West Ham have granted Fulham permission to speak with striker Bobby Zamora and defender John Pantsil.

Zamora was restricted to 14 games last season, scoring one goal, while Pantsil has started just seven Premier League games since joining the club in 2006.

“We recognise they had limited first-team opportunities last season,” said West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury.

“They want regular football and we have given them permission to speak to Fulham with a view to a move.”

A statement on the club’s website added: “The club are looking forward to an exciting new season with a fully-fit squad, including the return of Kieron Dyer and Craig Bellamy along with Dean Ashton secured on a long-term contract.

“Added to the form of Carlton Cole and the emergence of Freddie Sears, the decision has been made to let Fulham speak to the two players.”

Zamora, who joined the Hammers from Spurs in 2003, has played more than 100 games for the club.

Ghana international Pantsil has struggled to establish himself at Upton Park since joining in 2006, with the majority of his 24 games coming off the bench.

Ref From BBC Sport

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon insists Frank Lampard will see out the final year of his contract if a new deal cannot be agreed.

Lampard, 30, wants a longer deal than Chelsea’s current offer of four years.

Chelsea have again insisted he is not for sale after rejecting a £7.95m bid from Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan.

Kenyon said: “We’d like to hope we can reach an agreement but if we can’t we have always worked on the basis that he sees out the terms of his contract.”

He explained: “The situation is ongoing. We have always maintained that we want Frank to stay and an offer was made to that effect.

“That offer is still on the table. Frank is under contract and he still has one year to run on that.”

New coach Luiz Felipe Scolari insisted Lampard was happy to stay and club chairman Bruce Buck said they wanted him to remain at Chelsea for the “long-term”, but his agent, Steve Kutner, said the player’s future was “completely unresolved”.

Scolari revealed on Tuesday that Lampard had told him he wanted to stay “for more than one year”.

“I was very happy because I asked if he wants to stay and he said ‘yes, I will stay at Chelsea’,” said Scolari.

However, Kutner’s response soon after Scolari’s news conference cast more doubt on the player’s future.

Talks over a new deal for Lampard have been on-going for two years without success, and Chelsea face the prospect of the England international leaving for free next summer if the matter is not resolved.

“You’ve got Inter claiming they’ve made a bid, Chelsea saying that they are not entering into discussions over a transfer and Lampard pretty much saying meet my terms,” said BBC football correspondent Jonathan Legard.

“The Lampard team are not happy, they are frustrated. Lampard wants to stay - exactly as Scolari said in his press conference - but he would like a five-year deal and Chelsea are only offering four on, from what I gather, about £150,000-a-week.

“If Lampard feels that Chelsea won’t meet his terms then perhaps he needs to look elsewhere and that is why Inter have come back again and are still confident they can get him to play for them next season under Jose Mourinho.”

Scolari wants a “family” atmosphere in the squad

BBC 5 Live also reports that Chelsea insist there was no row between Lampard and chief executive Peter Kenyon at the Cobham training ground on Tuesday, despite reports to the contrary.

And at his first news conference in England since taking charge, Scolari insisted he envisaged Lampard’s long-term future being in south-west London.

“I met him on Monday and told him that I like him very much as a player and as a person and I asked him if he wanted to stay, not only for this season but for longer,” added Scolari.

“After we had spoken for 15 minutes, he said he wants to stay and play for Chelsea for many years.

“I am very happy because I think Chelsea need Lampard and I think he is with us for more than one year.”

BBC Sport revealed on Monday that Inter had contacted the Blues over Lampard.

However, a statement on Chelsea’s website on Tuesday read: “We have informed Inter that we will not enter into any discussions regarding the transfer.”

Despite Chelsea’s insistence that they had not received an offer from Inter, the Italian club’s president Massimo Moratti claims a bid was made.

“This is not true,” said Moratti. “There was an offer and we confirm it. However, we don’t want to create any big problems.

“They replied that they have no intention of negotiating, as was their right. Now we will see.”

Lampard also has an option under Fifa rules to buy out the remaining 12 months of his contract.

Scolari has already signed Portugal midfielder Deco from Barcelona to join the Blues’ already considerable midfield resources.
Ref From BBC Sport

Aston Villa have agreed to sign Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell in a £5m deal subject to him passing a medical.

Villa boss Martin O’Neill now expects his lengthy pursuit of the former England under-21 star to be completed by Thursday at the latest.

“For whatever reason, it did not work out for him at Chelsea,” said O’Neill.

“However, I believe he has the right quality to take Aston Villa forward. He remains hungry and I’m delighted to have him with us.”

Sidwell, 25, failed to establish himself at Stamford Bridge after moving from Reading on a free transfer last summer.

He is the likely replacement for captain Gareth Barry when he finally completes his move to Liverpool.

If Sidwell’s medical goes to plan, he will then fly out to link up with Villa’s pre-season tour of Switzerland.

Sidwell was part of the Arsenal side that won the FA Youth Cup in 2000 and 2001 and had loan spells with Brentford and Brighton.

He was unable to force his way into the first team with the Gunners and moved to Reading in January 2003 on a four-and-a-half-year deal.

Sidwell played a big role in Reading gaining promotion to the top flight for the first time two years ago, but he rejected a new contract that summer and left the Royals on a free transfer to move to Chelsea in 2007.

“Steve actually played for Reading in my first match at Villa Park. You always take note of players who do well against you and he stuck in my mind,” added O’Neill.

“However, I was less happy to see him do well again when we played at Reading that same season. He scored the second goal against us that day. But, again, the quality of his performance stayed with me.”

O’Neill, meanwhile, could name Martin Laursen as captain in place of Barry, who is waiting to get the go-ahead to complete his switch to Anfield.

He said: “There are a number of people on the list and Martin Laursen would certainly be one of the names I’d be thinking about.

“He was terrific last season. There are a number of people who would want it but there are a number of people who are on my list who might not want it. I haven’t discussed it yet.

“There are quite a few candidates at the club and perhaps others not yet at the club so that’s something I’ll look at further down the line.”

Ref From BBC Sport