Jan the man?

Antennae will no doubt have been twitching all over Europe at Jan Vertonghen's confirmation that he'll be leaving Ajax at the end of his contract in 2013 - if not sooner. What's more, the Belgian centre-back seems to have his heart set on a move to England: "I hope to continue my career at a good Premier League club where I can stay for many seasons. I will miss Ajax and I do not plan to sell my house [in Amsterdam]. But I want to get to know England and the unique atmosphere of its stadia."

So do we stand a realistic chance of landing someone who could be the new Phillippe Albert? Not really, no. Every one of the big boys in and around us in the league would benefit from having the classy, composed defender in their squad, and the fee would most likely be prohibitive - even if Jabba has shown a willingness to loosen the purse-strings to capture Papiss Cisse - so I'm afraid I don't hold out much hope.

Meanwhile, Reserves defender (and sometimes captain) Paul Dummett joined Gateshead on loan at the start of the week. The Welsh U21 defender played the full 90 minutes on Tuesday as his new side ran out 2-0 winners over Hayes & Yeading, former Magpie Kris Gate getting the first goal. Dummett is in good company at Gateshead, who are managed by Ian Bogie and also include ex-Toon men Craig Baxter, Martin Brittain, Alan O'Brien, James Marwood and Chris Moore on their books.