A German bank is in last-minute talks to finance the planned £715million development of an English national stadium at Wembley, it was reported today. If the deal is accepted, WestLB will trump Barclays, which had been thought to be the only serious contender to finance the construction of a 90,000-seater stadium with a £300m plan, the Financial Times said. The paper added that Barclays was understood to be close to finishing due diligence on the project but will now go “head-to-head” with WestLB to secure the deal. The development could be the latest twist to a long-running saga dating back to the mid-1990s.

Arguments have centred around spiralling costs and plans to demolish the dilapidated stadium’s famous Twin Towers to the new arena’s ability to host other sports other than football. The Government last year refused to step in as a “banker of last resort” after funding problems, prompting the appointment of a troubleshooter to assess alternative bids. Patrick Carter recommended that Wembley promoters present final proposals, while Birmingham and Solihull’s joint bid be “actively considered” if the Wembley scheme was not accepted “within a reasonable timescale”. The Wembley promoters reportedly have until the end of this month to come up with funding for the project.. Manchester City have abandoned their attempts to sign Stefan Effenberg.

The First Division champions confirmed that they had been in talks with the Bayern Munich midfielder, who will be available on a free transfer at the end of the season, but it is believed he wanted £60,000 a week in wages, more than double the earnings of the highest paid City player. Effenberg is also wanted by the Turkish club Galatasaray.
Fulham’s planned ground redevelopment has been delayed for a year as a result of opposition from local residents. Plans to turn Craven Cottage into an all-seat stadium were scheduled to have been completed in time for the club, who will share Queen’s Park Rangers’ Loftus Road stadium next season, to return to the ground for the start of the 2003-04 season. However, objectors have launched a number of challenges against the Secretary of State’s decision not to call in the application for Government approval and the High Court has granted the group leave to appeal, forcing the club to delay redevelopment. Fulham will now ground-share with QPR for two seasons instead of one.Malcolm Christie has become the second England Under-21 international to declare that he is happy to stay at relegated Derby. The striker, who was signed from Nuneaton Borough, is taking a similar view to the defender Chris Riggott.