Football Gossip

Manchester United are chasing the young Chilean starlet Alexis Sanchez according to the player’s agent.

Manchester United have reportedly had a bid turned down to secure the Chilean services next season. Sanchez was an influential player in helping his Argentinean side, River Plate win the championship. His impressive performances at such a young age has drawn attention internationally and several of the ‘Big clubs’ are chasing for his signature.

The 19 year-old is owned by Udinese without ever playing for them, after signing in 2006. He has been twice loaned out to South American teams previously Colo-Colo and currently River.

River realising his great talent are trying to tie him down for another season and have began talks with the Italian club Udinese. Apparently, the player has caught the eye of Manchester United who see him as a long term replacement of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Sanchez’s agent Fernando Felicevich has told the Chilean media that United have already failed with one approach for his client.

“It was around two months ago and it was not just an enquiry, they [Manchester United] also presented an offer, but it did not meet the requirements of Udinese or Alexis so it was rejected,” he told La Cuarta.

Felicevich admitted that he could not rule out a renewed United bid, and claimed that the previous offer was substantial.

“The figure rejected by Udinese was very important,” he added.

Reports in Chile and Italy claim that Udinese have already put a 20million euros (£15.8million) valuation on Sanchez’s head, which would seemingly be enough to put off any interested parties.

With all this interest in the player Udinese are eager to see how Sanchez will fare in Serie A.

Sanchez departed for Italy on Monday to link-up with Udinese for pre-season training.

“It is the first time he will have been so far, far away from his family so we will have to see how it goes,” said Felicevich.

Sanchez in action:

Joe Cole hails his new manager Phil Scolari after, finally being able to express his natural position and style under the new managerial regime.

 Joe Cole seems to be criticising the two previous managers with their regimented formulaic football which prevented the England international from claiming a regular first team shirt. Avram Grant and Jose Mourinho the previous two managers disapproved of Cole demonstrating his tricks and flicks on the football pitch.

The Chelsea team commenced training this week with the new boss instantly captured the respect of the entire squad. Cole feels he can dazzle again under the new liberating manager who is known for his attacking and entertaining football. Scolari has managed both Portugal and Brazil.

Cole reveals all in a recent interview:

“I’m getting a good vibe from Scolari.

“It is early days but he seems very approachable and has a huge football pedigree.

“I’m really excited to play for him, I’m chomping at the bit to get fit and out there.

“The way he sets his teams up, I’ve been waiting for it my entire career — a manager who wants to play the right way.

“I’m nearly 27 now and have been waiting for someone like him to come along.

“He already has the respect of the boys and has settled in nicely. I think it’s going to be happy days for everyone.”

Cole admitting he has spoken to the Portugese star Paulo Ferreira, who played under Scolari at Euro 2008.

“From what I know about the way he set up Portugal and Brazil, and watching them play it was beautiful football, there are plenty of players who like to get the ball down, I’m so excited.

“I spoke to Paulo about him and people who have played for him have a lot of respect for him and say what a good manager he is.

“That’s a good sign because normally whenever you speak to people about a manager you often get mixed opinions. But everybody seems very complimentary.”

Cole’s tricks and flicks:

Spanish press claim Robinho’s agent is in talks with Chelsea about a possible transfer. Real Madrid are confident of securing the premiership’s player of the year Cistiano Ronaldo and so can afford to offload the want-a-way forward Robinho.

Marca the Spanish newspaper assert that Robinho’s agent Wagner Riberio has met with Chelsea representatives including the sporting director Frank Arneson over his possible move to the London club.

The paper claims that Real Madrid need to raise money to finance their move for Cristiano Ronanldo which, if reports are accurate, will break all records. Real Madrid are asking for offers above £29milllion for the Brazilian striker Robinho.

The selling of their Brazilian star will be dependant on the aquisition of the Man Utd forward. This highlights Real Madrid’s confidence in signing the Portuguese winger, that they have already begun talks to sell the creative forward.

Real Madrid’s president Ramon Calderon reportedly told the 2008 Wimbledon champion Rafa Nadal that the signing of Ronaldo was as good as done even though he has repeatedly and publicly announced that he didn’t wish to talk about the transfer saga.

Robinho Vs Ronaldo

Valon Behrami the Switzerland international midfielder will not join West Ham this transfer window, according to his agent Alessandro Beltrami.

The current Lazio player who is keen to leave his club to gain more first team experience has been closely linked with West Ham this summer.

Valon Behrami caught the eye of several top clubs following his impressive performances at the recent European Chanpionships 2008. Although the Swiss campaign was brief, a number of clubs were alerted about his position.

The agent, Alessandro Beltrami claims that his client’s first choice destination would be the German Bundesliga, while also rejecting the gossip of a possible transfer to West Ham.

No basis

Beltrami said: “The stories linking Valon with West Ham have no basis.

“He has his heart set on playing in the Bundesliga, so therefore England is not a priority for him.

“The player will return from vacation this week after which we will decide his future.

“We have received offers from Germany, Spain and England, but so far there are no meetings scheduled.”

Watch Behrami’s goal against Fiorentina:

The Everton striker is up for sale only if the £12million price tag is reached. David Moyes is the Everton Manager has set the high price to cool transfer talk in an attempt to keep Johnson.

Several clubs have been linked with Andy Johnson including: Wigan Athletic, Middlesbrough, Manchester City, West Ham and Sunderland.

 Everton have already rejected two offers of £10million for the England international. David Moyes has stated that the 27 year old striker is not for sale but every man has his price and Johnson’s is believed to be £12million.

It is clear that Moyes is unwilling to sell the player and now all the clubs wishing to make an offer know the approximate price so have to think about how much they are willing to spend.

Andy Johnson in action:

Portsmouth have agreed the transfer of Peter Crouch for £10million from Liverpool. The England international has been linked to several clubs recently when Rafa Benitez the Liverpool manager confirmed that Crouch was no longer part of his plans for the coming season.

Linvoy Primus the Portsmouth right back claims that he is fully expecting the arrival of Peter Crouch this summer. Recently the papers have stated that the move to Fraton Park is imminent and could occur in the next 24 hours.  

Primus told The News: “It looks like it will happen. I don’t think it’s a secret. I just think the clubs couldn’t agree terms.

“It’s like Gareth Barry going to Liverpool - you just expect it to happen.

“I don’t think it was Peter stopping it - it boiled down to the two clubs getting together and sorting it out. That’s usually the reason why these things take so long.

“Once the clubs agree I’m sure it’s a done deal.”

Harry Redknapp the Portsmouth manager has not concealed his desire to re-sign Crouch Portsmouth and the deal appears to be edging ever-closer.

Primus said: “He’s (Crouch) going to be an asset and I’m sure a lot of fans would like to see him as well.

“I remember him first time around and he was always destined to go on and do well. You don’t score 18 goals in a struggling team and not go and push on - and he has.

“Everybody knew about his ability. We used to see it in training every day and it’s no surprise seeing him play for England and scoring goals. It was no surprise when Liverpool signed him.”

Peter Crouch has one of the most impressive scoring records for England, with 28 appearances and 14 goals.

Some of the best Peter Crouch goals:

Newcastle fans are outraged by the news that members of the Bin Laden family are in the lead to take over Newcastle United from Mike Ashley. The Saudi Bin Laden Group own a construction company which turnover a reported £2.5billion. It is believed that the Bin Laden’s have offered £300 million to take control of the club. The Bin Laden plan is to increase the commercial activities in the club investing ion leisure and retail facilities in and around St James’ Park.

The most wanted man on earth Bin Laden was disowned by his family many years before the Islamic terrorist attacks including 9/11. However, many fans are understandably disgusted and frightened by this information.

Ben Linton, a 27-year-old insurance broker from Gateshead said: “I saw Team America at the cinema and on DVD, so I know that terrorism is something I do not want my club associated with.”

Mark Johnson, a retired teacher from Newcastle, chimed in on a similar note: “This is disgraceful. Selling my club to known Arsenal fans is unacceptable.”

The current Newcastle United owner paid approximately £134million for complete control of the club. So this offer will be hard to refuse resulting in a £166million profit for Ashley in just over a year.

It is known that the Bin Ladens have shares in many large TNC including Microsoft and Boeing so this sudden reaction by many of the fans may by a little unwarranted and reactionary.

Paul Ince the new Blackburn manager has confirmed his desire for David Bentley to remain at Blackburn this season.

Bentley has continually linked with big money transfer away from Blackburn, in order to continue to improve his footballing career this summer but Ince is set on retaining the midfielder.

Although there has been no official approach by any club Liverpool, Tottenham and Aston Villa are the most likely suitors.

It was discovered in Thursday’s press that the former MK Dons manager held talks with the want-a-way midfielder restating his claim to keep the England international.

In an interview Ince said:

“We are going to have to deal with a lot of speculation but I want David here next season.

”I’m looking forward to seeing him for pre-season training.”

“We are obviously going to have to deal with a lot of speculation.

“But as far as I’m concerned, I want David here next season and I’m looking forward to seeing him on 7th July for pre-season training.”

Current estimations value the player at £15million, however, with Ince unwilling to sell his best players a transfer remains unlikely.

David Bentley’s superb finish against Salzburg:

Aston Villa have rejected another bid for the England midfielder Gareth Barry. It is believed that Liverpool have had a £16million deal turned down, insisting that the player is worth £18million.

This transfer saga is has taken this prolonged course as both managers are budging sparingly.

An Aston Villa club statement read,
“The report in today’s paper of a £17 million offer for Gareth Barry is inaccurate,”

“The club have received a renewed offer from Liverpool for the player but that still falls well short of Aston Villa’s evaluation, and has subsequently been rejected.”

In the meantime Barry has been disciplined by Villa having criticised manager Martin O’Neill and pleaded for a move to Anfield.

Rafa Benitez is irritated by Aston Villa’s high valuation of the player which is the only barrier preventing the transfer of the player but is happy to bide his time as there seems to be no other competition for the midfielder’s signature.

Barry has had a great season for Aston Villa and England. Due to his great England contributions he is viewed as a future partner for Steven Gerrad in the middle of the park. These impressive performances have clearly caught the eye of Rafa Benitez ready to find replacement for the outgoing Alonso.

Gareth Barry in action:

Arsene Wenger is winning the race for the signing of the highly rated Russian playmaker Arshavin ahead of Chelsea. Arshavin has attracted the attention of the Frenchman at the recent European Chanpionship 2008. His impressive performances in the tournament were instrumental in Russia’s run to the final and was enlisted in the UEFA EURO 2008™ Team of the Tournament.

This £15million star is in a four way tug-of-war after resisting a new £3.9million-a-year contract from his current club Zenit St Petersburg. The clubs interested in him include Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Barcelona.

Chelsea have recently inquired about the player and have a significant advantage over the other clubs due to Chelsea’s owner Roman Abramovich Russian connection. It seems that Abramovich will enforce a Russian player to be included in the Chelsea squad because of the recent success of the Russian team. Arshavin seems the most likely candidate as he was the most influential player in the team.

Arsene Wenger has been labelled “a cunning fox” in his pursuit of the Russian forward. The Arsenal manager is trying to outwit his competition by sending out mixed messages of his involvement. In true Arsene Wenger style this is probably an attempt to reduce the asking price of the player.

An interview of Zenit club official Dennis Lakhter reveals certain truths:

“In the morning he says (Arsene Wenger) Arshavin will play all the time at his club(Arsenal) and during the day he says he doubts the capabilities of Andrei to play three games in a row at the highest level.

“But this is a tactic to fool the competition.

“He calls Andrei a Tsar and then tries to deny interest in the player.”

Lakhter said Arsenal and Barcelona have made approaches but Arsenal remain “the most active”.

View Arshavin football skills here: