Transfer news...

[h=1]Arsène Wenger: Cesc Fábregas and Samir Nasri staying at Arsenal[/h] • Wenger expects midfielders to stay despite speculation
• Arsenal confirm signing of Gervinho from Lille





  • Alan Gardner and agencies
  • guardian.co.uk, Monday 11 July 2011 09.42 BST Article history
    Arsène Wenger, speaking at a press conference on Arsenal's pre-season tour of Malaysia, said Cesc Fábregas and Samir Nasri would not be leaving the club. Photograph: Lai Seng Sin/AP

    Arsène Wenger has reiterated his desire to keep Samir Nasri and Cesc Fábregas at Arsenal despite both players being persistently linked with transfers away from the Emirates.
    Wenger, who has arrived with his Arsenal squad in Kuala Lumpur for their pre-season tour of Malaysia and the far east, said at a press conference that he was confident neither midfielder would leave this summer.
    "Our position is always the same – we want to keep Cesc and I will fight as hard as I can to keep him. Samir Nasri is exactly the same. We will do everything we can to keep him," said Wenger. "I'm confident we can get both of them to stay."
    Nasri is about to enter the final year of his contract and has been the subject of interest from Manchester United, with Manchester City and Chelsea also believed to be monitoring the situation.
    "I expect Samir to stay," Wenger said. "There is always speculation, but he is committed to the club right now.'' He added that the question of whether Nasri would sign a new contract was a separate matter. Nasri is said to be ready to play out the final year of his deal, after which he would be allowed to leave for free, should Arsenal choose not to sell him.
    Fábregas has once again been the subject of speculation linking him with a return to his boyhood club Barcelona, though there is a disparity in the clubs' respective valuations of the Spain midfielder. He is missing from Arsenal's touring party after being left behind to continue his recovery from a hamstring injury.

    "We know that this story for Barcelona has gone on for years now, we have to close that and focus on the season, hopefully with Cesc Fábregas," Wenger said, adding that his conversations with Fábregas on the matter would remain private.

    "I never speak on matters that happen behind closed doors. I have given the media enough headlines and I don't want to add any more."
    Wenger also confirmed the signing of the Ivory Coast forward Gervinho from Lille. "Gervinho has just joined up for training today at London Colney,'' he said. "He signed last Thursday, and has just come back from his holidays."

 
[h=1]Nicklas Bendtner misses Arsenal's Asian tour as transfer nears[/h] • Borussia Dortmund lead chase for Arsenal striker
• Cesc Fábregas also stays home with 'muscular problem'





  • David Hytner in Kuala Lumpur
  • guardian.co.uk, Sunday 10 July 2011 22.59 BST Article history
    Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner has attracted interest from Borussia Dortmund and Sporting Lisbon. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Action Images

    Nicklas Bendtner has not travelled to Malaysia for the first part of Arsenal's pre-season tour as he closes in on a move away from the club. Borussia Dortmund are leading the chase and the Denmark striker is understood to have opened talks with the German champions. Sporting Lisbon and Benfica are also interested. Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, hopes to raise £9m from Bendtner's sale.
    To the disappointment of supporters in Kuala Lumpur, where Arsenal will play a Malaysia XI on Wednesday, the captain, Cesc Fábregas, has not travelled with Wenger citing a "small muscular problem" as the reason.
    The midfielder, who looks certain to complete a £35m transfer to Barcelona, was able to make the long-haul flight to Indonesia three weeks ago to promote an Under‑14 football competition in Bali but Arsenal's commercial tour, which will move on to China for a game against Hangzhou Greentown in Yiwu City on Saturday, is beyond him. "Fab-less Gunners" ran the back-page lead in one Malaysian newspaper.
    Arsenal also left London at 4pm on Sunday for the 13-hour flight across seven time zones without the goalkeepers Manuel Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski. Like Bendtner, Almunia is in negotiations over a transfer, having fallen from favour after starting last season as Wenger's No1. Atlético Madrid, Malaga and Fenerbahce have declared an interest in the Spaniard.
    Fabianski continues to struggle in his rehabilitation from the shoulder injury that required an operation in February. With Jens Lehmann having been released after the expiry of his short-term contract, Wenger's only options in goal are Wojciech Szczesny and Vito Mannone, both of whom are part of the touring party.

    Bendtner has made it clear that he can no longer tolerate his status as a bit-part player at Arsenal.
    Wenger has all but tied up the £10.6m capture of the Ivory Coast and Lille striker Gervinho, although his signing of a four-year deal comes too late for this tour.

    Arsenal's 23-man squad in Asia have been boosted by the inclusion of Samir Nasri, who continues to ignore the offer of a new contract and is a target for both of the Manchester clubs. Emmanuel Eboué (calf) and Abou Diaby (ankle) are unavailable.

 
[h=1]Luka Modric accuses Tottenham Hotspur of playing dirty in transfer row[/h] • Croatian says Spurs chairman broke 'gentleman's agreement'
• Chelsea expected to increase initial £22m offer to £30m





  • Stuart James
  • guardian.co.uk, Sunday 10 July 2011 19.08 BST Article history
    Luka Modric said the Tottenham Hotspur chairman, Daniel Levy, had threatened to make him 'sit in the stands'. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Action Images

    Tottenham Hotspur remain adamant that Luka Modric will not be allowed to leave this summer and have strongly denied the player's claims that Daniel Levy, the White Hart Lane chairman, has broken a gentleman's agreement with the Croatian.
    In the latest episode of a transfer saga that has become increasingly acrimonious since Modric stated his desire to join Chelsea last month, the 25-year-old midfielder has accused Levy of threatening to make him "sit in the stands" if he refuses to accept the club's stance.
    Modric, who said Levy had given a "twisted account" of their meeting at the ground last Wednesday, also claimed that the Spurs chairman had reneged on a promise he made 12 months ago in relation to any future interest from a "bigger club".
    "I reminded the chairman of our gentleman's agreement when we were in Dubrovnik last summer and I agreed a contract extension with Tottenham," Modric told Sportske Novosti. "At that time, I had an open chat with Levy – that if a bigger club came in with a concrete offer, we would consider it and agree the best solution for all concerned. Now Levy doesn't want to talk to me and said there is no possibility that I can leave Spurs. He threatened me – he said if I didn't accept the club's stance, they would make me sit on the bench or in the stands."
    Tottenham claim there was never a gentleman's agreement and have questioned why there would have been one when Modric was committed to signing a six-year contract with the club. Modric, who joined Spurs from Dinamo Zagreb for £16.6m in 2008, has five years of that £45,000‑per‑week deal to run, and Levy believes he should honour the contract and forget all thoughts of moving.
    The Spurs chairman spoke as if the issue had been put to bed after the meeting on Wednesday, when he said "Luka Modric will not be sold" and "that's the end of it". Chelsea, however, remain determined to sign the Spurs playmaker – they are expected to return with a bid in excess of £30m after their offer of £22m was rejected – and there is no sign Modric has changed his position. If anything, his desire to move appears to have hardened after his talks with Levy.
    "A lot has been published in the press about the meeting with Levy, who gave the public a twisted account of what happened," Modric said. "I must say that I am genuinely disappointed about what Levy said to me. He didn't care about what I was telling him. It all only convinced me further that I was right to consider moving on to another club. I hope that eventually he will understand the situation and that we will reach an agreement and go our separate ways in an appropriate manner."

    Levy has a reputation for being a tough negotiator and there is no indication that he will back down. Modric's agent has suggested that his client will not lodge a transfer request to try to force the issue, which points to an impasse unless Chelsea make a substantial bid and Spurs accept there is nothing to be gained from keeping a player against his will.

    "There is no doubt that Chelsea want me – they sent a concrete offer to Tottenham," Modric said. "I know that the new Chelsea boss [André Villas-Boas] said he wants me in his team. Of course I am flattered by this interest in me – it's a club that all players dream of joining, fighting for every competition available."

 
[h=1]Roy Hodgson ponders move to take Owen Hargreaves to West Brom[/h] • Owen Hargreaves would have to accept pay-as-you-play deal
• Midfielder released by Manchester United after four years





  • Stuart James
  • guardian.co.uk, Sunday 10 July 2011 23.04 BST Article history
    Owen Hargreaves was released by Manchester United after making only 39 appearances in four injury-plagued years. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

    Roy Hodgson is considering holding talks with Owen Hargreaves to establish whether the former Manchester United midfielder would be interested in joining West Bromwich Albion next season.

    Hargreaves, who has also attracted interest from Leicester City, is without a club after United released him following four injury-plagued years at Old Trafford. The midfielder, signed from Bayern Munich for £17m in 2007, made only 39 appearances for United.
    Hodgson, who is also keen on the Birmingham City goalkeeper Ben Foster, could be tempted to take Hargreaves to The Hawthorns on a deal that would be linked to the number of games he plays.

    The 30-year-old has been posting exercise videos on YouTube to demonstrate his fitness and is hopeful that he can secure a return to the Premier League. He will almost certainly have to accept a pay-as-you-play deal because of his injury record.

 
[h=1]Cesc Fábregas' departure should be seen as an opportunity not a curse[/h] Arsenal could be better off without their captain if Arsène Wenger lives up to his promise of being an 'active manager'




  • Cesc Fábregas, above, leaving Arsenal for Barcelona could prove a blessing for Arsène Wenger. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

    As Cesc Fábregas was billeted at London Colney during his team-mates' expedition to Asia on Saturday, the captain's exit from Arsenal took on a sense of inevitability.
    However, though Barcelona's courtship of the Catalan will inflict more turmoil on a club supposedly in terminal decline, it should be regarded more as an opportunity than a curse. Even if Fábregas were not pining for his homeland or blighted with frequent hamstring injuries, the time is ripe for his departure.
    The World Cup winner is like a one-man Gerrard-Lampard partnership: thrusting, creative and with a threat of goals from midfield. But he, like that pairing, cannot play in the middle of a 4-4-2. Arsène Wenger's pact with Fábregas has been to construct a continental 4-2-3-1, with the little Catalan ghosting around and threading balls between adversaries or lifting passes over defences for forwards to chase. It worked, up to a point. Last season Arsenal were the only team to enjoy on average 60% of the possession – thus they consistently spent 50% more time on the ball than their opponents – while completing more passes than any other.
    This comfort with the ball meant Arsenal alone last season were capable of going toe to toe with Barcelona in a meaningful match. However, time has proved the system Fábregas's skills demanded to be ill-suited to English football. When lesser teams arrived at the Emirates they were content to concede all the territory and all the possession, congesting the area around their own goal. Although Arsenal were generating data highly prized by football statisticians – a league-leading 75% of their passes in the final third of the pitch were successful – they could not translate possession into goals. Damagingly, six Premier League teams scored more goals at home than Arsenal last season.
    Moreover visitors were playing an Arsenal team that conceded more than half its goals from set pieces, and knew that even by playing ultra-conservatively they could stay in the game. Six teams also lost fewer times at home last season than the Gunners.
    With Fábregas in the team Wenger was forced to persevere with the same tactical template: there could be no Plan B of an open and counterattacking 4-4-2. Now, provided he receives a fair price for the only player in the world capable of improving Barcelona's midfield, Wenger is entirely reconciled to losing his captain and will not seek to replace him. Instead Wenger is showing signs that the continental experiment will be discarded in favour of England's atavistic 4-4-2.
    Fábregas's sale should generate £35m for Arsenal. If Samir Nasri's departure is reluctantly sanctioned – Wenger does not wish to lose a player whose shooting accuracy is the Premier League's best – it will add £22m more. Although Gervinho's arrival cost £11m, that was offset by the £7m received from Gaël Clichy's departure.
    The £53m net transfer income would all be used to strengthen the first team, and across a number of areas. Reports linking Stewart Downing with a £15m move to the Emirates Stadium are entirely plausible. His ability to cross the ball has no replica at Arsenal and would draw more headed goals from Robin van Persie and Marouane Chamakh, whose dangerous aerial ability has not been greatly exploited at the Emirates.
    The goalkeeper Manuel Almunia has not travelled to Asia, and Sunderland's £6m Craig Gordon is viewed as a possible replacement. Stoke City's 35-year-old Thomas Sorensen has also been considered to provide meaningful competition to Wojciech Szczesny in what would be an inexpensive trade, provided the Dane does not extend his contract beyond its current 12 months.
    An imposing centre-half is an equally urgent requirement. Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka are favoured because they, like Downing, would help satisfy Uefa and Premier League requirements for homegrown players. But Per Mertesacker, a 75-times capped, 26-year-old Germany international, excites Wenger due to his leadership qualities and his seven-figure price. Take note that Nicklas Bendtner, another left behind as his team tour Asia, is highly regarded at Mertesacker's Werder Bremen and could be used in a swap deal.
    Arsenal may have lost out to Juventus in their pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen's £15m Chile international midfielder, Arturo Vidal. However, it shows Wenger is open to strengthening central midfield despite his faith in Emmanuel Frimpong, who must recover from the knee ligament injury he suffered last season.
    That leaves the centre-forward position, and the £27m link with Real Madrid's Karim Benzema should not be dismissed. The 23-year-old was off-colour for much of last season, with only one goal in his first 18 La Liga appearances. But with 15 goals in his last 17 starts he proved what a decisive player he still is.
    And so Gordon, Downing, Vidal, Gervinho, Mertesacker and Benzema could arrive at a £10m net cost following the departures of Fábregas, Nasri, Clichy and Bendtner. If Wenger can achieve this within his club's existing wage structure – by moving on a number of fringe players – he will have been true to his word as a "very active" manager this summer. Arsenal's spine would be stronger and they would be more of a goal threat. But for all these benefits, with Fábregas gone, the biggest asset Wenger would have added to his side is tactical flexibility.
    [h=2]Arsenal's changing face?
    [/h]Current 4-2-3-1 Szczesny; Sagna, Djourou, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Song, Frimpong; Nasri, Wilshere, Arshavin; Van Persie.
    Possible 4-2-3-1 Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Wilshere, Vidal; Walcott, Van Persie, Gervinho; Benzema.

    Current 4-4-2 Szczesny; Sagna, Djourou, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Walcott, Wilshere, Frimpong, Nasri; Chamakh, Van Persie.
    Possible 4-4-2 Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Walcott, Vidal, Wilshere, Downing; Van Persie, Benzema.

 
[h=1]Cesc Fábregas' departure should be seen as an opportunity not a curse[/h] Arsenal could be better off without their captain if Arsène Wenger lives up to his promise of being an 'active manager'




  • Cesc Fábregas, above, leaving Arsenal for Barcelona could prove a blessing for Arsène Wenger. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

    As Cesc Fábregas was billeted at London Colney during his team-mates' expedition to Asia on Saturday, the captain's exit from Arsenal took on a sense of inevitability.
    However, though Barcelona's courtship of the Catalan will inflict more turmoil on a club supposedly in terminal decline, it should be regarded more as an opportunity than a curse. Even if Fábregas were not pining for his homeland or blighted with frequent hamstring injuries, the time is ripe for his departure.
    The World Cup winner is like a one-man Gerrard-Lampard partnership: thrusting, creative and with a threat of goals from midfield. But he, like that pairing, cannot play in the middle of a 4-4-2. Arsène Wenger's pact with Fábregas has been to construct a continental 4-2-3-1, with the little Catalan ghosting around and threading balls between adversaries or lifting passes over defences for forwards to chase. It worked, up to a point. Last season Arsenal were the only team to enjoy on average 60% of the possession – thus they consistently spent 50% more time on the ball than their opponents – while completing more passes than any other.
    This comfort with the ball meant Arsenal alone last season were capable of going toe to toe with Barcelona in a meaningful match. However, time has proved the system Fábregas's skills demanded to be ill-suited to English football. When lesser teams arrived at the Emirates they were content to concede all the territory and all the possession, congesting the area around their own goal. Although Arsenal were generating data highly prized by football statisticians – a league-leading 75% of their passes in the final third of the pitch were successful – they could not translate possession into goals. Damagingly, six Premier League teams scored more goals at home than Arsenal last season.
    Moreover visitors were playing an Arsenal team that conceded more than half its goals from set pieces, and knew that even by playing ultra-conservatively they could stay in the game. Six teams also lost fewer times at home last season than the Gunners.
    With Fábregas in the team Wenger was forced to persevere with the same tactical template: there could be no Plan B of an open and counterattacking 4-4-2. Now, provided he receives a fair price for the only player in the world capable of improving Barcelona's midfield, Wenger is entirely reconciled to losing his captain and will not seek to replace him. Instead Wenger is showing signs that the continental experiment will be discarded in favour of England's atavistic 4-4-2.
    Fábregas's sale should generate £35m for Arsenal. If Samir Nasri's departure is reluctantly sanctioned – Wenger does not wish to lose a player whose shooting accuracy is the Premier League's best – it will add £22m more. Although Gervinho's arrival cost £11m, that was offset by the £7m received from Gaël Clichy's departure.
    The £53m net transfer income would all be used to strengthen the first team, and across a number of areas. Reports linking Stewart Downing with a £15m move to the Emirates Stadium are entirely plausible. His ability to cross the ball has no replica at Arsenal and would draw more headed goals from Robin van Persie and Marouane Chamakh, whose dangerous aerial ability has not been greatly exploited at the Emirates.
    The goalkeeper Manuel Almunia has not travelled to Asia, and Sunderland's £6m Craig Gordon is viewed as a possible replacement. Stoke City's 35-year-old Thomas Sorensen has also been considered to provide meaningful competition to Wojciech Szczesny in what would be an inexpensive trade, provided the Dane does not extend his contract beyond its current 12 months.
    An imposing centre-half is an equally urgent requirement. Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka are favoured because they, like Downing, would help satisfy Uefa and Premier League requirements for homegrown players. But Per Mertesacker, a 75-times capped, 26-year-old Germany international, excites Wenger due to his leadership qualities and his seven-figure price. Take note that Nicklas Bendtner, another left behind as his team tour Asia, is highly regarded at Mertesacker's Werder Bremen and could be used in a swap deal.
    Arsenal may have lost out to Juventus in their pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen's £15m Chile international midfielder, Arturo Vidal. However, it shows Wenger is open to strengthening central midfield despite his faith in Emmanuel Frimpong, who must recover from the knee ligament injury he suffered last season.
    That leaves the centre-forward position, and the £27m link with Real Madrid's Karim Benzema should not be dismissed. The 23-year-old was off-colour for much of last season, with only one goal in his first 18 La Liga appearances. But with 15 goals in his last 17 starts he proved what a decisive player he still is.
    And so Gordon, Downing, Vidal, Gervinho, Mertesacker and Benzema could arrive at a £10m net cost following the departures of Fábregas, Nasri, Clichy and Bendtner. If Wenger can achieve this within his club's existing wage structure – by moving on a number of fringe players – he will have been true to his word as a "very active" manager this summer. Arsenal's spine would be stronger and they would be more of a goal threat. But for all these benefits, with Fábregas gone, the biggest asset Wenger would have added to his side is tactical flexibility.
    [h=2]Arsenal's changing face?
    [/h]Current 4-2-3-1 Szczesny; Sagna, Djourou, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Song, Frimpong; Nasri, Wilshere, Arshavin; Van Persie.
    Possible 4-2-3-1 Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Wilshere, Vidal; Walcott, Van Persie, Gervinho; Benzema.

    Current 4-4-2 Szczesny; Sagna, Djourou, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Walcott, Wilshere, Frimpong, Nasri; Chamakh, Van Persie.
    Possible 4-4-2 Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Walcott, Vidal, Wilshere, Downing; Van Persie, Benzema.

 
[h=1]Hope Powell accuses players of 'cowardice' and hints at departure[/h] • England women's coach unhappy with penalty shirkers
• Powell may move into role of elite performance director





  • John Ashdown in Leverkusen
  • guardian.co.uk, Sunday 10 July 2011 23.59 BST Article history
    England's coach Hope Powell, centre, confers with her players before the penalty shoot-out defeat by France. Photograph: John Macdougall/AFP/Getty Images

    If Hope Powell is soon to step down after 13 years as coach of the England women's side, she has delivered quite a parting shot. After the defeat to France on penalties in the World Cup quarter-finals she accused some of her squad of "cowardice" for failing to volunteer to take a spot-kick.
    Three of the back four stepped up in the shoot-out, with the 22-year-old left-back Claire Rafferty, who had been brought off the bench to make her World Cup debut 10 minutes from the end of the initial 90, and the central defender Faye White, the captain, in what may well have been her last game in an England shirt, missing the fourth and fifth attempts from the spot to send France through to the semi-finals.
    "Three times I had to ask [for volunteers] before anyone stepped forward," said Powell. "'Where are you?' I was thinking, and then a young kid is the first to put her hand up. And Kelly Smith was dying on her feet but she stepped up and took one. You've got to want to take a penalty, but other players should have come forward and they didn't. That's weak, it's cowardice."
    White, who smashed her penalty on to the bar before crumpling to the turf at the BayArena, was too upset to comment on Saturday evening, but expressed her thoughts on Twitter on Sunday. "Can only say that has to be the worst feeling to ever have to feel in sport. But I would rather try & give everything than not try at all!"
    Casey Stoney, White's central defensive partner who scored from the spot in Leverkusen, was also disappointed by the lack of volunteers. "When Hope asked who'd be prepared to take a penalty no hands went up," she said, "but then Claire Rafferty volunteered and after one of our most inexperienced youngsters had stepped forward I felt it was my responsibility as a senior player to do the same.
    "I was surprised and a bit disappointed that more players didn't volunteer. Kelly [Smith] couldn't even walk but she stepped up, took our first kick and smashed it in – that was inspirational. When I took mine it was the longest walk I've ever had to take, but I'd made my mind up where I was going to put the ball and thankfully it went in."
    England's players may have to pick themselves up without Powell in the technical area, however, after the coach of 13 years hinted at a move away from hands-on responsibilities for the national team for an elite performance director role.
    "It's needed in the women's game and hopefully the FA will be looking that way," said Powell Sunday. "I'd like to be involved, helping to raise standards especially lower down, where there's an important part to be played in the development of players and the future of the game."
    Responsibility for the whole of the women's game in England, rather than just the national side, would not be a sea-change for Powell. On becoming the first full-time coach of the women's team in 1998 she also took charge of all England women's sides from the Under-15s up. Instead it would involve a change of emphasis – away from the treadmill of international competition and towards development. With the FA believed to be keen to appoint a woman as successor to Powell, the former England captain Mo Marley is the obvious candidate. The Everton manager, who is an assistant to Powell, also coaches the England Under-19s, who she led to European Championship success in 2009.

    "I would hope we would look at continuity," said Powell. "We have got better at all levels of the national team and it would be a shame if somebody who's not part of the current structure came in and things changed."
    In the two quarter-finals on Sunday, Sweden beat Australia 3-1 before USA overcame the 2007 runners-up Brazil 5-3 on penalties, with the score 2-2 after extra time.

 
[h=2]The latest gossip and tittle-tattle[/h] [h=1]Football transfer rumours: Nicolas Anelka to join Paris Saint-Germain?[/h] Today's tell-all is here to stay




  • Sachin Nakrani
  • guardian.co.uk, Monday 11 July 2011 08.57 BST Article history
    Is Nicolas Anelka really set to join PSG for a third time? Photograph: Jamie McDonald/Allsport

    So here it is, the end. After 168 years of bringing you the finest transfer tittle-tattle this great country of ours has to offer, the Rumour Mill is on its way out. This is not what it wanted, or deserved, but after its recent misdemeanours there were few other choices. Thank you and goodbye.
    Just joking, of course. It would take more than claiming Connor Wickham was definitely on his way to Liverpool to drive the mill out of business. In fact, the only thing that could lead to such a demise would be a total drought of the rumours that juice our nation's engine and even the briefest of glances at today's newspapers prove we're a long way from that.
    Continuing to dominate most back pages is Luka Modric and his increasingly desperate attempts to move to Chelseafrom Tottenham. Having called Daniel Levy all sorts of names over the weekend after the Spurs chairman ruled out selling the Croatian, Modric is now apparently ready to hand in a transfer request in order to escape White Hart Lane.
    Should Modric get his way, Tottenham fans could at least console themselves with the arrival of Scott Parker, who is finally on the verge of leaving West Ham. Spurs, as has been the case for months, are favourites to sign him but could face competition from Aston Villa, with the Midlands club apparently willing to spend £6m on the midfielder.
    Along with Parker, Harry Redknapp also looks set to make a move for Christopher Samba, but faces the prospect of having to pay up to £12m for the Blackburn defender.
    Arsène Wenger is also keen Samba, but less so on Nicklas Bendtner and Manuel Almunia, both of whom are expected to depart Arsenal shortly. The Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund are ready to spend £9m on Bendtner while Malaga and Atlético Madrid are keeping a beady eye on Almunia.
    Back at Chelsea, meanwhile, it appears Alex may be heading to Bayern Munich for £8m after the club could not agree a fee with Manchester City for Jérôme Boateng. Also rumoured to be leaving Stamford Bridge is Nicolas Anelka, with cash-happy Paris Saint-Germain willing to re-sign the striker for £9m.
    Not going anywhere is Darron Gibson. Twitter's finest was expected to move from Manchester United to Sunderland for £3m but the transfer has collapsed over the player's £40,000-a-week wage demands.
    And speaking of occasional Old Trafford midfielders, Owen Hargreaves could make a return to the Premier League with West Bromwich Albion. The perennially-injured English/Canadian/German player has been without a club since being released by United at the end of last season, but having used YouTube to prove his knees are not totally knackered, now looks set to move to the Hawthorns on a pay-as-you-play deal.

    And joining Hargreaves in the Black Country is Matthew Upson, with Wolves ready to rescue the defender from West Ham. Leicester are also on a salvation mission, willing as they are to offer Liverpool £1.5m for Paul Konchesky, a rather large amount given Kenny Dalglish would take a second-hand lawnmower and two bottles of Irn-Bru for the full-back.

    And finally, Queens Park Rangers have been told they must pay Jimmy Bullard £45,000-a-week if they want to sign him from Hull. An extraordinary amount, but then these are extraordinary times

 
[h=1]Sir Alex Ferguson: Manchester United are unlikely to sign Samir Nasri[/h] • Manager claims Frenchman has agreed to leave Arsenal
• Scot admits it will be impossible to replace Paul Scholes





  • Press Association
  • guardian.co.uk, Monday 11 July 2011 23.00 BST Article history
    Samir Nasri only has a year left to run on his contract at Arsenal. Photograph: Kerim Okten/EPA

    Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed that Samir Nasri has agreed to leave Arsenal, but does not expect Manchester United to sign the Frenchman. United have already had a £20m bid for the midfielder turned down this summer, and Ferguson believes he will end up signing for a different club.
    "I don't think he is coming to United," said Ferguson. "That is all I can tell you. I think that he has agreed to go somewhere else."
    Nasri, who has also been linked with Manchester City has gone on tour with Arsenal to Malaysia and his manager Arsène Wenger has indicated he may keep the player for the final year of his contract, and thus risk losing him for nothing in 12 months' time.
    "That is his decision," said Ferguson. "He is the manager. If he stands by that decision, it is a brave one. I don't know if the [Arsenal] directors will enjoy that one, but it is possible. Maybe he will have to stay."
    However, if he does not sign Nasri, Ferguson refuses to abandon the idea of bringing in anyone, even if a like-for-like replacement for the newly retired Paul Scholes is beyond his imagination.
    "It is impossible to get another Paul Scholes," he said. "But if we get a player along similar lines in terms of the quality of his passing and vision, we would have to do something.
    "The difficulty is, if you picked the best four midfield players in the world, Scholes would be there with Xavi and Andrés Iniesta. Then you could take a pick from somewhere else. It is a loss. How do we overcome it? The next few weeks could help us in that respect. Someone could emerge out of the youth team and we carry on.

    "We try to look ahead. We try to make sure there is an influx of young players coming in to replace the older players that are dying on their feet. For the last three years we were well aware of the need to replace Ryan Giggs. Fortunately, he is carrying on and performing the way he does.

    "But Gary Neville left, Paul Scholes and Edwin van der Sar retired. We were well aware we would have to replace them at some point. The work in the last two or three years has been about that. Trying to make sure there is the quality in the squad to carry on the success."

 
[h=1]Who has played the fewest games during a full professional career?[/h] Plus: Football and music; more ridiculous fines; and unbeaten teams that didn't win their league. Send your questions and answers to knowledge@guardian.co.uk and follow us on Twitter



  • Stuart Taylor: 86 matches and counting. Photograph: Gary M. Prior/Getty Images

    "I notice Stuart Taylor, of Arsenal/Villa/Manchester City reserve keeper fame, has played a grand total of 86 matches in 14 years," says Will de Freitas. "Which professional footballers have made fewer appearances in a full career? Only counting players in consistent employment and good health. I'd imagine the 'winner' will be a goalkeeper. What is the record for an outfield player?"
    [h=5]The Knowledge[/h]
    1. More Knowledge: More of Your Football Questions Answered Buy More Knowledge from Guardian Books


    The phrase 'consistent employment and good health' rules out Kieron Dyer, who was suggested by Herbie Cullen. Besides, you'll be surprised to read that Dyer has played over 400 games in his career, although he has managed only 40 in the last four seasons.
    Darren Anderton, generally perceived as the Sicknote's Sicknote, actually played 569 times between 1990 and 2008. And even though Winston Bogarde effectively gave up football in 2000 so that he could count his money, he still made over 200 appearances in a 16-year career.
    We thought there might be a case for perennial splinter-gathered Steve Harper, although he has crossed the white line 235 times in the last 16 years. Other semi-regular substitute goalkeepers include Carlo Nash (278 appearances), Steve Simonsen (320) and Neil Moss (250).
    There is one man who comes near Taylor's total, however, and he's not a goalkeeper. "Ipswich Town's Tommy Parkin must be a candidate for the outfield crown," says John Chubb. "Although a loyal professional at Portman Road from 1973 to 1987, the defender only made a total of 79 first-team appearances, nine of them coming in loan spells at Grimsby and Peterborough. He also failed to score a single goal, although a further 17-game loan spell in the NASL with Conneticut Bicentennials resulted in him finding the net twice.
    If we count Parkin's spell at Connecticut –which we probably should, what with the Guardian trying to crack America and all – that makes a total of 96. So Taylor remains the benchmark with 86 appearances. Can you improve on that? If so, send an email to knowledge@guardian.co.uk
    [h=2]RIDICULOUS FINES (2)[/h]Last week we looked at some of the more absurd reasons for players being fined. They included overtaking a manager, playing a square pass, kicking fresh air, stealing a suitcase and sending a text message. Yet we missed the story of Barry Fry clamping down on something far more sinister: optimism.
    "I remember a ridiculous fine in the build-up to Chelsea v Peterborough in the FA Cup in 2001," says Mark Poole. "One of Barry Fry's Peterborough players came up to him in training and said 'I think we can beat them.' Naturally, Fry 'fined him a week's wages for being so stupid.'" Fry also said 'If we win I'm going to run round London naked.' Sadly, Chelsea won 5-0."
    [h=2]FOOTBALLER-INSPIRED ALBUM COVERS (3) AND FOOTBALLERS REFERENCED IN SONGS (2)[/h]For the last couple of weeks we've been looking at musical references to football, and you've kindly sent in a few more examples.
    "I'm surprised these have been missed but the Proclaimers have at least two songs referencing their beloved Hibernian," says Daniel Redpath. "The first is 'Cap In Hand', which has the line: 'I can understand why Stranraer lie so lowly, They could save a lot of points by signing Hibs' goalie' (Andy Goram). Also the song titled 'The Joyful Kilmarnock Blues' (written about the club's relegation battle with Killie) contains the line 'I'd never been to Ayrshire, I hitched down one Saturday; sixty miles to Kilmarnock, to see Hibernian play'. The more famous 'Sunshine on Leith' doesn't refer directly to Hibs but is written about the club's battle with bankruptcy in the early 1990s and the subsequent rescue by Sir Tom Farmer."
    Further afield comes this from Anton Marks. "Here is a link to a song by one of the most famous and successful Israeli recording artists ever, Arik Einstein," says Anton. "He manages to include all the big stars of the 1990 World Cup, several of the greats of the game like Pele and Johan Cruyff, plus various top Israeli footballers from the past."
    "Leicester band Family put out a greatest hits album in the 70s that had the lads swarming around a goalmouth in Leicester City's colours," adds Graham Fuller. "And there's a reference to Newcastle United in The Five Bridges Suite by The Nice. 'Take me to St James's Park, Where St James's people park their feet, On a Saturday, United there they stand, Now everybody's dad's there, With a bottle in his hand'. Also in Genesis' The Battle of Epping Forest, Peter Gabriel sang 'Georgie moves in on the outside left'. That'd be George Best."
    Other suggestions include The English Disease by the Barmy Army (thanks to Adam Marshall), as well as Vinnie Jones and the magnificent Panini by Half Time Oranges (thanks to Matthew Brown).
    [h=2]KNOWLEDGE ARCHIVE[/h]"Liverpool have gone through this season losing only two league games yet still finished second," noted Graeme Kennedy in 2009. "In the 1995-96 SPL Celtic lost only one game but still finished runners-up. Has a team ever gone a whole season undefeated but failed to win the league?"
    "Perugia went undefeated all season in 1978-79 and still finished second in Serie A to Milan," writes Dan Seppings, among myriad others. "They drew 19 games out of 30 that season. The conclusion? Serie A was very boring for a number of years." What they'd give for excitement like that now, though, eh?
    This dubious achievement can also be claimed by four other teams in major European leagues. In 1951 Spartak Sofia finished a point behind CDNV Sofia, despite winning 14 and drawing eight of their 22-game programme. Benfica were the next unfortunates, losing out on goal difference to Porto in 1977-78. After Perugia's antics of 1978-79 in Italy, Galatasaray were next to experience this singular type of frustration, trailing Besiktas on goal difference in 1985-86 after a 36-game unbeaten streak. And only last year Red Star Belgrade finished a whopping five points behind their rivals Partizan Belgrade after 33 games of mellow fruitlessness.
    For thousands more questions and answers take a trip through the Knowledge archive.
    [h=2]CAN YOU HELP?[/h]"What is the highest combined total of the squad numbers for a starting XI in a Premier League game?" wonders George Chilvers.
    "I was recently watching the third Test between India and the West Indies," says Manas Phadke. "I was quite surprised to see Billy Doctrove (who is an umpire) sitting in a stand named after him and wearing a Liverpool jersey & kissing the badge for the cameras. Are there any other umpires in international cricket (present or past) who have publicly pledged their allegiance to a football club?"
    Send your questions and answers to knowledge@guardian.co.uk

 
[h=1]Carlos Tevez 'close' to leaving City for Corinthians – Kia Joorabchian[/h] • Brazilian club table £35m bid for Manchester City captain
• 'It is impossible to determine the situation, but I think it is close'





  • Katy Murrells
  • guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 12 July 2011 10.40 BST Article history
    Kia Joorabchian said Carlos Tevez's 'dream' is to leave Manchester City and return to Corinthians. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

    Carlos Tevez's adviser, Kia Joorabchian, has claimed he has already held talks with Corinthians over a deal to take the Manchester City captain back to the club.
    The Brazilian side have tabled a €40m (£35.3m) bid after the striker announced last week that he wanted to leave City to be closer to his two children and their mother, who live in Argentina.
    Tevez has also been linked with a move to Italy or Spain, but Corinthians are the first club to make an offer for the 27-year-old, who played for them between 2004 and 2006. While the bid falls well short of City's £50m asking price, the Eastlands hierarchy may prefer to let him return to South America rather than join a European rival such as Internazionale or Real Madrid.
    "Negotiations have already begun," Joorabchian said. "Corinthians are in contact with us. His [Tevez's] dream and mine is to see him back with Corinthians. He said he has a job that does not end there, he wants to return because he has the dream of winning the Copa Libertadores.
    "Corinthians have made the offer, now it depends only on Manchester City. City have to make a decision. Everybody is working to make this happen, me, Corinthians, Tevez, Adrian Ruocco [another of Tevez's representatives]. It is impossible to determine the situation, but I think it is close."
    Joorabchian also told ESPN Brasil that Tevez would only consider joining two sides in South America: "Carlos will not play for any other Brazilian club than Corinthians, that is an absolute certainty. Boca Juniors and Corinthians are in his heart. He would only play for these two clubs if he goes back to Brazil and Argentina.

    "Football in Brazil has changed, grown. His dream was always to return to the Corinthians, and this time there is a possibility."
    A move to Brazil would have to be completed quickly because the country's transfer window closes on 20 July, and the Corinthians director of football, Duílio Monteiro Alves, believes there is time.

    "I don't want to get our fans' hopes up," Alves said. "We'll try, that's all I can say. It isn't impossible. It's a dream we're trying to realise."

 

 [h=2]The latest gossip and tittle-tattle
[/h] [h=1]Football transfer rumours: Scott Parker back to Chelsea?[/h] Today's hot air is rising ...



  • Scott Parker looks fondly at the Chelsea bench in his mind's eye. Photograph: Paul Thomas/Action Images

    This morning's Sun has an EXCLUSIVE: Wesley Sneijder of Internazionale is "ready to sign" for Manchester United. The balding playmaker will cost £35m and receive wages that will "eclipse" the £220,000-a-week paid to luxuriously hirsute playmaker Wayne Rooney – albeit this is a confusing choice of words as one object will usually eclipse another object simply by being closer and in a direct line of sight, the implication being that perhaps Sneijder will be paid no more than two 50p pieces a week, but if these are placed on his eyeballs in the manner of soothing cucumber slices they will effectively still "eclipse" the sight of Wayne's massive pile of £50 notes. If this is really the case it sounds to The Mill like an extremely canny deal.
    "Everyone expects Wesley's move to United to be announced soon, maybe as early as Wednesday," an Inter team mate is quoted as saying. "He has even spoken to Dutch international team-mate Nigel de Jong to find out where are the best places to live in Manchester." And he's still coming too.
    Corinthians have launched a "shock samba bid" for Carlos Tevez. Club officials are believed to be still waggling their hips around Garry Cooke's office dressed in elaborate jewelled bikinis and encouraging him to remove £36m in banded notes from their garter belts. A "Brazilian source" says: "We think this will appeal to Carlos enormously."
    Chelsea have increased their bid for poor sad lost looking Luka Modric to £27m. Arsène Wenger is still sitting in the kitchen in his dressing gown drinking cooking sherry and listening to Lionel Richie and pretending that Samir Nasri and Cesc Fábregas aren't going to leave. Wenger is also thinking of paying £2m for a "£2million Mexico whizkid" who is 16 years old, plays up front and will either (a) jink encouragingly in the Carling Cup for a bit and then just sort of hang around on the periphery or (b) become hugely effective in small bursts and end up demanding to go to Barcelona. Spurs and Hoffenheim are also keen. West Brom's Roy Hodgson is prepared to pay a club record £8m for Reading goal goblin Shane Long, who is also being pursued by Wolves, Everton and Newcastle.
    In the Daily Mirror Corinthians are offering £37m for Tevez. "I don't want to get our fans' hopes up. We'll try. That's all I can say," says Corinthians' director of football, D. Monteiro Alves, who sounds unnecessarily downbeat and pessimistic, the Morrissey of flamboyant big-spending South American club football officials.
    Robin Van Persie says Arsenal must "change or die", which sounds a little harsh even if you sort of know what he means. Blackburn want to swap Chris Samba for Jermain Defoe, which would definitely involve buying a new club tracksuit and not just picking the initials off and stitching JD on.
    Chelsea are "eyeing" Scott Parker after Michael Essen's injury. Parker previously spent a season sitting in the Stamford Bridge stands wearing a suit and congratulating his team-mates on winning things. Chelsea are also closing in on 19-year-old goalkeeper Thibault Courtois who plays for Genk.
    Tottenham's hopes of signing midfield scuffler Lassana Diarra have been boosted by Diarra being left out of Real Madrid's pre-season tour of South America. Manchester United are also keen. Real want a scarcely serious £20m. And Australia midfielder Mike Jedinak, who played in the World Cup last year and is currently at Turkish club Genclerberli, has chosen Crystal Palace ahead of Rangers. Rangers are in the Champions League qualifiers; Palace are in the Championship. Rangers win trophies regularly; Palace are within five miles of three branches of The Walkabout. It's a no-brainer really.
    In the Daily Mail it's Spurs who are trying to do a swap, offering Sebastian Bassong and scuttling goal-pensioner Robbie Keane in return for Samba. They're also after Lokomotiv Moscow's Senijad Ibricic and Alan Gatagov, who really is called "Alan".
    Arsenal, Manchester City and Celtic are all keen on Craig Gordon, who can't get in the Sunderland team. Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are going to "do battle" over Chelsea's Alex, who will cost £12m. Ally McCoist has refused to "rule out a return to Ibrox for Kenny Miller, who is very good at running around a lot doing "closing down" while everyone shouts and cheers as though this is all football is. And Swansea look as though they're going to miss out on both David Stockdale and Wayne Routledge, who is currently having his thigh felt by Sven-Goran Eriksson.



































</span><div id="main-article-info"><span style="color:#0000cd;">



</span><h1><span style="color:#0000cd;">Carlos Tevez 'close' to leaving City for Corinthians &#8211; Kia Joorabchian</span></h1><span style="color:#0000cd;">

</span><p id="stand-first" class="stand-first-alone"><span style="color:#0000cd;">&#8226; Brazilian club table £35m bid for Manchester City captain<br>&#8226; 'It is impossible to determine the situation, but I think it is close'</span></p><span style="color:#0000cd;">


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</span><a class="contributor" rel="author" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/katymurrells"><span style="color:#0000cd;">
Katy Murrells</span></a><span style="color:#0000cd;">
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</span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/"><span style="color:#0000cd;">guardian.co.uk</span></a><span style="color:#0000cd;">,

</span><time datetime="2011-07-12T10:40BST" pubdate=""><span style="color:#0000cd;">Tuesday 12 July 2011 10.40 BST
</span></time><span style="color:#0000cd;">




</span><li class="history"><a class="rollover history-link" id="history-link-byline" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jul/12/carlos-tevez-city-corinthians-joorabchian#history-link-box"><span style="color:#0000cd;">Article history</span></a></li></li><div id="article-wrapper" data-global-auto-refresh-switch="on"><span style="color:#0000cd;">

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<img src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2011/5/3/1304435324628/Carlos-Tevez-of-Mancheste-007.jpg" alt="Carlos Tevez of Manchester City" height="276" width="460">
</span><div class="caption"><span style="color:#0000cd;">Kia Joorabchian said Carlos Tevez's
'dream' is to leave Manchester City and return to Corinthians.
Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters</span></div><span style="color:#0000cd;">
</span></div><span style="color:#0000cd;">

</span><div id="article-body-blocks"><span style="color:#0000cd;">
</span><p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/carlos-tevez" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Carlos Tevez"><span style="color:#0000cd;">Carlos Tevez</span></a><span style="color:#0000cd;">'s adviser, Kia Joorabchian, has claimed he has already held talks with </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/corinthians" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Corinthians"><span style="color:#0000cd;">Corinthians</span></a><span style="color:#0000cd;"> over a deal to take the </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/manchestercity" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Manchester City"><span style="color:#0000cd;">Manchester City</span></a><span style="color:#0000cd;"> captain back to the club.</span></p><p><span style="color:#0000cd;">The Brazilian side </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jul/12/corinthians-manchester-city-carlos-tevez" title=""><span style="color:#0000cd;">have tabled a &#8364;40m (£35.3m)</span></a><span style="color:#0000cd;">
bid after the striker announced last week that he wanted to leave City
to be closer to his two children and their mother, who live in
Argentina.</span></p><p><span style="color:#0000cd;">Tevez has also been linked with a move to Italy or
Spain, but Corinthians are the first club to make an offer for the
27-year-old, who played for them between 2004 and 2006. While the bid
falls well short of City's £50m asking price, the Eastlands hierarchy
may prefer to let him return to South America rather than join a
European rival such as Internazionale or Real Madrid.</span></p><p><span style="color:#0000cd;">"Negotiations
have already begun," Joorabchian said. "Corinthians are in contact with
us. His [Tevez's] dream and mine is to see him back with Corinthians.
He said he has a job that does not end there, he wants to return because
he has the dream of winning the Copa Libertadores.</span></p><p><span style="color:#0000cd;">"Corinthians
have made the offer, now it depends only on Manchester City. City have
to make a decision. Everybody is working to make this happen, me,
Corinthians, Tevez, Adrian Ruocco [another of Tevez's representatives].
It is impossible to determine the situation, but I think it is close."</span></p><p><span style="color:#0000cd;">Joorabchian
also told ESPN Brasil that Tevez would only consider joining two sides
in South America: "Carlos will not play for any other Brazilian club
than Corinthians, that is an absolute certainty. Boca Juniors and
Corinthians are in his heart. He would only play for these two clubs if
he goes back to Brazil and Argentina.</span><br></p><p><span style="color:#0000cd;">"Football in Brazil has
changed, grown. His dream was always to return to the Corinthians, and
this time there is a possibility."</span></p><p><span style="color:#0000cd;">A move to Brazil would have to be completed quickly because the country's </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/transfer-window" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Transfer window"><span style="color:#0000cd;">transfer window</span></a><span style="color:#0000cd;"> closes on 20 July, and the Corinthians director of football, Duílio Monteiro Alves, believes there is time.<br></span></p><p><span style="color:#0000cd;">"I
don't want to get our fans' hopes up," Alves said. "We'll try, that's
all I can say. It isn't impossible. It's a dream we're trying to
realise."</span></p><span style="color:#0000cd;">
</span></div><span style="color:#0000cd;">















</span></div></ul></div>
 

 [h=2]The latest gossip and tittle-tattle
[/h] [h=1]Football transfer rumours: Scott Parker back to Chelsea?[/h] Today's hot air is rising ...



  • Scott Parker looks fondly at the Chelsea bench in his mind's eye. Photograph: Paul Thomas/Action Images

    This morning's Sun has an EXCLUSIVE: Wesley Sneijder of Internazionale is "ready to sign" for Manchester United. The balding playmaker will cost £35m and receive wages that will "eclipse" the £220,000-a-week paid to luxuriously hirsute playmaker Wayne Rooney – albeit this is a confusing choice of words as one object will usually eclipse another object simply by being closer and in a direct line of sight, the implication being that perhaps Sneijder will be paid no more than two 50p pieces a week, but if these are placed on his eyeballs in the manner of soothing cucumber slices they will effectively still "eclipse" the sight of Wayne's massive pile of £50 notes. If this is really the case it sounds to The Mill like an extremely canny deal.
    "Everyone expects Wesley's move to United to be announced soon, maybe as early as Wednesday," an Inter team mate is quoted as saying. "He has even spoken to Dutch international team-mate Nigel de Jong to find out where are the best places to live in Manchester." And he's still coming too.
    Corinthians have launched a "shock samba bid" for Carlos Tevez. Club officials are believed to be still waggling their hips around Garry Cooke's office dressed in elaborate jewelled bikinis and encouraging him to remove £36m in banded notes from their garter belts. A "Brazilian source" says: "We think this will appeal to Carlos enormously."
    Chelsea have increased their bid for poor sad lost looking Luka Modric to £27m. Arsène Wenger is still sitting in the kitchen in his dressing gown drinking cooking sherry and listening to Lionel Richie and pretending that Samir Nasri and Cesc Fábregas aren't going to leave. Wenger is also thinking of paying £2m for a "£2million Mexico whizkid" who is 16 years old, plays up front and will either (a) jink encouragingly in the Carling Cup for a bit and then just sort of hang around on the periphery or (b) become hugely effective in small bursts and end up demanding to go to Barcelona. Spurs and Hoffenheim are also keen. West Brom's Roy Hodgson is prepared to pay a club record £8m for Reading goal goblin Shane Long, who is also being pursued by Wolves, Everton and Newcastle.
    In the Daily Mirror Corinthians are offering £37m for Tevez. "I don't want to get our fans' hopes up. We'll try. That's all I can say," says Corinthians' director of football, D. Monteiro Alves, who sounds unnecessarily downbeat and pessimistic, the Morrissey of flamboyant big-spending South American club football officials.
    Robin Van Persie says Arsenal must "change or die", which sounds a little harsh even if you sort of know what he means. Blackburn want to swap Chris Samba for Jermain Defoe, which would definitely involve buying a new club tracksuit and not just picking the initials off and stitching JD on.
    Chelsea are "eyeing" Scott Parker after Michael Essen's injury. Parker previously spent a season sitting in the Stamford Bridge stands wearing a suit and congratulating his team-mates on winning things. Chelsea are also closing in on 19-year-old goalkeeper Thibault Courtois who plays for Genk.
    Tottenham's hopes of signing midfield scuffler Lassana Diarra have been boosted by Diarra being left out of Real Madrid's pre-season tour of South America. Manchester United are also keen. Real want a scarcely serious £20m. And Australia midfielder Mike Jedinak, who played in the World Cup last year and is currently at Turkish club Genclerberli, has chosen Crystal Palace ahead of Rangers. Rangers are in the Champions League qualifiers; Palace are in the Championship. Rangers win trophies regularly; Palace are within five miles of three branches of The Walkabout. It's a no-brainer really.
    In the Daily Mail it's Spurs who are trying to do a swap, offering Sebastian Bassong and scuttling goal-pensioner Robbie Keane in return for Samba. They're also after Lokomotiv Moscow's Senijad Ibricic and Alan Gatagov, who really is called "Alan".
    Arsenal, Manchester City and Celtic are all keen on Craig Gordon, who can't get in the Sunderland team. Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are going to "do battle" over Chelsea's Alex, who will cost £12m. Ally McCoist has refused to "rule out a return to Ibrox for Kenny Miller, who is very good at running around a lot doing "closing down" while everyone shouts and cheers as though this is all football is. And Swansea look as though they're going to miss out on both David Stockdale and Wayne Routledge, who is currently having his thigh felt by Sven-Goran Eriksson.



































</span><div id="main-article-info"><span style="color:#0000cd;">



</span><h1><span style="color:#0000cd;">Carlos Tevez 'close' to leaving City for Corinthians – Kia Joorabchian</span></h1><span style="color:#0000cd;">

</span><p id="stand-first" class="stand-first-alone"><span style="color:#0000cd;">• Brazilian club table £35m bid for Manchester City captain<br>• 'It is impossible to determine the situation, but I think it is close'</span></p><span style="color:#0000cd;">


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</span><ul class="article-attributes"><li class="byline"><span style="color:#0000cd;">
</span><a class="contributor" rel="author" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/katymurrells"><span style="color:#0000cd;">
Katy Murrells</span></a><span style="color:#0000cd;">
</span></li><li class="publication"><span style="color:#0000cd;">
</span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/"><span style="color:#0000cd;">guardian.co.uk</span></a><span style="color:#0000cd;">,

</span><time datetime="2011-07-12T10:40BST" pubdate=""><span style="color:#0000cd;">Tuesday 12 July 2011 10.40 BST
</span></time><span style="color:#0000cd;">




</span><li class="history"><a class="rollover history-link" id="history-link-byline" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jul/12/carlos-tevez-city-corinthians-joorabchian#history-link-box"><span style="color:#0000cd;">Article history</span></a></li></li><div id="article-wrapper" data-global-auto-refresh-switch="on"><span style="color:#0000cd;">

</span><div id="main-content-picture"><span style="color:#0000cd;">
<img src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2011/5/3/1304435324628/Carlos-Tevez-of-Mancheste-007.jpg" alt="Carlos Tevez of Manchester City" height="276" width="460">
</span><div class="caption"><span style="color:#0000cd;">Kia Joorabchian said Carlos Tevez's
'dream' is to leave Manchester City and return to Corinthians.
Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters</span></div><span style="color:#0000cd;">
</span></div><span style="color:#0000cd;">

</span><div id="article-body-blocks"><span style="color:#0000cd;">
</span><p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/carlos-tevez" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Carlos Tevez"><span style="color:#0000cd;">Carlos Tevez</span></a><span style="color:#0000cd;">'s adviser, Kia Joorabchian, has claimed he has already held talks with </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/corinthians" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Corinthians"><span style="color:#0000cd;">Corinthians</span></a><span style="color:#0000cd;"> over a deal to take the </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/manchestercity" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Manchester City"><span style="color:#0000cd;">Manchester City</span></a><span style="color:#0000cd;"> captain back to the club.</span></p><p><span style="color:#0000cd;">The Brazilian side </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jul/12/corinthians-manchester-city-carlos-tevez" title=""><span style="color:#0000cd;">have tabled a €40m (£35.3m)</span></a><span style="color:#0000cd;">
bid after the striker announced last week that he wanted to leave City
to be closer to his two children and their mother, who live in
Argentina.</span></p><p><span style="color:#0000cd;">Tevez has also been linked with a move to Italy or
Spain, but Corinthians are the first club to make an offer for the
27-year-old, who played for them between 2004 and 2006. While the bid
falls well short of City's £50m asking price, the Eastlands hierarchy
may prefer to let him return to South America rather than join a
European rival such as Internazionale or Real Madrid.</span></p><p><span style="color:#0000cd;">"Negotiations
have already begun," Joorabchian said. "Corinthians are in contact with
us. His [Tevez's] dream and mine is to see him back with Corinthians.
He said he has a job that does not end there, he wants to return because
he has the dream of winning the Copa Libertadores.</span></p><p><span style="color:#0000cd;">"Corinthians
have made the offer, now it depends only on Manchester City. City have
to make a decision. Everybody is working to make this happen, me,
Corinthians, Tevez, Adrian Ruocco [another of Tevez's representatives].
It is impossible to determine the situation, but I think it is close."</span></p><p><span style="color:#0000cd;">Joorabchian
also told ESPN Brasil that Tevez would only consider joining two sides
in South America: "Carlos will not play for any other Brazilian club
than Corinthians, that is an absolute certainty. Boca Juniors and
Corinthians are in his heart. He would only play for these two clubs if
he goes back to Brazil and Argentina.</span><br></p><p><span style="color:#0000cd;">"Football in Brazil has
changed, grown. His dream was always to return to the Corinthians, and
this time there is a possibility."</span></p><p><span style="color:#0000cd;">A move to Brazil would have to be completed quickly because the country's </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/transfer-window" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Transfer window"><span style="color:#0000cd;">transfer window</span></a><span style="color:#0000cd;"> closes on 20 July, and the Corinthians director of football, Duílio Monteiro Alves, believes there is time.<br></span></p><p><span style="color:#0000cd;">"I
don't want to get our fans' hopes up," Alves said. "We'll try, that's
all I can say. It isn't impossible. It's a dream we're trying to
realise."</span></p><span style="color:#0000cd;">
</span></div><span style="color:#0000cd;">















</span></div></ul></div>
 
[h=1]Harry Redknapp snubs Chelsea's £27m offer for Tottenham's Luka Modric[/h] &#8226; Modric 'not for sale and that's it', says Spurs' manager
&#8226; Redknapp insists player worth 'way in excess of £30m'




  • Press Association
  • guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 12 July 2011 16.33 BST Article history
    Luka Modric and Tottenham Hotspur team-mate Rafael van der Vaart, left, at the club's Spurs Lodge training ground. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images

    Harry Redknapp has ridiculed Chelsea's latest offer for Luka Modric and insists that even a bid of over £30m will not be enough to tempt the club to sell their star playmaker.
    After seeing a £22m bid knocked back for Modric last month, Chelsea reportedly returned with an improved £27m offer on Tuesday.
    "I still think £27m is a pretty poor offer in my opinion for a player of that ability," Redknapp told Sky Sports News. "It wouldn't be anywhere near what I value him at if he was for sale, but he is not for sale."
    The Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, is clearly a keen admirer of Modric having authorised the original offer for the player when his team were managerless.
    The Russian, who has now installed André Villas-Boas as manager, could back another Chelsea offer, but Redknapp insists such a move would be pointless.
    "There is nowhere to go with it really. That's the end of it. The chairman has made his stance. He is not for sale and that's it," the 64-year-old added.
    When asked whether a bid of £30m may change the club's stance, Redknapp said: "I don't think so. I honestly value him way in excess of that."
    Modric has always said he will not submit a formal transfer request to force through a move despite his claim that Levy has promised to let him languish in the reserves if he continues to oppose the club's stance.
    When asked whether a transfer request would lead to Modric leaving, Redknapp replied: "I wouldn't see it having any effect on the situation."
    Redknapp has praised the 25-year-old's professional attitude since he returned to training last week and thinks he would not hand in a transfer request anyway.
    "He is not a trouble-maker in any way shape or form," Redknapp said. "He has come in, trained great today. That's how he is. He will just get on with his job and we will just wait and see what happens. We really don't want to lose him because he is a key player for us." Modric will board Spurs' plane to South Africa on Wednesday where they will play three matches in a tournament with the Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.
    "He will be going to South Africa, for sure. He is the last lad in the world that would ever cause a problem. You would never meet a nicer boy. He has not got it in him to be nasty," added Redknapp.
    "There are players who would want to go who would be a real problem. I have come across many players who, if they wanted to go somewhere, then they would kick up and make sure he got away, but that's just not in his nature."
    Ledley King, the club captain, will miss the trip to South Africa after having a knee operation last night.
    Spurs expect the defender, who played just nine times last season due to a groin injury, to be fit for the new season.

 

[h=1]Man up and stick together, Jack Wilshere tells Nasri and Fábregas[/h] The Arsenal midfielder says he is desperate for the club's influential players to stay




  • Jack Wilshere, second left, poses with Arsenal team-mates Theo Walcott, Wojciech Szczesny and Alex Song, at an event in Kuala Lumpur. Photograph: Mark Baker/AP

    At carefully stage-managed press conferences, particularly those involving global superbrands and far-flung locations, Premier League footballers generally know the drill. Smile warmly and parrot your lines. Nobody told Jack Wilshere.
    If there was an intake of PR breath when a Malaysian journalist ventured off limits to ask a question about loyalty, in light of the Cesc Fábregas and Samir Nasri will-they-or-won't-they sagas, it was followed in quick succession by Wilshere's response.
    "Loyalty is a big part of football and it shows if you are a real man or not," the midfielder said, from his position on the stage. "There have been a few players who have shown Arsenal great loyalty and, hopefully, we will get a few more like that. Then we will see if we can get a trophy or not."
    The answer said everything about Wilshere's rugged individualism and desire, not to mention his burgeoning status in the Arsenal dressing room. This time last year, he was preparing for the pre-season friendly against Barnet at Underhill, having never before started a Premier League fixture. Now, having become a first-choice for Arsenal and England, the 19-year-old finds himself as one of the faces of the club's far eastern tour, and dispensing no-holds-barred comment on the sensitive issues.
    Pulled to one side after the press conference, Wilshere reinforced how desperate he was for Arsenal's key players to stay. His rallying call was clear and direct. Man up, stick together and glory will beckon. "If you are loyal, it means you are a real man," he said. "We have got loyalty at Arsenal and players have shown that in the past. Cesc showed that last year and, hopefully, a few more players will show it this year. If you look at Tottenham, they are fighting to keep Modric. It's the same for any team ... you have to keep your best players. We have to keep ours if we want to win things.
    "Robin [van Persie] has said he would be devastated if we lose Cesc and it's the same for me. He has been a role model for me and he is the player I want to aspire to. It would be a shame if we lose him but, hopefully, we can keep hold of him."
    Wilshere attended the Nike event in Kuala Lumpur's Exhibition Centre with his team-mates Theo Walcott, Alex Song and Wojciech Szczesny and they were greeted by 3,000 screaming fans. Their entrance into a darkened warehouse-style arena for a kickabout with local youngsters befitted a rock band. With music thumping and spotlights racing, the announcer whipped up the crowd before a shutter was raised and the players emerged to a frenzy of camera flashes. Szczesny strutted as he took it in.
    Not since 1999 have Arsenal visited the far east, with the manager, Arsène Wenger, happier to hole up in an Alpine outpost for no-frills work. Bad Waltersdorf, this is not. Arsenal's owners have been keen to promote the club as a brand and they hope to reap commercial benefits from their increased visibility here. The players arrived on Monday with glassy eyes from the 13-hour flight yet they are now wide with amazement. Thirty thousand fans watched the team train on Tuesday night.
    For Wilshere, who received the biggest ovation, together with Nasri and Van Persie, it has got the juices going again. He admits that he was a frustrated TV spectator during the European Under-21 Championship in June, from which he stood down to rest for the new season, but he is primed to enjoy the benefit. "It was important to see the bigger picture and it was to rest," he said. "I feel refreshed now."
    When Wilshere speaks, he does so as something of an Arsenal veteran, having been at the club since the age of nine. It has not all run smoothly &#8211; he was arrested twice last season following late-night fracas in London &#8211; but he is eager to embrace greater responsibility and opportunity.
    "I am happy at Arsenal ... there is no reason for me to think otherwise," he said. "I have had a few problems in the past but we have spoken about it and helped me get over it. Now, I am really focused on helping the club win trophies. It would mean everything to win a trophy this season. We need to stay strong, maybe make a few more signings and we will be all right."

 
[h=1]Liverpool to offload Paul Konchesky and Milan Jovanovic[/h] &#8226; Left-back will be allowed to join Leicester City for £1.5m
&#8226; Olympiakos, Anderlecht and Lille interested in Serb




  • Andy Hunter
  • guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 12 July 2011 22.45 BST Article history
    Paul Konchesky has failed to establish himself at Liverpool and has been given permission to train with Leicester City. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

    Liverpool hope to start clearing their deadwood this week with Paul Konchesky considering a move to Leicester City and Lille keen on signing Milan Jovanovic.
    Konchesky followed Roy Hodgson to Anfield from Fulham for £4m last summer and, like his former manager, has endured a dreadful time on Merseyside. He spent the end of last season on loan at Nottingham Forest, and Liverpool are prepared to accept £1.5m for the left-back, providing he agrees to join Sven-Goran Eriksson's team in the Championship. The 30-year-old has been granted permission to join Leicester at a pre-season training camp in Sweden where he will undergo a medical.
    Jovanovic, who earned £120,000 a week during the first year of his contract with Liverpool, is also surplus to requirements and has attracted offers from Olympiakos, Anderlecht and Lille. The Serbia international said: "Lille, like Anderlecht, is a strong option. This is a good club, which plays at the top of French football, a high-level competition, and who will also play in the group stage of the Champions League. For me, that's interesting."

 
[h=1]How will Corinthians stump up the cash to sign Carlos Tevez?[/h] After Manchester City turned down a £35m bid for the striker, the Brazilian club may engage third parties to help fund a deal



  • Matt Scott and Fernando Duarte
  • guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 12 July 2011 20.59 BST Article history
    Carlos Tevez helped Corinthians win the Brazilian championship when he played for them in 2005. Photograph: Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images

    If the latest staging post in Carlos Tevez's carousel of a career takes him back to Corinthians, it would confirm how much he really does despise Manchester, its rain and its restaurants. Should the Argentinian complete his return to the club he left in 2007 he will himself have to pay a heavy price. Tevez is reportedly lavished with £250,000 a week of Abu Dhabi's petrodollar wealth at Manchester City. A club from Brazil cannot afford to pay him anything approaching that.
    On the face of it Brazilian football is booming: its economy is basking in the benefits of a double-digit growth rate and it will host the next World Cup. Corinthians are Brazil's Série A leaders, having dropped only two points in their eight games, and are the most popular club in São Paulo, Brazil's largest city and financial centre. Its geography and demography have brought 26 million fans across Brazil, generating big incomes for the club relative to their peers.
    When negotiations broke down on collective bargaining for Campeonato clubs' domestic television contracts, Corinthians cashed in by striking their own deal. Though figures were undisclosed it is believed to be worth £40m a season from next year. They also enjoy a £23m shirt sponsorship with the Brazilian pharmaceuticals firm Neo Química. Cashflow is strong and added to it are crucial economies: in September Corinthians' wage bill was only £2m. At an annualised £24m a year that would seem eminently affordable: if they had been playing in the Premier League last season Corinthians would have had the 11th highest revenues while being the second-lowest payers.
    But all these positives tell only half the story of the financial circumstances of one of Brazil's top clubs, and the downsides will complicate the £35m-plus Tevez deal. Corinthians' status as a World Cup host has caused it particular difficulties. They will open the 65,000-seat Fielzão in December 2013, Brazil's sports minister Orlando Silva announced in January, at a potential cost of £140m, which will add to the club's already significant debts.
    Indeed, though the vaulting growth of the Brazilian economy has been good to its football clubs in one respect, it has a flipside. Central bank rates run at 12.25% in Brazil, meaning any institution carrying large debts must pay an onerous price in debt service. Corinthians are a socio-owned association: they have no shareholders and few assets on which to guarantee borrowings, meaning debts have a major impact on cashflow.
    "No club in Brazilian football can afford a deal like that [for Tevez] without financial help because it's too big a commitment in terms of revenues," said Amir Somoggi, chief researcher at BDO RCS, a leading Brazilian sports consultancy firm. "Corinthians not only need money to bankroll their operations but the club also have debts to think about. Clubs like Corinthians are counting on a windfall thanks to the renegotiation of TV rights and the increase in the value of sponsorship deals but their purchasing power is still far below the European clubs."
    Those close to Corinthians have said the club will explore a strategy whereby they will engage with third parties in paying a proportion of the transfer fee and wages to put together a package capable of funding the deal. This is common practice in Brazil, where player wages are often paid by commercial companies such as sportswear companies, supermarkets and industrial conglomerates.
    Companies get their money's worth from advertising time as players such as Neymar – whose £55,000-a-week wages at Santos are supplemented by payments from Nike and Nextel, a telecoms firm – are ubiquitous on Brazilian television. But Corinthians' requirement for funding gives rise to another intriguing possibility: that Media Sports Investment, a former investor in Corinthians, might buy back a proportion of the player's economic rights, which is not illegal under Brazilian football rules.
    This might have been what Tevez's representative, Kia Joorabchian, referred to on Tuesday in an interview with Sky Sports News. "It is a big deal and a tough deal, because it is one of a very big nature and it might not be simple," said Joorabchian. "We wait to see. First and foremost we have to respect that City have to make a formal answer. If they do accept, then everyone will be running to make it happen. If they don't we will have to see what other options would be available for him."
    It would be a remarkable turn of events for Joorabchian and MSI if it did part-own Tevez. The Argentina international and the Iranian football consultant have been close since Joorabchian was the Corinthians executive who paid $22m (then £11.4m) to take Tevez to São Paulo from Boca Juniors.
    Joorabchian had the job after $35m was promised to Corinthians to fund player transfers in return for a 51% share of the profits at the club and things went well, with Corinthians becoming champions in 2005. But when arrest warrants were issued for Joorabchian and several of his associates over money-laundering allegations, Corinthians' agreement with MSI was dissolved and all ties were severed.
    A spokesman for the São Paulo regional office of the federal prosecution service confirmed on Tuesday that the investigation of the MSI-Corinthians partnership is still under way – however, the arrest warrants have long since been withdrawn.
    Notoriously that was not the end of the controversy involving Joorabchian and Tevez. MSI carried over its interest in the transfer rights to Tevez and this third-party involvement with the striker was deemed illegal under Premier League rules. Ultimately it led to West Ham United having to pay £27.5m in compensation to Sheffield United. When Tevez signed for Manchester United in August 2007 he did so on loan; when he moved to City, they had to buy out MSI and Joorabchian. Reportedly that cost Sheikh Mansour £47m, though Joorabchian denies it.
    Generally, said Somoggi, any external investor would be taking risks by funding Corinthians' move for Tevez. "It is a big gamble as potential investors will not have guarantees that the costs can be recovered," he said. But that might be a gamble Joorabchian, whose association with Tevez has been lucrative over the years, is prepared to take.
    It might also explain why some at City take such a dim view of Tevez's agitations for a departure, seeing his reasons as mere pretexts. After all, if somehow he does swap City for Corinthians, one thing would not change. São Paulo is in the Terra da Garoa, or Land of the Drizzle.

 
[h=1]Arsène Wenger accuses Manchester City of bending Uefa fair-play rules[/h] &#8226; Arsenal manager calls for Uefa to investigate sponsorship
&#8226; City say comments are 'unfounded and regrettable'




  • David Hytner in Kuala Lumpur
  • guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 12 July 2011 23.19 BST Article history
    The Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, has accused Manchester City of bending Uefa fair-play rules. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

    Arsène Wenger has accused Manchester City of attempting to bend Uefa's financial fair-play rules via their new £400m sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways and he said the arrangement threatened not only the incoming legislation but the credibility of the European game's governing body.
    He believes that Michel Platini, the Uefa president, is duty-bound to investigate the City deal and he ramped up the pressure on his fellow Frenchman, calling it "Platini's big test".
    "It raises the real question about the credibility of the financial fair play," Wenger said. "That is what this is all about. They give us the message that they can get around it by doing what they want. It means financial fair play will not come in. It is as simple as that. I can understand how they do it but it raises the real question. The difficulty and the credibility of the financial fair play is at stake.
    "Plus, if the financial fair play is to have a chance, the sponsorship has to be at the market price. It cannot be doubled, tripled or quadrupled because that means it is better that we don't do it and we leave everybody free. That can be defended as well, but if they bring the rules in they have to be respected."
    The Arsenal manager had reacted with incredulity and no little scorn when he heard that City had struck the world-record 10-year deal with the company that is owned by the Abu Dhabi government and has close links to the City owner, Sheikh Mansour, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family.
    The arrangement will see City's ground, which is owned by Manchester city council, renamed the Etihad Stadium. It will also provide financial backing for what will be known as the Etihad Campus, the area of land around the ground, and it will extend the company's sponsorship of the club's shirts; Etihad already pay £2.3m a year for the rights.
    In contrast, Arsenal's arrangement with Emirates, which was announced in 2004, was valued at £90m over 15 years. Around £48m of that came via shirt sponsorship, with the naming rights worth £2.8m a year. "We must have done a bad deal," Wenger said, dryly.
    Last night City hit back, describing Wenger's comments as "unfounded and regrettable". In a statement, the club said: "The financial details of the comprehensive agreement announced last week between Manchester City and Etihad Airways remain confidential and figures being speculated about are not accurate."
    However, the elements at the heart of the agreement include, among others, the securing for 10 years of one of the Premier League's top-ranked media value shirts in 2010-11; the 10-year naming rights for the Etihad Stadium and the naming rights for the Etihad Campus which will evolve dramatically over the next decade.
    "Manchester City is a proactive member of the European Clubs Association and is working actively and with transparency with regard to financial fair play. In light of these facts, recent comments about the partnership by some observers are unfounded and regrettable," the statement said.
    Uefa say that they are aware of the City situation and that their experts "will make assessments of fair value of any sponsorship deals using benchmarks."
    Speaking in Kuala Lumpur while on Arsenal's pre-season tour, Wenger offered the impression that he presumed Uefa would investigate whether Etihad had paid an inflated price. One condition of the Uefa regulations is that sponsors with close links to club owners pay fair sums.
    "It looks to me that Platini is very strongly determined on this," Wenger said. "He is not stupid. He knows that some clubs will try to get around that and, at the moment, I believe they are studying, behind closed doors, how they can really strongly check it. That is where the financial fair play is at stake."
    The new rules apply from next season, although Uefa will not begin assessing club accounts until the 2013-14 season, when they will assess them from the previous two seasons and stipulate that clubs break even, subject to an "acceptable deviation" of &#8364;45m (£40m) over the period. If clubs fail to meet the criteria, they face being barred from European competition. City's last financial figures showed a £121m loss and the next set are expected to be worse.

 
[h=1]Arsène Wenger accuses Manchester City of bending Uefa fair-play rules[/h] • Arsenal manager calls for Uefa to investigate sponsorship
• City say comments are 'unfounded and regrettable'




  • David Hytner in Kuala Lumpur
  • guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 12 July 2011 23.19 BST Article history
    The Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, has accused Manchester City of bending Uefa fair-play rules. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

    Arsène Wenger has accused Manchester City of attempting to bend Uefa's financial fair-play rules via their new £400m sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways and he said the arrangement threatened not only the incoming legislation but the credibility of the European game's governing body.
    He believes that Michel Platini, the Uefa president, is duty-bound to investigate the City deal and he ramped up the pressure on his fellow Frenchman, calling it "Platini's big test".
    "It raises the real question about the credibility of the financial fair play," Wenger said. "That is what this is all about. They give us the message that they can get around it by doing what they want. It means financial fair play will not come in. It is as simple as that. I can understand how they do it but it raises the real question. The difficulty and the credibility of the financial fair play is at stake.
    "Plus, if the financial fair play is to have a chance, the sponsorship has to be at the market price. It cannot be doubled, tripled or quadrupled because that means it is better that we don't do it and we leave everybody free. That can be defended as well, but if they bring the rules in they have to be respected."
    The Arsenal manager had reacted with incredulity and no little scorn when he heard that City had struck the world-record 10-year deal with the company that is owned by the Abu Dhabi government and has close links to the City owner, Sheikh Mansour, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family.
    The arrangement will see City's ground, which is owned by Manchester city council, renamed the Etihad Stadium. It will also provide financial backing for what will be known as the Etihad Campus, the area of land around the ground, and it will extend the company's sponsorship of the club's shirts; Etihad already pay £2.3m a year for the rights.
    In contrast, Arsenal's arrangement with Emirates, which was announced in 2004, was valued at £90m over 15 years. Around £48m of that came via shirt sponsorship, with the naming rights worth £2.8m a year. "We must have done a bad deal," Wenger said, dryly.
    Last night City hit back, describing Wenger's comments as "unfounded and regrettable". In a statement, the club said: "The financial details of the comprehensive agreement announced last week between Manchester City and Etihad Airways remain confidential and figures being speculated about are not accurate."
    However, the elements at the heart of the agreement include, among others, the securing for 10 years of one of the Premier League's top-ranked media value shirts in 2010-11; the 10-year naming rights for the Etihad Stadium and the naming rights for the Etihad Campus which will evolve dramatically over the next decade.
    "Manchester City is a proactive member of the European Clubs Association and is working actively and with transparency with regard to financial fair play. In light of these facts, recent comments about the partnership by some observers are unfounded and regrettable," the statement said.
    Uefa say that they are aware of the City situation and that their experts "will make assessments of fair value of any sponsorship deals using benchmarks."
    Speaking in Kuala Lumpur while on Arsenal's pre-season tour, Wenger offered the impression that he presumed Uefa would investigate whether Etihad had paid an inflated price. One condition of the Uefa regulations is that sponsors with close links to club owners pay fair sums.
    "It looks to me that Platini is very strongly determined on this," Wenger said. "He is not stupid. He knows that some clubs will try to get around that and, at the moment, I believe they are studying, behind closed doors, how they can really strongly check it. That is where the financial fair play is at stake."
    The new rules apply from next season, although Uefa will not begin assessing club accounts until the 2013-14 season, when they will assess them from the previous two seasons and stipulate that clubs break even, subject to an "acceptable deviation" of €45m (£40m) over the period. If clubs fail to meet the criteria, they face being barred from European competition. City's last financial figures showed a £121m loss and the next set are expected to be worse.
 
[h=1]Stoke sign Jonathan Woodgate after Tottenham contract expires[/h] &#8226; Centre-back agrees one-year deal after leaving Spurs
&#8226; Tony Pulis says club will 'manage' Woodgate's fitness





  • Press Association
  • guardian.co.uk, Monday 11 July 2011 15.25 BST Article history
    Jonathan Woodgate has signed a one-year deal with Stoke after leaving Tottenham. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

    Stoke City have completed the free transfer signing of the central defender Jonathan Woodgate. The 31-year-old joins after his contract at Tottenham Hotspur expired and has signed a one-year deal with his salary dependent on appearances.
    Woodgate, a former England international, started out at Leeds United before having spells with Newcastle United, Real Madrid and Middlesbrough in a career blighted by injury. He made just four first-team appearances over the last two seasons at Tottenham due to a groin problem.
    Speaking from the club's pre-season training camp in Austria, the Stoke manager, Tony Pulis, said: "The lad is a top-class player and it's been well documented that he has had his injury troubles, but we believe that if his fitness is managed properly, he will play games for us.
    "We know that other Premier League clubs were keen on signing Jonathan, so we are delighted he has chosen us. It's a chance we are taking, but one we were keen to take because of the stature and quality of the player."

    "We've effectively taken him on a pay-as-you-play deal which just shows how desperate the lad is to get his career back on the right track."
    The Stoke chief executive, Tony Scholes, added: "There is no doubt that we have acquired a player with outstanding quality and experience but he is one who has clearly struggled with injuries over the past two years.

    "However, sometimes a fresh start can trigger a change of fortunes. Jonathan has been working very hard throughout the summer on his fitness so he is desperate to make the most of this opportunity and to play in the Premier League."

 
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