WEST Ham have drawn up an eight-man shortlist to replace Avram Grant as manager - Neil Warnock, Owen Coyle, Paul Lambert, Malky Mackay, Chris Hughton, Slaven Bilic, Ian Holloway and Martin O'Neill.

* Sunderland and West Brom are locked in a battle to sign Sporting Lisbon midfielder Simon Vukcevic.

* Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez is losing his battle to recover from a hamstring injury in time for the FA Cup final on 14 May.

* Kazakh footballer Armand Masimzhanov, who plays for FC Kairat, has been banned for life after an astonishing kung-fu kick on a rival.

* Hull owner Assem Allam wants to buy the KC Stadium from the local council and build a £100m sports village, which would include an Olympic-size swimming pool.

* Manchester United and Birmingham City target Maxi Lopez could be heading to the Premier League this summer from Italian side Catania.

* Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero, who has been linked with Chelsea and Tottenham, has opened the door to a move to the Premier League.

* Liverpool are lining up a bid for Wigan midfielder James McCarthy, having failed to sign him from Hamilton two years ago.

* Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker could leave for free in the summer after his agent revealed there had been no talks over a new contract with the Midlands club since November.