We’re already in the middle of June, and though the signings haven’t been coming hard and fast just yet, that doesn’t mean that there’s a shortage of action thus far in the summer transfer window.

In this morning’s transfer news and rumors roundup, we’ve got tidbits from England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, and Greece, with many big names and big clubs looking to spend, spend, spend. Some of the rumors are pretty concrete, while there is at least one in the bunch that, like Manchester United being linked with a move for Fernando Torres, are a little head-scratching, to say the least.

There are also a couple of signings to report, and remember, to keep up with all of the latest confirmed signings, check out our summer 2009 transfer lists.

England

Manchester United After Valencia Stars

There has been a great deal of speculation over the last few days about what Manchester United are going to do with the money they get from selling Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, and it could be that a sizable chunk of those funds go towards signing Valencia stars David Villa and David Silva.

United are reportedly set to make a £45m bid for Villa (The Mirror). The competition could wide open between United, Barcelona (Sky Sports), and Chelsea for Villa, as his potential move to Real Madrid appears to have broken down (Daily Mail).

Meanwhile. Rafa Benitez might not like hearing about United making a concerted effort to land Silva, as the winger has been a target for Benitez for a while now but could be the subject of a £25m bid from United. (The Mirror)

Analysis: £25m looks to certainly be enough to land Silva, but even though they could outbid Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Chelsea for Villa, they could be out of luck if Villa prefers the chance to stay in Spain. Of course, if Barcelona land Villa, that’d all but free up the opportunity for a United move for Samuel Eto’o.

United and Boro In Downing Swap Deal?

Middlesbrough are heavily interested in Manchester United duo Paul Scholes and Gary Neville, and there are reports that they could offer Stewart Downing to United to try to make a deal happen. (The Mirror)

Analysis: Both Scholes and Neville could be reluctant for such a move, but even so, it’d seem like United would come out a lot better in this deal, especially if they didn’t have to spend much of that sizable transfer kitty on purchasing Downing.

Costa On Shortlist To Replace Ronaldo?

Along with the moves mentioned above, United could be set to swoop for Gremio starlet Douglas Costa. (Sky Sports)

Analysis: Brazil’s becoming more and more of a hotspot for United, and signing a prospect of Costa’s ability and potential would be worth the fee United may have to stump up. He’s only 18, so he’s more one for the future and wouldn’t be expected to step in and star right away. But as Ronaldo did when he arrived at United, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him earn first-team opportunities immediately.

Bolton Lead Race For Veloso?

Bolton are back in for Sporting Lisbon midfielder Miguel Veloso, and after refusing to overbid for Veloso in January, could be in with a £10.2m offer for the 23-year-old, who’s also been linked with Arsenal. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: £10.2m is still a little lower than Sporting might like to get for Veloso, but it could be a sign that Bolton are willing to fork out a little more in order to land him.

Bentley And Huddlestone To Sign For Villa?

It could only be a matter of time before Aston Villa seal the deal on a couple of new signings, as there are reports that they are close on Tottenham pair David Bentley (Goal.com) and Tom Huddlestone (Birmingham Mail).

Analysis: Considering their interest in Bentley, Huddlestone, and Jermaine Jenas, I’m surprised they haven’t been strongly linked with Darren Bent or Roman Pavlyuchenko, considering a forward should also be on their summer wishlist.

Several Sides Interested In Newcastle’s Martins

Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Everton are all interested in Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins (Tribal Football), but they could face competition from a mystery Bundesliga club (Tribal Football).

Analysis: Everton would be a great fit, considering the familiar faces that would await, but wages would likely be a stumbling block, and that could also be the case with Aston Villa. No telling what the situation could be with the Bundesliga club, but Arsenal may well be the best match financially – but that could all hinge on whether or not they sell Emmanuel Adebayor.

Fulham And West Ham Interested In Acquafresca

It’s a London battle for young Italian striker Robert Acquafresca, as Fulham and West Ham are both interested in the 21-year-old. Acquafresca was supposed to go to Genoa as part of the deal that brought Diego Milito and Thiago Motta to Inter, but he could yet move elsewhere, with even Juventus being linked with a move. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: I don’t have any doubts that Acquafresca could succeed in the Premier League, but if Juventus come in for him, that might be an opportunity that’s too hard to pass up.

Sunderland Bid For Cattermole

Sunderland have made a £7m bid for Wigan midfielder Lee Cattermole. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: Well they sure aren’t sitting on their money, are they? That’s certainly a tempting offer for Wigan, considering it’s double what they paid for Cattermole just last summer. I don’t know if Wigan will offload him right now though, unless he’s just that eager to be reunited with Steve Bruce. If someone’s willing to pay 7m for him right now, they could be in line to get a lot more if he continues to develop well over the next season or two. Besides, the sale of Antonio Valencia will net a nice amount of transfer funds for Roberto Martinez.

Wolves Sign Milijas

Wolves have completed the signing of Red Star Belgrade midfielder Nenad Milijas. (The Guardian)

Analysis: For a little while, the deal looked to be in some doubt, but in the end, Wolves fought off some pretty good competition to land the free-scoring midfielder.

Birmingham Bid For Gomez

Birmingham have made a £1.5m offer to Espanyol for midfielder Jordi Gomez, who starred on loan for Swansea last season. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: With Roberto Martinez set to complete his move from Swansea to Wigan anytime now, Birmingham could face some competition from Wigan for Gomez, so it might be in Birmingham’s best interests to try to get him signed, sealed, and delivered as soon as possible.

Spain

Real Madrid Offer Sneijder For Inter’s Maicon

Real Madrid could be set to offer Inter Milan €20m plus attacker Wesley Sneijder in a bid for right back Maicon. (Goal.com)

Analysis: Sounds like a reasonable deal. Sneijder’s someone that has been linked with Inter, and €20m + Sneijder would meet the €40m asking price that Inter have for Maicon.

Italy

AC Milan Sign Cissokho

AC Milan have completed the signing of Porto defender Aly Cissokho for €15m. (Sky Sports)

Analysis: This time last summer, Cissokho had just made the jump from France’s Ligue 2 to Portugal, joining Vitoria du Setubal, and now, he’s signed for AC Milan. Talk about a quick rise!

Inter Closing In On Double Swoop

Jose Mourinho could be close to being reunited with Deco and Ricardo Carvalho, as Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti spoke hopefully about being able to agree a deal with Chelsea for the duo. (Daily Mail)

Analysis: Seems to be only a formality, really.

Juventus To Swap Trezeguet For Rossi?

Juventus are prepared to offer striker David Trezeguet as part of a swap deal for Villarreal star Giuseppe Rossi. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: £15m + Trezeguet would fall a little short of Rossi’s buyout clause of £40m, but it could get Villarreal to bite, or at least think seriously about the offer. Trezeguet might turn down the chance though, considering the interest that he’s had from the likes of Inter, Real Madrid, and others.

Lazio In Talks For Barnetta

Lazio are in talks with Bayer Leverkusen over a move for Swiss midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: Barnetta’s valuation is reportedly €10m, but even though Lazio don’t exactly have the room to break the bank on summer purchases, it shouldn’t be a problem to spend the right amount on a player who’s certainly worth it.

Germany

Wolfsburg Want Berbatov?

In one of the more interesting transfer rumors of the day, Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov is being linked with a loan move to VfL Wolfsburg. (Sofia Echo)

Analysis: Though things didn’t exactly go completely swimmingly at United last season, Berbatov’s not going anywhere.

Stuttgart Interested In Tottenham Striker

VfB Stuttgart could be targeting Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko. According to Stuttgart general manager Horst Heldt, the Russian striker has come up in discussions within the club. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: After selling Mario Gomez to Bayern Munich for €30m, Stuttgart have money to spend and a big void to fill up front. Replicating Gomez’s 33-goal output from this past season might be a little much to ask, but Pavlyuchenko does have the quality to succeed in the Bundesliga, even though his struggles at Tottenham last season might convince some otherwise.

France

Shevchenko Offered To French Trio

Chelsea have offered striker Andriy Shevchenko to Lyon, Marseille, and Monaco. Lyon have turned down the opportunity to sign the Ukrainian, but Marseille and Monaco are still considering the chance to snap him up. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: Safe to say then that Sheva doesn’t have a future at Chelsea, eh?

Coupet To Sign For PSG

Former Lyon goalkeeper Gregory Coupet could be set for a quick return to Ligue 1, as he has agreed personal terms over a move to Paris Saint-Germain. Coupet moved from Lyon to Atletico Madrid last summer, but after seeing little time last season, will be back on familiar soil if a fee can be agreed. (Goal.com)

Analysis: With current #1 Mickael Landreau looking to leave, PSG needed to swoop for a quality replacement, and Coupet, with his long history of success with Lyon, certainly fits the bill.

Greece

Panathinaikos Close On Drenthe?

Panathinaikos are going all out in their efforts to sign Real Madrid’s Royston Drenthe, as they could offer £11m in order to land the versatile Dutchman. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: That’s about the same amount Real spent to sign Drenthe from Feyenoord in the summer of 2007, so I don’t see them turning down an offer of that amount. Drenthe hasn’t exactly blossomed at Real, and he wouldn’t appear to have much of a future there, so the only holdup might be whether or not he wants to move to Greece or to a more elite league.

“Transfer Rumors (15 June 09): Man United after Valencia stars Villa and Silva, Aston Villa close on Tottenham duo, Berbatov and Pavlyuchenko linked with Bundesliga moves, and more” was originally published at footballlens.com – football news.

Seasons are coming to a close around Europe, and while many big names will make moves in the upcoming summer transfer window, we’re also going to see a few notable managers change clubs in the near future. With that in mind, today’s transfer news and rumors roundup has a little managerial news from around Europe mixed in with the regular player transfer gossip.

Brazil

Corinthians Pursuing Tevez Loan Deal?

Corinthians are exploring ways to try to engineer a loan deal for Carlos Tevez. Tevez starred at the Brazilian club before making the jump to England, and with his time at Manchester United seemingly almost up, his old club are looking to pounce. (Daily Mail)

Analysis: I think Manchester United will do all they can to sign him if possible, but if he doesn’t sign for United, you’ve got to love the thought of a rejuvenated Ronaldo and Tevez playing alongside one another. Would he jump for it?

England

New Chelsea Manager Ancletti to Target Tevez?

The chances are high that Tevez could remain in the Premier League even if he doesn’t sign with Manchester United, and one of the clubs who could make an approach for him is Chelsea, who are set to name Carlo Ancelotti as their new manager. (Daily Mail)

Analysis: Hiddink certainly would’ve been their best choice, but it wasn’t to be. Chelsea will be looking to add to their front line, especially if Didier Drogba finally leaves, but even Roman Abramovich might not be willing to stump up 32m for Tevez.

Mourinho Turns Down Manchester City Offer

According to Italian news reports, Jose Mourinho has turned down a 12m offer to manage Manchester City. (Goal.com)

Analysis: This contradicts with reports that I’ve read that made it seem silly that Mark Hughes’ job was ever under threat, but maybe that’s being said because City couldn’t land the replacement they wanted.

Liverpool and Manchester City After Gourcuff?

Liverpool and Manchester City are both being linked with Bordeaux loan star Yoann Gourcuff. The 22-year-old French international midfielder has been huge in Bordeaux’s run towards the Ligue 1 title, scoring 12 league goals and assisting on 10 more. (Sky Sports)

Analysis: Considering the season he’s had at Bordeaux, AC Milan’s new manager might see him as a key asset for next season. But if Milan put him up for sale, he’s going to cost a pretty penny.

Arsenal to Bid for Ajax’s Vermaelen?

Arsenal are reportedly ready to make a £7.5m bid for Ajax defender Thomas Vermaelen. The 23-year-old Belgian international has also been recently linked with Aston Villa. (The Mirror)

Analysis: As this season has shown, Arsenal need to add some depth to their back line, and Vermaelen’s versatile enough to fit in multiple slots. And with Kolo Toure potentially leaving in the summer, Vermaelen could immediately be thrust into a key role for the Gunners.

Aston Villa Chase Toulouse Striker Gignac

Aston Villa scouts have been keeping a close eye on Toulouse striker Andre-Pierre Gignac, who tops Ligue 1’s scoring charts with 22 goals. (Daily Mail)

Analysis: It would aid their hopes of making a sustained challenge for the top four and making a deep run in the Europa League to add another scoring option, but I don’t really see why they’d send Carew packing, seeing as how he’s been scoring when others haven’t.

Italy

Van Basten and Adebayor to Arrive at San Siro?

With Carlo Ancelotti set to take over at Chelsea, AC Milan are said to be lining up former Rossoneri star Marco Van Basten as his replacement, and Silvio Berlusconi says that ‘there is a good chance’ that the club will also land Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor. (Daily Mail)

Analysis: There might have been some unhappiness about Flamini leaving for Milan last year, but many Arsenal fans probably can’t wait to see the back of Adebayor at this point.

Fiorentina In Talks to Land Crespo

Fiorentina have confirmed that they are in talks to sign Inter striker Hernan Crespo. The veteran Argentine striker’s contract at Inter expires this summer, so he will be available for free. (Sky Sports)

Analysis: Crespo hasn’t made much of an impact at Inter in the last couple of seasons, but Fiorentina is where strikers go to rejuvenate their careers (see Mutu, Adrian and Gilardino, Alberto), so this would be a good move for him.

France

PSG in €10m Bid for Inter’s Vieira?

Paris Saint-Germain could be set to make a €10m bid for Inter midfielder Patrick Vieira. (Goal.com)

Analysis: It’d be a great opportunity for Vieira, but as the article mentions, PSG’s finances could be a stumbling block to this one. If they could beat Lyon to third and Ligue 1’s last Champions League spot, that would significantly help their chances, but the chances of that happening are now pretty slim.

Scotland

Duo Chase Hibs Star Riordan

Hibs striker Derek Riordan is a target for Lokomotiv Moscow and Premier League hopefuls Burnley. Riordan has scored 11 goals this season after returning to his old club following a forgettable spell at Celtic. (Sky Sports)

Analysis: After how things didn’t work out the last time he tried to make a step up, Riordan might balk at moving so quickly, but if it’s a can’t-resist offer, then Hibs might try to push him out the door. However, if said can’t-resist offer comes from Moscow, Riordan might do well to ask former teammate Garry O’Connor about his issues with settling during a short spell with Lokomotiv.

Daily Links

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Is Drinking a Problem in the Premier League?

Given the recent and very public issues involving a couple of Premier League players and alcohol, how serious of a concern is boozing in the EPL?

Tie-Breakers for Football Teams Level on Points

Ever wanted to know what tiebreakers various football leagues around the world use to determine champions if teams are tied on points?

“Transfer Rumors (18 May 09): Chelsea to make Tevez move, Liverpool and Manchester City after French star Gourcuff, Arsenal to rival Aston Villa for Ajax defender Vermaelen, and more” was originally published at footballlens.com – football news.

Being in the shadows of rivals Barcelona, Manchester United and Inter is not good enough for mega clubs Real Madrid, Chelsea and Milan. Within the next couple of weeks don’t be surprised if these clubs have signed a new coach to lead them on the hunt for revenge.

Real Madrid 

Situation: Real Madrid have a habit of kicking coaches left to right, regardless of whether the club wins the league or not. Juanda Ramos, who temporarily took over after Bernd Schuster is most likely getting the sack and may look for a new job this summer. With Florentino Pérez as the new President, there is time for a football extreme makeover. Jorge Valdano and Zinedine Zidane is expected to take place in club management and plenty of star players are going to be purchased over the summer. A new coach is a fact. The question is who.

Candidates: Inters José Mourinho was over the weekend the first coach to win both the English and Italian leagues. Real likes this. Carlo Ancelotti is considered tobe high on the wish list but is expected to choose Milan or Chelsea. While Villarreal Coach Manuel Pellegrini has many supporters. Zidane is allegedly working hard for Perez to select Laurent Blanc in Bordeaux. Arsène Wenger is seen as a hot name too.

Hot Tip: Manuel Pellegrini or Arsene Wenger. Jorge Valdano who is Pérez’s right hand, said to have Wenger and Pellegrini as first choice, and his influence is great.

Chelsea 

Situation: Guus Hiddink is definately leaving Chelsea to go back coaching the Russian national team. 

Candidates: Dutchman Guus Hiddink has announced that he will return to the Russian national team, but some fans still hoping for a U-turn. Others would be more than happy to see idol Gianfranco Zola return to the club after their initial success as coach, most recently in West Ham. The name Carlo Ancelotti has popped up time after time. The same is true with Frank Rijkaard, who appearantly have been personally recommended by Hiddink. 

Hot Tip: Carlo Ancelotti. Roman Abramovitj has wanted him for over a year. Concerns about Ancelottis English skills and unwillingness to move, do not seem to be an obstacle. Abramovitj usually gets what he wants.

Milan 

Situation: Externally Milan is keen to keep Ancelotti. There is talk of an extension of the contract which expires in 2010. Former coach Arrigo Sacchi, and several players have also pointed out that the club must keep the 49-year-old. But after eight years as Milan coach and in recent years the habit of ending up second to local rival Inter calls for a change. Milan needs a fresh start. Milan president Silvio Belusconi, who criticized Ancelotti recently, promised on Monday a young hungry coach if/when Ancelotti leaves the club. 

Candidates: It is rumored that Paolo Maldini who is currently youth coach at the club is a strong candidate. However, it is probably a former club mate from Maldinis 24 years on the team who takes over at Milan this summer, if Ancelotti disappears. Frank Rijkaard is ready for a new challenge. Leonardo and Marco Van Basten are two other candidates.

Hot Tip: Frank Rijkaard. If Ancelotti chooses Chelsea then Rijkaard background shoild fit well with the expectation from Milan.

Former Real Madrid player Steve McManaman called it the “Disneyfication of Real Madrid”; others scoffed at the idea as a bad science experiment gone wrong. If there was ever a time where football was at its peak of absurdity, this was most definitely the time.

Los Galacticos. The mere mention of the two words together conjure up memories of watching some of the world’s great names in the sport — Beckham, Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo and Owen — stepping onto the same pitch wearing the same kit and playing together in a match that wasn’t a friendly for charity. For the first time ever Real Madrid had bought the greatest names in the world to form the biggest mega-power on and off the pitch that we’ve ever seen.

Florentino Perez, who was the president at the time, built the team with the intent of making the club the biggest “brand” on the planet. The idea worked; it’s just too bad the lack of consistency on the pitch didn’t match the money Madrid was making off it. In 2006 Perez was ousted at Madrid to never come back.

The Galácticos era was officially over — or so we thought.

With the lack of success recently at Real Madrid, a decision was made to bring in a new president to turn things around. What Real Madrid needed was a spark; someone who could come in and bring the club back to respectability.

Enter Florentino Perez. The former president, who was was forced to step down in 2006, has decided that he’s seen enough of Barcelona at the top of the table. So earlier today Perez did something that could back into the good graces of the Madrid faithful: he entered his name in the elections and promised a return to the Galácticos era if given the chance.

“I know that the status of the club is precarious and is a challenge and I should not have left without having assured that there was the stability that Real Madrid needed,” Perez said to a packed press conference earlier today.

Rumours are that Perez will announce in the coming days who his transfer targets would be for the summer if he won the election. And with the likes of Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, Milan’s Kaka, Arsenal’s Cesc Fábregas, Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribéry and Valencia’s David Villa floating around, there’s a very good chance that if Perez was elected president, that we could see the start of a new Galácticos era.

And who would manage such a club? When asked to confirm if Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger or Inter’s Jose Mourinho were on his list, Perez said coyly, “They are great managers.”

Real Madrid’s election are on June 14th, but if today’s conference was a sign of things to come, then chances are pretty good that we’ll see some more fireworks from Perez over the next month.

“Perez dreams of Galácticos return to the Bernabéu” was originally published at footballlens.com – football news.

Today’s tell-all want to be buried in the unmarked grave beside Arch Stanton

Marriages of convenience fractured beyond repair feature prominently in today’s super soaraway Sun, with Katie Price taking up the front page to announce how “devastated” she is at being dumped by Peter Andre, while Carlos Tevez features on the back announcing that he wants to leave Sir Alex Ferguson and move to Liverpool. Except on closer inspection he doesn’t – the story that appears under the headline “Tevez: I’ll play for Kop” and claims “Liverpool have contacted Tevez’s owner Kia Joorabchian to register their interest and the Argentine is keen on the move,” is entirely devoid of quotes from anyone and would be a bit more convincing if it featured input from somebody … anybody connected to either Liverpool or Tevez to take the bare look off it. Yes, even if it was only from one of our old friends “sources close to the the Argentinian forward” or “Anfield insiders”.

Elsewhere in the Currant Bun, in a story that’s equally light on any kind of evidence to back it up, it is revealed that Jose Mourinho is ready to make a £15m bid for Chelsea’s Jon Obi Mikel. Despite having two years left on his contract and looking like a middle-aged woman who’s had a little too much plastic surgery, the young Nigerian will be offered a five-year deal by the manager who poached him from under Manchester United’s noses in 2006.

In common with most other newspapers, today’s Daily Mail grumbles about shameless Tory MPs claiming “expenses for swimming pools, helipad, chandelier … and even a moat”, no doubt feeling aggrieved that the money being lavished on such excesses (if you consider them excesses – what kind of slovenly creature wants to live in a house with no helipad or chandelier, surrounded by a dirty moat?) could be better spent on ridiculously expensive PR campaigns, completely unnecessary public information bulletins about Swine Flu or helping Manchester United replace Cristiano Ronaldo with Wigan’s Antonio Valencia. According to the Mail a £20m deal has already been agreed in principle for when Cristiano Ronaldo gets his move to the Bernabéu. Meanwhile at Anfield, Liverpool are preparing a £12m bid for Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing, which seems like an awful lot of money to pay for a winger who isn’t very good at crossing the ball.

Today’s Mail also reveals that “Bolton have slapped a £20m price tag on defender Gary Cahill” to put off interest from Arsenal. If the Mail’s story is correct, we can only assume they didn’t use a Motex MX-5500 pricing gun, as it only has six digits and is limited to printing tags for items priced no higher than £99.99. Items like former Ipswich and Sunderland striker Marcus Stewart, for example, who has just signed a one-year deal to play for Exeter City.

Heard any transfer speculation of your own? Come now, out with it …

]]> http://www.latestfootballnews.net/football-transfer-rumours-carlos-tevez-to-liverpool/feed/ 0 http://www.latestfootballnews.net/shearer-tactical-genius/ http://www.latestfootballnews.net/shearer-tactical-genius/#comments Wed, 13 May 2009 16:48:55 +0000 admin http://www.latestfootballnews.net/shearer-tactical-genius/ There’s only one place to start with a round-up of Tuesday morning’s UK papers and that’s with the fallout from Newcastle’s 3-1 win over Middlesbrough.

The Magpies went behind early but managed to equalise before the break and allowed Alan Shearer to pull off what the Sun called a “tactical masterstroke” and the Daily Mail labelled “the managerial magic that could keep Newcastle in the Premier League”.

The Daily Star and the Daily Mirror both call Obafemi Martins and Peter Lovenkrands “supersubs” after Shearer brought them both on and watched as they scored the goals to seal victory in the tensest north-east derby in years.

The Daily Express claim Shearer’s decision to bring on Martins and Lovenkrands will earn them £50m arguing the win will stave off relegation, while the Times warn that the result means the writing is on the wall for Championship-bound Boro.

The Independent argue that the result signalled the moment Shearer arrived as a manager because it suggested he showed the skill all good managers must have: the ability to affect the course of a game at critical moments.

It’s a sentiment no doubt echoed by the Newcastle fans who worship Shearer, and who, as the Daily Telegraph mention “continues to give the Toon hope and joy, continues to script dramas in this passionate Geordie theatre”.

Elsewhere the Guardian claim that Chelsea officials met Carlo Ancelotti and his representatives on Monday night seeking assurances that he still intends to swap San Siro for Stamford Bridge at the end of the season.

If Ancelotti does leave AC Milan it could mean that he misses the chance to coach Carlos Tevez, who the Daily Mail claim will be heading to the San Siro in a £40m deal from Manchester United.

The Sun however say that Tevez will move to Liverpool in the summer after United failed to make the Argentine feel wanted. The Daily Mail also reckon Liverpool are keen on Boro’s Stewart Downing and will make a £12m bid at the end of the season.

In other transfer news the Daily Mirror claim Jose Mourinho is ready to offer Chelsea £15m for midfielder John Obi Mikel, while the Daily Star report that Arsenal are targeting a summer move for defender Gary Cahill – but have been told it will take £20m to tempt Bolton into selling.

And finally the Sun have the story that Harry Redknapp will order a booze ban at Tottenham in the wake of Ledley King’s nightclub bust-up.

Bearing in mind the slump in form at Spurs last year when Juande Ramos banned ketchup at the training ground Harry will have to hope the players don’t miss a few beers or glasses of Cristal as much as the missed red sauce on their chips…

Florentino Pérez was the man who created Los Galácticos in the early 2000 and is again the favorite of becoming the next president of Real Madrid. Other names has also been mentioned as Real Madrid’s next president,  Arsenal Arsène Wenger, José Mourinho and Inter Milan Carlo Ancelotti.

Former Real star Zinedine Zidane now in charge of international relations of the Madrid club and according to sports newspaper AS, his countryman Franck Ribéry have accepted a bid from the Real Madrid pulled off by countryman Zidane. Big transfers are expected and that is how presidential candidates win member votes in Real Madrid.

Last time around Pérez signed one of the more controversial transfers ever, he managed to sign the Barca icon Luis Figo. This time around expect big star signings once more.

When Florentino Pérez now again is up for president, one star player after another is mentioned as possible signings: Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Franck Ribéry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and perhaps the most unlikely name of all, Leo Messi of Barcelona.

But surely Pérez can’t steal Messi From Barcelona? Surely he can’t pull off such a spectacular signing again as when he signed Figo from rival Barcelona?