Gerrard signs for Liverpool for life

Steven Gerrard has committed his future until 2013 to Liverpool, effectively signing himself up for life to the Merseyside club, reports the Sun. The Liverpool captain signed a two-year extension to his current deal which means in all the deal will make him £26m. he will be 33 when the contract comes to an end, and has spoken of his desire to quit football when he reaches that age...

Aston Villa has offered Middlesbrough a way to reduce their considerable wage bill by offering to sign the midfield duo of Tuncay Sanli and Stewart Downing, according to the Guardian. Boro manager Gareth Southgate will want at least £20m for the pair - £12m for Downing and £8m for the versatile Turk - but canny Villa boss Martin O'Neill will know that the pressing need is to get their salaries off the balance sheet at the Riverside. The deal is further complicated by an injury to the England man which will keep him out until October at the earliest...

Sunderland has made an £11m bid for Portsmouth's unhappy striker Peter Crouch, the Times reveals. The south coasters are a club in turmoil at the moment, with many of their stars either having left or looking for a way out of Fratton Park, and while they will likely reject this offer as too low - knowing that Fulham and Blackburn are also tracking the 6ft 7in hitman, who joined Pompey for £11m from Liverpool last summer and who scored 18 goals in the season just finished - the player is heading for the exit at the club...

Spurs has sold Ivory Coast midfielder Didier Zokora to Spanish side Sevilla for an undisclosed fee, reports the Daily Telegraph. "Every Sevillista should be happy," said the club's sporting director Ramon Rodriguez Verdejo. "We have to thank the president and the board for the effort they made in this signing. Zokora was our main objective for this season. We managed to close the deal not without significant effort. We hope it will prove worth the pain. We think the player deserves it." Spurs had initially wanted £10m for the 28-year-old, but are believed to have lowered their demands...

Gabriel Obertan signed on the dotted line for Manchester United yesterday in a £3m deal that sees the long-term Old Trafford target join a new frontline including Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia. The Daily Mail quotes Alex Ferguson as saying: 'We are delighted to get him now as he is an exciting prospect. We like to get young players and develop them, and we will see that in Gabriel over the next two years.' The groundwork for the deal with Bordeaux was laid by negotiations between Ferguson and the Girondins manager Laurent Blanc, a former Man Utd player...