Transfer news

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lets keep it in this thread plz

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Aston Villa are the latest English club to be credited with an interest in Espanyol's highly-rated defender Albert Lopo.
David O'Leary's side are rumoured to have sent an agent and scout to see the centre back feature in the 3-0 win against Numancia at the weekend.
The Catalan club appreciate the fact that Lopo's contract expires in 2006 and are believed to be willing to discuss a transfer if they cannot tie him to fresh terms.
Manchester United have watched the 25-year-old but have yet to make a decision over whether to bid for the player.
Villa are reportedly willing to open the bidding for Lopo and could be the mystery club the Spaniard has referred to in his most recent statement to the media.
"There have been negotiations with several teams but there is one in particular we are speaking to at the moment," he said.
"It would always be nice to play for a top side in England but, at the moment, I do not have an offer.
"At the end of the day, it is down to Espanyol, as I am under contract to them, and whether they receive an attractive offer."
Lopo has been linked with a number of Premiership clubs in the past but Villa's name is a new one in the frame.
Bolton Wanderers are also admirers of his talents

[Mercenary]

you know you dont have to keep it in one thread anymore if you dont want to.

Thats unless you would prefer it that way?

[Waqar's inswinging yorker]

it is easier merc bhai

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Patrick Kluivert has confirmed he will leave Newcastle United this summer following just one season in The Premiership.
The Dutch marksman has failed to light up England's top-flight in his debut campaign, netting just six league goals to date.
Kluivert has the option of a further two years at St James' Park, should both parties concur, however the striker is keen to return to Spain rather than Turkey.
The 28-year-old enjoyed a successful spell with Barcelona, prior to his stint in the North East, and wants to return to La Liga.
"I am going back to Spain and not Turkey," said Kluivert to the News of the World.
Meanwhile, chairman Freddy Shepherd has confirmed the club will be making the appropriate changes in the summer to avoid another season of disappointment.
The Magpies are currently languishing in 12th place in The Premiership and not even a place in the semi-final of the FA Cup has been able to disguise a below-par campaign.
"There are some big decisions to be made," said Shepherd..
"I want to sit down with Graeme [Souness] before the final match with Chelsea even though most of the transfer activity won't happen for a few weeks.
"It has been one of the most difficult seasons I have faced as chairman. It has turned out to be Newcastle's annus horribilis.
"Graeme and I now have to ensure that there is no repeat of the things that went on this season and we will be taking measures to sort things out."

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Barcelona have refused to comment on speculation linking them with a summer swoop for Arsenal star Robert Pires.
The French winger has just one more year left on his current contract at Highbury and has been warned he will only be offered yearly deals when that expires.
Although Pires insists he is keen to remain at Highbury, The Gunners' refusal to hand him an extended deal has led to speculation he could move on in search of a more attractive proposal.
Valencia were credited with an interest in the 31-year-old, but it is Primera rivals Barcelona who have most recently been touted as potential suitors by the French media.
However, the Catalan outfit refused to be drawn on the speculation and told skysports.com that they would not be commenting on possible recruits.
"We will not speak on this name or any other," director of sport Txiki Beguiristain stated.
"We are only interested in the league title at this moment."
Barca are expected to be busy in the summer transfer market despite a successful season in which they look like clinching their first Spanish title for five years.
Los Cules can restore their six-point advantage at the summit of La Primera if they beat Valencia at The Mestalla on Sunday.

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Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has joined the race to sign Real Betis star Joaquin and hopes to persuade the player to snub Real Madrid and Chelsea.
The Anfield manager is keen to add to his Spanish contingency and Betis president Manuel Ruiz de Lopera says that he has now come in for Joaquin.
The Spanish international winger has been the subject of interest from Chelsea throughout the season and the Andalucian club were reported to have turned down a substantial offer from The Blues in January.
The player himself has always stated his desire to join Real Madrid, the club he supports, and it is well known that Florentino Perez is a fan of his.
But Benitez has made his admiration of Joaquin clear and Lopera says that he is already expecting an offer from the Premiership club in the summer.
"There is an English club, with a great Spanish coach. He has just taken his team to the final of the Champions League and knows our market very well and he wants to ensure that Joaquin does not go to Chelsea or Madrid," Lopera revealed.
"It is not always possible to turn down offers and here at Betis we are not going to say that he is not for sale and then go and sell him."
Benitez already has a host of Spaniards at the club but Joaquin is a more recognised name and is hot property in Europe, although The Reds may find it hard to match the financial muscle of real and Chelsea should a bidding war ensue.

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Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard has hinted loan duo Javier Saviola and Juan Roman Riquelme could still have a future in Catalunya.
The pair are currently out on loan to Monaco and Villarreal respectively, however their quality has never been in doubt.
The Camp Nou giants made a host of signings last summer including Henrik Larsson, Ludovic Giuly and Deco and that left little room for Saviola and Riquelme.
However, the duo have performed well away from Barca this term and they could be given a chance to resurrect their careers with the Liga leaders.
"They are players with a lot of talent and it's necessary to value how we want the team to work and what possibilities we have," explained Rijkaard.
"I consider them two very important players in the world of soccer and we cannot discard anything because we are working and considering everything."
Meanwhile, Rijkaard has not made up his mind whether Gerard has done enough to merit a contract extension.
The Barca boss is a fan of the former Valencia midfielder, but has to consider all the possibilities before deciding his future.
"He is a player with a lot of talent," he added. "On the other hand it's necessary to be realistic and see that he takes a long time to recover from injuries.
"I like Gerard, but it's necessary to think about what's best for the club."
In other news, club president Joan Laporta has flown to China in a bid to finalise the club's first ever shirt sponsorship.
A delegation from the club are expected to meet with Chinese officials that could see them promote the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

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Real Madrid star Guti has played down talk of a possible move to England during the summer.
As seems to be customary when every campaign draws to an end, the talented midfielder's future has been called into question after another season on the fringes of the Real first-team.
The 28-year-old has made 22 starts for Los Merengues this term but has never established himself as a first-choice with the likes of David Beckham and Thomas Gravesen blocking his path to a place in the centre of Real's midfield.
Unsurprisingly, it has led to fresh speculation the Real youth product might finally decide to seek pastures new in the summer to secure a guaranteed first-team berth.
A move to The Premiership, where Arsenal are known to be long-term admirers, has been mooted, but Guti insists he is happy to stay at the Santiago Bernabeu.
"England is very good but, I am happy in Madrid," he stated.
The player also poured cold water on reports he could be used as a makeweight in deals to revamp the Real squad which looks sure to be overhauled with another trophyless campaign in the offing.
The Primera titans have been linked with a host of stars both in Europe and beyond, but Guti still feels he has a part to play in the Spanish capital.
"I don't know anything (about a move), only the rumours and the news in the press and I don't talk about those" he continued.
"I belong to Real until they tell me otherwise

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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has told Real Madrid to forget about any plans they might have to sign Jose Antonio Reyes this summer.
The Spanish titans have been linked with a move for Reyes over the past couple of months following his admission on a Spanish radio hoax that he would relish a switch to the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 21-year-old is reported to have suffered with homesickness and, after failing to produce his best form for long periods of the campaign, talk of a rapid return to Spain surfaced.
Real have made positive noises over the possible move for the Spain international and Wenger had seemed to have opened the door to a possible move by pressing Real to submit a bid if their interest was indeed serious.
However, The Gunners supremo has now insisted he has no desire to offload Reyes and is confident the youngster will still be at Highbury come next season.
"If Real Madrid wanted to buy him, they could have bought him a year ago," he told The Evening Standard. "They can forget it.
"I am not aware of Real Madrid getting in touch about Jose and I want to keep him here.
"In my heart of hearts, I think he will be here next season.
"My determination to keep Jose here is great. I have said many times that I do not buy a player of his age to sell him one year later."
"It takes you two years to feel completely at home. Jose is improving as a player and he is getting better and better with every game.
"It would be a shame if he went now and it would be the wrong decision. I think he will stay."

[Mercenary]

after seeing all those posts WIY i have to agree that it is easier :-D

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Manchester United have been linked with Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini.

The People says United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has identified the 31-year-old Italian as the £5million man to solve his team's goalkeeping problems.

Cudicini, who joined Chelsea on loan from Castel di Sangro in 1999 before signing permanently the following year, is reluctant to quit Blues but wants to be playing first-team football, and a move to Manchester United will give him the chance to resurrect his career.

Chelsea are unlikely to stand in the way of Cudicini, who has a contract until 2008 at Stamford Bridge, although they are wary of selling him to one of their big rivals as they do not want the move to come back and haunt them.

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Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira admits he came very close to joining Real Madrid last summer.

In the end, Vieira only decided to stay with the Gunners two days from the opening game of the season. He told the Observer: "I told Mr Wenger that I had decided to stay.

"I thanked him for allowing me the time to make a decision. I knew that it was a very difficult time for him as well, that the season was coming and he wanted to get on with building the team.

"I explained to him why I wanted to stay - because I wanted to improve and I believed he could help me improve. We have a good squad, with Henry, Campbell and Cole. I told him that we must achieve what we needed to achieve, that Dennis and I wanted to stay to finish the job - and that means winning the Champions League."

It was reported that Vieira cried as he spoke to Wenger. "Cry? I'm not sure I cried, but it was very emotional ... the boss has always been fantastic for me."

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There are concerns Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o is becoming more and more withdrawn.

The Cameroon international has refused to speak with the Madrid media since April 7 and was visibly upset over his late substitution for last week's victory over Albacete.

Eto'o has been struggling for goals and with injury in recent weeks and a Barca employee told AS: "If he is well, everything is wonderful for him. But if something goes wrong, then he becomes unstable."

Chelsea have been linked with a £30 million bid for the African star over the last week.

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AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti has dismissed Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho's comments that they want to land striker Andrei Shevchenko.

Mourinho declared last week that Milan would have to offer Shevchenko in part exchange if they wanted to sign Chelsea striker Hernan Crespo permanently in the summer.

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AS Roma have been linked with Newcastle United winger Laurent Robert.

The Frenchman will be sold by Toon chairman Freddy Shepherd in the summer after a catalog of bust-ups with management over comments made in the press this season.

Real Betis and Olympique Marseille have been credited with interest in Robert, while Roma are also keen as they consider the left-sided attacker as an alternative to Siena winger Rodrigo Taddei, who is now close to agreeing terms with Inter Milan.

[ImranR]

CHELSEA CHASING DEDE
Borussia Dortmund left-back Dede has claimed that he has been approached by Chelsea over the possibility of a summer transfer.

However, it appears that any proposed switch would hit a major stumbling block over a work permit for the 27-year-old Brazilian.

Dede has been outstanding for Dortmund in a difficult season both on and off the pitch, and even though he only agreed a new two-year deal in January, the Bundesliga club's spiralling debts could force them to consider offers.

"There has been contact on two occasions, the first one was one-and-a-half months ago and the second one about two weeks ago," Dede told the Ruhr Nachrichten newspaper.

"In order to play in England I must have played in three quarters of Brazil's international games or hold an EU passport and I can't offer that, but Chelsea claimed that they'd look for ways to naturalise me in Germany."

It is known Chelsea are keen to sign a left-back after manager Jose Mourinho, having clinched the Premiership title, revealed his summer transfer plans to The London Evening Standard.


Mourinho said: "We will keep our group of champions and improve it. If we look at the left-back position for example, we have only Wayne Bridge. We can improve on that place before next season.

"When you look at the attacking players we can say we need another one. In midfield we can keep them all and maybe add another one."


Dede joined Dortmund from Atletico Mineiro in 1998, and helped steer the Westphalia outfit to the 2002 Bundesliga title.

This season the club's very future was under threat, but a financial rescue package has ensured that they will play in the German top flight for at least one more season.

[ImranR]

Alex eyes Sagnol bid
Alex Ferguson has stolen a march on Arsene Wenger in the race for £4million France star Willy Sagnol. Both Manchester United and Arsenal fancy the Bayern Munich full-back. But United boss Fergie is close to beating off competition from Wenger after talks with Sagnol’s advisors. Sagnol said: "Manchester United and also Arsenal are keen. If I quit Bayern it will be for a big European club. I want to discover another championship - a new deal is now what I expect from Bayern."
Staff reporter, News of the World

[ImranR]

Blues in war with United
Chelsea are ready to go to war with Manchester United over their signing of £4million wonderkid John Obi Mikel. The Blues are threatening legal action because they insist the Nigerian teenage sensation had already agreed to join them. A bemused Mikel, who plays for Norwegian side FC Lyn Oslo, revealed he had originally done a deal to go to Chelsea NOT United. At the press conference to announce his move to Old Trafford last weekend, Mikel, 18, confessed: “I am surprised it turned out to be Manchester United not Chelsea.”
Rob Beasley, News of the World

[ImranR]

News of the World

Arsene Wenger says he wants to bring David Beckham to Highbury next season

Barcelona are planning a £30m bid for Arsenal striker Thierry Henry

Blackburn are watching Standard Liege's 14-goal striker Sambegou Bangoura, who would cost £3m

Birmingham set to fight it out with Fiorentina and Bologna for Juventus midfielder Steven Appiah

Pompey hopeful of signing Panathinaikos star Michalis Konstantinou this summer

Barcelona keen on Fulham's Papa Bouba Diop

Chelsea are lining up a £15m swoop for Robinho - but he'd be loaned to PSV Eindhoven for two years

Real Madrid ready to use Luis Figo as bait to land Man Utd's Ronaldo

Porto's Benni McCarthy keen on a £2m move to Blackburn

Liverpool ready to offer Juventus midfielder Olivier Kapo a one-year loan deal

Aston Villa boss David O'Leary ready to gamble on the fitness of Eirik Bakke by making a bid for the Leeds midfielder

Pompey's out-of-contract midfielder Patrik Berger wanted by Villa

Fulham face competition from abroad to sign Austria Vienna's Polish midfielder Sebastian Mila

Spurs very keen to land Chelsea defender Glen Johnson

The People

Turkish giants Galatasaray want Graeme Souness to return as boss

Derby boss George Burley is being lined up to replace Chris Coleman as Fulham manager

Graeme Souness wants to land Scott Parker and Gareth Barry as he plans a clear-out at Newcastle

Tottenham are leading the race to sign Racing Santander's £5m rated Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayouni

Rangers are eyeing up Iain Dowie as a possible replacement for Alex McLeish

Sunderland are keen to land Cardiff youngster Cameron Jerome

Liverpool are trying to lure Middlesbrough's brilliant young winger Adam Johnson to Anfield

Birmingham boss Steve Bruce could offer Leicester keeper Ian Walker a return to the Premiership this summer

Man Utd ready to sell Kleberson to Benfica, Liam Miller to Norwich and David Bellion back to Sunderland

Sir Alex Ferguson is keen on Aston Villa's young midfielder Steve Davis

Arsenal are considering a move for PSG winger Jerome Rothen

Aston Villa are planning a summer swoop for Fulham midfielder Steed Malbranque

Sunday Mirror

Chelsea are lining up a £30m summer move for Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o

Mikael Forssell tells Birmingham he wants to stay and fight for his place at Chelsea

Liverpool have "agreed" a £5m deal with Villarreal for keeper Jose Reina

Birmingham competing with Schalke and Porto for Sao Paulo defender Cicinho

Everton manager David Moyes is planning a summer swoop for Leeds teenager Simon Walton

Craig Bellamy will turn his back on Celtic and wants move to top Premiership or European club

Arsenal interested in PSG midfielder Modeste M'Bami

West Ham to release Steve Lomas, Toma Repka, Don Hutchison and Christian Dailly

Charlton want to sign Italian striker Bernardo Corradi from Valencia

Sunday Express

Manchester United in talks to bring Luis Figo to Old Trafford on a free

David Beckham wants to stay at Real Madrid for life

Mail on Sunday

Sir Alex Ferguson fears Rio Ferdinand wants a move to Chelsea

[Geordie Ahmed]

AS Roma have been linked with Newcastle United winger Laurent Robert.

The Frenchman will be sold by Toon chairman Freddy Shepherd in the summer after a catalog of bust-ups with management over comments made in the press this season.

Real Betis and Olympique Marseille have been credited with interest in Robert, while Roma are also keen as they consider the left-sided attacker as an alternative to Siena winger Rodrigo Taddei, who is now close to agreeing terms with Inter Milan.

please let this be true

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Deportivo La Coruna president Augusto Caesar Lendoiro is encouraging Newcastle United to bid for defender Jorge Andrade.

The Portugal international is being chased by Inter Milan, but Lendoiro would prefer to do business with a Premiership club and knows Newcastle boss Graeme Souness rates Andrade very highly.

Souness has watched Andrade several times this season and Lendoiro knows the Newcastle manager is in the market for a new centre-half to pair with Jean Alain Boumsong next season.

Lendoiro had dinner with Andrade's agent, Jorge Mendes, on Monday evening to discuss Inter's interest. But the Depor supremo is hopeful of seeing Newcastle, or another Premiership club like Birmingham City, come in to rival the Italians and so drive up Andrade's price when the summer market opens in June.



ANDRADE IS TOP NOTCH - him and boumsong would be a quality pairing!!! both are young and great athletes!!

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Real Zaragoza president Alfonso Solans is ready to listen to offers for star defender Gaby Milito.
The Argentina international is Zaragoza's most saleable asset and with debts nearing £35 million, Solans is prepared to cash in on the young centre-half.

Manchester United have made an inquiry about Milito's availability, while Barcelona are also keen.

The defender's agent, Eduardo Gamarnik, met with Zaragoza chiefs on Tuesday to discuss his future. The club indicated they wanted to secure Milito to a long-term deal, though no figures were discussed.

Zaragoza directors Pedro Herrera and Miguel Pardeza want Milito to stay, but Solans will overrule them and invite bids for the centre-half when the summer market opens.



THATS IT MAN UTD - target another centre back!!!

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The agent of Ajax midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has revealed talks with AS Roma about a summer move.

The Holland international's agent told Il Romanista that he had spoken with Daniele Prade, who will be appointed Roma sports director next month, about a switch to Italy. He also mentioned contact with "Arsenal, Liverpool, Juventus and Hamburg".

Roma are ready to offer £3.5 million for Van der Vaart, who has just over a year to run on his current Ajax deal.

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Real Madrid are pressing Santos to allow them to announce the signing of Robinho immediately at the end of the season.

Santos have insisted that nothing be confirmed publicly until their Copa Liberatores campaign has run its course, but Real are eager to announce Robinho's signing to satisfy fans who will be keen to see an early blow in the summer market as Barcelona celebrate their Liga triumph.

While Chelsea have also been linked with the Brazil international, Real have a verbal agreement with Robinho over a five-year contract and also a preliminary deal with Santos worth between £8 million and £12 million.

Real want to unveil Robinho as their latest galactico, in the same way they presented Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham. The timing of Michael Owen's switch last summer from Liverpool prevented Real from celebrating his capture in the galacticos manner.

Despite his lower profile in Europe, Robinho is the biggest name in South America and ever since his signing with Real Madrid was mooted last November a campaign - led by Pele - has been raging urging him to stay in Brazil.

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transfer scramble for Argentine star Andres D'Alessandro looks set to ensue this summer.
With England reported to be his prime option - Premiership clubs have now been placed on alert.
D'Alessandro's agent Marcelo Simonian has instructed the English branch of his Dodici operation to begin negotiations for a possible move.
The relationship between Wolfsburg and D'Alessandro has become strained in recent weeks and they now look ready to let him leave on a season-long loan with a view to a permanent switch.
The likes of Liverpool, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Birmingham, Everton and Bolton are all now ready to make their interest known in the 24-year-old left footer.
"There is a great deal of interest in D'Alessandro," Simonian's English-based colleague Barry McIntosh confirmed to skysports.com.
"We are now assessing what options are available to him."



THIS GUY IS EXCEPTIONAL - a personal fave of mine!! - whoever gets this guy will b very lucky

[adi 101]

CHELSEA CHASING DEDE
Borussia Dortmund left-back Dede has claimed that he has been approached by Chelsea over the possibility of a summer transfer.

However, it appears that any proposed switch would hit a major stumbling block over a work permit for the 27-year-old Brazilian.

Dede has been outstanding for Dortmund in a difficult season both on and off the pitch, and even though he only agreed a new two-year deal in January, the Bundesliga club's spiralling debts could force them to consider offers.

"There has been contact on two occasions, the first one was one-and-a-half months ago and the second one about two weeks ago," Dede told the Ruhr Nachrichten newspaper.

"In order to play in England I must have played in three quarters of Brazil's international games or hold an EU passport and I can't offer that, but Chelsea claimed that they'd look for ways to naturalise me in Germany."

It is known Chelsea are keen to sign a left-back after manager Jose Mourinho, having clinched the Premiership title, revealed his summer transfer plans to The London Evening Standard.


Mourinho said: "We will keep our group of champions and improve it. If we look at the left-back position for example, we have only Wayne Bridge. We can improve on that place before next season.

"When you look at the attacking players we can say we need another one. In midfield we can keep them all and maybe add another one."


Dede joined Dortmund from Atletico Mineiro in 1998, and helped steer the Westphalia outfit to the 2002 Bundesliga title.

This season the club's very future was under threat, but a financial rescue package has ensured that they will play in the German top flight for at least one more season.
dede is truly one sick player on football manager!!!!!!! plus you can get him for free i got him for man utd is truly a sick player well in the game anyway

[Waqar's inswinging yorker]

he isnt that great in real life!

[pakistani pride]

van der vaarts attitude is pathethic !!!

[Geordie Ahmed]

Deportivo La Coruna president Augusto Caesar Lendoiro is encouraging Newcastle United to bid for defender Jorge Andrade.

The Portugal international is being chased by Inter Milan, but Lendoiro would prefer to do business with a Premiership club and knows Newcastle boss Graeme Souness rates Andrade very highly.

Souness has watched Andrade several times this season and Lendoiro knows the Newcastle manager is in the market for a new centre-half to pair with Jean Alain Boumsong next season.

Lendoiro had dinner with Andrade's agent, Jorge Mendes, on Monday evening to discuss Inter's interest. But the Depor supremo is hopeful of seeing Newcastle, or another Premiership club like Birmingham City, come in to rival the Italians and so drive up Andrade's price when the summer market opens in June.



ANDRADE IS TOP NOTCH - him and boumsong would be a quality pairing!!! both are young and great athletes!!

Andrade is a good defender, i would be happy if we could sign him BUT a centre back should not be our number 1 priority. We need 2 strikers, a Left Winger, a Right Winger and a Left Back more