Thursday, December 3, 2009

No Krasic deal in January

Agent insists he was misinterpreted



No Krasic deal in January
Krasic: No January move

Milos Krasic's agent has denied claims that the Serbian ace is set for a move in January.
Dejan Joksimovic was quoted by the Italian media suggesting that the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea were ready to bid for the CSKA Moscow midfielder.
However, Joksimovic has now told the press in Serbia that his comments were misinterpreted.
"Unfortunately, I was badly interpreted," he said.
"I didn't say that he will go to England. I said that only the English clubs are able to pay the money that CSKA is asking for Krasic.
"The situation is completely different.
"CSKA will not sell him until next June. That is what they have told me, and believe me, it will be like that."

Ljajic's United move in doubt

But Partizan remain confident of deal going through


Ljajic's United move in doubt
Ljajic: Deal uncertainty

Confusion surrounds the transfer of Serbian starlet Adem Ljajic to Manchester United, with reports suggesting the English side have pulled out of a deal to sign the Partizan Belgrade ace
Ljajic was part of the £16.5million swoop that also saw his Partizan team-mate Zoran Tosic move to Old Trafford in January.
The 18-year-old was due to arrive at United next month, but the Premier League champions are understood to have had second thoughts on signing the player and have informed Partizan they no longer want to pursue a deal.
It has been claimed United held a get-out clause on Ljajic in the initial transfer and that they have decided to pull the plug on the move after monitoring his progress over the last year.
A United spokesperson said: "We had an option to buy the player but, having closely monitored his development over the past 12 months, and taken into consideration the young players emerging through the ranks at the club, we have not chosen to pursue the transfer."

Optimistic

However, president Dragan Djuric claims work permit problems are proving the sticking point for any transfer to be sealed.
"I read the news in our media about the possibility that Adem Ljajic will not go to Manchester," Djuric told the Serbian media.
"All this is in the field of speculation. The truth is that Manchester United has not yet arranged a work permit to our players, but so far none of them refused.
"Maybe the news came because Manchester United is in financial crisis, but believe me we did not get anything official."
Ljajic's agent, Mladen Furtala, is refusing to panic and remains hopeful the move will eventually go through.
"As far as I know, the only problem is the work permit," said Furtala.
"Manchester can solve this quickly. Journalists called me, asking what was happening, but I am confident that everything will be OK at best and that from January Ljajic will be officially a Manchester United player."

Schalke rule out Neuer sale

Bundesliga outfit keen to fend off interest in keeper


Schalke rule out Neuer sale
Neuer: Has a host of admirers

Schalke insist they have no intention of selling highly-rated goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
The Germany international's agent has sought to stir things up of late by claiming that Premier League giants Manchester United have expressed an interest in his client.
With Schalke currently enduring financial difficulties, it has been suggested that they may be forced to sell off their top talents in order to balance the books.
That has alerted the interest of United, among others, but Schalke boss Felix Magath is determined to do all he can to keep Neuer in Gelsenkirchen.
"I have said that Manuel Neuer is not for sale and there is no more news on this," he told BILD.
"We have a strong desire to play in the UEFA Champions League again. Therefore we are going to need our best players.
"I am definitely not prepared to sell potentially the best shot-stopper in Germany."
Neuer is currently contracted to Schalke until 2012 and the 23-year-old has recently expressed his desire to remain with the Bundesliga outfit for the foreseeable future.

Wanted man

Meanwhile, Manchester United are also reported to be trailing Italian starlet Andrea Ranocchia.
The 21-year-old defender is currently on the books of Bari, but his registration is owned by Genoa.
He only recently extended his contract with his parent club until the summer of 2013, but that has done little to curb speculation regarding his future.
United, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Juventus are all believed to be monitoring his progress, with possible moves planned for the January transfer window.

Morimoto focused on Catania

Japanese striker says there has been no contact with United


Morimoto focused on Catania
Morimoto: Catania focus

Takayuki Morimoto insists he is not looking to leave Catania after hearing of interest from Premier League champions Manchester United.
The Japanese striker has repeatedly been linked with a move to United, with Catania's general manager Pietro Lo Monaco claiming earlier this season that he is rated highly by Sir Alex Ferguson.
Recent reports have again suggested that Ferguson is planning a bid for Morimoto, who scored in Catania's Coppa Italia win over Empoli on Wednesday.
However, Morimoto does not believe the Red Devils have made an approach after discussing the latest bout of speculation with his agent.
And the 21-year-old has stressed his focus is on Catania's battle to climb out of the relegation zone, with the club currently second bottom in Serie A.
"I read about an interest in me from Mr Ferguson's club," Morimoto told itasportpress.it.
"I called my agent, who told me that he had not spoken with the English team.
"I like the Premier League that I watch on TV, but also the Liga and Serie A championships are just as interesting.
"However, at the moment, I am thinking about Catania's survival, not the transfer market."

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

TRANSFER TALK

Inter quash rumours of Balotelli moving to Arsenal

 
Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has rejected reports linking striker Mario Balotelli with a move to Arsenal in January.
Mario Balotelli

Balotelli: Premier League move?
The 19-year-old has caught Arsene Wenger's eye after scoring four goals in 11 league appearances this season, but has struggled to secure a regular place in the starting line-up under coach Jose Mourinho.
Moratti insists the striker is not for sale and Balotelli has a future at the San Siro.
"Certainly Balotelli is not on the market and will not be on the market," Moratti told Gazetta dello Sport. "There is something to adjust between him, the team and the coach, his behaviour in particular, but this is due to his age.
"It's nothing serious, but it takes a certain continuity in getting used to living together with your team-mates, the trainer and certain rules. I don't believe it's anything dramatic.
"We base this assumption on the ability of the player to understand things and Mourinho's ability to make him grow up in such a way as to be useful to the club."
On Tuesday, Arsene Wenger revealed he is likely to sign a new striker in the January transfer window after the news that Robin van Persie will miss most of the season with an ankle ligament injury.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

United and Toffees eye Belgian

Youngster has trial at Carrington


United and Toffees eye Belgian
Manchester United and Everton are both keen on Royal Antwerp starlet Geoffrey Hairemans.
And it would appear United are heading the race for the young midfielder, having handed him a trial at Carrington this week.
United's cause is further improved by the fact that Antwerp are their feeder club in Belgium.
Hairemans, 18, has broken into Antwerp's first-team this season and has impressed United's scouting network.
He revealed that Warren Joyce - who previously worked at Antwerp and is now United reserve coach - had invited him to England.
"I have had a very nice week, many boys would pay huge money to share such an experience," Hairemans said.

Owen

"The intensity was very high and the training those guys do was quite hard.
"I also trained with the first-team boys, with Paul Scholes and Michael Owen, but I dared not speak with them."
Hairemans, who likes to play on the left, also confirmed that he is aware that Everton have been watching him.
"I was shocked when I learnt that an Everton scout was watching me," he said.
"I have never expected anything like this, but I am very happy about the interest."
Westerlo are also keen to keep the player in Belgium, and Hairemans has admitted he wants to remain with Antwerp until the end of the season.

Friday, November 27, 2009

ARGENTINE TO ARRIVE IN JANUARY? Chelsea close to £100m deal to sign Aguero

Intermediaries have put together a £100 million "package" deal to take Argentine international superkid Sergio Agüero to Chelsea in the January transfer window.


Sergio Aguero celebrates against Chelsea

Sergio Aguero rose to the occasion in scoring a brace against Chelsea in a recent Champions League encounter
The £100 million includes the player's salary which will be scaled up to reach nearly £250,000-a-week in the final years of the proposed Chelsea playing contract, the £40 million transfer plus near-£10m add-ons related to Chelsea's success, meaning a near £50 million transfer fee, with added agents' fees.The 21-year-old Atlético Madrid striker Sergio Leonel Agüero del Castillo, has privately indicated "yes" to a move that will make him one of the highest paid players in the world, with a transfer fee that will smash the British record of £32.5m for Robinho by some distance.
Chelsea almost signed the boy who is engaged to Diego Maradona's daughter, Giannina, with whom he has a son, in the summer, but the deal broke down over the players £6m-a-year wage demands on top of Atletico demanding a £60m transfer fee.
However Chelsea know they have to meet the player's wage demands to make a spectacular signing in the January window while their FIFA ban is still suspended.
Talks have been on-going for several weeks between a host of middlemen intent on making the deal happen, and there is now room for optimism that it will advance sufficiently in the next four weeks to be in a position for the move to take place in January.
ESPN Soccernet has been told by one of the insiders involved with the deal that there is far more flexibility on all sides than there was been in the summer when the deal broke down.
My source revealed: "There is still more talking to do, but let's see. There is now a possibility, although with so many complications involved you would have to say it's still 50-50 whether it will finally go though."
Chelsea are keen to capture one of the best young players in world football at a time when their transfer ban has been suspended pending a FIFA hearing. They urgently need to make significant signings at a time when the big clubs usually only make interim moves and wait for the summer.
Roman Abramovich cannot take the risk of waiting until the end of the season in case Chelsea are banned from making any signings, so needs to act now, and intermediaries have stepped up the process of attempting to bring Aguero to the Bridge.
Chelsea are not as reluctant to invest in Agüero's salary as much as they are about Atletico's asking price of £60 million, which has dropped to £55 million. Talks are aimed at trying to get the fee below £50 million and closer to £40 million.
A compromise of money offered up in relation to Chelsea's success is the logical route to resolve the differences in the transfer fee valuation.
Chelsea would be prepared to hit the £50 million mark, if it included add-ons related to success, given that Real Madrid paid £80 million for Ronaldo, and the Argentine is a few years younger.
Chelsea would ideally like to sign Aguero for six years, but five years is normally regarded as a long-term deal, but as the player is so young at 21, they be might be able to stretch to six years or more, even if the final years are optional.
While Chelsea might start to pay the youngster £6 million-a-year, that will rise quickly to £10 million and that will go even higher in the final year of his deal.
Overall, including bonuses, and given Chelsea's propensity for silverware, he can realistically expect to yield £50 million from his personal terms and image rights, to add to the near £50 million transfer fee, totally an eye watering £100 mllion.
The player's agent Bruno Satin, head of the football division of IMG, one of the world's biggest sports agencies, based in Chiswick in London, is one of a number of agents working on negotiating an acceptable fee with Athletico.
Manchester City are the only club that could possibly compete with Chelsea at this level of transfer, but my source tells me: "The player doesn't want to go there, and Manchester City do have a problem with trying to sing players at this level, as they did with Kaka, because they are not serious yet. They will be, but they are not just yet."
For that reason Atletico have to be realistic to drop their asking price as Chelsea are the only buyers at that kind of price. That's why there is greater optimism of a deal going through than there has been at any other time.
A transfer of £40 million plus a near £10 million add ons based on Chelsea's success during the duration of the players contract would be one of the biggest deals in world football. The entire financial package won't be far short of the Real Madrid deals for Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo.
My source added: "Money was the problem the deal fell through in the summer, and the money is the problem now, but we shall see, as I said, the talks are on going and everyone seems to want to find a solution."
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has targeted Agüero as his only major signing during the January transfer window. The club have been given permission to buy and sell after the Fifa-imposed transfer ban, following the Gaël Kakuta affair, was frozen pending an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Agüero scored two spectacular goals during the recent 2-2 draw with Chelsea in the Champions League. After the match Ancelotti joked that he would like to sign the exciting striker. But before that Ancelotti admitted Chelsea have been "monitoring" this player for some time.
Chelsea also remain interested in Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery, who would command a similar hefty investment in fees and salaries, and who is also greatly admired by Ancelotti.
But my source indicates that Ribery will be hard, if not impossible, to prise from Bayern in January, but will be a far more realistic target in the summer, if Chelsea win their appeal with FIFA. Chelsea's determination to secure the Aguero deal as they are aware that if their CAS appeal fails, they cannot make another signing for some time.
Agüero will not be eligible for Chelsea in the Champions League this season, having already played for Atlético, but Abramovich wants to win back the Premier League title from Manchester United, and the club are concerned about losing Didier Drogba and Solomon Kalou to the African Nations in January.
At 15 years and 35 days Aguero beat Maradona's record as the youngest player to make debut in Argentinean top flight. In May 2006, he joined Atlético Madrid for £16m.
He lost his place in the Argentine attack during the chaotic final stages of qualification, and needs to be playing at the highest level to play in the World Cup finals in South Africa, rather than with struggling Athletico, a factor that Maradona has made clear to him, and one of the reasons the player is keen to move to the Bridge.