January Sales 一月销售

It's the final day of the January transfer window 一月份的球员转让时段 and football fans are keeping a close eye on 密切关注 the proceedings¹ to find out who's in and who's out.

One player who seems already certain to make a move is Newcastle United's Charles N'Zogbia who is heading for Wigan.

N'Zogbia's departure was made all the more likely last week after an embarrassing gaffe² 出丑 by Newcastle United manager Joe Kinnear who repeatedly mispronounced 发错音 the player's name at a post-match press conference.

Kinnear stumbled 结结巴巴的说 over N'Zogbia's name, calling him "insomnia³", a sleeping disorder⁴ which makes sufferers unable to get to sleep.

N'Zogbia then made a public statement in which he said that Kinnear's words were a direct "insult" 羞辱 to him.

"Having been insulted by Joe Kinnear, I will never play for him again while he remains⁵ Newcastle manager," said N'Zogbia.

Kinnear, who is known for his forthright⁶ 直率了当的, no-nonsense personality and blunt 耿直的 way of speaking, claimed that N'Zogbia was merely using his slip of the tongue 口误 as an excuse to force a transfer away from Newcastle.

"Sadly, this just smacks⁷ of 就像是 （俚语）a desperate attempt to engineer a move away from Newcastle United," said Kinnear.

"OK, I got a little tongue-tied 舌头打结, but if I had a pound 一英镑 for every time I've mispronounced a player's name down the years, then I'd be a very wealthy 有钱的 man indeed," he continued, meaning it is normal to get people's names wrong from time to time.

The club's misfortunes 不幸的遭遇 have been compounded 加重了by the loss of their goalkeeper Shay Given, who has been sold to the Premiership’s wealthiest club, Manchester City.

The last day of the transfer window is always full of rumour⁹ 谣传 and speculation¹⁰ 推测 with fans all across the UK reporting sightings of new players arriving at stadiums around the country.

Liverpool's Robbie Keane, who has had a poor season at Anfield has been seen in lots of places according to the rumour mill 制造谣言的人或物.

"Robbie Keane seems to have been spotted¹¹ everywhere. On the hard shoulder 高速公路上的紧急停车道 of the M6 英国的一条高速公路路名, building snowmen 雪人, in the queue at a DIY shop 装修材料商店, in London, at the airport... He is clearly having one very busy morning," said one commentator¹² on the BBC Sport forum¹³ 论坛 page.

Monday promises to be a frenetic 疯狂的 day in the Premier⁸ League and all the signs suggest that many deals will go right down to the wire.