Moyes discusses fresh Everton contract

LONDON, England (AP) -- Everton manager David Moyes is in talks with the club over a new contract.

Moyes has been in charge of the team since 2002 and his current contract expires at the end of the coming season.

"We've started talks and we're hoping things will be wrapped up quickly," Moyes said Tuesday.

Since arriving from Preston in 2002, Moyes has turned Everton from relegation contenders into regular qualifiers for Europe.

In 2005, he guided the club to fourth place in the Premier League and into the qualifying rounds of the Champions League.

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill could be about to sign new players in time to play them in Saturday's Intertoto Cup match against Odense.

Players must be registered 24 hours before the match against the Danish team, suggesting that O'Neill could add to the signings of Steve Sidwell and goalkeeper Brad Guzan by Friday.

"I think that if there were players to arrive in the next couple of days, I wouldn't have any massive hesitation in considering them for Saturday, especially if they've been training with their own clubs," O'Neill said.

"I'd be keen to get them in, but by the same token I don't want to go out of this competition, so I want people to be as right as they possibly can be at this stage of the season."

Villa have made an offer for Blackburn midfielder David Bentley, who has also been linked with Tottenham.

Celtic have signed Greece striker Georgios Samaras from Manchester City on a three-year contract.

The 23-year-old Samaras has been on loan at Parkhead since January and scored five goals in 16 league matches to help Celtic win a third straight Scottish Premier League title.

The clubs did not reveal the transfer fee, but British papers had speculated that it would be $2.01 million.

Samaras scored 12 goals in 65 appearances for City.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.