Monday, 29 August 2011

Leandro Damiao, Gueida Fofana & Marc Bartra All On Spurs Radar

Leandro Damiao is back in Spurs' transfer plans and Harry Redknapp is also lining up bids for Marc Bartra of Barcelona and Le Havre's Gueida Fofana.

Tottenham were keen to land Brazil striker Damiao in June, but the 22-year-old opted to sign a contract extension with Internacional.

That pushed the Brazilian club's asking price up from £12million to £18million and forced Spurs into a rethink.

But with Peter Crouch set to join Stoke City, Redknapp has persuaded chairman Daniel Levy to make a new offer close to Internacional's valuation, reports the Sunday Times.

Should they get their man, Tottenham fans can look forward to seeing a new-look strikeforce of Damiao and Emmanuel Adebayor from next month.

Spurs are also ready to make a £6.7million offer for 20-year-old Bartra, who is on the fringes of the Barcelona first-team squad.

The European champions are willing to let the Spain Under-21s centre-back leave, but their desire to insert a buyback clause into the deal could be a stumbling block.

Fofana is a 20-year-old midfielder who is regarded as one of the rising stars of French football after playing for his country at this summer's Under-20 World Cup.

Le Havre have put a £1.2million price tag on Fofana, who is also a target for Manchester City.

Man United To Tempt Everton With £10m Plus Two Player Swap Offer For Jack Rodwell

Sir Alex Ferguson is considering one last summer transfer swoop as he looks to snap up a long term target. The Old Trafford boss may look to take advantage of the financial uncertainty at Everton by offering David Moyes a tempting deal for English youngster Jack Rodwell.

Ferguson will reportedly offer Everton around £10m in cash as well as midfielder Darron Gibson and striker Mame Biram Diouf in exchange for the promising England Under 21 international.

Though the Man United boss has seen youngsters Tom Clevereley and Danny Welbeck move seamlessly into first team action he is still keen to add some steel to the centre of his midfield and sees the potential that 20 year old Rodwell has to offer and is keen to snap up a player he has tracked for a number of years.

Rodwell may be a player that David Moyes is willing to sell ahead of more crucial players in his armoury, such as the likes of Mikel Arteta, Marouane Fellaini and Phil Jagielka, all of whom have been strongly linked with exits this summer. Clearly Man United have in the past snapped up young Toffees talent, as with Wayne Rooney, and Ferguson will hope he can make Rodwell his fourth signing of the summer.

Spurs Close In On Parker Deal

Tottenham are poised to wrap up the signing of England midfielder Scott Parker.

The 30-year-old was not included in the West Ham squad which travelled to Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon as the deal, believed to be worth £6million, neared a conclusion.

Hammers boss Sam Allardyce told Sky Sports: "There are some negotiations going on and I don't think he would be mentally right to play. It will come to fruition in the next 24 hours or so."

Tottenham are expected to include a loan deal for one of their youngsters in the package.

Parker, who joined the Hammers from Newcastle for £7million in 2007, was named Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year last season despite the club finishing bottom of the Barclays Premier League.

Anzhi To Make £62m Offer To Sign Man United Star

Big spending Anzhi are willing to pay a total of £62m to land Serbian centre back Nemanja Vidic, £25m to Man United for the player and £37m in wages over a four year period. Sir Alex Ferguson will be loathed to consider such an offer but perhaps the Old Trafford defender will be tempted by the huge pay hike he could get by returning to a league he knows very well from his two years at Spartak Moscow.

Anzhi Makhachkala seems to have limitless wealth, having brought the likes of Roberto Carlos, Yuri Zhirkov, and most recently Samuel Eto’o to the Dagestan based club. Indeed the Cameroon international is said to be the highest paid sportsman on Planet Earth following his move from Inter Milan to the club earlier in the month.

Vidic has been a hugely important servant to Man United since his move to the club in 2006 and has notched up over 200 appearances since his move to the Premier League side, Ferguson is unlikely to consider such a sale, even though he has youngsters Phil Jones and Chris Smalling, England Under 21 team-mates, to call upon as a regular starting pairing for the long term.

Rio Ferdinand is back from injury and there is also Northern Ireland international Jonny Evans as potential back-up though captain Vidic would still be seen as the most solid defender at the club and any possible move to Russia would only be considered if the determined skipper considered the offer to tempting to turn down.

Kjaer's Roma Move Put On Hold

Simon Kjaer's loan move to Serie A giants Roma has been put on hold after reports in Italy claim the defender has been recalled by his club Wolfsburg.

The Denmark International, who joined the Bundeliga club last season, has been in erratic form so far this season, with head coach Felix Magath bringing in Greek Sotiris Kyrgiakos from Liverpool earlier in the week as a likely replacement for the player.

But, after Kjaer spent two days in the Italian capital undergoing a medical and all set to officially sign a deal, it seems as though discussions between the clubs have hit a snag.

Although Magath confirmed the former Palermo star was heading to the Giallorossi, speculation in Italy suggests Roma's surprise exit from the Europa League at the hands of Slovan Bratislava meant club officials wanted to alter the agreement for the centre-back.

The Italians were hoping to bring the player in on loan terms with the prospect of a permanent switch for the 22-year-old the likely outcome.

However, Roma's disappointing exit from the competition somewhat changed matters although AS Roma's CEO Claudio Fenucci told Adnkronos: "We had a deal with Wolfsburg for Simon Kjaer for a loan with the right of a permanent switch, but then the conditions have changed and so we decided not to ratify the agreement.

"Roma's sporting director, Walter Sabatini will consider the player an option, but only if Wolfsburg come back on our terms and conditions. Then we will be ready to continue and close the deal."

Juve Face Estigarribia Delays

There have been unexpected delays in Juventus completing the signature of Marcelo Alejandro Estigarribia.

The Paraguayan international flew in for his medical after the club agreed terms with Newell’s Old Boys.

However, Sportmediaset points out the winger has still not put pen to paper on the contract.

The problem appears to regard red tape as, like many South American players, he is owned by both the club and an investment group.

Considering there is a break for international duty coming up, there are fears Antonio Conte won’t be able to work with Estigarribia for at least another 10 days.

Turks Intercept Juve's Elia Deal

Juventus are pushing to sign Eljero Elia from Hamburg, but face sudden €9m competition from Galatasaray.

The Dutchman is their primary transfer target for the role of winger in Antonio Conte’s 4-2-4 system.

It was reported by all the Italian sports papers this morning that an agreement with Hamburg for Elia was effectively in place.

However, German newspaper Sport Bild claims Galatasaray have dived in with a bid worth €9m to pip them to the post.

Juve are hoping to use Amauri as bait to turn the transfer in their favour, offering the striker in part-exchange to Hamburg.

Udinese Discover Pereyra

Udinese have reportedly snapped up River Plate’s teenage talent Roberto Pereyra, who could be the new Alexis Sanchez.

The Friulani have made their fortune by scouring the South American market for young prospects and then turning them into stars.

There are rumours their latest discovery is 19-year-old River Plate creative midfielder Pereyra.

He can play both in a deeper role and as trequartista behind the strikers, having featured recently for Argentina in the Under-20 World Cup.

He is believed to have cost Udinese around €5m.

Palermo Confirm Vazquez Deal

Palermo have confirmed a deal for Belgrano’s Franco Vazquez to arrive in January, while Fabrizio Miccoli “will definitely stay.”

There were reports the Rosanero were going to bring in creative midfielder Vazquez this summer, but the 22-year-old will wait until the end of Argentina’s Apertura season.

“We wanted to sign him now, as we consider him a player who can make the difference,” director of sport Sean Sogliano told Il Giornale di Sicilia.

“Both Belgrano and the player pushed to put back the transfer until January. We decided to accept, because we believe so much in the qualities of this player.

“It would be a mistake for Palermo to abandon the whole thing by not accepting the delay until January.”

This weekend captain Miccoli declared he was ready to leave if he would only be used for the final 20 minutes of games.

“Miccoli will definitely stay and the fans need to relax,” insisted Sogliano. “He said nothing wrong, as obviously all players want time on the field. Fabrizio is a reference point for this team.”