Elland Road board halts move for Kleberson

Terry Venables' attempt to sign the Brazilian World Cup winner, Kleberson, has run into opposition from the board at Leeds United.

Venables put a package to the board about the 23-year-old midfielder and had agreed a fee with Atletico Paranaense and the wages the player wanted.

However, Venables was told that there is concern that the Kleberson, who has never played in Europe but has attracted the interest of Celtic, Roma and Bayer Leverkusen, may be too much of a risk.

Glenn Hoddle takes his Tottenham side to Maine Road tonight to face Kevin Keegan's Manchester City, who are looking to cement a place in the top half of the table.

Keegan astonished seasoned observers during the summer when he claimed his team were capable of qualifying for Europe.

Successive 3-0 home defeats to Liverpool and Chelsea either side of an abysmal performance at Southampton left those comments open to ridicule. Yet City have emerged a more resolute outfit than their critics felt was possible and battled back from a 2-0 deficit to grab a point for the second time this season at Charlton last week.

"We showed another strength at Charlton to come back from the dead and nearly win a game which would have been lost for most teams," Keegan said. "The season has had its ups and downs, but I'm pleased with what we have achieved so far. We have done very well."

Only the long-term injury victims Jon Macken and Paulo Wanchope will be missing for City, with the club captain Ali Benarbia pushing for a recall at the expense of the Northern Ireland international Kevin Horlock after excelling as a substitute at Charlton, where Marc-Vivien Foé grabbed a second-half double.

The former Preston striker Macken is due to return to training this week, while Keegan has a reported £7m transfer kitty to delve into during January, so maybe his optimistic pre-season prediction will not prove such folly after all.

"This is a critical phase of the campaign," he said. "If we win our next two matches we would find ourselves on the brink of the top six."

For Spurs, the goalkeeper Neil Sullivan returns to the squad for the first time since breaking a finger in August.