Radamel Falcao

Chelsea Transfer News Thursday 5 December

December 5th, 2013 Leonard_Mountfield


Falcao For Chelsea?

Chelsea could make a loan move for Monaco striker Radamel Falcao in January, according to various reports this morning. However, the Ligue 1 outfit are likely to resist any efforts for the Colombian striker to quit the principality.

Various websites in France are reporting that Falcao’s agent Jorge Mendes has approached Monaco to ask them for a loan move away from the club during next month’s transfer window. The Daily Star adds that there is a dispute between Falcao and the big-spending club over his wages. He was meant to be on a 14million euro a year pay deal but his actual wages are around half that amount.

Chelsea were linked with Falcao last month after boss Jose Mourinho watched him in action for Colombia against Belgium in Brussels. However, Monaco sporting director Vadim Vasilyev has been quoted as saying it makes “no sense“ for Falcao to be heading out of Monaco after just half a season with the club, especially after the economic efforts put into his recruitment. The Colombian moved to the club for a £54million transfer fee. He scored seven goals in his opening seven games but has found the net just twice in his last seven games.

Real Madrid are also said to be interested.


Liverpool transfer news

Liverpool Transfer News Thursday 5 December

December 5th, 2013 Kenny_Gibson


Aspas Valencia Move on Hold

Liverpool striker Iago Aspas could be on his way back to Spain but reports of interest from Valencia may prove to be wide of the mark.

We reported yesterday that Aspas was wanted by bottom-of-the-table Real Betis and La Liga side have already been in touch with Anfield over a loan move for the former Celta Vigo man. There were reports last month that there was an enquiry from Valencia but the dismissal of sporting director Braulio Vazquez appears to have put their interest is in hold, at least for the January window.

Aspas hasn’t scored in any of his seven appearances for Liverpool so far this season. He returned after a two month lay-off with a hamstring injury and came on as a substitute in last night’s 5-1 win over Norwich. In the meantime he has to return to Spain to give evidence in a court case brought by his former agent. Aspas switched agents during talks over his move to Anfield and will have to give evidence in Madrid.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are believed to be close to an agreement with Swedish side Halmstads over their talented 17-year-old striker Valmir Berisha. The star of Sweden’s Under-17 World Cup squad has been watched by scouts from Anfield for some months and claims to have already turned down the chance of a trial with two of the Premier League’s Champions League representatives.

“I have rejected clubs like Arsenal and Manchester United, who have invited me for trials,” said Berisha.

“There is Real Madrid now, the club of my dreams – I am keen to go there, but I think I will turn it down, unfortunately.”

Talks are said to be ongoing between Liverpool and Halmstads.


Manchester United logo 200x200 13k

Manchester United Transfer News Thursday 5 December

December 5th, 2013 Brian Harwood


Trio At Risk In January

Manchester United could be set to move on Ashley Young, Anderson and Alexander Buttner during the January transfer window. The trio are all at risk, claims the Daily Mirror, as manager David Moyes seeks to trim his under-achieving squad before bringing in some new faces.

Young has failed to start a Premier League game for United since he was substituted early in the second half of the 4-1 derby day defeat at Manchester City. The England international moved to Old Trafford from Aston Villa on a five-year deal at a price believed to be around £15-20million. However, he has failed to impress during his time with United and the Mirror claims he will be offered either in a loan deal or as a permanent move.

The latter could be problematic for United unless they take a hit on their initial transfer fee. However, half-way through a five-year deal means Young is valued in United’s books at between £7.5million and £10million which means they could sell him for lower than they paid for him without incurring a loss under Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules.

Anderson has a price tag of £8million and was linked with a summer move back to his former club FC Porto. But the transfer fee and his £60,000-a-week wages were also a problem for the Portugese side.

Anderson said last month that he wanted to remain with the club in January. His last appearance came in last week’s 5-0 Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen when he came on as a late substitute.

Buttner looks set to be moved on should United finally buy Leighton Baines from Everton. The England international is out of action through injury until the New Year but United look set to make a renewed bid in January.

Buttner was ready to move to Turkish side Besiktas prior to the transfer window shutting in early September, but United’s failure to capture Baines scuppered the loan deal. The Dutchman, who was bought from Vitesse Arnhem for £3.5million in the summer of 2012, is anxious to play his way into contention for the Dutch World Cup squad but that looks unlikely with a lack of first-team football at United.

Buttner has just four appearances under his belt for United this season only one of which has come in the Premier League.


Arsenal Transfer News Thursday 5 December

December 5th, 2013 Bill_Kendal

Gunners Linked With Diarra

Lassana Diarra 200x200 9k

Arsenal are reported to have made an enquiry over one of their former players, Lassana Diarra, currently in Russia with Lokomotiv Moscow.

Diarra moved to Arsenal from Chelsea in August 2007 for a nominal fee but played only seven Premier League games for the Gunners before heading to Portsmouth in January 2008 for a fee of £5.5million. He subsequently moved to Real Madrid and while there was talk of a move back to the Premier League in 2012 he was instead sold to big-spending Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala.


Anzhi hit financial difficulties during the summer and Diarra was sold to Lokomotiv Moscow. He is believed to be happy at the Russian side side but is keen on a move back to one of Europe’s top leagues and could head out of Moscow in January.

Manchester City have also made an enquiry but Diarra will only move if they match his current wages of £65,000-a-week wages excluding bonuses.

Diarra has been sent off twice already this season, but he has established himself as a first-choice central defensive midfielder and was voted Player Of The Month by Loko fans in November. His deal with the club runs to 2016.

Ntep Keen On Arsenal Move

Auxerre striker Paul-Georges Ntep has expressed an interest in joining Arsenal. The 21-year-old has been watched by scouts from the Emirates in recent weeks and reports from France suggest he could be a target for Arsene Wenger in the January transfer window.

“Arsenal is a club that trusts young players,” he told French newspaper L’Equipe.

“Will I leave in January? I am currently thinking about it.”

“Such a decision will depend on the project, the amount time in the first-team and the style of play at any new club.”

Ntep – who has scored five goals in 14 appearances for Auxerre so far this season – is valued at around £5million.

During the summer, Arsenal signed Ntep’s one-time strike partner Yaya Sanogo on a free transfer.


Alexandre Pato 200x200 13k

Arsenal Transfer News: Wenger Denies Striker Rumours

December 4th, 2013 Bill_Kendal


’No Truth’ Says Arsenal Boss

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has denied the club have made a £6.5million bid for Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato and are closing in on a loan move for Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata.

Reports from Brazil on Monday claimed the Gunners had lodged the bid – worth around 8million euro – for the Corinthians player who moved to the Sao Paulo side from AC Milan for 15million euro earlier this year. Meanwhile, Spanish media have reported that Arsenal have pipped Tottenham for the signature of young striker Morata but Wenger claims both reports are wide of the mark.

“No, there’s no truth in that,” said Wenger.

“I am not concerned about that. We have at the moment Yaya Sanogo who is a striker we brought in during the summer, who is coming back from injury in January. Hopefully he will help us in the second part of the season.”

Pato scored eight times for Corinthians in the 2013 Brazilian season while Morata hasn’t got the game time he looked set to pick up following the summer departure from the Bernabeu of two Madrid strikers, Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Callejon.

Wenger has previously stated that with Theo Walcott now back in contention and Lukas Podolski set to return from injury he might forego any major signings in January. Sanogo moved from French second division side Auxerre on a free transfer during the summer but he sustained a back injury in September and is expected to be out of action until the New Year.


West Ham United News

West Ham Transfer News: No Move for Gignac?

December 4th, 2013 Mike_Penwortham


Hammers Target Opts To Stay

West Ham United have been linked with a winter move for Marseille striker Andre-Pierre Gignac but reports from France claim he could be set to remain with the French side until this summer at the earliest.

French newspaper L’Equipe are reporting that the 27-year-old still has hopes of making France’s World Cup side and that a move away from Marseille in winter could adversely affect his hopes of making Didier Deschamps’ 23-man squad.

However, that situation could change at the end of the season. Gignac is out of contract in the summer of 2015 and both he and Marseille will be in a position where they have to make a decision about his future. That could initiate a departure from Marseille. It remains to be seen whether West Ham are in a position to make a bid.

Gignac has six goals in 19 games for Marseille so far this season, three of which came in the opening three games of the campaign.


Liverpool transfer news

Liverpool Transfer News Wednesday 4 December

December 4th, 2013 Ted_Ashton


Reds Linked With Burnley Front-Man

Liverpool have been linked with a number of strikers since the start of the season, but the latest name touted as a target for Brendan Rodgers is Burnley’s Danny Ings.

The 21-year-old, who has scored 15 times in 21 games for the Championship side, was being watched by Liverpool even before Daniel Sturridge’s enforced lay-off with an ankle injury and the Daily Mirror claims that Burnley’s current financial state means they would have to listen carefully to any Premier League offers for Ings. The parachute payments are running out from Burnley’s one-season stint in the Premier League in 2009-10 and the sale of Charlie Austin to QPR during the summer barely covered their operating losses.

However, the Mirror’s story fails to take into account Liverpool’s two Spanish strikers, Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto. Aspas – a £7.2million buy from Celta Vigo – has started four games for Liverpool and been a substitute in two others but has failed to score in any of those games. The latest reports suggest that Real Betis want to take him back to Spain in the winter transfer window. The Seville-based outfit currently lie bottom of La Liga and are looking to bolster their frontline in January.

Alberto – signed for £6.8million from Sevilla – has also yet to find the net in any of his seven appearances, six of which have come off the bench. The 21-year-old – the same age as Ings – spent last season on loan at Barcelona’s B team in the Spanish second division though Barca opted not to convert the loan into a permanent deal. He scored 11 times for the B team and is being seen at Anfield as one for the future.


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Manchester United Transfer News Wednesday 4 December

December 4th, 2013 Brian Harwood


Sneijder Cool On United Rumours

Manchester United could offer Nani and Antonio Valencia to Galatasaray in part-exchange for Wesley Sneijder, claims one British newspaper, but Sneijder insists he won’t be leaving the Turkish side this summer.

Galatasaray Sporting Coordinator Bülent Tulun told Milliyet newspaper yesterday that the club rejected an offer from United in the region of €7 million (£6million) over the summer.

”Sneijder received an indirect offer from Manchester United but it was not accepted,” Tulun said.

Reports in Turkey and England claim a bid from Old Trafford could still be on the cards. However, Sneijder rejected the idea of a move away from the Istanbul side.

“I’m going nowhere,” he said. “You’re going to keep seeing me in a red and yellow shirt.”

Sneijder was linked with United when he was with Inter Milan, particularly during the summer of 2011 when reports suggested a bid of around £20million could be lodged. In the end, Sneijder’s pay packet proved to be a problem for United and he was eventually sold to Galatasaray for 7.5million euro in January of this year after Inter told him he would never play for the club again unless he took a 50percent pay cut.

The Daily Express suggests Nani and Valencia could be offered to sweeten any deal. Nani was linked with interest from Galatasaray during the summer. The Turkish side bid 8million euro (£6.5million) for the Portugal international only to be told the asking price was 10million euro. Nani has since extended his contract with United.


Arsenal Transfer News Wednesday 4 December

December 4th, 2013 Bill_Kendal

Mulumbu Denies Arsenal Comments

Arsenal transfer news

West Bromwich Albion midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu has denied ever saying that he is a target for Arsenal. The Congo international was quoted at the weekend as saying that he has been approached by the Gunners and that he could be on his way to the Emirates in the winter transfer window next month. However, Mulumbu says that while he has done an interview with a French journalist he is unhappy about the manner in which his answers have been reported.

“The general point I was trying to make in the interview is that I want to play at the highest level possible,” he told the Birmingham Mail.

“I admitted there has been interest in me from other clubs during my time here but I didn’t speak about Arsenal and I also didn’t say I would be looking to move in January.

“Not many people had heard of me when I joined West Brom and I have a lot of respect for the club and, of course, the supporters.

“We have progressed together over the past five years and West Brom gave me my chance in the Premier League, which I’m grateful for.”


Sporting Put Hefty Tag on Youngster

Arsenal are one of a number of clubs being linked with Sporting Lisbon youngster William Carvalho but the Portugal international has had a £12.5million price tag slapped on his head by the Portugese side.

Carvalho came through the youth ranks at Sporting but spent a season-and-a-half at Cercle Bruges in Belgium until the end of the 2012-13 campaign before returning to Portugal. He made his international debut last month when he came on as a substitute in the second leg of the World Cup play-off clash with Sweden.

Arsenal and Chelsea are among the top sides to have watched the 21-year-old defensive midfielder in action and reports from Portugal suggest Sporting’s valuation is an attempt at deterring any chance of a move for the Angolan-born Carvalho.


Mangala Manchester United transfer news

Chelsea Transfer News: Porto Battle To Keep Mangala

December 3rd, 2013 Mike_Penwortham


Monaco Keen On Defender

Chelsea target Eliaquim Mangala will be offered a new deal by Porto to keep him at the Portugese champions, but the 22-year-old is now being watched by French side Monaco.

TalkSport claims Porto will offer central defender Mangala a new deal after a series of impressive performances this season have brought him to the attention of a number of Europe’s top clubs. Chelsea were linked during the summer and while there have been reports that the Blues are keen to do a deal in the region of £20million, Porto are notorious for sticking to the full value of their release clauses and Mangala’s release clause of £38million is more than Chelsea are willing to pay.

Reports from Portugal claim Mangala is set to sign a two-year contract extension with Porto, which will rule out a move to Stamford Bridge in January; however, scouts from Monaco have been present at a number of Porto’s recent games leading to speculation over a bid from the French side from Mangala.

Manchester United have also been linked with Mangala but if these latest reports are to be believed the Premier League duo will both miss out to Monaco in the race for the France Under-21 international.


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