FC Utrecht are hopeful of signing Ben Sahar in the new year.
The striker, 21, watched the team beat NEC Nijmegen 2-1 last weekend.

Technical director Piet Buter said: “Sahar is a player who fits into the category we are looking for. We know Sahar’s history and have watched DVDs of him in action. He is an interesting player to us.
“We will go and see him play again and if he makes a good impression, we will see what is possible.”

Yossi Benayoun has cast doubt over his long-term future at Liverpool. The Israel captain scored and played 90 minutes against Blackburn in the Premier League last weekend, but was overlooked for Tuesday’s Champions League match in Eindhoven.

He said: “For now I’m happy to focus on doing my bit for the team. The problem for me is the manager is not rotating as much as he used to. It is the same 11 players every week, and they are doing so well, so no one can really complain. I have to be patient, but I’m still not sure whether, in the long term, my future will be here.”

Uefa decided whether Israel or Denmark would host the 2011 European Championship finals yesterday. If successful, it would be the largest major international sporting tournament Israel has ever held. A favourable decision would also see Israel qualify automatically as hosts for the eight-team final and, with the top four teams qualifying for the Olympics, they would have taken a major step towards playing in London in 2012.

See the verdict on www.thejc.com