Manchester City have made first contact with Napoli over a deal for Edinson Cavani, according to reports in Italy.
Speculation has been rife all season about Roberto Mancini's interest in the striker but, with just one game remaining in the Premier League, the Italian boss is reported to have finally firmed up his interest.
Fifth-placed Napoli need a miracle to qualify for next season's Champions League.
They are three points behind third-placed Udinese and fourth-placed Lazio are one point ahead but the Naples side has the best goal difference of trio.
Cavani is unlikely to hang around without the chance to play in Europe's top club competition and City will be able to offer that, with the almost inevitable added lure of being Premier League champions.
La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper reports that City are willing to offer a lump sum and one of their surplus players as a makeweight, but Napoli are only interested in £40m cash deal for their prized asset. TALKSHIT
£1m Mark! Hughes set to land mega bonus if he saves QPR... and spoils City's party (I heard it was £2.5mil)
Mark Hughes is in line for a £1million bonus if he keeps QPR in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday with a result that could also stop his former club Manchester City winning the title.
The QPR manager’s trusted aides, Mark Bowen and Eddie Niedzwiecki, will also land hefty pay-outs if Rangers stay up.
... and if he does Tony Fernandes will dig deep into his pockets to reward him
The west London side need a point at the Etihad Stadium to avoid relegation. However, Roberto Mancini’s City need to win to guarantee their first league title since 1968, with Manchester United needing to better their rivals’ result when they travel to Sunderland to win their 20th league title.
Sources close to Hughes yesterday insisted the chance to stop former employers City winning the league is not a motivating factor for him.
Nevertheless, it is an enticing prospect going into an ultra-tense final day.
City sacked Hughes in 2009 and replaced him with Mancini in a move described as ‘unethical’ by United manager Sir Alex Ferguson last weekend.
Add in the fact Hughes spent 13 years as a United striker and it is clear the 46-year-old QPR boss will be a key figure in the fortunes of both former clubs this weekend.
Meanwhile, the Premier League have cut two sets of winners’ medals ahead of the final day of the season, just in case United pip City to the title.
City are strong favourites to take their first championship in 44 years but a set of medals - and indeed a reserve trophy - will be present at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light.
If City do win the league a medal will be awarded to controversial striker Carlos Tevez, despite him disappearing to Argentina for three months during the season.
Tevez has played the 10 games required to qualify for a medal. Sunday’s match will be his 13th of the league campaign.
Nedum Onuoha exclusive: If Manchester City win the Premier League and QPR stay up, it will be the best day of my life
Defender is braced for the most emotional match of his career, anxious that his first love and current interest both fufil their dreams
Imagine this: You have grown up supporting your local club, been a ballboy there, joined their Academy, graduated to the first team and played more than a century of games for them.
Now, finally, comes the glorious day when they will dethrone their derby rivals and win a first League title since 1968.
The catch? You have since moved clubs and to save your own skin you need to deny the team you love their crowning glory.
Welcome to Nedum Onuoha’s world. Having come through the system at Manchester City this should be the best weekend of his sporting life.
But he swapped City for Queens Park Rangers in January and the targets of the two clubs could not be more different this weekend.
Rangers need a point at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to guarantee survival while City just need to match Manchester United’s result to be crowned champions — but Onuoha still believes it could turn out be the perfect day for him.
“If City could finish it off and win the title without finishing us off then I couldn’t be happier,” he admits with a broad smile.
That he might be in a quandary is understandable. In one moment, the defender talks with genuine excitement about what winning the Premier League would mean to City.
The next, he ponders the devastating impact relegation would have on QPR.
Whisper it quietly but Onuoha will still win even if QPR lose providing Bolton don’t triumph at Stoke.
And the 25-year-old leaves no room for doubt: his loyalties are firmly with his new employers.
He says: “QPR staying up is the biggest thing for me, no question. As long as we experience that emotion [of having secured their Premier League status] then everything else is a bonus.
“The Etihad Stadium could be the best place in the world this weekend if they win and we stay up but unfortunately that is only one of many scenarios.
“But if it happens then there will be hugs for the QPR players and fans first and then I will give City the credit they deserve.
“I don’t think I’d be invited to their party if they win the League as I only played five minutes for them this season.
“However, it’s all about QPR. It’s in our own hands. We know we can’t rely on anyone.
“On a personal level it will be emotional, though, going back to where I spent so many years. But to think they could win the League and we could stay up — it would be one of the best days of my career.”
In addition, though there are scores to settle, particularly in the case of the QPR manager, Mark Hughes, who was unceremoniously sacked by City in December 2009.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has already voiced an opinion that Hughes’s bid for revenge could spur Rangers on.
Is the same true of Onuoha? After all, his treatment at the hands of City boss Roberto Mancini, who told him not to bother coming in for training with the first team, would leave lesser men bearing a sizeable grudge.
It also cannot be forgotten that his mother, Dr Anthonia Onuoha, was mocked for suffering from cancer in an email sent by former chief executive Garry Cook. Onuoha broke his silence over that issue in an exclusive interview with Standard Sport back in March but he is adamant that revenge is not on the agenda.
He adds: “I don’t think the way it ended clouds my memories at City because I have so many good ones and most of the people I looked up to and respected are still there. It was a shame things ended the way they did but it allowed me to come here and play every week.
“I’m normally in contact with the likes of Joe Hart and Joleon Lescott most weeks but we haven’t spoken for a fortnight now — I think we are waiting to see who will go first!
“Being a City fan I have spent many years getting all sorts of grief from United fans so it would be really good if they took a step towards being as successful as United.”
Whether Hughes feels the same is another matter. But to Onuoha, mind-games are between managers and cannot affect him or his team-mates.
“Anything managers say you can’t take too seriously,” he says. “I can see where he [Ferguson] is coming from as he maybe wants to bring an extra ten per cent from our players.
“Obviously the manager [Hughes] is probably not happy with how things were done at City. But he is a proud man and he just wants to make sure his team win on Sunday to guarantee that we stay in the Premier League.”
With two former City men playing such prominent roles at Loftus Road — as well as midfielders Joey Barton and Shaun Wright-Phillips — the parallels between the two clubs are clear.
Rangers are ferociously ambitious. Their owner Tony Fernandes, the chief executive of Air Asia, was in a bar on Shepherd’s Bush Green last Sunday hours after Djibril Cisse’s last-gasp goal beat Stoke and ensured Rangers have the upper hand going into this weekend.
A fan asked him when his flight was the next morning. Fernandes’s answer was pure Hollywood: “The best thing about owning an airline is that it really doesn’t matter,” he said.
So, if Rangers survive on Sunday what does the future hold for the club?
Onuoha adds: “If we stay up then everyone will celebrate but the real work is to come next season as a relegation battle isn’t what most of us came here for and it’s not what the owner invested in the club for.
“They want success and as much of it as possible. There is a lot of potential at QPR but great potential doesn’t always lead to great success. We have to do things the right way. You would like to think if we survive the lessons will be learned to ensure we aren’t in this position again.”
First, there is Sunday, with the immediate future on the agenda. So, Onuoha, do City deserve to win the League? “Yes, they’ve been the most consistent team all season.”
Do QPR deserve to stay up? A pause. “We deserve the chance to do so because we have won the big games when we have had to.”
For Onuoha, it’s a trip to heaven or hell this weekend. L.E.S.
REASONS TO BE FEARFUL...
With the bottom two places in the Premier League decided, QPR and Bolton face a desperate 90 minutes on Sunday as they battle to avoid filling the final relegation slot. QPR go to champions-elect Manchester City while Bolton travel to Stoke . . .
•Rangers have the worst away record in the Premier League, taking just 11 points from a possible 54.
•They have never won away in the League under Mark Hughes. The last of their three victories on the road was at Stoke in November when Neil Warnock was still in charge.
•Manchester City have the best home record in the top flight this term, dropping only two points.
•Only once in the history of the Premier League — 2001-02 — have all three promoted sides survived.
•Bolton have six away League wins this season, which is equal best with any team in the bottom half of the table.
•When Bolton met Stoke at the Reebok in November they thumped the visitors 5-0.
•Only Fulham (12) and Stoke (11) have scored fewer away goals in the League than QPR (17) this season.
•Blackburn (43) are the only team to have conceded more away League goals than QPR (38).
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL...
•On 11 occasions in the last 19 seasons, the teams in the relegation zone going into the final game have gone down.
•QPR have won five of their last 10 League matches including victories over Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham.
•Bolton have won just one of their last seven League matches. A draw for Rangers would leave Bolton needing a nine-goal win to stay up. Stuart Davis
Can City do it? Liam Gallagher and Ricky Hatton give fans view
Manchester City are within touching distance of their first league championship in 44 years. Roberto Mancini's men know a victory against relegation-threatened QPR on Sunday should be enough to pip United to the title.
Liam Gallagher
I WILL move back to Manchester if City win the title. I got back from Disneyland with the kids and we got beat by Arsenal so we were eight points behind and I was getting loads of grief from United fans in Disneyland. Even Daffy Duck is a secret Red I think, he was having a pop, so I thought it was well and truly over then.
Ricky Hatton
IT will be the biggest day of my football life. Ever since I've been a fan we've had to watch the enemy down the road win everything. It's been a living nightmare for City supporters. I don't want to speak too soon because the wheels can always come off. We've just got to get our noses over the finishing line. If we can't beat QPR at home on the last day to win the title then we don't deserve it.
John Millington
(City fan who was a picture of despair at Swansea in March)
At Swansea I just couldn't see past the final whistle. With the run of games we both had, I just didn't think we'd do it. It would be a big stepping-stone for us. First the FA Cup and now hopefully this. It's bragging rights for the city as well. I'm sure there will be a tear in my eye if we win the title on Sunday - but I won't be the only one!
Kevin Parker
(Man City Supporters' Club general secretary)
I've been watching City for 38 years and it's the most important game of my life. I keep reading about celebrations, parties and bus tours but my psyche won't allow me to get into that. I'm so superstitious I almost can't say what it would mean to us. I'll be numb until next August if we don't win it.
Dave Wallace
(Editor of King of the Kippax fanzine)
It's ridiculous that we went 35 years without a trophy and now it looks like being two in two seasons. After the Big Four took over, I couldn't ever see a club like City winning the title. To do it a couple of years after getting some serious money pumped in is fantastic
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]OTHER BOLLOX
Barcelona dismiss claim Messi called Drenthe 'negro'
Barcelona have defended Lionel Messi against accusations he directed a racial term at Royston Drenthe.
Drenthe, who is currently on loan at Everton from Real Madrid, claims Messi called him a "negro" repeatedly during his time in Spain.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18024212
Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea will all consider summer bids for Fulham's Moussa Dembele. The Belgian international is out of contract at Craven Cottage in 2013, and is already being chased by Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham. Metro
Tottenham want Ben Foster to be their long-term replacement for 40-year-old goalkeeper Brad Friedel. Daily Mirror
Chelsea will face a battle with Real Madrid and Roma to land Gregory Van Der Wiel. The Ajax right-back looked all set to join Valencia this summer but advanced talks have broken down. talkSHIT
Chelsea are hoping to beat Liverpool to the signature of Partizan Belgrade's 18-year-old attacking midfielder Lazar Markovic, who has been recommended by Avram Grant. Daily Mail
Arsenal may enter the race to sign Borussia Dortmund attacking midfielder Shinji Kagawa. The Japanese international wants to leave the Bundesliga club this summer and has been linked with a number of prospective suitors, most notably Manchester United. caughtoffside.com
Liverpool are ready to let Kenny Dalglish carry on as manager - but with a vastly-reduced budget for signings. Daily Mirror
Wigan are resigned to losing Hugo Rodallega, Chris Kirkland, Mohamed Diame and Steve Gohouri this summer. the Sun
David Moyes has unveiled his blueprint for Everton success - build a team around Nikica Jelavic. "We're now looking at what goes with Jelavic, what would be good to put with him, what type of player we can buy in the future," he said. Liverpool Echo
Owen Coyle is not ruling out Chung-Yong Lee, who has been sidelined for nine months with a broken leg, from making an appearance from the start of Sunday's survival showdown at Stoke. The Bolton News
Fancy dress shops in Wales have run out of Elvis Presley costumes after Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers asked fans to stage a tribute to the King at Sunday's last game of the season against Liverpool at the Liberty Stadium. Metro
