Footy In A Week

Liverpool

Hamann is set to make a record with the shortest transfer spell in Premiership history. Liverpool had agreed to let the player go and at one time the player was destined to sign for Bolton. Then Manchester City entered the picture and wanted the German veteran. Eventually Hamann signed for Bolton, but in the same day he had a change of heart and will sign for Manchester City now. Hamann is officialy a Bolton player, and the club agreed to let him go after a short while of signing the contract.

Reports from Spain are saying that Benitez is considering to bid for Argentinian veteran Roberto Ayala. The 33-year-old has less than a year remaining on his current contract and has indicated that he is ready to test himself in the Premier League.

Benitez is also waiting on the Juventus situation. It seems like he’ll wait for the verdict before he concludes his business elsewhere.
Manchester United

Looks like the Red Devils aren’t that fun to play at anymore. With the recent C.Ronaldo statements of wanting to leave, Gabriel Heinze is said to be desperate to go, and Real Madrid is the destination. Manchester are having a real problem at their hands if that turns out to be true. The club is probably looking for a replacement for Nistelrooy, who is also said to be going to Madrid.
Real Madrid

Speaking of which, Madrid are posed to snatch Franck Ribery under the noses of Lyon and the Premiership clubs linked to him. The player himself have made contradicting statements, saying he wants to play for Lyon in one statement and for an English club in another.

Real Madrid also claim they are close to capturing Italy’s World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro from Juventus.
The rest..

Portsmouth look like they have a mini-sugar daddy in their Russian owner. The English club are making serious bold bids for international players, and just recently the bid for Real Betis forward Edu, which was initially rejected. They are also close to completing the £10m signing of PSV Eindhoven striker Jefferson Farfan plus the £4m acquisition of Croatian midfielder Darijo Srna.
Seems like Huth didn’t really complete a move to Middlesborough from Chelsea as the transfer is encountering problems.

Blackburn manager Mark Hughes believes he can still attract Mido to Ewood Park.

After Sol Campbell left the club, Arsenal are trying to sign WBA’s Curtis Davies as a replacement. They are also linked to Buffon, but the goalkeeper is also linked to Milan, which is his most likely destination, knowing how Italians usualy stay home.

Aston Villa has pulled the plug on Baros’ move to Hamburg, after the German club couldn’t meet Villa’s demands.

Italian and Juventus defender Gianluca Zambrotta has confirmed he has received an offer from Spanish champions Barcelona. He has confirmed he is set to leave Juventus this summer.

Juventus

With the club looking almost certain to be relegated to Seria B, some of the Junvetus big stars will be walking out of th club. The latest names to be mentiones are Buffon and Cannavaro. The most expensive goalkeeper in the world is said to be currently in negotiations with Arsenal, but has also mentioned that he prefers to stay in Italy. Cannavaro is also linked with another London club, Chelsea. The Italian press has mentioned that Mourinho is looking to strengthen his back-line and Cannavaro has been mentioned as a possibility.AC Milan star Nesta has also been linked with a move to Chelsea, with William Gallas tipped to move in the other direction as part of the deal. The 30-year-old would also cost in the region of £12.5million. Cannavaro is also a possibility with reports in Italy claiming Juventus have agreed a £15million deal with the Blues.

Newcastle 

The Magpies are already looking for a replacement for the injured Owen. Along with long time target Dirk Kuyt, who recently said that he will now start negotiating a move to the Premiership, Darrent Bent is also on Newcastle’s target list, but they will face competition from Tottenham. Speaking of which, Newcastle will also try bidding for Spurs forward Jermain Defoe.

Real Madrid

Real Madrid presidential candidate Lorenzo Sanz has said that he has struck deals with Adriano and an ‘Englishman’, possibly Ashley Cole. But the deal will also see Real Madrid players moving the other way. In total, Sanz has signed four players, two from Inter Milan (one of them is Adriano), an Englishman, and a Portuguese player.
“With [Inter president] Massimo Moratti, I have reached an agreement for an exchange of players between Real Madrid and Inter,” revealed Sanz.

“Those four players are, not to give many clues, two from Inter, another one is Portuguese and the fourth is English.”

Sanz will reveal the players on Thursday.

“On Thursday we will present the four contracts with the clubs and players to demonstrate that we have made signings, not like the others.”

Since presidential candidate Juan Miguel Villar,  has already stated that he will bring Manchester United winger Christiano Ronaldo, who also approved a move to Madrid, Sanz’s Portugues player is possibly Chelsea’s Ricardo Carvalho.

The rest..

Arsenal have offered a contract to Tunisia World Cup defender Hatem Trabelsi according to the player’s agent, whilst the right back has also called time on his international career. Arsenge Wenger also revealed that he is keen on Dutch international Dirk Kuyt.

Benfica are paving the way for Simao for a Summer transfer, which might be good news for Liverpool as Benfica might drop their value a little bit.

Maxim Kalinichenko is a £3.5m target for Manchester United, according to reports in Russia. Kalinichenko has been one of the stars of Ukraine’s advance to the World Cup quarter-finals, and is said to have caught the eye of Old Trafford boss Sir Alex Ferguson. His club Spartak Moscow have already said he will not go for less than £3.5m.

Sol Campbell looks certain to leave Arsenal, and Portmouth is reported to be his likely destination. Aston Villa are also linked with the player.

Arsenal are also ready to enter the race to sign Spur's Michael Carrick and steel him from under Manchester United's noses
Speaking of Portsmouth, Harry Redknapp has a £30m summer transfer budget, and has already launched high-profile bids for the likes of Jermain Defoe. That bid was rejected, as was the slightly less high-profile £3.75m move for Wigan's Henri Camara.

According to The Guardian, Celtic are expected to sign Chelski's Jiri Jarosik as they look to replace Roy Keane in midfield following the Irishman's decision to retire.

Potential Real Madrid president Juan Miguel Villar Mi has revealed talks with both Wenger and Capello.

Liverpool lead the race in securing the services of Argentinian Javier Saviola. Barcelona have also recently stated that, no matter how well Saviola plays at the World Cup, he will not play for Barca again. Craig Bellamy is also believed to be wanted by Liverpool, and it now appears that Rafa Benitez will be focusing on landing either Bellamy or Saviola before the season starts in August. Dirk Kuyt is another name that is still linked with Benitez.

Liverpool ace Luis Garcia says Reds boss Rafa Benitez should pull out all the stops to land his Spain team-mate David Villa.
Tunisia striker Ziad Jaziri has told skysports.com of his determination to clinch a move to The Premiership. Jaziri sparkled during his country's opening World Cup game by scoring against Saudia.

Manchester United

Reports are saying that Tottenham have given up on trying to keep Michael Carrick at the club. Manchester are willing to pay £15m for the player Alex Ferguson sees Carrick as the long time replacement for Roy Keane. They're also trying to sign Diarra for £10m from Lyon.

Bayern Munich president Karl-Heinz Rumenigge admits the club is considering a swoop for Manchester United misfit Ruud van Nistelrooy, but the latest reports say that Ruud has made peace with Ferguson, and will stay with United.

 
Liverpool 

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is watching developments at Juventus carefully. French international David Trezeguet could be an addition to the Anfield squad as the Reds look for another striker to bolster their ranks following the departure of Fernando Morientes. And reports in Italy suggest the Spaniard has also set his sights on midfielder Mauro German Camoranes. It all depends on the Juve situation and wether they'll be relegated to Seria B.

Newspaper reports in the UK yesterday claimed that Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is interested in signing Spanish starlet Alberto Zapater. The 21-year-old Real Zaragoza midfielder is known to Benitez from his Valencia days.

Dietmar Hamann was given permission to leave, and Bolton has asked for his services. But the German is still undecided if he should jump ships. Liverpool will get £500,000 from Bolton if he moves.

 
Real Betis 

Real Betis winger Joaquin has said he will stay at Real Betis this season and turn a possible move to the premiership. Liverpool, as well as numerous Premier League clubs have all been interested in the star. “He is a great coach, he has already demonstrated this and I hope that Betis takes advantage of all his wisdom. I want to stay with Betis. This season, yes, I know clearly that I want to stay with them.”  

 
The rest..

Lyon are saying that they have Franck Ribery in the bag.

Chelsea are interested in signing Cannes youngster Yoann Gouffran

Everton winger Andy van der Meyde has admitted he wants to return to Italy.

Cisse seems to have agreed to join Marseille following talks with the club. The Marseille president Pape Diouf travelled to Merseyside to open negotiations with Liverpool. He is also seeking a loan move with an option to buy him later, but Liverpool's chief executive Rick Parry is likely to hold out for a £7m transfer in the knowledge that Marseille are highly capable of raising funds through the sale of the France international winger Franck Ribéry to Manchester United, Arsenal or Lyon. A Cisse-Ribery exchange deal is also an option for Parry, but not a likely one since the player is valued at £25m.

UPDATE: Following Cisse's injury, any dealings with the player are probably on hold or even cancelled. 

The rest..

Manchester United and Chelsea are in a race to sign Valencia defender Marco Caneira. Valencia Sporting Director, Amadeo Carboni told reporters: "Caneira can move to Sporting or go elsewhere, with his long contract we would be looking for a significant offer though."

Barcelona say they could loan striker Maxi Lopez to an English club for the coming season – news that will alert a number of Premiership sides.

Reported Spurs target Ben Arfa has been placed on the transfer list of his current club Lyon, after he rejected their latest contract offer.

West Ham have had their hopes of signing French international striker Sidney Govou raised following the news that his current club Lyon are prepared to allow him to leave.

Middlesbrough

Boro have announced that their next manager will be Gareth Southgate. Boro has been snubbed by both Terry Venables and Martin O'Neil. But it also seems that Southgate doesn't qualify to be a manager, as he does not fulfill all FA conditions and rules, but Middlesbrough are hoping that FA will make an exception. UPDATE: Middlesbrough have confirmed that they have appointed Gareth Southgate as their new manager.

Arsenal

Arsene Wenger is the latest manager to be linked with a swoop for French potential star Frank Ribery, despite the fact that Wenger mentioned he's happy with the current squad and will not be making any buys soon. The £25m rated player is expected to make make a decision on his future in the next 72 hours. Oh ya.. and Man utd offered £9m.

Wenger is also ready to make a move for Italian left-back Giorgio Chiellini if Ashley Cole decides to move on after the World Cup.

Real Madrid presidential candidate Juan Miguel Villa Mir has promised to bring both Cesc Fabregas and Reyes to the Bernabeu Stadium if he wins the election for a new supremo to be held at the start of July. Real Madrid are ready to pay £30m for both players.

Liverpool

Liverpool are still interested in bad boy Jermaine Pennant, and have launched a formal £3.5m bid for the player. UPDATE: Birmingham have declared that they did not receive any bids for Pennant nor are they expecting any.

They are also have again been linked with Roma defender Phillipe Mexes. Reds boss Rafael Benitez has been tracking the player since his Auxerre days, and could ponder a summer bid for the classy stopper. Contract talks between the French international and the Italian club have stalled, according to the player's agent.

Blackburn Rovers

Mido is set for a Premiership return by playing for Blackburn. Mark Hughes has already stated that he's interested in the player, who is currently contracted to Roma.

Inter

Internazionale are thought to be closing in on Palermo defender Fabio Grosso. The highly rated Italian who's currently on world cup duty with the azzuri has had an impressive season with Palermo. Inter are in need of a new left back after losing Pierre Wome and Giuseppe Favalli since the end of last season. Inter have offered Palermo youngster Hernan Pablo Dellafiore and €5 million (£4 million) to sign Grosso.

Marco Materazzi is set to discuss his future with the Serie A giants this week, with reports saying that he may look to leave Italy for a move either to Spain, or to the English Premiership, with Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur all said to be interested.

Madrid linked with top names

The Real Madrid presendtial elections are close, and usualy candidates use star player names for their campaings (Figo, Beckham). But this time the candidates are using manager names. Capello has already confirmed having talks with Madrid.

"It's true," Capello told the Gazzetta dello Sport when asked if he had met the Real delegation in Italy.

"They came here with Calderon, the presidential candidate, but I only listened, I did not commit myself to anyone."

Another name linked with the Madrid position is Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, but considering Henry's recent commitment to the club and his relationship with the manager, that's a far fetched possibility.

Sven-Goran Ericksson is another name mentioned, and I think he will be Real Madrid's next manager once he's finished with the world cup.

More manager talk

Martin O'Neill is expected to be appointed Middlesbrough's new manager this week, while Liverpool's Rafael Benitez is reported to have signed a contract extension till 2010.

Andy wants Toffees

Everton are on the verge of signing Crystal Palace striker Andy Johnsson for a record-breaking sum of £8.5m. Bolton, Wigan and a couple of other clubs bid for the striker, but Johnsson wants to join Everton.

The Toffees are also believed to have offered Chelsea £5m for Robert Huth.
The rest..

Maxi Lopez´s agent Dario Bombardini believes that the young Barca striker could be on his way out of Barcelona to join Villarreal, while Forlan will move the other way.

Newcastle misfit Albert Luque is being targeted by a series of Spanish clubs after launching an attack on manager Glenn Roeder. Atletico Madrid are understood to have joined UEFA Cup winners Sevilla and Real Zaragoza in monitoring his situation.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is reportedly preparing a bid to lure Villarreal midfielder Marcos Senna to Highbury, as well as German young striker Lukas Podolski.

Salomon Kalou is expected to sign for Chelsea within days.

Spain international Joaquin is considering leaving Real Betis and admits he may move to the Premiership this summer. Liverpool and Chelsea are possible destinations.

Frank Ribery is said to be leaving Marseille this season, and Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham are already linked with a move.

Seventeen year old Turkish midfielder Nuri Sahin is being linked with a move to Arsenal. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder is the youngest player ever to appear in the Bundesliga and would command a fee of around ₤2million.

Arsenal are also being linked on Sunday with a shock move to re-sign Patrick Vieira just a year after his move to Juventus.

AC Milan are ready to move for Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. A Milan source told the News of the World: “Van Nistelrooy is the man we want. He is one of the few players in the world who could replace Sheva.”

But Chelsea will have to pay

And I mean pay big time. Milan have announced that Andriy Shevchenko will leave the Italian giants before the start of next season.

Milan official Adriano Galliani attempted to convince the former European Footballer of the Year to remain but without success. “I’m leaving for family reasons,” stated the Chelsea target. “I want to thank the club for what they have done for me. I would like to point out that there were no problems in our relationship and this isn’t about money. I am sorry, as I saw the look in the eyes of the fans and the many messages that have come in. My wife has nothing to do with this, as we made the decision together for the good of my family.”

Galliani, in day-to-day control of the club owned by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, said: 'It's a victory of the English language over the Italian language.'

That was apparently a reference to Shevchenko's American wife who reportedly wants a move to England so that Shevchenko and little son can learn English. Bitch.

Galliani also mentioned that Chelsea will have to pay a high price to take Shevchenko, but we all know that Chelsea's piggy bank doesn't have limits. A Drogba+cash exchange deal is also possible.

The rest..

Liverpool have joined the race to sign Crystal Palace striker Andy Johnsson with a late bid. Wigan have already had their 8.5m offer accepted by Palace. Bolton and Everton are also said to have bid for the player.

Kuyt have postponed his desicion on his future untill the end of the World Cup 2006.

Benitez has announced that Luis Garcia will not leave Liverpool, in response to the rumours that said the player's wife was pressuring the player to return to Spain.

Morientes is still not officialy a Valencia player (player wants some kind of pay-off). Updated.

Danish legend Michael Laudrup would be keen to become the next coach of Real Madrid, according to his agent.

Reports just in are suggesting that Aston Villa's top scorer Milan Baros is a target for Monaco.

Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas has revealed that Chelsea will not sell striker Didier Drogba to the French outfit.

Inter have this afternoon dismissed speculation that they are preparing to sell star striker Adriano this summer. The Brazilian again admitted this week that he is far from happy at life with the Nerazzurri and opened the door for a summer exit.

Now Kuyt says Liverpool want him

But it's actually true. Liverpool have been keeping tabs on the player, and is monitoring every development, as he is considered one of the options on Rafa's striker list. Benitez was set to get the player last January, but Feyenoord slapped a high price tag on him. And even now if Feyenoord will ask too much, Rafa will consider his other options.

Update: Feyenoord have reportedly announced that they have not received any formal offers from either Liverpool nor Newcastle.
Staying with Liverpool, a newspaper today mentioned that Liverpool could make a move for Middlesbrough striker Mark Viduka. The 30-year-old admitted yesterday that he could be looking for a move now that Steve McClaren has left the club. No way I would say. Viduka is old, and Benitez wants a goal machine.

Ajax want to bring Davids back home

Ajax head coach Henk ten Cate has admitted he would like to take Tottenham midfielder Edgar Davids back to Amsterdam. The 33-year-old Dutchman began his career at Ajax after coming through the club's famed youth system. Ten Cate, quoted in the Daily Express, said: 'I have spoken with Edgar about rejoining us and he thinks it is a terrific idea.Tottenham are looking to bring on Didier Zokora as I mentioned in the The Rumour Mill, so Davids could be leaving.

The rest..

Chelsea striker Carlton Cole will complete a £2million move to Tottenham this week.

Glenn Roeder will offer Shaun Wright-Phillips the chance to move to St James' Park if the winger is allowed out on loan next season.

Crystal Palace are ready to accept an £8.5m bid from Wigan for Andy Johnson.

Manchester City are close to signing Lazio midfielder Ousmane Dabo.