Middlesbrough and West Bromich Albion have joined the race for Levante winger Mustapha Riga.

The 26-year old has gone eight months unpaid at the Spanish club, who have been struggling with their increasingly unstable finances, prompting the former Vitesse Arnhem man to consider using FIFA’s article 14.

The legislation allows players to cancel their contract with a club if there is ‘just cause’, and Riga’s predicament would certainly fall into that category.

Bolton Wanderers have been linked with a swoop for the former Holland under 21 international, but the player’s availability has alerted Boro boss Gareth Southgate and his counterpart at The Baggies, Tony Mowbray.

Riga has made public his desire to complete a move to the Premier League, having rejected the opportunity in the past.

“The Premier League has always been a dream,” Riga admitted to the Sunday Sun. “I’ve rejected other chances, now I don’t want to miss this chance.”

The three English clubs could yet face competition from sides around Europe, due to the lack of fee involved in any potential move for the player.

Ref From Will Wood - goal.com

West Brom have completed the £3.25m signing of the England international goalkeeper Scott Carson from Liverpool. The 22-year-old, who played in 35 Premier League games for Aston Villa last season, has signed a four-year-deal and the club also have the option of adding another year to the deal.

Stoke had appeared close to signing Carson after agreeing a £3.5m fee with Liverpool, but yesterday ruled themselves out of the running for the goalkeeper, who may yet cost West Brom up to £3.75m depending on performance-related criteria.

His arrival takes the Baggies’ summer transfer spending to an initial £13.75m after the signings of Roman Bednar, Luke Moore, Do-heon Kim, Graham Dorrans, Gianni Zuiverloon and Marek Cech. Carson stands second in the all-time list of England Under-21 appearance-makers with 29 to his name and was part of the team that reached the 2007 European Championships semi-finals.

Then England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson named him in his 2006 World Cup squad and he made two ‘B’ international appearances for his country before being handed his senior debut in a 1-0 friendly win over Austria in November. Five days later, with regular number one Paul Robinson out of form, he was thrown in at the deep end in a make-or-break Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia - but his competitive debut ended in misery as England slumped to a 3-2 defeat.

Carson joined Leeds as a trainee in September 2002 after being spotted playing for non-league Workington in the FA Youth Cup. He made his Premier League debut for the Elland Road club against Middlesbrough in January 2004. Twelve months later, with Albion tracking Carson, Liverpool beat off a host of clubs, including Chelsea, to snap him up in a £750,000 deal.

However, his chances at Anfield were limited and a two-month spell at Sheffield Wednesday towards the end of the 2005-06 campaign was swiftly followed by a season-long loan at then Premier League outfit Charlton. He featured in all but two of the Addicks’ league clashes and was voted the supporters’ player of the year - despite their relegation.

Ref From guardian.co.uk

Wigan Athletic boss Steve Bruce is hoping Egyptian striker Amr Zaki can light up the Premier League with the scoring form that has seen him ranked as the best hitman on the planet…

After a lengthy negotiation process, the Latics have finally secured Zaki’s services on an initial loan deal from El Zamalek, which could cost up to ₤2million depending on add-ons.

The 25-year-old has been prolific for both club and country since returning to Egypt after a horror spell at Lokomotiv Moscow in 2006, during which he failed to feature at all.

But Bruce hopes his new recruit can put his previous stint in Europe behind him and transfer the form he displayed for the Pharaohs in February to the JJB Stadium.

“According to FIFA statistics, Zaki is rated No 1 in the world,” Bruce said in the Daily Mail.

“He’s scored better than one in two for his country and Egypt won the Africa Cup of Nations. He’s a big star out there - I hope he can be for us.”

Ref From Mike Maguire - goal.com