Smertin in on loan?

Anthony Gardner's transfer is in doubt because of the result of the medical, which still leaves us with a need to shore up the central defence. Incidentally, Fish is still with us because he has a year on his contract to run at a rumoured 10K a week and will remain if no one wants him on a free.

It has been reported that Smertin may come in on a year's loan from Chelsea. Euell is reported to be joining the Irons, linking up with Chris Powell and Paul Konchesky. If the fee is the rumoured £2m, that would be good news. But a lot of it could be made up of add ons such as x if the Irons aren't relegated and y after 200 appearances - or as Rick Everitt put it on the list, if he scores the winning goal in the European Cup while wearing a blindfold. As the Rickster also pointed out, it's not the transfer fees that matter these days, it's the wages that are the main consideration.