: “Matt is highly talented and fits in with our policy of developing good young players and aiming to keep them at Molineux. He had less than two years remaining on his contract, and it was the right time to do something.

“There was a lot of speculation linking him to a possible England call-up for the recent qualifiers, which shows the progress he has been making. And we are confident he still has more improvement to come.”

Jarvis signed for Wolves from Gillingham in June, 2007.

Harry Redknapp is ready to hand William Gallas and Rafael van der Vaart their Tottenham Hotspur debuts against West Brom on Saturday as he prepares to rotate his squad ahead of a busy fixture list.

Defoe out for three months

Spurs make their Champions League debut next week and boss Redknapp admits he may have blundered in not making changes for the shock 1-0 defeat to Wigan last time out following the club’s historic European qualifier against Young Boys.

Redknapp said: “Obviously, we play Saturday; then we play Champions League Tuesday; then in the league on Saturday; then we play Arsenal in the Carling Cup; then the league and another Champions League. We’ve got a busy schedule.

“The one thing I did learn – a lesson – last week was maybe I should’ve changed the team that played against Wigan.

“We went to Stoke and had a great result on the Saturday, came back, won the Champions League qualifier with Young Boys. And then I really went with the same team, more or less, on the Saturday against Wigan.

“Maybe I should’ve rested one or two and changed a few around, and it might have worked better for us. It’s easy, in hindsight, to look back on those things.”

Gallas appears certain to start at the heart of defence following Michael Dawson’s injury playing for England. And Redknapp has no qualms about throwing the former Arsenal captain in at the deep end on Saturday.

He said: “You don’t play in teams that win championships, like he did at Chelsea, you don’t play for your country as many times as he has – been there and done it all – unless you’re a top player. He’s got a bit of pace, he’s a great defender, and he’ll be a big asset. I think he’ll be a great signing for us.”

With Luka Modric now fit, Redknapp could choose between the Croatian and Van der Vaart. Or he might field both and play a lone striker, especially as his forward options have been depleted by the loss of Jermain Defoe for around three months.

Serie A has been thrown into crisis after the Italian Professional Players’ Association (AIC) voted to go on strike on the weekend of September 25-26 and bring the league to a halt.

The players are protesting against the failure to agree a new collective-bargaining agreement between AIC and the Lega Calcio which would guarantee players’ rights.

The club owners of Serie A had said they would propose a new collective deal this Monday but their attempts to “impose new contractual rules” was met with resistance by the players, who also feel aggrieved at a clubs trying to force players to move teams in the last year of their contracts.

Milan full-back Massimo Oddo read out the following statement: “The association, in accordance with the players of Serie A, has decided that they will not take to the pitch for the fifth round of matches of the Serie A championship on September 25 and 26 in protest against requests to impose new contractual rules.”

Oddo added: “The players are fed up with being treated like objects and not like people. We are dealing with human rights here.”

The strike will take place on a weekend scheduled to host a full programme of Serie A games, including a high-profile clash between Roma and Inter.

A meeting will take place on Monday between Italy’s football federation president Giancarlo Abete and his Serie A and AIC counterparts to discuss the way forward.

“The strike is likely to take place regardless of the decision that could come out of Monday’s meeting,” added Oddo.

Bobby Zamora has signed a new four-year contract at Fulham.

Zamora, 29, was a key figure for Fulham as they reached the Europa League final last season, and he impressed on his senior England debut against Hungary last month.

A statement on the club’s official website read: “Fulham Football Club can confirm that Bobby Zamora has signed a new four-year deal with the club that will see the striker remain at the Cottage until the summer of 2014.”

Mark Hughes had earlier confirmed that Fulham rejected “three substantial bids” for Zamora during the summer amid reported interest from Liverpool.

Zamora’s original contract was due to expire at the end of the season and Fulham are believed to have doubled Zamora’s pay packet in his new deal.

AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic claims his new club are better than Spanish champions Barcelona – the team he left just last month.

Ibra and Robinho excited by Milan

Ibrahimovic swapped the Nou Camp for the San Siro in a 24 million deal after falling out with manager Pep Guardiola and slipping down the pecking order.

Milan president Silvio Berlusconi swooped to rescue the Swedish international from life on the Barcelona bench and Ibrahimovic claims he just couldn’t resist a call from the Rossoneri.

“No player can say no to Milan. There’s nothing much to think about, you just say yes and thank the club,” Ibrahimovic said. “I think Milan are greater than Barcelona if you look at the history. I don’t know what the problem was at Barcelona, but Berlusconi convinced me to come here.

“I spoke to him twice and he said many important things. It convinced me. I was already ready, before the clubs agreed. Galliani then came to Barcelona and he said to me ‘I won’t go back to Milan without you’.”

The former Inter player will be sure to be given a hot reception in the Derby della Madonnina but Ibrahimovic is particularly looking forward to that game and writing a new chapter in his career.

“I can’t wait to play against Inter. I had a great time at Barcelona and Inter, but Inter are the opposition and I cannot wait for the derby. This year’s Serie A is between two clubs… Milan and Inter, but we will finish first and they will finish second.

“Now I am a Milan player. I don’t care what Inter have been saying. Milan is my future. We are complete now and have a great mentality. We are favourites to win the Scudetto now. I won at Inter, but now I am here to win. I hope I can do better here compared to what I did at Juventus and Inter. We will make sure the fans enjoy the season.”

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is considering dropping Wayne Rooney for the trip to former club Everton on Saturday, according to reports.

Jagielka: Rooney will cop it from fans

Rooney has been in the centre of a media storm following continued revelations about his private life and claims that he met a prostitute while his wife Coleen was pregnant.

The 24-year-old played for England in Basel, Switzerland, on Tuesday and scored in the 3-1 victory, but there are concerns the level of abuse at Goodison Park, where Rooney is already a hate-figure after he quit the club to join United in 2004, could prove too much for the striker.

A Manchester United insider told The Sun: “Everyone has assumed Wayne will play because of how bravely he performed in Basel.

“But playing hundreds of miles away in Switzerland is a lot different to stepping out at Goodison Park, where there will be a lot of hatred and abuse flying around – all of it directed at Wayne.

“How can anyone give their best for 90 minutes in front of a baying crowd with all that turmoil going on in their private life?”

Meanwhile, defender Rio Ferdinand has declared himself fit for the Premier League clash with Everton after recovering from the knee injury that ruled him out of the World Cup.

Manchester United defender Gary Neville has launched a thinly-veiled attack on Manchester City, saying he even prefers arch-rivals Liverpool to the Premier League’s nouveau riche club.

Neville, who has a long and well documented history of clashes with Liverpool fans and players, provoked the fury of City supporters last season by criticising Carlos Tevez and celebrating wildly in front of the visiting fans after a derby win at Old Trafford.

City have spent in the region of 350 million on new players since the arrival of owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan in September 2008, but Neville prefers a club with history, even if it’s Liverpool.

“I have more respect for them [Liverpool] as a club, in a sense of their tradition and their history, than I would do some of the other clubs that have been coming on the scene in the last few years, throwing a load of money at it,” Neville told MUTV.

“They have a good history – you have to hand it to them for that. They have been successful.”

However, Neville admitted he would be overjoyed if United could secure a 19th league title this season with the club currently tied with Liverpool for the record.

Neville said: “To beat Liverpool would be fantastic. It would be massive for this club. We want to be the most successful club.”

The pressure on Liverpool’s owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to find a buyer has increased after it emerged the American duo may struggle to refinance their debts after an October 6 deadline.

Hodgson eyes squad cuts

It is understood that the Royal Bank of Scotland moved the debt to be dealt with by their restructuring team, which makes it more likely they will demand immediate repayment or instead sell the debt to a third party. That move could allow the third party to effectively take control of the club.

Hicks and Gillett bought Liverpool in 2007 using loans of 237 million and their company Kop Holdings’ debts have now spiralled to 361 million. They have been actively searching for a buyer for six months without success.

Last month Chinese businessman Kenny Huang pulled out of talks after considering a move, while a Canadian-based Syrian investor named Yahya Kirdi claimed he represented a group interested in buying the club.

Earlier this year Hicks and Gillett rejected a 110 million offer from New York-based Rhone Group for 40% of the club.

RBS’s position over their loan and its refinancing has contributed to the reluctance of interested parties to table formal bids.

If the October deadline passes and Hicks and Gillett do lose control of the club, the price for which Liverpool can be acquired is likely to be less with the Americans out of the equation.

Gary Neville has once again made little attempt to disguise his dislike for Liverpool, but the Manchester United defender has also taken aim at clubs who spend their way to success, rather than relying on a glorious history – a comment that will no doubt be interpreted as a dig at Manchester City.

Neville feared for career

Neville has been involved in a series of controversial incidents with United’s rivals in recent seasons. In 2006 he was fined for celebrating in front of Liverpool fans and in January was involved in a public spat with City forward Carlos Tevez in a Carling Cup tie between the two teams.

While Neville freely admits he has an innate aversion to Liverpool given their rivalry with United, he is also unimpressed by certain clubs who view spending money as a shortcut to success.

“When I was younger there was no doubt about it,” Neville said. “I was a United fan, they [Liverpool] were winning everything and it was a horrible time for my club, to be honest, through the 70s and 80s.

“I suppose it came from jealousy through my childhood – jealousy, hatred, passion for your own club. You don’t want them [Liverpool] to win anything, and you don’t like the people who are winning, just like I’ve seen in the last 15 or 16 years, from a good side, everybody is now ‘we all hate Man United’ – and they hate Man United because we are winning.

“I have more respect for Liverpool, in a sense of their tradition and their history, than I do some of the other clubs that have come on the scene in the last few years, throwing a load of money at it.

“They [Liverpool] have got a good history – you have to hand it to them – and they have been successful.”

At 35, Neville’s time as a top-flight player is approaching an end, but the United defender says he has no plans to move into management at present.

“I am a bit too emotional to be a football manager,” Neville said. “If you look at Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. They are quiet, considered and patient. They are probably more suited to modern-day management.

“I am doing my ‘A’ licence as a matter of course. It is what you should do. But at this moment in time, I haven’t quite got the aptitude for it.”

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has confirmed that striker Jermain Defoe faces at least six weeks out through injury.

Defoe plays down fitness fears
Van der Vaart targets trophies

Defoe, who was stretchered off while playing for England late in Tuesday night’s 3-1 win over Switzerland in Basle, suffered an ankle knock and the player had insisted he would to be fit to face West Bromwich Albion this weekend.

However, Defoe is now due to miss the first half of Spurs’ maiden Champions League campaign and is also a major doubt for England’s next Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro at Wembley on October 12.

“Even if it’s a bad sprain, you’re still talking about six weeks or so, because it’s a nasty one,” Redknapp said.

Defoe, who scored a hat-trick in Friday’s win over Bulgaria, had been expected to miss both internationals in the past week to undergo groin surgery but the operation was eventually shelved.

Defoe has been fitted with a protective boot and was on crutches at Spurs’ training ground on Thursday.

The striker is likely to miss games against Werder Bremen, FC Twente and Inter Milan in the Champions League, the Carling Cup date with arch-rivals Arsenal and a clutch of Premier League games, including the trip to former club West Ham United.

The news contradicts comments from the player on Wednesday which suggested the ankle injury would not be a problem. He said: “I jarred my ankle or my knee but it feels alright. I’ve always said I’ll do my best to make sure I’m out there. I’ve just got to rest it (the injury). I’ll just keep icing it and I’m sure I’ll be okay.”