Although Andrei Arshavin's on-off transfer from Zenit St Petersburg to Arsenal was on earlier on Friday it's now off again, or at least not concluded, according Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.

Speaking at his Friday press conference the Frenchman denied Sky Sports' claim that Arsenal had successfully applied for a work permit for the 27-year-old Russian playmaker, or agreed to pay a £15m transfer fee.

Asked if the clubs had settled on a acceptable sum Wenger said: "No, and we have not applied for a work permit yet for Arshavin. At the moment, we have no agreement with anybody for any transfer."

Meanwhile, Blackburn Rovers have rejected an improved bid of £18.5 million from Manchester City for striker Roque Santa Cruz and despite signing Senegal international El-Hadji Diouf from Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce claims he doesn't have time to find a suitable replacement.

So what about a swap deal? Well Tottenham Hotspur will test Rovers' resolve by offering striker Darren Bent as part of the deal to lure Santa Cruz to White Hart Lane, according to The Times.

If there is a late sale and no swap deal then Allardyce will launch a last gasp £10m bid to sign Portsmouth's Peter Crouch before Monday evening, claim the Daily Mirror.

After Shay Given was dropped by Newcastle United.. erm... I mean rested because of a knee injury, for the trip to potential suitors Manchester City in midweek the Eastland's club have been granted permission to speak to the goalkeeper after agreeing a fee of around £8m.

Also on his way out of St James' Park, at least in his own mind, is Charles Insomnia who claimed his manager's mispronunciation of his name in a TV interview amounted to abuse and vowed never to play for the club again.

"Having been insulted by Joe Kinnear, I will never play for him again while he remains Newcastle manager," the want-away Frenchman blasted.

On the way into Newcastle, and needing an appointment with the head doctor for agreeing to sign a four-and-a-half-year deal with the crisis club, is Bolton Wanderers skipper Kevin Nolan for £4m fee. £3m-rated Toulouse defender Albin Ebondo (The Times) is set to follow.

In a desperate bid to bolster their porous defence Manchester City have added Kolo Toure to their extensive shopping list and are willing to let Micah Richards join Arsenal as a makeweight, so say the Daily Mirror. However, the hacks at the Daily Mail disagree and insist either Chelsea defender Alex or Inter Milan's Marco Materazzi are their real targets.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has called a halt to his mission to re-sign every player Spurs sold last season so Robbie Keane will have to continue to ride the pine on the Liverpool bench, report The Independent.

Real Madrid are at it again and have signed a long-term agreement with Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo worth about £91m, says The Times, and AC Milan have been told they do not have to lodge a bid for David Beckham before the transfer window closes on Monday, claims the Daily Telegraph.

In the best of the rest... Fulham have signed injury prone Derby County starlet Giles Barnes as a replacement for injury prone midfielder Jimmy Bullard, who joined Hull City earlier this week. Meanwhile, Fiorentina are closing in on the transfer of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.

Atletico Madrid are set to make an offer for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, German side Hoffenheim are believed to be weighing up a bid for Manchester City's £19m misfit Jo and Hull City have agreed a deal to sign Boulogne defender Steven Mouyokolo in the summer.