Wesley Sneijder is ready to talk Turkey

Galatasaray have responded by confirming a deal is in place with Inter, while adding there was no agreement yet with the 28-year-old Dutch international, pictured right. “Negotiations are ongoing with the player,” said a statement on the club’s website.

Yesterday, Sneijder’s agent Soren Lerby had said a deal is close to being done. Quoted in Gazzetta dello Sport, Lerby said: “The talks started [on Thursday] and [yesterday] a delegation from the club arrived to meet him. Now the decision lies with him. Anything is possible in football and Turkey is fast becoming a hot destination. If everything goes to plan the deal will go through. We will wake up tomorrow and everything will be more clear.”

Sneijder has cut an isolated figure at the San Siro this season, making just five league appearances and publicly refusing to accept a ¤2 million wage cut. Turkish Super Lig leaders Galatasaray are on a three-week winter break and eager to add Sneijder to their ranks before next week’s trip to Kasimpasa.

Hibernian have told midfielder David Wotherspoon they want to keep him and intend to offer him a new deal. The 22-year-old, pictured above, who was last year linked with interest from English Championship outfit Sheffield United, is out of contract in the summer and is now free to speak to new clubs. However, the former Scotland under-21 internationalist has held initial, informal discussions with manager Pat Fenlon over his future following an impressive first half to the season.

The versatile player, who penned an extension in 2009 to keep him at the club until this summer, has struggled to pin down a regular position in previous years. But this season he has played virtually all of the campaign on the right side of midfield and has rewarded Fenlon with a string of impressive displays. A source close to the player said: “Hibs have told David they would like to offer him a new contract. Pat Fenlon has spoken to him and said he wants to keep him and David is happy to speak about a new deal.”

Canadian international defender Andre Hainault has joined Ross County from MLS club Houston Dynamo. The 26-year-old’s contract with the Texas outfit was coming to an end, with Dynamo currently in between seasons.

Annan Athletic have appointed Jim Chapman as manager. The Third Division club turned to Chapman following the resignation of Harry Cairney just before Christmas. Chapman, who has previously managed Albion Rovers and Dumbarton beat five other candidates to land the job, including former Scotland midfielder Scott Severin, Annan’s interim manager Ewan Brydson, head of youth and former Gretna boss Rowan Alexander and one time Annan player and manager David Irons.

Falkirk striker Lyle Taylor’s fine form during December when he netted seven times, including two hat-tricks, earned him the Irn-Bru Player of the Month Award as well as admiring glances from a number of clubs. The 22-year -old scored once against Cowdenbeath before hitting trebles against Airdrie and Dumbarton to draw attention to himself, with Hibs reported to be monitoring Taylor closely, but the Londoner is no hurry to leave the Bairns. Taylor wants to prove how good he is by ignoring the speculation, saying: “It is nice to be linked with other clubs but anyone who has ever done well in football has had stories linking him with this club or that club.”

• Controversial former Juventus director Luciano Moggi, who was at the heart of a 2006 match-fixing scandal, will stand as a candidate in Italian parliamentary elections in February. Moggi will stand for the Italian Reformists, a group which is set to ally with the People of Freedom party of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Moggi was banned for life from Italian football and received a custodial sentence following the Calciopoli corruption scandal. He was also convicted of trying to manipulate the transfer market in a separate criminal trial.