Barnes Still A Target

It's an easy Sunday morning gossip round-up this week with just one story making the papers. The People claim West Ham United expect to sign Derby County whizkid Giles Barnes in January after agreeing a £7.5million fee. The Rams are reportedly resigned to losing midfielder Barnes, 19, with the Hammers in the driving seat after agreeing on the eve of last month's transfer deadline to cough up £5.5million with a further £2million depending on appearances. The move was shelved at the last minute because of doubts over the short term fitness of the player following an ankle injury. Tottenham are also intrested but have not come close to the fee Derby County want. It has become quite common for struggling and newly promoted Premiership clubs to opt to cash in on their main assets in the January window. By that time, any pre-season thoughts of survival have often dissipated and club boards begin to make early plans for a inevitable return to the Championship. A case in point was last season when Watford agreed to sell Ashley Young to West Ham, only for the player to choose Aston Villa instead.