Archive » 2009 » July

Mark Viduka is ready to agree a one-year deal with Portsmouth after they failed to lure Croatia striker Nikola Kalinic to Fratton Park. Viduka, 33, has turned down a similar offer at Hull to link up with Pompey boss Paul Hart and postpone his retirement until next summer. The Australia striker is free agent after being released from Newcastle at the end of last season in the wake of the club’s relegation from the Premier League.

Source: Daily Mail

Arsene Wenger is poised to break into the £40million he has received from Manchester City by tying up a deal for long-term target Blaise Matuidi. And it looks increasingly likely the youngster will be mentored by Patrick Vieira, who could be on his way back to Arsenal. Fans concerned by the lack of transfer activity will be cheered by the news that Wenger is ready to splash cash from the sales of Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure to City on St Etienne’s £5m-rated defensive midfielder Matuidi, a France Under-21 international.

Source: Daily Mail

Arsene Wenger’s preferred midfield target this summer is the Roma and Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi, and despite the Italian club’s reluctance to sell Arsenal have not given up hope that Roma’s perilous financial position could force a sale. Like Liverpool’s pursuit of De Rossi’s Roma team-mate Alberto Aquilani, the player’s future is bound up with the financial problems of the club and the long-term plans of the Sensi family who own it. De Rossi, 26, is regarded as the most important player at the club behind Francisco Totti and is valued at around £30m, which is far in excess of any transfer fee paid by Arsenal in the past. While De Rossi’s reputation in England is not distinguished because of some of Roma’s less than impressive Champions League performances in recent years, he is regarded in Italy as one of the country’s finest players.

Source: The Independent

Manchester United are set to launch a £35million bid for Franck Ribery. But the Premier League champions will wait two weeks before weighing in so that a clause in Ribery’s Bayern Munich contract is active. The French winger is due a loyalty bonus on August 14, after which he is expected to request a transfer. Bayern have fended off interest from Real Madrid whose arrogance and lack of respect infuriated the German giants. But Ribery has indicated he would be willing to move to Old Trafford and wants to quit Germany.

Source: The Sun

Inter Milan are ready to revive their interest in Chelsea midfielder Deco if Alexander Hleb snubs a loan move to the Italian champions. The former Arsenal midfielder was initially to join Inter as part of the swap deal involving Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. However, Hleb is now set for a return to former side Stuttgart after becoming concerned he would spend most of his time on the bench at Inter, just as he did at the Nou Camp.

Source: Daily Mail

Aston Villa are monitoring Robbie Keane’s situation at Tottenham following Peter Crouch’s £9m move to White Hart Lane from Portsmouth. With Spurs boss Harry Redknapp reuniting Crouch with his old Pompey strike partner Jermaine Defoe and still pursuing Real Madrid striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Keane is in danger of dropping down the pecking order. Villa are believed to be interested in taking the former Wolves and Coventry striker back to the Midlands but would have to match his £70,000-a-week wages.

Source: Daily Mail

Liverpool are on the verge of striking a compromise deal to sell Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid and will plough part of his transfer fee into bids for Wigan midfielder Lee Cattermole and Hull defender Michael Turner. After a summer of being linked with players of the calibre of David Villa and his Valencia team-mate David Silva, Cattermole and Turner can hardly be described as box-office signings. But with FIFA planning to introduce a rule limiting clubs to five foreigners in their starting lineup, Benitez is believed to be concerned about the small number of English players in his squad. He is ready to tempt Wigan with an offer of £12m for Cattermole, who cost just £3.5m from Middlesbrough a year ago. Wigan insist they do not want to sell the combative midfielder and have so far resisted attempts by their former manager Steve Bruce to take him to Sunderland. Although Bruce would also be prepared to go as high as £12m, he knows that Sunderland cannot match Liverpool’s pulling power or offer Cattermole a chance to play on European football’s biggest stage.

Source: Daily Mail

Arsene Wenger wants Patrick Vieira to make a shock return to Arsenal. Vieira, 33, who spent nine years at the club before being sold to Juventus for £13.7million in 2005, is considering an identical offer from Gunners boss Wenger to the one made by bitter North London rivals Spurs. Both clubs are ready to give the Inter Milan midfielder a one-year contract with big bonuses.

Source: The Sun

Chelsea are weighing up an £8.6m swap deal for playmaker Andrea Pirlo that would send Claudio Pizarro and Michael Mancienne to AC Milan. Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti is a huge admirer of Italy midfielder Pirlo, 30, who led his country to glory at the 2006 World Cup. But the purse strings have been tightened at Stamford Bridge as owner Roman Abramovich bids to make the club more self-sufficient. That means Chelsea have been unable to splash big money on the one marquee signing Ancelotti wants.

Source: Daily Star

Stephen Hunt is talking to Portsmouth over a £3.5m move after they agreed a one year deal with defender Steve Finnan. Reading have dropped their asking price for Hunt as Paul Hart attempts to bolster his squad following Peter Crouch’s depature. Hart is also talking to Cardiff striker Ross McCormack over a £3m deal but his interest in Croatia striker Nikola Kalinic could stall due to red tape.

Source: Daily Mail