Transfer news...

[Rutashubanyuma]

[h=1]Wednesday's gossip column - transfers and rumours[/h]

TRANSFER GOSSIP
For the latest breaking football news, follow Sportsday Live
American Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire are reportedly keen to sign Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.
Full story: Daily Mail
Unsettled Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez could be set to join fellow Argentine Diego Maradona, who manages Al Wasl in Dubai.
Full story: talkSPORT

Tottenham are attempting a last-minute bid to sign Bradford's 15-year-old wonderkid George Green, who was thought to have opted to join Everton.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Manchester United are set to go head-to-head with AC Milan for Benfica's £10m-rated midfielder Javi Garcia.
Full story: Metro
Aston Villa are tracking 21-year-old Serbian striker Nemanja Milic, who plays for OFK Belgrade.
Full story: Daily Mirror
Lille striker Moussa Sow, thought to be a target for Spurs and Arsenal, claims he is unsure where his future lies beyond the end of the current season, with contract negotiations seemingly at a standstill.
Full story: talkSPORT
Newcastle United have joined the race for Leicester's versatile 18-year-old Jeffrey Schlupp, who is also attracting interest from Stoke City and Liverpool.
Full story: Daily Mail

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny admits he would not rule out a move away from Emirates Stadium, particularly to Barcelona.
Full story: Metro

Scotland international and former Birmingham attacker James McFadden finally looks set to sign for Wolves after a spell training with the club.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Millwall hope to persuade Swansea striker Stephen Dobbie to join them in a three-month loan move.
Full story: Daily Mail
Doncaster have expressed an interest in Dan Gosling after Newcastle decided to send the midfielder out on loan.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Derby are keen to take versatile Leeds player Aidan White on loan, with a view to a permanent move.
Full story: Daily Mirror
OTHER GOSSIP
Martin O'Neill is top of the list to replace Blackburn manager Steve Kean should the Scot be axed from Ewood Park.
Full story: Daily Star

Spurs playmaker Rafael van der Vaart has admitted he was surprised to be used on the right side of midfield in the victory over Arsenal at the weekend.
Full story: Daily Mail

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez says the club should focus on a cup this season after admitting winning the Premier League is "very difficult".
Full story: Daily Mirror
Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has revealed he would like to captain the Gunners.
Full story: talkSPORT
Chelsea striker Fernando Torres has been warned by Spain boss Vicente del Bosque that he risks losing his place in the national team ahead of Euro 2012 if he fails to discover his best form.
Full story: Daily Mirror
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is fully expecting another cauldron-like atmosphere when his team visit Liverpool on 15 October. "Every time we go there it is as if it's the biggest game of the century," he said.
Full story: Metro
AND FINALLY
Unhappy Chelsea fans are organising a campaign to save Stamford Bridge after the club launched a proposal to buy back the parts of the stadium sold to supporters in the 1990s. That would enable the west London club to redevelop the site if it finds a new location.
Full story: Daily Mirror
Fulham boss Martin Jol has apparently fined himself in the follow-up to the Carling Cup defeat by Chelsea, after which he reportedly fined rookie Swiss midfielder Pajtim Kasami for missing a penalty.
Full story: Daily Mirror
Sao Paulo supporters have demanded on-loan Arsenal midfielder Denilson never plays for the club again, after he allegedly branded them "very, very annoying" on Twitter.
Full story: Metro

 

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Bolton expect Johan Elmander to leave for Galatasaray on a Bosman

• Owen Coyle expects Swede to leave for Turkey
• Galatasaray claim they have 'understanding' with Swede

• Press Association
• guardian.co.uk, Friday 20 May 2011 10.55 BST <li class="history">Article history
  
  Bolton's Johan Elmander looks set to join Galatasaray. Photograph: Toby Melville/REUTERS
  
  Bolton expect Johan Elmander to join the Turkish club Galatasaray in the summer. The Swede, 29, is out of contract at the end of next month and will almost certainly play his last game for Wanderers on Sunday, against Manchester City.
  Coyle is resigned to losing the player, who has scored 12 goals this season after scoring 10 in the past two campaigns.
  "Galatasaray have announced on their website they have agreed something with Johan," the manager Owen Coyle said. "I have spoken to Johan and certainly nothing has been signed. That is not to say it won't be signed, maybe in the next couple of weeks but not before Sunday. Do I expect him to leave? In my heart of hearts, yes. These are the things you have to deal with as a manager. I am very comfortable with that.
  "I have always felt and always known given the dialogue [the club's chairman] Phil Gartside had with his representative they were probably looking for a new option. I wish Johan well if and when that comes about, because he has worked ever so hard for me in training each and every day. When he has worn that shirt he has given me everything he has got in a number of positions and worked his socks off for the team. He is someone I have a very good relationship with."
  Galatasaray have said on their website that they had reached an "understanding in principle" with Elmander.
  
  

 

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Denílson tells Arsenal he is tired of not winning and wants to leave

&#8226; 'I've been here for five years and won nothing'
&#8226; Arsène Wenger has granted his transfer request

• Staff and agencies
• guardian.co.uk, Friday 20 May 2011 01.43 BST <li class="history">Article history
  
  Denílson has had his transfer request granted and will leave Arsenal in the summer. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
  
  Denílson, Arsenal's Brazilian midfielder, has told the club that he wants to leave after becoming frustrated at their lack of success.
  "This has been the worst season of my life, and I am so upset," he said. "I am a winner and I came here to win trophies but I've been here for five years and won nothing. Until Arsenal stop throwing away silly points in stupid games nothing will change."
  The 23-year-old, who has made 96 league appearances for the Gunners since his debut in December 2006, has told his manager of his intentions and says that his wish to move has been granted.
  "I've simply been to see Arsène Wenger and told him how I felt and he's agreed to let me go," he told the Sun. "A footballer's career is over very quickly so it is time for me to move on. I made up my mind eight months ago. I was fed up of coming home and feeling down."
  He continued: "I need a fresh challenge. It's great to play beautiful football but sometimes you have to play ugly if you want to succeed."
  He does not, however, envisage joining another Premier League side. "I can't see myself returning in a Chelsea shirt, or Liverpool or Manchester City &#8211; and definitely not Tottenham," he said. "I think my future will be in Italy or Spain."
  
  

 

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Carlos Tevez is not leaving Manchester City, reiterates Roberto Mancini

&#8226; Mancini: 'Carlos said he wanted to stay. That is history'
&#8226; Argentinian earlier said he wanted a change of scene

• Tim Rich
• The Guardian, Saturday 21 May 2011 <li class="history">Article history
  
  Carlos Tevez said he had given everything to Manchester City in a radio interview. Photograph: Jon Super/AP
  
  Roberto Mancini has reiterated that Carlos Tevez will be staying at Manchester City and has urged the club to splash out in the summer to compete for the Champions League and the title next season.
  While the Manchester City manager has been adamant all week that his captain will start next season at Eastlands, Tevez gave an interview to Argentina's Radio del Plata in which he was reported to have said: "I have given my everything to the club but I need a change of scene."
  However, Mancini maintains that his captain is going nowhere and countered by remarking that when he had appeared to suggest in the Italian media that the striker might leave for Serie A, Tevez had confronted him. "I don't know if he has said these things," the manager said. "I didn't say what he thought I said but Carlos came to me and said: 'Why did you say this?' I told him I never said it but I also told him that I didn't know whether he wanted to go to Italy. Carlos said he wanted to stay. Finished. That is history."
  In terms of how much the world's wealthiest club are prepared to spend this summer, the immediate future may be dramatic. The club's chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, had said only one or two players might be required while City's football administration officer, Brian Marwood, argued that Mancini merely needed to tinker with the squad.
  These were suggestions Mancini appeared to reject, saying he would be unlikely to win the league with his current players. "In football anything can happen; we could sell Carlos and win the title because football is very strange," he said. "This year we have worked well but we need to improve. We need to buy other good players, keep Carlos and, after that, I think we can do better than this season."
  Mancini also ruled out a move for Cristiano Ronaldo this summer. After two seasons without any significant trophies at Real Madrid, it has been claimed that the Portuguese is ready to leave the Bernabéu. A £150m price tag is said to have been put on a player who cost Real a world-record £80m when he left Manchester United after the 2009 Champions League final.
  The manager laughed at suggestions that he may be interested in Ronaldo. "We have signed Cristiano Ronaldo for £200m," the Italian joked. "I said after the FA Cup final I would like to sign Ronaldo, [Lionel] Messi, [Cesc] Fábregas and [Andrés] Iniesta. I don't think it is possible.
  Mancini said his chairman understood the difficulties of competing on two fronts, something that has been beyond Tottenham this season, as it was beyond Sampdoria when Mancini was a player. Mancini recalled that in 1992 Sampdoria had reached the European Cup final but finished sixth in Serie A.
  "It is really difficult if you don't have a good squad of 23-24 good players," he said. "If you don't have that, you could end up like Tottenham. They put all their energy into the Champions League and lost many points in the Premier League.
  "Manchester United have experience of winning many trophies; they probably played with an entirely different side (against Schalke) in the semi-final than they will play in the final of the Champions League. That is saying something.
  "Manchester City need to improve. We need to buy other players and also young players because we need them. At the moment we don't have good young players who during the season can play in the first team.""
  
  

 

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Argentina striker Carlos Tevez 'wants to leave Manchester City'

&#8226; Carlos Tevez speaks to Argentinian radio
&#8226; City play down reports of move for Ronaldo

• Press Association
• guardian.co.uk, Friday 20 May 2011 09.24 BST <li class="history">Article history
  
  Carlos Tevez, here celebrating Manchester City's FA Cup win with Roberto Mancini, has reportedly said that he wants to leave the club. Photograph: Tom Jenkins
  
  The Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez is reported to have told an Argentinian radio station, Radio del Plata, that he wants to leave the club. Tevez said: "I want to leave Manchester City. Football has changed a lot for me and I don't know if I will even make it to the next World Cup. And that has nothing to do with whether I'm selected or not. I've been treated very well here and I'm grateful. I also gave my everything for the club to receive the results it has had. But I need a change of scene."
  Tevez added: "To go back to Boca Juniors would be beautiful but it is very difficult. I spoke to their midfielder [Juan] Román Riquelme and, messing around, we agreed I would go back one day. But if we're speaking seriously, financial issues would make my return difficult."
  After City's 3-0 midweek win over Stoke City the club's manager, Roberto Mancini, said that he expected Tevez to remain at Eastlands. "He has a five-year contract and has told us he wants to stay," the Italian said. "He said that before. He never had any problem. I have spoken with him many times in the last 20 days. It is my opinion that Carlos will stay here next season. In December he had a problem. But everyone can change his opinion. I don't know what his representatives think. Carlos is an important player here. The feeling for him is good."
  City have also rejected speculation that they are about to launch a big-money move for Cristiano Ronaldo. The former world player of the year left Manchester United for Real Madrid in an £80m deal two years ago. However, despite the forward's 51 goals in all competitions this season, Real failed to win the La Liga title or the Champions League.
  With relations between Ronaldo and Real's coach, José Mourinho, said to be strained, it has been suggested that City could make a bid far in excess of what Real paid for the player, paying £150m as a transfer fee and £300,000 a week in wages. That would contradict the end-of-season address by City's chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, on the club's website, which was released on Thursday, in which he stated that there would not be a mass influx of players this summer and that the club was committed to working within Uefa's new financial fair play rules.
  A City spokesman this morning said Ronaldo was not a target. "There is no substance in these reports whatsoever," he said.
  
  

 

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• • Guus Hiddink would consider full-time manager's job at Chelsea
    
    &#8226; Dutchman's agent said he would not rule out return
    &#8226; Chelsea may have to wait until November for Turkey manager
    
    
    
    • Press Association
    • guardian.co.uk, Monday 23 May 2011 12.16 BST <li class="history">Article history
      
      Guus Hiddink celebrates winning the 2009 FA Cup final with Chelsea. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian
      
      The agent of Guus Hiddink has refused to rule out the Dutchman returning to club management amid reports he is the No1 target to succeed Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea.
      However, Cees van Nieuwenhuizen warned the earliest Hiddink would currently be available would be October as he would not break his contract as the manager of Turkey.
      There had been suggestions that Hiddink was opposed to returning to club management, with the 64-year-old more interested in becoming a sporting director. But pressed today over whether that was definitely the case, Van Nieuwenhuizen said: "I don't know that you can say that.
      "He is focusing on his job and he likes what he is doing. He said also in his column on Saturday in De Telegraaf, the Dutch newspaper, that as long as he is in the race for the European Championship with Turkey, he would continue to focus on that.
      "Once that is finished, he will start thinking about his future."
      Hiddink, who won the FA Cup as caretaker manager of Chelsea in 2009, is contracted to Turkey until the end of Euro 2012 but will leave his position immediately if they fail to qualify. They currently lie third in Group A and face a crucial match with second-placed Belgium on 3 June.
      Defeat would leave them four points away from a play-off spot with four games remaining and it is possible that he could be sacked.
      The Turkish Football Federation recently said they would not look favourably on an approach for Hiddink, meaning Chelsea could be faced with the dilemma of waiting for him to become available &#8211; and appointing an interim manager &#8211; or looking elsewhere.
      Van Nieuwenhuizen said: "I think that Chelsea have to make a decision in the shorter term rather than waiting until November." They would also need to establish for certain whether the Dutchman would prefer to move into a sporting director role.
      If so, they face competition from Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, with Ajax having already approached Hiddink about taking a place on their board.
      "Johan Cruyff has also already spoken to him a couple of times in the last couple of months, because Johan is right now restructuring at Ajax," said Hiddink's agent. "He has been saying: 'Maybe we can do this together.'"
      Hiddink revealed in his column on Saturday that he was still acting as an adviser to the Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich. Van Nieuwenhuizen said: "I know that he has a very good relationship with some people at Chelsea and that he is every now and then talking to Roman Abramovich &#8211; but more out of a friendship that was based on the months that they spent together."
      Van Nieuwenhuizen insisted he knew nothing of reports Hiddink had recommended Marco van Basten to Abramovich as an alternative to himself as manager but confirmed the Dutchmen were in touch. "They meet each other every now and then," he said.
      That was backed up by Van Basten's agent Perry van Overeem, whosaid: "They know each other well. But it's a professional relationship."
      Van Overeem confirmed there had been no approach from Chelsea for his client, who has been out of work since leaving Ajax two years ago and is currently mulling over more than one offer to return to the game.
      The other name featuring prominently in the speculation as a potential successor to Ancelotti is Porto's Andre Villas-Boas. The 33-year-old distanced himself from moving to Stamford Bridge after winning the Europa League last week and he reportedly has a &#8364;15m (£13m) release clause in his contract.
      Meanwhile, it is understood Ancelotti was told of his fate in thevisitors' dressing room at Everton on Sunday. Some reports suggested that he was sacked in the tunnel by Chelsea's chief executive, Ron Gourlay, but this appears not to have been the case.
      Ancelotti travelled back with the squad from Goodison Park before saying his farewells at the club's Cobham training base and then went out for the evening with a few senior players and members of staff.
      
      

 

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Mario Balotelli insists he will be at Manchester City for next season

&#8226; 'For the time being, I am happy in England'
&#8226; 'Balotelli will remain at Man City,' says agent

• Press Association
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 May 2011 10.41 BST <li class="history">Article history
  
  Mario Balotelli says he will be sticking with Manchester City for next season. Photograph: Tim Hales/AP
  
  Manchester City's Mario Balotelli has confirmed he will not make an immediate return to Serie A this summer after pledging his future to the club.
  The young Italian striker moved to City from Interzionale before the season and despite making headlines on and off the pitch at Eastlands, he has confirmed he is committed to the English side.
  "For the time being, I am happy in England," Balotelli told Corriere dello Sport. Currently in Italy after helping City win the FA Cup, the player has never hidden his love for Milan but insists that a move to the Rossoneri is out of the question.
  "I compliment Milan for winning the Scudetto, but with regards to me, I am happy in England," he said.
  Balotelli's agent, Mino Raiola, is confident his client's long-term future is at City, where he is under contract until June 2015. "I'm 2000% certain that Balotelli will remain at Manchester City," Raiola said.
  The 20-year-old finished the Premier League season in good form and has been recalled to the Italy squad for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Estonia on 3 June and the friendly against the Republic of Ireland four days later.
  Balotelli was dropped for the victories over Slovenia and Ukraine in March due to a violation of the team's code of conduct, having been sent off during a Europa League match for a violent tackle on the Dynamo Kiev defender Goran Popov.
  
  

 

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Football transfer rumours: Who now for Chelsea?

Today's tittle-tattle wants abs like George Elokobi's

• 
• • Barry Glendenning
  • guardian.co.uk, Monday 23 May 2011 09.01 BST <li class="history">Article history
  
  Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti gives it the full left eyebrow after hearing news of his dismissal by Chelsea in a stairwell at Goodison Park. Photograph: Claude Paris/AP
  
  Nobody knows anything. With Carlo Ancelotti having been swept out of Stamford Bridge on a tsunami of six million compensatory banknotes, public sympathy and the enormous sense of wellbeing that surely comes from knowing one no longer has to tug one's forelock in the direction of Roman Abramovich, never before has Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman's old saw seemed more appropriate. As wild and almost certainly ignorant and ill-informed speculation abounds over the identity of Ancelotti's likely successor, it is to the soothsayers that comprise the nation's bookmaking community, an august body of men who didn't get rich getting things wrong, that today's rumours have decided to turn in our own desperate hunt for insight.
  Sadly, it seems fairly obvious they don't know anything either, with Porto's Europa League-winning manager Son of José (aka André Villas-Boas) jockeying for luke-warm favourite alongside former Ajax and Holland boss Marco van Basten in the betting markets. With Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, Turkey's national team coach and former Chelsea caretaker Guus Hiddink, Real Madrid manager José Mourinho and Barcelona's top dog Pep Guardiola all quoted at single-figure outs, the line-up of likely contenders couldn't look more like The Usual Suspects if it featured Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Spacey and Stephen Baldwin. It's going to be a very long summer.
  Meanwhile at Arsenal, Nicklas Bendtner's feelings of ongoing ennui have been exacerbated by his disillusionment with his lowly status as "bit-part player" at the Emirates, according to today's Mirror. The confident young Dane is believed to have deigned Bundesliga side Bayern Munich worthy of his greatness, while Arsène Wenger will attempt to come to terms with his loss by signing versatile Vélez Sársfield and Argentina midfielder Ricardo Alvarez from the gripping HBO prison drama Oz.
  In this morning's obligatory, albeit slightly underwhelming Manchester City news, the Eastlands outfit are being linked with CSKA Moscow's Japanese midfielder Keisuke Honda and his compatriot Yuki Abe, who currently plies his midfield trade at Leicester City. "The deals are under way, and expect both players to be at Eastlands," say ESPNsoccernet.com. In yesterday's papers, City were being linked with both Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric and his Arsenal counterpart Cesc Fábregas, who &#8211; and please feel free to stop us if you've heard tell of this before &#8211; are also wanted by Manchester United and Barcelona respectively. Fábregas's current employers Arsenal are also believed to be interested in £25m-rated Germany and Borussia Dortmund 19-year-old international midfielder Mario Götze, as well as Blackburn defenders Phil Jones and Christopher Samba.
  
  

 

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Nicklas Bendtner demands move but Arsenal demand £9m

&#8226; Three League starts make 23-year-old Dane look elsewhere
&#8226; 'Serious interest in England and Germany,' says agent

• David Hytner
• guardian.co.uk, Monday 23 May 2011 23.30 BST <li class="history">Article history
  
  The Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner made just three Premier League starts this season. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
  
  Nicklas Bendtner will be allowed to leave Arsenal if any club makes an offer of &#8364;10m (£8.7m) for him. The Denmark striker has followed up on his assorted grumbles over the course of the season by telling the manager, Arsène Wenger, that he wants to leave.
  The 23-year-old has exceeded the limits of his frustration after a season in which he made only three Premier League starts and was often used on the flank rather than in his favoured position of centre-forward. He was not in the match&#8209;day squad for the 2-2 draw against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
  Bendtner, who joined Arsenal as a scholar in 2004, has found himself behind the in-form Robin van Persie and Marouane Chamakh in Wenger's pecking order and he has come to the conclusion that he has to seek a future away from the Emirates Stadium.
  "Nicklas has made his decision and told Arsenal: he wants to leave the club," said Thomas Bendtner, the player's father and agent. "There has not been any change in his situation and so we have told Arsenal that we will search the market for a new club. I can say that there is serious interest from English and German clubs and it is not going to be a problem to find him a good club.
  "Bayern Munich would be an interesting club for him and I can confirm that they earlier made it clear that they were interested. I will not say whether or not there is further interest at this actual moment. In terms of his price we expect that Arsenal will treat us with respect, as we have always done with them."
  Bendtner has caused controversy in Denmark by stating that he will not play in the European Under-21 Championship that the country is hosting next month and for which he remains eligible.
  The event has been billed as the biggest in sporting terms that Denmark has held for years and the nation's other bright young talents, the Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen and the Wolfsburg defender Simon Kjaer, have declared their readiness to play. Bendtner, though, has said he needs to spend time with his family, which has not been well received.
  
  

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

Football transfer rumours: Scott Parker to Liverpool?

Today's tissue of lies has several love children

• 
• • Simon Burnton
  • guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 May 2011 10.23 BST <li class="history">Article history
  
  Scott Parker can just about see Liverpool from there ... Photograph: Paul Thomas/Action Images
  
  The transfer merry-go-round is soon to be in full swing at Upton Park, where West Ham's handful of England stars are, as promised, preparing to depart. Robert Green is close to securing a move to Aston Villa, Scott Parker will choose between Arsenal and Liverpool - with the Hammers unwilling to sell to Tottenham because they're in a bit of a strop over the whole Olympic Stadium farrago - and Carlton Cole has a testy stripe-versus-hoop conundrum to deal with as West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Queens Park Rangers chase his signature. Demba Ba and Thomas Hitzlsperger have been offered improved deals as the club bids to secure promotion back to the Premier League as quickly as possible. QPR, while we're mentioning them, also fancy a Montpellier-based brace, in the shape of centre-back Emir Spahic and striker Olivier Giroud.
  Cardiff City's Dave Jones is emerging as West Ham's top managerial target, while the Bluebirds' England striker Jay Bothroyd has been released, putting Everton and Sunderland on high alert. The Mackems are also in for another out-of-contract Championship ace in the shape of Leeds midfielder Bradley Johnson, also a target for Norwich, who also want Manchester United full-back Ritchie de Laet. Other Old Trafford-related news: Gary Neville's testimonial against Juventus tonight will be powered by specially-installed wind turbines. The Italian giants may try to sneak off with Nani, though they would leave a £25m-shaped bag of cash in exchange.
  Out of contract Aston Villa ace Brad Friedel has been offered a two-year deal by his former club Liverpool, which would tie him to Anfield until the extremely ripe old age of 42. West Bromwich, Tottenham and Schalke are his alternative destinations, and Liverpool also have rivals in their pursuit of Villa's Stewart Downing, with Arsenal having sent scouts to monitor the England winger in Sunday's game at Anfield. What with those two and Ashley Young nearing a £15m switch to Manchester United you'd have thought that Villa were just a selling club, but you'd be wrong - they want to sign Wayne Bridge.
  The price of peanuts is set to soar by up to 20% because of bad harvests in America and Argentina. The cost of a jar of peanut butter could rise by as much as 35p, though consumers could be protected from at least a percentage of the increase after Sun-Pat owner Premier Foods said they "might swallow some of it".
  Newcastle are close to sealing a free-transfer deal for 18-year-old French midfielder Mehdi Abeid, and want AIK Solna's 21-year-old Sierra Leone striker Teteh Bangura, dubbed the new Didier Drogba. The old Didier Drogba could be off to Turkey, with Galatasaray set to offer him a £5m-a-season pay bonanza and a dream role as Johan Elmander's strik partner, the Swedish hitman having agreed to move from Bolton on a free.
  Zenit St Petersburg think they can re-sign Andrey Arshavin for £7m, a £5m saving on what Arsenal paid them for the disappointingly mediocre playmaker two years ago, while Arsène Wenger has promised to be "very active" in the transfer market. A similar frenzy is to be expected at White Hart Lane, whose top trader Harry Redknapp watched the Lorient striker Kevin Gameiro play against Nice at the weekend. He didn't score, and is apparently valued at £12m.
  Arsenal and Manchester City have opened talks with Real Madrid over pretty-good-but-not-quite-good-enough 20-year-old forward Sergio Canales. City also consider themselves favourites to sign Sergio Agüero from Atlético Madrid, but will only move if Carlos Tevez decides to leave and may face competition from Chelsea, whose bid to tempt Guus Hiddink away from international duty could be significantly eased if Rafael Benítez agrees to step into the Dutchman's Istanbul-based breach. The Arsenal target Nathaniel Clyne has caused fury at Crystal Palace by not turning up to collect his player of the year award, with mild-mannered Mark Bright tweeting that he was "very disappointed" in the young full-back, also on the radar of Liverpool and Tottenham.
  Wolves and Spurs have a pre-agreed deal to make Jamie O'Hara's loan move to the Midlands permanent, but Mick McCarthy needs to trigger it within a week. "I'm not going back to London until I know what's going on," the crafty midfielder blasted.
  Tangentially football-related news: David Beckham posted a picture on Facebook of him tucking into a traditional meal at his local caff. "Becks is an absolute diamond," the owner told the Sun. "He just comes in and gets on with it. He loves his pie and mash." And evil inventions-of-the-devil vuvuzelas may actually kill you, according to a proper scientist. It has been revealed that the pain-provoking parpers may spread diseases such as tuberculosis and measles, after a doctor at London's School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that people using plastic horns emit nearly 200 times as many liquid droplets as they would if they simply shouted.
  
  

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

Roman Abramovich rips up his empire and begins from scratch at Chelsea

The club's rivals are the big winners every time their owner sacks his manager and starts all over again

• Comments (145)

• 
• • Paul Hayward
  • guardian.co.uk, Monday 23 May 2011 19.25 BST <li class="history">Article history
  
  Changes of manager at Chelsea, dictated by Roman Abramovich, have not brought the club the prize of the Champions League. Photograph: Ian Walton/Getty Images
  
  The Goodison Park stairwell where Carlo Ancelotti was reportedly sacked is a warm and friendly part of the ground, where veteran doormen in blazers exchange pleasantries with old school Evertonians and Bill Kenwright, the club's chairman, floats through dispensing bonhomie.
  It is a place, in other words, of decorum and permanence and not the kind of area where a thoroughly capable manager would expect to be dispatched moments after being allowed to say, in a post-match press conference, that a meeting would be held next week to discuss his future. Ancelotti was fired like a junior accountant who had been caught fiddling the Christmas party fund and made to travel back to London like a pariah.
  At least West Ham United, who dismissed Avram Grant in the tunnel, could cite relegation as the natural full stop at the end of their manager's Upton Park career. Only 12 months had passed since Ancelotti scored Chelsea's first Premier League and FA Cup Double.
  The early termination of his three-year deal at Stamford Bridge was handled in a manner that will make all future managers wary of Ron Gourlay, the Chelsea chief executive who did his master's bidding. In wielding the axe so swiftly Gourlay either has no sense of etiquette or is too weak to stand up to Abramovich, who might have been persuaded to wait until Monday morning at least.
  One of Abramovich's failings is to misunderstand the connection between boardroom behaviour and the tone set in and around a football club. In reality Ancelotti was discarded by degrees. He was knocked to the ground when his No2, Ray Wilkins, was sacked by the owner and given a kick when Abramovich bought Fernando Torres for £50m and forced the manager to play him ahead of Didier Drogba &#8211; not by edict, necessarily, but certainly by implication.
  The surest sign that Ancelotti knew his time was up came at the Premier League title decider at Old Trafford, when he left Torres on the bench and started with Drogba in Chelsea's best formation: 4&#8209;3&#8209;3. This defiance failed to halt Manchester United's march to a 19th English championship but it reminded the rest of football that the former Milan coach knew what he was doing.
  The charge of passivity against Ancelotti is well-founded. From the moment Wilkins was culled he looked a passenger on his own ship. The arrival of Torres snuffed the managerial life out of him. He was caught between Abramovich's meddling and the listlessness of a side who had always corrected bad spells of form in the past.
  It is true Ancelotti seemed dazed but it was Abramovich who caused the change, reacting with his usual autocratic clumsiness to a mid-season slump of the kind Ancelotti will have come through many times in Milan. Again the disconnect in the Chelsea owner's mind is between cause and effect. Managers who are undermined from above are weakened in the eyes of players and start making political calculations about their own future when they would prefer to be planning two or three seasons ahead.
  Since Abramovich decided he was a professor of the game he has dispensed with Claudio Ranieri, José Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and now Ancelotti. Guus Hiddink, who is being tipped to return, was only a caretaker in 2009. So the prevailing culture in the Chelsea dressing room has lurched from Italian to Portuguese to Israeli to Brazilian to Dutch back to Italian and maybe now on to Dutch again. The Bridge is about to welcome its seventh manager in eight years.
  Each upheaval brings new practice methods, new relationships at the training ground, different managerial likes and dislikes and often an altered tactical approach, all of which the players must learn. Chelsea's senior players have been unusually resilient in the face of these repeated culture shocks but must be reaching the point where their powers of adaptation are stretched to twanging point.
  This instability is now built into the system. Speculation about Ancelotti's job started with the winter of discontent and intensified the moment they were knocked out of the Champions League &#8211; Abramovich's obsession. Each manager joins knowing that failing to win the European Cup is grounds for dismissal, and dismissal usually comes before the manager has had sufficient time to impose his vision of how the European Cup can be won.
  The brutality and shallowness of Abramovich's decision-making is now causing serious offence among Chelsea's supporters, who compare their club with Manchester United (their closest rivals) and ask whether their benefactor understands the nature of football empire building. With advisers feeding him the latest wisdom, he veers from one guess to the next, doling out huge compensation payments to men who turn out not to have been the answer after all.
  To avoid the slow death Ancelotti might have stomped out with Wilkins, on principle. But the top managers will tell you a reluctance to resign on a point of order is often rooted in a sense of responsibility to one's staff. When the head coach goes half a dozen others go with him. Aside from craving his own £6m pay-off Ancelotti will have wanted to protect appointees who will now join him on the jobs market.
  United and the Premier League's other top clubs are the big winners each time Abramovich rips it up and starts again. He is a child of Soviet power, which was always loaned, never given.
  
  

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

Liverpool join Tottenham in race to sign Brad Friedel

&#8226; Out-of-contract American alerts a number of Premiership clubs
&#8226; Villa talks on hold because of Houllier and O'Neill situations

• Andy Hunter
• guardian.co.uk, Monday 23 May 2011 22.18 BST <li class="history">Article history
  
  Brad Friedel of Aston Villa has attracted interest from Liverpool and Tottenham. Photograph: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
  
  Brad Friedel has been offered the opportunity to re-sign for Liverpool this summer after Kenny Dalglish joined Tottenham Hotspur in the chase for the veteran American goalkeeper.
  The 40-year-old is out of contract at Aston Villa and talks over an extension at Villa Park are on hold due to the uncertainty over the manager Gérard Houllier's future. That has alerted several Premier League rivals to the prospect of an astute free transfer and it is understood Liverpool and Spurs have emerged as front-runners for his services.
  Friedel joined Liverpool from Columbus Crew in 1997 but made only 25 league appearances for the Anfield side over three years before moving to Blackburn Rovers, where he established himself as one of the finest keepers in the Premier League. However, a return to Merseyside would only be as back-up to José Reina, with the Spain international having recently ended doubts over his long-term future at Liverpool, and the prospect of more regular first-team football at White Hart Lane in place of the erratic Heurelho Gomes could work in Harry Redknapp's favour.
  West Bromwich Albion are also interested in the former USA international while Villa have not given up hope of convincing him to extend his successful three-year stint in the Midlands. Speaking before the final game of the season on Sunday, a 1-0 win over Liverpool secured by Stewart Downing &#8211; another Dalglish target &#8211; Friedel said: "The contract talks at this moment have been put on hold because of Mr Houllier's health and also the ongoing court case with Martin O'Neill.
  "Myself and my advisors wanted to get to safety first and foremost before we started diving into things of that nature. I still feel very good, I still think I've got a year or two left in the legs and we'll see what happens. I've enjoyed every minute of my three years here, so we'll just have to see what the future brings."
  Roy Hodgson, the Albion manager, could decide to turn his attention to Preston's Andy Lonergan, who impressed in the Championship last season and has also been on Birmingham City's radar.
  
  

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

Chelsea plan summer signings as Carlo Ancelotti agrees compensation

&#8226; Chelsea interested in Neymar and Gregory van der Wiel
&#8226; Paulo Ferreira and José Bosingwa expected to leave

• Dominic Fifield
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 May 2011 23.31 BST <li class="history">Article history
  
  Chelsea are interested in the Brazil striker Neymar, who currently plays for Santos. Photograph: Jamie Mcdonald/Getty Images
  
  Chelsea will this summer step up plans to reshape their squad, regardless of the fact they are without a manager or sporting director. Up to five senior players are expected to leave Stamford Bridge and a similar number are to be pursued.
  The 2009-10 Premier League champions, who sacked Carlo Ancelotti on Sunday after they finished second to Manchester United this season, hope to secure Guus Hiddink's return to the club as manager after his successful caretaker stint two years ago. But they must wait until after Turkey's Euro 2012 qualifying tie against Belgium next Friday to discover if they can secure his release from the Turkish national job. Chelsea's players have been released to international duty or summer leave.
  Chelsea have a strong interest in the highly rated Brazil striker Neymar, who is at Santos, and the Belgian teenagers Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne, of Anderlecht and Genk. The Ajax and Holland full-back Gregory van der Wiel is expected to join for around £9m and a back-up goalkeeper for Petr Cech will be found. Securing those signings will be the responsibility of the chief executive, Ron Gourlay, once bids have been sanctioned by Roman Abramovich, the owner, and his board.
  Such purchases would lower the average age of the Chelsea squad but at considerable cost &#8211; moves will therefore be made to emulate last summer's five-man clear-out. Players leaving this summer are likely to include the Portugal full-backs Paulo Ferreira and José Bosingwa &#8211; the latter has a year to run on his current contract but fell out of favour towards the end of Ancelotti's tenure.
  The Russia defender Yuri Zhirkov is also expected to leave, most likely to a club in his homeland, and any interest in the France striker Nicolas Anelka would be considered. The 32-year-old has found his opportunities limited since the £50m purchase of Fernando Torres from Liverpool in January and has 12 months to run on his contract. The Ivory Coast forward Didier Drogba, who has been the subject of interest from Galatasaray, could be offered a contract extension beyond summer 2012.
  Compensation has been agreed with Ancelotti, after a series of meetings at the club's Cobham training ground. The Italian has ensured that a clause in his contract denying him the opportunity to manage immediately at another Premier League club has been removed. The Italian, who has a flat in west London, has expressed a desire to stay in England and will await job vacancies in the top flight.
  The manner of his dismissal, within an hour of the final whistle at Goodison Park, drew criticism yesterday from Richard Bevan, the head of the League Managers Association.
  Bevan said: "I think the way they went about sacking Carlo &#8211; a very dignified, very honourable man, and probably one of the most liked men we had at our awards dinner on Monday night &#8211; was pretty much disrespectful. It's damaging to the game. It's disrespectful to the Premier League and I think Mr Abramovich needs to have a long hard look at the advisors who he's got advising him. It's just a very poor way of running [a club]. He needs to have a little bit more respect for the history and tradition and culture. It would be interesting to see what the Chelsea fans think of it. But I think, really, the way the whole situation was handled was of little class."
  
  

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

Harry Redknapp hopes to oversee Tottenham Hotspur fire sale

&#8226; Redknapp to listen to offers for 14 of his first-team squad
&#8226; Gomes linked with move back to PSV Eindhoven

• David Hytner
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 May 2011 21.19 BST <li class="history">Article history
  
  Heurelho Gomes has been linked with a move back to PSV Eindhoven after suffering a recent dip in form. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters
  
  Harry Redknapp will listen to offers for up to 14 players this summer as he looks to slash the wage bill at Tottenham Hotspur and pave the way for impact signings. The manager is prepared to sell the goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes and either Roman Pavlyuchenko or Jermain Defoe, and a host of fringe players.
  They are Ben Alnwick, Alan Hutton, Kyle Naughton, Sébastien Bassong, David Bentley, Jermaine Jenas, Wilson Palacios, Niko Kranjcar, Jamie O'Hara, Giovani dos Santos and Robbie Keane. The manager does, though, want to keep Carlo Cudicini and Jonathan Woodgate, whose current contracts are set to expire. He will offer Cudicini one more year and Woodgate, who has chronic injury problems, a pay&#8209;as&#8209;you&#8209;play deal.
  Redknapp spent much of last week on scouting missions to France and he believes that he could also plunder from the relegated Premier League clubs; he wants Scott Parker from West Ham United, Ben Foster and Roger Johnson from Birmingham City, and he is an admirer of Blackpool's Charlie Adam.
  One of the drivers for what will be a busy summer at White Hart Lane is the Premier League's 25-man senior squad rule. When Tottenham's returning loanees are factored in, plus those who no longer qualify as supplementary under-21 players, including Gareth Bale and Sandro, Redknapp has a total of 32 players.
  The chairman, Daniel Levy, has already stressed the imperative to "streamline" the bloated number but it might be difficult to shift those on big wages, such as Keane, and/or agree fees for players who cost large sums; Levy is notoriously reluctant to accept a loss. He sanctioned fees of £15m for Bentley, £12m apiece for Keane and Palacios, £9m for Hutton, £8m for Bassong and £7.8m for Gomes.
  Gomes, who has made a series of high-profile errors, is interested in a return to PSV Eindhoven, according the club's sporting director, Marcel Brands. "Gomes has let me know he is interested in a return to PSV," Brands said, of the Brazilian who spent four seasons at the club. "I have let him know I will look at what we can do for each other. His contract only has one year left to run. There is not much more to say at the moment."
  Defoe, who cost £15m when he returned from Portsmouth, is fuming at his lack of opportunity at Tottenham and he has indicated that he is prepared to seek a fresh challenge. Pavlyuchenko, the £13.8m signing from Spartak Moscow, has a more laid-back attitude but Redknapp's priority is a top-class new striker and he is expected to ship out either Defoe or Pavlyuchenko to create the space.
  Keane would have turned his loan deal at West Ham United into a permanent £6m transfer if the club had avoided relegation and he now expects to be on the move elsewhere. "It has been a frustrating season for me but that is the past now," Keane said. "I will go back and see what happens. I have only got one year left [at Tottenham] so I am sure they will probably want to do business on me."
  
  

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

Who's next at Chelsea? How the contenders compare - in pictures

We run the rule over the runners and riders who could be in contention to manage Chelsea if Carlo Ancelotti is sacked

• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 10 May 2011 17.44 BST
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• Exit gallery and go to previous page

Guus Hiddink

Is he available? Contracted to Turkey & may be difficult for him to leave before their Euro 2012 qualification campaign ends in October What's his style? Has always been willing to adapt tactics to suit the quality of players at his disposal, but his teams are invariably close-knit, driven & successful Would Roman approve? Oh yes. He bankrolled Hiddink's time in Russia & hired the Dutchman as Chelsea's interim manager in 2009 Has he worked for an Abramovich type? The man himself, for Russia & Chelsea, so knows the owner's lust for trophies Can he generate immediate success? Yes. Steadied the ship after Luiz Felipe Scolari's departure & lost only one match in his time at Stamford Bridge What are his chances of getting the job? Most likely to return in an advisory or technical director role to a younger manager Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

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[CAMARADERIE]

Yanga to sign Messi

 

[zaratustra]

Yanga to sign Messi

Bweshu!

 

[Radical]

Nakushkuru sana mzee kwa taarifa.

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

The 'New van der Sar' fulfils his destiny

The goalkeeper David De Gea will step into the boots of one of his idols when he moves to Old Trafford

• Comments (17)

• 
• • Paolo Bandini
  • guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 25 May 2011 15.15 BST <li class="history">Article history
  
  David De Gea will move to Manchester United this summer. Photograph: Jasper Juinen/Getty Images
  
  A graduate of Atlético Madrid's academy, David De Gea made his first-team debut in September 2009 but even before then he had gone some way towards establishing his reputation in Spain. Two years earlier, in 2007, he had been one of the stars of the national Under-17 team's victorious European Championship campaign, conceding just twice in five games and helping Spain win their semi-final penalty shoot-out against Belgium.
  He has always drawn comparisons with the man he will succeed at Manchester United. "He is a lean goalkeeper, with a body type similar to that of Edwin van der Sar," noted the news agency EFE in its report of that 2007 final, a 1-0 win over England. De Gea himself cited the Dutchman, along with Gigi Buffon, as one of his idols. By 2009, even Uefa.com was referring to him as "the new Van der Sar".
  That debut came against Porto in the Champions League and, although that match ended in a 2-0 defeat his first league outing a few days later was rather more successful. De Gea did give away a penalty in Atlético's 2-1 win over Real Zaragoza, but he also saved it and received a standing ovation from the home supporters at the Vicente Calderón.
  He went on to make more than 30 appearances in all competitions, as they won the Europa League and reached the final of the Copa del Rey, supplanting Sergio Asenjo as the club's No1. Ansenjo, signed for &#8364;5m from Valladolid in the summer, had himself been branded Spain's next big thing but quickly found himself overshadowed by his new team-mate.
  De Gea was called up to train with the Spain squad ahead of last summer's World Cup and, although he did not make the cut, the national team's coach, Vicente del Bosque, said the player had a "great future". The goalkeeper continued his fine form this season, setting the tone by saving a Diego Milito penalty in the European Super Cup in August last year before going on to play nearly 50 games for his club in all competitions.
  
  

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

Sunderland set for talks over signing Coventry keeper Keiren Westwood

&#8226; Westwood available on a free transfer
&#8226; Steve Bruce looking for cover for Craig Gordon

• Louise Taylor
• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 25 May 2011 13.37 BST <li class="history">Article history
  
  Keiren Westwood is a target for Sunderland. Photograph: Getty Images
  
  Sunderland are set to open talks with the Coventry City goalkeeper Keiren Westwood before the weekend.
  Westwood is available on a free transfer and, with knee trouble likely to sideline Craig Gordon until late autumn, Steve Bruce is keen to sign Westwood as competition for his young Belgian goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
  Bruce has said he hopes to make "eight or nine" new signings this summer and already has his eye on another free transfer, Birmingham City's Seb Larsson.
  Wigan Athletic's Charles N'Zogbia, also admired by Newcastle United, remains one of his prime targets, with the Blackpool pair David Vaughan and DJ Campbell also on the list.