Athletic Bilbao's Fernando Llorente Confirms Tottenham Interest

Athletic Bilbao star Fernando Llorente has confirmed that Tottenham expressed an interest in his services.

The Spain international was reported to be on Spurs' wishlist during the summer transfer window as the Premier League side was looking to add to its attacking resources.

And Llorente, who broke into Athletic's first team in 2005, has confirmed Tottenham's approach but revealed he had no interest in a move to England.

"I know there was interest from Tottenham, but never at any moment did I want to leave Athletic," he said, according to AS.

The 26-year-old, who netted 19 goals in all competitions last season, said he is optimistic regarding his contract extension.

Manchester United And Man City In Transfer Battle for Serie A Winger

Manchester United have reportedly ‘made contact’ with Uruguayan winger Gaston Ramirez’s representatives over a move from Bologna.

Media sources in the Italian city claim the Red Devils have been joined by ‘noisy neighbours’ Manchester City in their pursuit of the player, with the pair keen on bringing Ramirez to England at the next available opportunity.

Any issue in relation to a work permit is also not thought to be an issue, given the player’s increased involvement with his country at international level. The 20 year-old helped Uruguay win the Copa America in the summer.

Arsenal Hope To Beat Chelsea To Barcelona Transfer

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is desperate to land Gerard Deulofeu – who is being compared to striker Lionel Messi – before he turns 18 next year.

Players in La Liga are only allowed to sign professional contacts at 18 – which means the Gunners can sign Deulofeu for just £3m.

Chelsea are also interested in signing teenage prodigy Gerard Deulofeu, and have already raided Barcelona this summer with their capture of Oriol Romeu.

However, Arsenal are believed to be substantial favourites due to their favourable record in developing promising Barcelona young talent.

In addition, what the club’s fans would make of yet another player coming in with Barcelona DNA remains to be seen!

Barca too are aiming to protect themselves from paying out an extraordinary sum for a player should they lose them young.

They are insisting on a buyback clause in all transfers – including that of Bojan to AS Roma and Romeu to Chelsea.

While Deulofeu is a great young talent, signing him could prove costly should he develop well and be bought back before he can have a true impact – making the transfer more of an expensive loan.

In addition, two appearances in the league already for Deulofeu could see him elect to stay at Camp Nou.

Raul Meireles Explains Switch from Liverpool to Chelsea

Chelsea new-boy Raul Meireles insists he never wanted to leave Liverpool but says the chance to work with Andre Villas-Boas was too good to turn down.

The Portugal midfielder swapped Anfield for Stamford Bridge in a £12m deadline-day move, reuniting him with former Porto boss Villas-Boas.

"I knew that I didn't want to leave Liverpool," he told chelseafc.co.uk.

"[But] when I knew that Chelsea and Andre wanted me, it convinced me. It is only because he wanted me."

Meireles, 28, only arrived at Liverpool in the summer of 2010 in a £11.5m deal.

But, after 35 appearances and five goals, he decided to join up again with the new Chelsea coach, with whom he worked briefly during his time at FC Porto.

The move was a surprise when it went through on the last day of the transfer window, following the Blues' summer-long pursuit of Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric.

Meireles said: "It was strange because I knew of the interest of Chelsea - and the interest of the coach. It was a pleasure to come to this club but it was strange because it was on the last day.

"People think I wanted to leave and it is only because Chelsea wanted me. For Andre to want me, that is why I wanted to go."

Meireles has vowed to make his mark at Stamford Bridge, just as he did at Liverpool after a slow start to his Reds career last season.

He said: "I like to play in midfield but for me it is more important that I play and I help the team. If the coach wants to put me in another place, I want to do my job and do my job well."

Everton Fans Plan Protest March Against Club's Direction

Everton fans' group The Blue Union is to hold what it calls a "peaceful protest march" against the direction of the club at Goodison Park on Saturday.

The Blue Union, who feel Everton are stagnating under chairman Bill Kenwright, hope hundreds fans will take part before the game with Aston Villa.

"This is not a personal attack on Kenwright as our detractors claim," spokesman Joe Jennings told BBC Sport.

"We are protesting about the reasons we are unable to invest in the team."

Merseyside Police have granted permission for the march, which will start near the ground at 1400 BST and finish at the directors' entrance.

Everton sold Mikel Arteta and Jermaine Beckford to Arsenal and Leicester for a combined £14m on deadline day at the end of August but boss David Moyes made only three loan signings over the summer.

Kenwright has often stated his desire to bring new investors into the club and admitted last month that the Toffees could not borrow any more money, while the £9m they raised from the sale of their former training ground at Bellefield had gone straight to the bank.

The Blue Union say the group's aim is not to force Kenwright to leave but want the sale of the club to be taken out of his control.

In a statement announcing the protest, the group's members said they wanted to see Everton "appoint a fully autonomous group of professional individuals who can effectively develop and implement a strategy that will identify and sell the club to a buyer who can demonstrate an ability and a genuine desire to take the club forward on both a commercial and football level."

The Blue Union is a coalition of Everton supporters groups and independent websites, including Evertonians for Change, Keeping Everton in Our City, The People's Group and SOS1878.co.uk, who are concerned at the lack of investment in the club.

More than 400 fans attended its inaugral public meeting last weekend, when the plans for the march were laid.

Jennings, an officer of The Blue Union and editor of the SOS1878.co.uk fansite, added: "We hope as many like-minded Evertonians take the opportunity on Saturday to convey their unhappiness at the current situation.

"The Blue Union wish to tackle the issues not the individuals. It would be wrong to say we are simply protesting about the lack of investment in the team. No Evertonian wants the club to spend money they have not got.

"In any case, the club are in no position to do so because the current board have disposed of all the tangible assets. We're now disposing of the only assets which are left, the intangibles, the players.

"Evertonians want strong leadership and a strong board with a strong business plan."

Andrey Arshavin Could Leave North London And Return To Russia

Cash-rich Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala has not given up in their pursuit of Arsenal midfielder Andrey Arshavin according to insidefutbol.com.

The 30-year-old playmaker has been tracked by the club all summer, and having strengthened their playing ranks with the likes of Roberto Carlos, Yuri Zhirkov and Samuel Eto'o - they retain hope of convincing Arshavin to return to his homeland.

Amid speculation surrounding his future, the Gunners midfielder stated his intention to remain at the Emirates Stadium, and fight for his place in the Arsenal side, following the high-profile departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri from Arsene Wenger's squad.

However, with Anzhi prepared to pay up to €17million to tempt Arsenal into selling Arshavin, a deal could be back on for the former Zenit St. Petersburg player - who could look differently upon his future in north London, if the club were to accept the bid.

Arshavin recently spoke of his anger at the sale of former Gunners teammates Fabregas and Nasri, calling into question Arsenal's desire to continue challenging for trophies if they are open to selling their best players.

But having strengthened with the addition of five deadline day signings, Wenger looks to have temporarily alleviated the mounting pressure, as he looks to restore the club's fledgling campaign, and get Arsenal's title tilt back on track.

Chelsea Stars To Be Allowed To Leave Club

Chelsea will let youngsters Josh McEachran and Romelu Lukaku to leave the club on loan if they do not play enough games this year, according to the Sun.

Andre Vilas-Boas is keen to see the duo harness their potential but is worried that a lack of first team football could hamper their development.

Such is the strength of Chelsea's first team it would appear that the pair face a tough time to force themselves into the reckoning for a starting berth and so if they fail to break through this year they will be allowed to go out on loan to gain some vital first team experience.

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez approached Chelsea about the possibility of taking McEachran on loan during the summer, whilst a move to Stoke for Lukaku was ruined by Premier League rules preventing a player from joining two clubs within the same transfer window.

Both players are expected to be on Chelsea's bench for their trip to Sunderland this weekend, but if they have not progressed to the starting line up by the turn of the year they will be allowed to spend the rest of the season at another Premier League team.

Several Championship clubs have asked Chelsea about the availability of the duo for when the loan window reopens tomorrow, but the Stamford Bridge outfit will only be willing to let them go to a top flight team.

Lukaku is not eligible to play in the Champions League for Chelsea this season as he was left out of the Blues' squad.

Tottenham Plan January Bid For Dutch International Goal Machine

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp will reportedly look to lure Schalke striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar to White Hart Lane in January as he looks to improve the club’s attacking options. The Dutch international has made an astonishing start to the season, netting 12 goals from six games in all competitions for his Bundesliga side.

Redknapp had hoped to bring in a new striker during the summer transfer window but failed in his attempts to land a number of big name players and had to settle for snapping up Man City’s Emmanuel Adebayor on a season long loan deal. However the North London club offloaded two of their striking quartet with Robbie Keane and Peter Crouch leaving for LA Galaxy and Stoke City respectively, leaving Jermain Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko sharing the attacking load with the Togo international.

Schalke reportedly had a number of approaches for a player they value at around €25m (£21.8m) and Tottenham will reportedly be able to make such a bid having offloaded a number of players during the summer whilst not using much of the funds from the sales of the aforementioned Keane and Crouch as well as the money raised from the departures of Jamie O’Hara, Wilson Palacios and Alan Hutton as well as loaning out Jermaine Jenas and David Bentley.

Huntelaar had an up and down time of it at both Real Madrid and AC Milan where he fell foul to change of managers at both the Bernabeu and the San Siro. In his first season in Germany he got back into gear, scoring 13 goals and forming a solid partnership with Spanish legend Raul. This term he has been scoring goals for fun and is also the top scorer in Euro 2012 qualifying with ten goals from seven matches.

The Dutchman is a lethal predatory finisher on his day and would be more amenable to a Premier League move if Schalke once again struggle to make an impact in the Bundesliga after last term managing a poor 14th place finish.

Inter Milan Join Liverpool & Spurs In Chase For Brazilian Starlet

Tottenham and Liverpool will face a fight with Inter Milan for Sao Paulo midfielder Lucas.

The attacking midfielder – no relation to Liverpool’s current midfield anchorman – has been impressing a host of European teams with his performances in the Brazilian top-flight and has now caught Inter’s eye.

The 19-year-old has also been monitored by Liverpool and Tottenham but Kenny Dalglish’s side would have an advantage over Spurs as namesake Lucas Leiva is often his room-mate on international trips.

Inter are lining up a £15m bid but Sao Paulo are reluctant to sell as the teenager is only in his second full season with the first-team.

Barcelona Tracking Tottenham Target Leandro

Tottenham target Leandro Damiao has emerged as a transfer interest for Barcelona.

Although the European summer transfer window has closed, the Champions League holders are reportedly planning a £15m move for the Brazil striker in the next window.

The 22-year-old currently plays for Internacional in the Brazilian Serie A but is understood to be interested in moving to a top European team to cement his place in the Brazil team amid much competition.

The striker may have forced up his valuation with the winning goal in the international friendly between the Samba Stars and Ghana at Fulham’s Craven Cottage home on Monday night.

Tottenham cooled their interest in the forward when the chance to sign Emmanuel Adebayor on loan arose and Arsenal were also linked with the powerful frontman.

Milan Move Possible For Amauri

One of the agents representing Juventus’ Amauri has opened the door for a possible January move to Milan.

The forward has been paired with the Rossoneri over the last few days after Juventus failed to move him on in the summer.

“Let’s leave this until January, but there was a conversation with Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani,” Ernesto Bronzetti told Odeon TV.

“If a few things fall into place then, at that stage, Amauri could be a source of interest.”

The Brazilian-born Italian international frustrated Juventus officials over the summer after he refused to leave the club.

The Bianconeri were keen to see him go given that he earns almost €4m a season and has less than a year left on his contract.

“Marseille offered him a deal, but it was worth around €7m over three seasons,” Bronzetti continued.

“This season he’ll get €3.8m from just Juventus.

“There was interest too from Genoa, Palermo, Fiorentina and Parma, but they couldn’t handle his salary.

“Amauri also took the decision to stay for family reasons.”

Bayern Munich To Move For Fernando Llorente In January

Bayern Munich are set to revisit their attempts to sign Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente, with the German club set to make a bid in January according to Cadena Ser.

The Spain international forward has matured at San Mames over the last number of seasons, and attracted interest from a number of leading European teams in the latest transfer window.

The Bundesliga outfit was one of the 26-year-old's suitors, and reports in the Spanish media indicate that Jupp Heynckes' is set to try to lure the hitman to Bavaria in January. The Bavarians are currently short of options in attack behind Mario Gomez, with Ivica Olic sidelined with a troublesome injury and Nils Petersen yet to prove himself in the Bundesliga.

Bilbao parted company with Joaquin Caparros at the end of the 2010-11 campaign, despite the Basque team qualifying for Europe, and Llorente is said to be unsettled by the appointment of Marcelo Bielsa as his replacement.

The 17-times capped man topped the scoring charts for the Lions last term, netting 18 goals in 38 games.

Newcastle Boss Makes Check On United Starlet Target

Alan Pardew was in attendance at St Jakob Park to watch Switzerland defeat Bulgaria on Tuesday night, as reported Manchester United target Xherdan Shaqiri stole the show.

The Swiss starlet netted a hat-trick as his side triumphed 3-1 in Basel, with Pardew sufficiently impressed by his exploits, reports the Chronicle.

The Newcastle boss was also said to be keeping tabs on long-term target Eren Derdiyok, who has been tracked by the Toon for a number of months.

Derdiyok has scored 18 goals in 65 Bundesliga appearances for Bayer Leverkusen, and could provide Newcastle with the added firepower they need.

Shaqiri, meanwhile, has been linked with a move to Old Trafford for a number of months after a number of impressive displays for club and country.

The 19-year-old will have an opportunity to prove his worth to Sir Alex Ferguson after United were pitted against Basel in the group stages of this season's Champions League.

United host the Swiss outfit in the first encounter between the two on September 27.

Dortmund Starlet Keen On Premier League Switch

Borussia Dortmund centre back Neven Subotic has put some of England's top clubs on red alert after he claimed that he would love to move to the Premier League.

The imposing defender was an integral part of the Dortmund side that won the German Bundesliga last year, and has been linked with a move away from the club all summer.

Subotic's performance have drawn attention from the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United but after they all signed defenders this summer it remains unclear as to whether they would still be interested in the Serbian international, should he be made available by the German champions.

The 22 year old also claimed that he would only leave Dortmund for the Premier League, quashing rumours he might be set to join German giants Bayern Munich.

He told German newspaper Bild: "I have no reason to go away from here. I feel good and this is a great city.

I could never go to another club in Germany and, if I was to leave here, I would only consider a powerful club in England.

Barcelona Keeping Tabs On Porto's Juan Manuel Iturbe

Barcelona is closely monitoring the progress of young attacker Juan Manuel Iturbe, currently under contract with Porto, AS reports.

The 18-year-old forward joined the Portuguese champions from Cerro Porteno earlier this summer, but has yet to make his official debut for his new side.

Nevertheless, he is considered to be one of the most exciting youngsters around and has already caught the attention of Barcelona due to his performances for Argentina at the Fifa Under-20 World Cup in Colombia in August.

Although Barcelona have no intention of signing Iturbe imminently, the Catalans' sporting director, Andoni Zubizarreta, has allegedly held an informal meeting with Gustavo Mascardi, who holds 40 per cent of Iturbe's rights, to make him aware of Barca's interest.

Iturbe has a contract with the Europa League holders until the summer of 2016.

Arsenal And Chelsea Battle For Barcelona Forward

Spanish giants and current European champions Barcelona are desperately trying to fend off interest from across Europe in the latest prospect to come through their highly regarded La Masia academy, forward Gerard Deulofeu, according to talkSPORT.

The player has been likened to Lionel Messi by the academy's coaches, leading to interest from several clubs, but Arsenal and Chelsea are said to be at the front of the queue.

Deulofeu is in fact so highly rated by those at Barca that he has been pencilled in to make his debut for the club this season, despite only being 17 years old.

However it is this young age which could be a problem for Barcelona, as he is not allowed to sign a professional deal until he is 18 years old.

Arsenal of course already knows how to poach young players from the Barca set-up, having taken advantage of these contractual issues when they signed Cesc Fabregas in 2003, when he was 16.

The young player, who was apparently watched by Arsenal chief scout Steve Rowley at the Under-19 Championship this summer, could be snapped up for as little as £3m due to a buyout clause in his current deal with Barcelona.

The Catalan giants are keen to keep the player, however, and are said to already be working on terms for his professional contract.

Spurs Striker Set For January Premier League Switch

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is thought to be desperate to land Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and will make a fresh approach in the winter transfer window, according to the People.

The Black Cats boss failed to secure a deal for the Russian forward when Spurs pulled out of the deal in the final hours of the transfer window and instead brought in Nicklas Bendtner on-loan.

Tottenham were forced to withdraw from negotiations as Peter Crouch had sealed a £10m move to Stoke and they could not find a suitable replacement at such short notice.

However, Bruce was left encouraged by Pavlyuchenko's interest in moving to the Stadium of Light and is keen to reopen negotiations in January.

Much of that will depend on the success of Tottenham's strikers and, in particular, Emmanuel Adebayor who arrived at White Hart Lane this summer on-loan from Manchester City.

Santos President Admits Barca Leading Race For Neymar

Santos president Luis Alvaro de Oliveira has admitted that Barcelona have gained the upper hand in the race for Neymar.

The Brazilian hotshot was widely tipped to join Real Madrid, but it looks as though he could move to Barcelona instead.

“It’s true that Barcelona have contacted Neymar, we are in contact with Sandro Rossel and I think, at this moment, he is closer to Barcelona than Real Madrid,” Santos president Luis Alvaro de Oliveira told RAC 1.

The player himself also confirmed that he has been contacted by the Spanish giants.

“Real Madrid and Barcelona have come calling for me. Both clubs want me, I can confirm it, but I have not reached an agreement with any of them,” Neymar told AS.

“The interest from Spain’s big two makes it that my confidence is very high because I am being followed by two big clubs like these.”

Juventus Targets Benfica's Joan Capdevila

Juventus is weighing up a move for Benfica left-back Joan Capdevila, according to a report in ilsussidiario.net.

The Spain international joined Benfica in the summer on a free transfer as a potential replacement for Fabio Coentrao, who left for Real Madrid, but he has found himself behind Emerson in the pecking order at the Portuguese club.

Capdevila has been omitted from Benfica's squad for the Champions League group phase, with the 33-year-old's agent airing his client's disappointment with the decision.

Napoli has been mooted as an interested party and it is now suggested that Juventus has joined the race for the former Villarreal player.

The Turin-based outfit is reportedly looking for a new left-sided defender after loaning Reto Ziegler out to Fenerbahce earlier in the month.

The Spanish veteran, who has so far only made one official appearance for Benfica, has a 20 million euros release clause attached to his contract.

Giuseppe Rossi Refuses To Rule Out Napoli Move

Giuseppe Rossi's future is not strictly confined to Villarreal, as his agent Federico Pastorello will not close the door on a move to Napoli.

The 24-year-old Italy international, who could feature in Tuesday night's Euro 2012 qualifier against Slovenia, was linked with a summer exit from the Spanish club.

A move to Barcelona never took flight despite talks with the club, while interest from Napoli, AC Milan, Juventus and Inter fizzled out as he stayed at the Madrigal.

Napoli has already expressed their desire to sign Rossi in future with president Aurelio De Laurentiis recently admitting a move could be possible.

And Pastorello is not totally against the idea.

"It is nice to hear that Napoli want Rossi, but for the moment there are no chances that any deal can take place," the agent told Radio Kiss Kiss.

"However, like we always say in football, never say never."

Napoli takes on Cesena on Saturday night, while Villarreal hope to recover from their 5-0 thrashing against Barcelona with a home game against Sevilla.