Everton-In-demand midfielder Steven Pienaar.

The South Africa star's future at Goodison Park has looked uncertain for some time, with his current contract set to expire at the end of the season.

David Moyes revealed after Sunday's 2-2 draw with Merseyside rivals Liverpool that the Toffees had agreed a fee with Chelsea, believed to be in the region of £3million.

Moyes also revealed that a lower offer from Tottenham had been rejected and Spurs manager Harry Redknapp responded by saying his side would probably not return with an improved bid.

However, it appears they have now matched Chelsea's valuation and will be hopeful of winning the chase for his signature as Pienaar has yet to agree personal terms with the Blues.

Pienaar arrived at Everton in 2007 on an initial loan deal from Borussia Dortmund before making a £2million permanent move the following year.

He has established himself as a key figure in Moyes' side but negotiations over a new deal proved unsuccessful and he now looks set to embark on a new adventure in London, while Inter Milan and Bayern Munich have also been linked with the midfielder.

Darren Bent,£18m bid for the forward from Aston Villa.

Darren Bent, the Sunderland and England striker, has handed in a transfer request at the Stadium of Light, as his club accepts an £18m bid for the forward from Aston Villa.

Bent, 26, has scored 36 goals in 62 games for the Wearside club and has become a hero with Sunderland supporters after his £10m move from Tottenham Hotspur 18 months ago.

However, Gerard Houllier and Aston Villa put forward the £18m bid, which could rise to £24m, to Sunderland boss Steve Bruce and Chairman Niall Quinn on Sunday evening.

And in what can only be described as a gamble, with Frazier Campbell injured, Danny Welbeck only on-loan from Manchester United, and £13m Asamoah Gyan still adapting to the Premier League, the Sunderland duo accepted the offer.

The deal, if it goes through, would constitute a club record transfer for the Midlands club, who are amongst the lowest scorers in the Premier League.

Villa have won only 15 points from a possible 51 under Houllier, who has struggled to endear himself to the Villa Park faithful, but the signing of Bent would go someway to appeasing the clubs supporters.

Blackburn Vs Chelsea

The league leaders are set to be given a stern test when they visit Blackburn on Saturday. The defending champions have played some scintillating football so far, scoring 25 goals and conceding a miserly two in nine matches, and they are already a healthy five points clear at the top. But regardless of Rovers currently struggling in 17th spot, they will not allow the Blues to strut their stuff at Ewood Park without offering plenty of resistance. Sam Allardyce's side, along with Wolves and Stoke, have come under fire of late for their physical approach. But tough-tackling Blues captain Terry feels the recent criticism directed at teams such as Blackburn is "unfair". It was interesting to see him add this week: "We can't expect to go to Ewood Park and pick up three points just because we're Chelsea Football Club. First and foremost we've got to go there and have a fight with them. We have to be prepared for a scrap." With neither side having played in midweek, Rovers go into this clash on the back of last Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Liverpool and will hope to welcome back defenders Ryan Nelsen (thigh) and Christopher Samba (suspension). Chelsea were given a few anxious moments last Saturday at Stamford Bridge before seeing off a plucky Wolves side 2-0 but having won three and drawn one of their last four league visits to Ewood Park, we expect their superb start to the campaign to continue. Not surprisingly bearing in mind current form and league positions, Carlo Ancelotti's side are a best-priced 1/2 with Ladbrokes to chalk up their eighth victory of the season which has no appeal to us. Rovers can be backed at 15/2 with Boylesports, while the draw is widely available at 10/3 and might tempt a few punters, but we believe class will tell and are steering clear of this one.

Arsenal Discover Form

Backing goals - plenty of them - is the way to go here. Arsenal's six home games this season have seen the Gunners find the net no less than 25 times. In four of those games they have scored at least four goals and it should also be pointed out that the other two games have brought two home goals. More can be expected against the league's bottom side. While Arsenal were beating Newcastle 4-0 in midweek, West Ham also won in the Carling Cup, beating Stoke 3-1. However, despite not playing their strongest side, the likes of Scott Parker and Carlton Cole could have done without going to extra time and playing 120 minutes. They could well tell in the latter stages of this match and Arsenal aren't a side to ease up these days. Sportingbet offer 23/10 that Arsenal score four or more. It seems fair given the stats and the circumstances. It's also worth considering backing Samir Nasri. We were gutted to highlight his goalscoring prowess last weekend only to resist backing him to net at Manchester City. In sparkling form, he duly did so and now has seven goals in his last seven games. He's 5/2 to find the target in this one and we can't back off again. Coral are odds-on, so it's a price that screams value, especially when you consider there's every chance he could be back on penalties following another Cesc Fabregas miss from the spot at Eastlands.

Liverpool will break bank in January

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson plans to make new signings in the January transfer window.

New Reds owners New England Sports Ventures are set to back Hodgson with funds in the new year to bolster the squad at Anfield following their takeover of the club earlier this month.

Hodgson is confident the new owners will give him the green light to move for the best players, but insists he will not spend money for the sake of it.

"If we want the right quality, we have got to be prepared to pay the right price," Hodgson told the club's official website.

"The owners know that perfectly well. We have got to make certain that if we go out and spend £20m, we are getting a £20m player.

"We want to be attracting the players that Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter are chasing. It would be nice to think that we can shop at a high level.

"I'm like all managers in that I'm wary of the January transfer window. I think it can be dangerous as clubs try to correct mistakes.

"But, having said that, we are going to very interested in trying to improve our squad in January. There is no question about that. I am sure we will sign players."

Hodgson added: "What I would hope to do is get this group of players playing well enough so we don't need to panic.

"Then I can say to the owners, 'If we are going to spend a lot of money, let's get the right man.'

"I don't want to spend half the money that might be available on someone for the sake of buying when the player we actually want might not be available until the summer.

"The lucky thing is that we are rebuilding around several top-class players. We have got Reina, Carragher, Gerrard, Torres, Kuyt - it's not as if we are rebuilding from nothing."

Hodgson also aimed a swipe at some of former boss Rafa Benitez's signings, claiming a number of players have not proved value for money.

"I think you can pay an awful lot of money for poor players and you can pay not very much money for very good ones - it is all to do with how good your scouting and your eye is," he added.

"There are a lot of things here that the club has got to get right. We have got a lot more expensive failures on our list than good players that we have brought in for next to nothing.

"Free transfers don't necessarily mean that you have got a bargain. My experience of them has been very mixed. You need to be sure that the player you get can do the job you want from him."

Rooney Not Yet Ready

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney could be out for longer than the three weeks first thought, manager Sir Alex Ferguson has said.

Rooney, who signed a new five-year contract at Old Trafford last week, is currently away resting after suffering an ankle injury.

When asked at a press conference if three weeks was still the prognosis, Ferguson said: "I think it may be longer."

Rooney, 25, was injured in training last week during an extraordinary few days that ended with him committing his future to the club after previously stating a desire to leave.

He has since been given permission to travel to Dubai to recuperate.

Ferguson said: "There is no recovery, it is just rest.

"Before he went away we did his remedial in terms of what we could do at the time. Thereafter, rest - we're quite happy with that."

Angola 2010: Africa Nation Cup Kicks Off

Stephen Okechukwu Keshi's Mali will today at the 50,000 capacity Estadio 11 de Novembro Stadium, Luanda, trade tackles with Angola's Palancas Negras in the opening game of the 27th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations tagged CAN 2010.

Keshi's Les Aigles (Eagles), who are perennial underachievers in the continents' soccer showpiece, will be looking to have a good tournament in Angola to ease the disappointment of failing to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Already, Mali football authorities have set a quarter-final target for the team.Mali will be counting on Keshi's magic to rub-off on their 2010 campaign as the former Super Eagles skipper helped the team lift the trophy in 1994 in Tunisia. Keshi also achieved the seemingly impossible when he qualified the Hawks of Togo to their first ever World Cup at Germany 2006.

Aside from Frederic Kanoute, the 2007 African Footballer of the Year, Keshi has a plethora of players attached to major European clubs at his disposal.

The midfield is especially strong with the likes of Barcelona's Seydou Keita, Real Madrid's Mahamadou Diarra, and Mohamed Lamine Sissoko of Juventus.Similarly, the Palancas Negras have made four previous appearances but never won the cup before. As host nation, the southern African country would be hoping to repeat history as every host nation since 1992 has gone pass the first round in this competition.

Angola have their eyes fixed on the trophy and have prepared well for their home tournament with several friendlies-2-0 win over Togo, and draws with the likes of Ghana, Senegal and Cameroon.

Coach Jose Manuel knows there is little room for errors as the pressure mounts on them as host to keep the fans at the stadia. Reports have it that the 2010 tournament is likely to mark the end of the international careers for some of the current crop like Flavio, and they will be keen to bow out in style.

Kick-off for the big match is 8pm (local time).