LONDON // Tottenham Hotspur and Everton are prominent among a group of Premier League sides considering a January approach for Hugo Almeida.
The Portugal centre-forward's contract at German side Werder Bremen expires at the end of the season and he has resolved to leave the Bundesliga, having turned down a lucrative offer from Schalke.
The 26-year-old striker is a regular for his national side and, at 6ft 2ins, a muscular presence accustomed to operating as a solitary target man. Harry Redknapp has been seeking such a player since the summer; the arrival of Rafael van der Vaart accelerated Tottenham's switch to a single-striker system.
Everton have long been in the market for a reliable front man but have been unable to raise the funds for the correct signing. The contributions of Louis Saha and Yakubu have been consistently restricted by injury.
Almeida is also admired by Jose Mourinho, whose attempt to bring the forward with him to Real Madrid last summer was stymied by Florentino Perez. Real's president was keen that the 2009 acquisition Karim Benzema be granted full opportunity to succeed at the Bernabeu and remains under political pressure to limit the number of signings from outside Spain.
Mourinho continues to argue that Real's squad is dangerously undermanned by containing just two experienced strikers and could move for Almeida in January.
Meanwhile, Carlos Tevez, the Manchester City striker, has issued a statement flatly rejecting tabloid speculation that he has been seeing a psychiatrist in an effort to overcome depression.
Tevez, a doubt for Wednesday's Manchester derby, spent time in Argentina this week after treatment to recover from a dead leg, while also seeing his two young daughters.
That prompted speculation of a problem, especially as City teammate Roque Santa Cruz suggested Tevez was homesick.
However, a spokesman for the player said: "There is not a shred of truth in it. Carlos is very hurt by these accusations. But to suggest ... that he is suffering some kind of problem that requires professional help is simply not true."
* With agencies
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Analysis
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