Summer Transfer Rumour Mill and Gossip Nonsense

Seaneh

Two of them could do a good job for a premiership side. Old man river will go back to Brazil.

The Volt

Seaneh wrote: »

Two of them could do a good job for a premiership side. Old man river will go back to Brazil.

Many a forum online linking Petrov to Everton

Gillington

Voltwad wrote: »

Many a forum online linking Petrov to Everton

Would like to see him stay in the Premiership,good player for us unlucky with his time there

The Volt

Gillington wrote: »

Would like to see him stay in the Premiership,good player for usunlucky with his time there

Would be a good squad player for sure. Anything that keeps Arteta in the centre and not out wide is a good thing for us

Headshot

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/arsenal/article7146441.ece

Chelsea will confirm the imminent departures of Joe Cole and Michael Ballack on Wednesday on free transfers after the pair failed to agree new contracts at Stamford Bridge.

The club have been negotiating with the players’ representatives over extensions to contracts that expire this summer for several months, but have been unable to agree terms, and the players will leave as free agents on July 1.

Chelsea’s surprise announcement will spark a scramble for their signatures, as despite falling out of favour in West London both players are very much in demand. Cole recovered from a disappointing domestic season to earn a place in England’s World Cup squad at the eleventh hour and is in contention to start their opening match of the tournament, against the United States on Saturday, while Ballack would have been in South Africa as Germany captain had he not suffered an ankle injury in Chelsea’s FA Cup Final win over Portsmouth.

Cole has attracted strong levels of interest from all of Chelsea’s leading rivals in the Premier League, with Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur set to follow up their initial inquiries over the next few days. Given Cole’s desire to stay in London and the appeal of being reunited with Harry Redknapp, White Hart Lane appears to be his most likely destination because Tottenham, unlike Arsenal and Liverpool, would have little problem matching his wage demands. An offer to work with Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford would, however, be hard to turn down.

Ballack will leave England after four seasons at Chelsea that, despite delivering one Premier League title and two FA Cups, he will look back on with some disappointment. He, too, will have no shortage of suitors. Werder Bremen have made clear their desire to bring him back to Germany, and José Mourinho’s agent, Jorge Mendes, has made contact with his representatives to examine the possibility of Ballack joining Real Madrid.

Several wealthy clubs in the United Arab Emirates Pro League are also preparing to make him an offer should he decide to opt for a lower quality of football while remaining on high wages.

Cole’s future at Chelsea looked bleak for most of the season after contract talks broke down after Christmas. Cole had been holding out for a £20,000-a-week pay rise to £100,000, but Chelsea refused to budge, to such an extent that the initial offer of £85,000 a week was withdrawn.

Ballack, 33, was seeking a new two-year contract that would enable him to play on at the highest level until the 2012 European Championship, an even more important aspiration after missing the World Cup finals, whereas Chelsea were willing only to give him another year. Ballack offered to take a big pay cut and make the second year contingent upon him playing a large number of games next season, but Chelsea were not willing to back down.

Chelsea’s decision to release two of their senior players is the tangible evidence of long-professed desire for financial retrenchment of Roman Abramovich, the owner, taking effect, although it could end up costing them money in the short term. Carlo Ancelotti, the manager, is intending to promote five youngsters to the first team next season, but finding effective replacements for Cole and Ballack will not be cheap.

Panthro

joe cole seems to be heading to the arsenal.
similar story from goal.com

JPA

papagormo wrote: »

joe cole seems to be heading to the arsenal.
similar story from goal.com

Seems odd that he wanted 100k at Chelsea but would then sign an 80k deal at Arsenal.
Unless he got a huge signing on fee.

ctrl-alt-delete

JPA wrote: »

Seems odd that he wanted 100k at Chelsea but would then sign an 80k deal at Arsenal.
Unless he got a huge signing on fee.

Id say it is the signing on fee alright, nice position to be in with the club not having to pay a transfer fee....

Did Tim Lovejoy not put it on his twitter a while ago that Cole was going to Arsenal?

dor83

From goal.com: Besiktas have completed the €7.3m signing of Inter Milan winger Ricardo Quaresma, the Turkish club have announced on their website.

Lukker-

dor83 wrote: »

From goal.com: Besiktas have completed the €7.3m signing of Inter Milan winger Ricardo Quaresma, the Turkish club have announced on their website.

From Daily Mail and a few other sites that Ferguson has entered the race to sign Micky Ballack.

JPA

Sky Sports understands that Argentinian star Juan Roman Riquelme is on the verge of joining West Ham on a two-year deal.
The former Villarreal midfielder is ready to return to Europe after a three-year stint with domestic giants Boca Juniors.
Foootball agent, Barry McIntosh, has confirmed that no less than five Premier League clubs are interested in the 31-year-old, who retired from international duty after a fall-out with coach Diego Maradona.
Everton and Tottenham have enquired about Riquelme's availability in the last two years while Brazilian club Flamengo have already put an offer on the table.
But West Ham, who have already signed Germany international Thomas Hitzlsperger on a free transfer from Lazio this summer, are leading the race to secure Riquelme's services.
"There are at least four other English clubs in the equation," McIntosh told Sky Sports News.
Challenge

"But I think the location of London, the challenge at West Ham and working beside the likes of Scott Parker and Thomas Hitzlsperger have been very important factors in him considering the move.
"Right now, we think the best option, the most likely, and the one he's most interested in is West Ham.
"I think for a foreign player of the magnitude of Riquelme, the lure of London is always going to be a deciding factor over any other club.
"So unless Arsenal come in then I think the most likely destination and the one Riquelme would be most interested in is West Ham."
Riquelme began his career at Boca before leaving for Barcelona in 2002, although he had an unsuccessful year at the Camp Nou.
He then joined Villarreal, initially on loan, and helped them reach the Champions League semi-finals on their debut in the competition in 2005/06.
Riquelme returned to Boca on loan in 2007 after falling out with then-Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini and led them to the 2007 Copa Libertadores before making a permanent return home in 2008.
Despite ruling himself out of contention for this summer's World Cup, Riquelme has remained in top form in Argentina and feels it is time to again take on the challenge of leading one of Europe's lesser forces, as he did at Villarreal.
"[A move] was unlikely a few weeks ago because Riquelme's No.1 club, where he is an idol, is Boca Juniors," McIntosh added. "He played for them on very small financial terms to satisfy the fans.
Ready to move

"But it's come to the position now where he feels he may have to look at all the other options that are being offered to him because he doesn't feel like he's getting value for money in terms of staying at Boca.
"That has alerted a number of other clubs from Brazil to Europe and even in Qatar, offering multi-million pound deals.
"But I think he'd like to be a part of the project of West Ham, and what David Sullivan and David Gold have got in mind for the future for the club, including the new stadium.
"In precise words, Riquelme has said that in terms of going to a club like Manchester United, it wouldn't really be an attraction to him because if he goes there they could win the Champions League - they've already done it - or they win the FA Cup - they've already done it.
"He wants to go to a club where he's going to make a mark."

No threads or posts on boards favourite player joining West Ham? Anyway I await the fawning/flopping if true.

JPA

Cesar Azpilicueta to join Marseille for €7 milliom.

Necronomicon

SSN: Bolton have signed Martin Petrov.

Fantastic signing for them.

Gillington

JPA wrote: »

Cesar Azpilicueta to join Marseille for €7 milliom.

Wow surprised at this one given Arsene Wenger's admiration for him. 7mil seems a snip although i've only ever seen him play twice

Peyton Manning

Ballack has returned to Leverkusen, signed a contract with them today.

mink_man

wouldnt mind joey cole playin for utd on the left wing...

Oat23

Archimedes wrote: »

Ballack has returned to Leverkusen, signed a contract with them today.

€15 million for 2 years, great deal for a 33 year old who'll be 34 after 5 weeks of the season.

Just read that Wolves offered him more money too but he accepted Leverkusen's offer.

eagle eye

Necronomicon wrote: »

SSN: Bolton have signed Martin Petrov.

Fantastic signing for them.

If you don't mind a player who is going to miss more matches than he plays.

Als76

Necronomicon wrote: »

SSN: Bolton have signed Martin Petrov.

Fantastic signing for them.

I agree Petrov will fit into Coyles style of football plus Petrov wont have to move from the area he lives in.

highgiant1985

folks can someone recommend a good website where I can follow transfer news for premiership clubs?

What I'm looking for is really a site that'll give a breakdown by club of who left and who joined.

dor83

Palermo have accepted a €35m bid for Kjaer and Cavani from Spurs.

“Tottenham have bid €35m, an offer we cannot refuse,” for Simon Kjaer and Edinson Cavani, confirmed Palermo President Maurizio Zamparini.
Spurs had already been heavily linked with the two World Cup stars for some time, but it seems the matter is heading towards a conclusion.

“Tottenham have bid €35m, an offer we cannot refuse, seeing as the two players have both said they want to leave,” Zamparini told Sky Italia television.

Danish international defender Kjaer is hot property and was also linked with Juventus, Inter, Barcelona and Manchester United.

Uruguayan striker Cavani had been close to Inter, who seem to have toned down their interest, while Manchester City made an offer.

“We will reinvest the money for these players,” assured Zamparini. “The midfield is my biggest concern, whereas in defence and attack we are fairly covered.”

They would be very good signings for spurs imo.

Headshot

wow

spurs are fighting with the big boys now

hopefully vidic will be staying now

Mr. Guappa

dor83 wrote: »

Palermo have accepted a €35m bid for Kjaer and Cavani from Spurs.

They would be very good signings for spurs imo.

Bloody Hell :eek:

Hope this is true!!

Smegball

Wow!

Excellent signings if completed.

Kjaer and King/Dawson is pretty damn good.

dor83

Headshot wrote: »

wow

spurs are fighting with the big boys now

hopefully vidic will be staying now

If they get them they will have 3 very good centre backs in King, Dawson and Kjaer and will be well covered for when King cant play. I still think Utd. should be trying to get Kjaer because he would be a good replacement for Rio who isn't getting any younger and could suffer injuries again, and I heard his buy out clause is £12m which is a very good price imo.

dor83

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Bloody Hell :eek:

Hope this is true!!

It came straight from the mouth of Zamparini, the Palermo president, so should be just a matter of agreeing terms with the players.

everdead.ie

I've never heard of cavani before is he good?

Mr. Guappa

everdead.ie wrote: »

I've never heard of cavani before is he good?

He plays on the right side of the attack for Uruguay, he worked very hard in the game against South Korea. According to wiki he has 32 goals in 107 games for Palermo. He is 23 and 6' 2".

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinson_Cavani

leninbenjamin

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

He plays on the right side of the attack for Uruguay, he worked very hard in the game against South Korea. According to wiki he has 32 goals in 107 games for Palermo. He is 23 and 6' 2".

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinson_Cavani

makes for a fantastic target man in football manager too

dor83

everdead.ie wrote: »

I've never heard of cavani before is he good?

He's a good player, only 23 so time to develop on the potential and I reckon he would work well with Defoe. He has also played well for Uruguay so far in the World Cup imo.

_Bella_

Fairly good signing

Real Madrid have reached agreement with Benfica for the transfer of Argentina winger Angel di Maria. He'll move to the Bernabeu on a six-year deal.

conno16

IMO di maria is not all that great
nani has everything hes got and more

not real madrid standard from what i've seen

flahavaj

Spurs.:eek:

Seaneh

Great singing for spurs if it happens. Cavani is a kind of Ibra-lite type player.

Big, strong, great ball control and two good feet. Good in the air, should do very will in england.

Kjaer is, well, a bit special, imho.

Seaneh

Milan interested in Joe Cole according to Corriere dello Sport.

I'd be happy enough if they signed him. Offers back up for Ronaldinho and Pato as well as maybe Pirlo in midfeild.

CorkMan

Appearently Maicon agreed a deal to Madrid for £25 million.

conno16

CorkMan wrote: »

Appearently Maicon agreed a deal to Madrid for £25 million.

feck it - we missed out on that one

CR 7

conno16 wrote: »

feck it - we missed out on that one

The forum could really do with a new right back.

conno16

sorry, i was sure fergie would wrap up maicon after his CL campaign
he plays real good on the right back slot
imagine him and evra together in the one side
it would be like playing 4 wingers

evra / nani & maicon / valencia
unstoppable

Oat23

Would Maicon even want to join United?

I doubt it.

Mr. Guappa

Oatesy23 wrote: »

Would Maicon even want to join United?

I doubt it.

In any case I doubt they are looking to buy a RB if they do have £25 million lying around.

flahavaj

Rafael > Maicon tbh.

GLaDOS

conno16 wrote: »

sorry, i was sure fergie would wrap up maicon after his CL campaign
he plays real good on the right back slot
imagine him and evra together in the one side
it would be like playing 4 wingers

evra / nani & maicon / valencia
unstoppable

Not a chance he'd spend that much on a right back, if at all

Ush1

flahavaj wrote: »

Rafael > Maicon tbh.

The mutant hero turtle i presume you're talking about.

flahavaj

Ush1 wrote: »

The mutant hero turtle i presume you're talking about.

The Renaissance artist after whom said amphibian was named.

I presumed after conno16's post this thread had turned into somewhere we could post random nonsense if and when it come sinto our heads.

KittyeeTrix

flahavaj wrote: »

The Renaissance artist after whom said amphibian was named.

I presumed after conno16's post this thread had turned into somewhere we could post random nonsense if and when it come sinto our heads.

Could ye not keep the conno16 malarky in the Man Utd thread before it starts to derail every other thread:p

flahavaj

fluffyorganic1 wrote: »

Could ye not keep the conno16 malarky in the Man Utd thread before it starts to derail every other thread:p

He cannot be contained any longer.

The cat is out of the bag so to speak.

KittyeeTrix

flahavaj wrote: »

He cannot be contained any longer.

The cat is out of the bag so to speak.

Oh lord, not again........I'm getting a distinct sense of deja vu about this:D

But back on topic, any one heard of any Man City transfers at all??? and no outrageous jokes please!!!

Frisbee

flahavaj wrote: »

He cannot be contained any longer.

The cat is out of the bag so to speak.

The cat is also being watched.

Headshot

fluffyorganic1 wrote: »

Oh lord, not again........I'm getting a distinct sense of deja vu about this:D

But back on topic, any one heard of any Man City transfers at all??? and no outrageous jokes please!!!

it seems ye're getting yaya toure, good player but why city would need him is beyond me