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Posts Tagged ‘Transfer Players’

ARSENAL have told Barcelona: You can have Cesc Fabregas for £50million.

And Arsene Wenger has already held talks with Joe Cole over filling the gap left in the Gunners midfield.

Arsenal insisted skipper Fabregas, 23, was not for sale when they dismissed Barca’s opening bid last week.

But the Nou Camp’s top brass now claim Arsenal say they will sell… if Barca double their offer.

The Catalan giants are not prepared to do that but the fact Arsenal have named a price suggests there is now room for negotiation.

A Nou Camp source said: “This is the news the men in charge at Barca wanted.

“They now see the possibility of Arsenal cracking and are determined to get their man.

“They hope they can get an agreement at around the £35m mark.”

Chelsea star Cole met Gunners boss Wenger before jetting out to South Africa with England last week.

The former West Ham ace, 28, is out of contract and set to quit Stamford Bridge after seven years.

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has not given up hope of keeping Cole.

Assistant boss Ray Wilkins admitted: “Carlo and myself would love Joe to stay. But it’s down now to the club to see what we can do.”

RAFA BENITEZ is expected to be announced as the new Inter Milan manager within 48 hours – as exclusively revealed by SunSport.

Inter president Massimo Moratti will fly to Sardinia today for a meeting with ex-Liverpool boss Benitez at his holiday hotel.

Moratti considers the Spaniard an ideal replacement for Jose Mourinho, who quit to take over at Real Madrid.

He said: “I can only say good things about him.

“Benitez will be the new Inter manager. Over the next few days it will be decided. Benitez has beaten Jose five times – a sign he is well prepared.

“He works hard and in the important matches he makes no mistakes. It’s important we continue to do well in Europe. Doing well in the Champions League brings us satisfaction.”

Benitez’s No 2 Mauricio Pellegrini is also expected to join Inter, while outgoing Italy boss Marcello Lippi has been linked with Liverpool.

Liverpool have announced manager Rafael Benitez has left the club by mutual consent after six years in charge.

Benitez, 50, replaced Gerard Houllier as Liverpool manager in June 2004 and guided them to Champions League and FA Cup success the following two seasons.

But last season they made an early exit from the Champions League and finished only seventh in the Premier League.

Managing director Christian Purslow and former manager Kenny Dalglish are to begin the search for a replacement.

The club said there is no timeframe for an appointment and they will make no further comment until a new manager has been installed.
Benitez, who had four years of his five-year contract to run, finalised his departure after agreeing a severance payment and said he was “extremely sad” to be leaving the club.

“I’ll always keep in my heart the good times I’ve had here, the strong and loyal support of the fans in the tough times and the love from Liverpool,” he told the club’s website.

“I have no words to thank you enough for all these years and I am very proud to say that I was your manager.

“Thank you so much once more and always remember: You’ll never walk alone.”

Recently appointed club chairman Martin Broughton thanked Benitez for his efforts, but said it was time for a new era.

“Rafa will forever be part of Liverpool folklore after bringing home the Champions League following the epic final [against AC Milan] in Istanbul but after a disappointing season both parties felt a fresh start would be best for all concerned,” he said.
Former Valencia coach Benitez had been linked with Real Madrid and Juventus in recent months, but with both those clubs now having new men in charge he could be in the running to fill the vacant position at European champions Inter Milan following the departure of Jose Mourinho.

One thing that could delay the appointment of a permanent successor to Benitez at Anfield is the uncertainty over the club’s future ownership.

Liverpool are £351m in debt and were put up for sale by co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett earlier this year.

The American pair’s ownership of the Reds has been a long-running source of discontent for many fans, who are unhappy with the way the club is being run, and there have been regular protests and public disputes.

Benitez had a fractious relationship with the pair, who admitted sounding out former Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann about the possibility of him taking over from Benitez at the end of 2007, when they feared the Spaniard could leave the club. Read the rest of this entry »

Inter Milan are lining up a move for Liverpool striker Fernando Torres should Jose Mourinho lure Diego Milito or Samuel Eto’o to Real Madrid, according to reports in Italy.

The European champions lost boss Mourinho to the Bernabeu this week and are bracing themselves for bids for forwards Eto’o and Milito, who scored twice as Inter beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.

But the Italian giants are set to move for unsettled Spain hotshot Torres, whose future at Anfield is uncertain following the club’s disappointing season, which resulted in a failure to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition.

Chelsea are also lining up a £70million bid for Torres, who is also wanted by mega-bucks Manchester City. But the Eastlands club are now unlikely to move for the star as their failure also to reach the Champions League makes it unlikely the striker would consider a move to Manchester.

Torres fuelled speculation surrounding his future last week when he refused to commit to Liverpool, insisting that he was focusing on a summer with Spain before deciding on his future. He said: ‘The more important thing for me now is the World Cup. My future is the World Cup, We’ll see later.’

Inter look set to join the race for his signature, but would be unlikely to bid should they convince Milito or Eto’o to stay at the San Siro. Mourinho is said to be lining up a double-deal for both Milito and full-back Maicon, but could fall back on Eto’o if the Argentina forward is unavailable.

Jose Mourinho is set to coach Real Madrid  in a deal between European soccer powers, leaving Inter Milan  less than a week after guiding the Italian club to the Champions League title.

The agreement was announced after a meeting in Milan between Madrid president Florentino Perez and Inter counterpart Massimo Moratti. Madrid will pay $19 million in two installments, the Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport said.

Real Madrid said Mourinho will be introduced Monday at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. He replaces Manuel Pelligrini, who was fired Wednesday.

Mourinho confirmed he wanted to join Madrid after Inter beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in the Spanish capital last Saturday to win the Champions League.

In two years with Inter, Mourinho led the club to two league titles, one Italian cup and its first European Cup since 1965. Before that, he led Chelsea to two Premier League titles. He also won the Champions League with FC Porto of Portugal in 2004.

Mourinho is a defensive-minded coach and questions have been raised over how he will blend the attacking talents of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema.

”We have to know what we have and apply it in the best possible way to create damage,” Mourinho told the Spanish daily AS. ”Madrid has Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka who are very good on one-on-ones. We have to find a style of play that allows them to do that. The principles of play depend on the players you have.”

Madrid has won nine European Cups but its last Champions League triumph came in 2002. Last summer, Madrid spent large sums on Ronaldo, Kaka and Benzema but failed to progress past the first knockout round of the Champions League.

”I think Madrid have signed me because they know that they can demand aims in the short term, but that I am also capable of leaving a base for the future,” Mourinho said. Read the rest of this entry »

CESC FABREGAS has told Arsenal he wants to join Barcelona this summer.

The Gunners’ skipper broke the news to boss Arsene Wenger yesterday morning.

His decision left Wenger upset and shell-shocked.

Fabregas, 23, now hopes Arsenal can strike a swift £30million deal with the Catalan giants so he can focus on helping Spain win the World Cup.
A source said: “It’s a sad day for Arsenal but not unexpected.

“Cesc loves the club, yet after seven years of great service has realised it’s time to move on.

“Barcelona is the only club for which he would leave Arsenal. And don’t forget it is the team he has supported since he was a child.”

Barca are likely to begin talks tomorrow.

A friend of Fabregas confirmed: “Cesc has demanded of Arsenal that they accept the sale if Barcelona present a formal offer.”

Barcelona, who won their second La Liga on the trot last Sunday, also expect to complete the capture of Valencia striker David Villa by Friday – for £42.5m.

Villa, the second-top Spain goalscorer after Raul, has already passed a club medical.

CARLO ANCELOTTI has admitted for the first time he would like to see Fernando Torres at Chelsea.

SunSport revealed yesterday Blues striker Didier Drogba is keen to link up with Liverpool’s Spanish ace.

Blues owner Roman Abramovich is also willing to splash the £50million needed and Ancelotti said: “It’s not only Drogba – I would like to play with Torres. He’s a very good player.

“But this is not an issue for now. He is a Liverpool player and is a good striker but we have two fantastic strikers and this is not for this moment.”

Ancelotti is on the brink of winning a second trophy in his maiden season.

But the Italian has praised the work of his Pompey counterpart, Avram Grant, while admitting Chelsea’s victory at Fratton Park two months ago was the turning point of their season.

He added: “That game was an important game for us because it was a difficult moment.

“At the time they didn’t have much motivation but, on Saturday, they have a lot of motivation in the final.

“Avram is a very good coach. He was here in Chelsea for one year and did a very good job.

“And also this year, Portsmouth have had a difficult year but he did well to take them to the final and get his players to go out with strong, strong motivation.”

Jose Mourinho has fuelled speculation he will move to Real Madrid this summer
by admitting he will coach the Spanish giants ‘sooner or later’.

Former Chelsea boss Mourinho is currently preparing his Inter Milan side for this weekend’s Serie A climax where they go into the final round of fixtures two points clear of Roma.

Then comes the Champions League final, in Madrid, against Bayern Munich on May 22.

Recent reports have suggested the Bayern clash will be Mourinho’s last on the Inter bench before he switches to Madrid and he was doing little to quell the rumours in an interview with Panorama magazine published on Friday.

He said: ‘What they write about me having one foot in Madrid and one in Milan is false.

‘(But) Sooner or later I will coach Real Madrid. I coached a big team in England, I am coaching a big team in Italy, and then I will coach a big team in Spain.’

Mourinho has already led Inter to the Coppa Italia this season and is closing in on a treble. Read the rest of this entry »

Fernando Torres was anxiously awaiting news of Rafa Benitez’s meeting with
Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton last night after deciding he wants his uncertain Anfield future resolved in the next week.

Liverpool’s record £21million signing is in demand after it became clear Anfield bosses may have to cash in on him, with Chelsea, Manchester City and Barcelona all waiting for any encouragement to open a bidding war that could send the fee soaring to £70m.

While Benitez presented his argument to Broughton over why any proceeds should go towards strengthening his squad, rather than servicing the club’s debt, Torres was agonising over his next move.

Alarmed at the way Liverpool’s campaign has petered out and left them lagging behind their main rivals, he wants answers on whether Benitez is staying and evidence of a strategy to guard against any repeat of this season’s failings.

Eager to avoid any unwanted distractions ahead of next month’s World Cup, he has made it clear he needs to know Liverpool’s intentions before he leaves Merseyside next week, in readiness for linking up with the Spain squad. He may be prepared to tolerate one more season without Champions League football but is ready to move on, should Liverpool deem a £70m offer too good to turn down. Read the rest of this entry »