Paris Saint-Germain are preparing to rival Manchester City for Arsenal striker Robin van Persie.
Club director Leonardo has made tentative enquiries as to the Holland international’s availability this summer.
Will he sign? Arsenal are desperate for Robin van Persie to pen a new deal, but face a challenge from Manchester City - and PSG
The Ligue 1 club were initially told the Gunners had no intention of selling their skipper, but the ongoing uncertainty over Van Persie’s future has led to PSG rekindling their interest.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti knows all about the 29-year-old from his days at Chelsea and is keen to bring the striker to France.
PSG - who are financially driven by mega-rich Qatari Investment Authority - have the funds to compete with big-spending City.
But Van Persie has made it clear he will only leave Arsenal to join a title-challenging club in a major European league. Manchester City are preparing a formal £20million offer for the striker.
Van Persie - who has a year left on his contract - is stalling on a new three-year deal worth £130,000-per-week - plus a £5million bonus.
Earlier this week, City boss Roberto Mancini - a long-term admirer of the Dutchman - was coy when asked about Van Persie, who has a year left to run on his contract at the Emirates Stadium.
'Van Persie is an Arsenal player, I won't say anything,' he explained.
Van Persie is also on the wanted list of Italian giants Juventus as well as Barcelona in Spain and has been offered a new deal at the Emirates.
City, though, have the power to offer the 28-year-old in excess of £200,000 a week as well as the chance to win the Barclays Premier League.
If City are to push a deal through they will need to offload one of their other high earners such as Emmanuel Adebayor or Carlos Tevez.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... z1z8EHpje5
Liverpool defender Skrtel plays down Man City talk
Martin Skrtel has poured cold water on reports linking him with a move to Manchester City.
The Premier League champions have been eyeing a move for Liverpool defender Skrtel and Newcastle’s Fabricio Coloccini as they look to build on their success in the last two seasons.
But although he didn’t rule out the possibility of an Anfield exit, the 27-year-old Slovakia international insists no offers have been tabled for his services.
"In the press there have been rumours about my future," Skrtel said on his personal website.
"I would like to say that so far I have not received any specific offers and I have not been in talks with any club." talkShit
Euro 2012: Mario Balotelli says Italy win is best night of his life
Mario Balotelli has described his match-winning performance in Italy's Euro 2012 semi-final victory over Germany as "the best night of my life". The 21-year-old Manchester City striker scored two first-half goals to set the platform for the 2-1 win, dedicating the victory to his adopted mum Silvia.
Analysis Bollox - Alan Shearer
BBC Sport "Balotelli did everything right against England without reward but he he got his rewards against Germany. His performance was sensational. He was bigger, stronger and he got goals. He added everything we wanted him to add to his game. It was the perfect performance."
The Azzurri will now play favourites Spain in Sunday's final.
"This was the greatest night of my life and I hope Sunday will be better," Balotelli said.
At the final whistle, Balotelli sought out his family and embraced them in the stands. "At the end of the game I went to my mother - that was the best moment," he added.
"I told her these goals were for her. I waited a long time for this moment, especially as my mother is not young anymore and can't travel far, so I had to make her happy when she came all the way here. My father will be in Kiev for the final too."
Balotelli's two goals took him joint top of the Euro 2012 scoring charts with three. "I will try to win the top scorer award," he said.
"In football sometimes you can try so many times and it doesn't go in, or try few and it does all the time. It was a fantastic assist, the kind only Antonio Cassano can provide, while Riccardo Montolivo's pass was great too."
He celebrated his second goal by taking off his shirt and striking a typically defiant pose. "They didn't get angry because I was booked for taking my shirt off, but they saw my physique and got jealous," he joked.
Balotelli, who was substituted midway through the second half, dismissed any injury worries and declared himself fit for Sunday's final. "I had cramp and was a little tired, but I told the coach to wait five minutes and by that point the substitution was already in progress. It's fine."
Italy now meet Spain for the second time in the tournament, having played out a 1-1 draw in the group stages. And Balotelli believes that, despite Germany's lacklustre performance, the Azzurri are in the final on merit.
"When Italy win it is because the other team played bad," he said. "I think we won because we were better and we deserved it.
"We are with Spain, we are the two best teams in the tournament," he added.
"I hope to win, I don't care if I play badly as long as we give our all. We have to relax, mustn't get frustrated with Spain's possession and keep playing our football.
"We are the only side to have scored against Spain so far. We proved that we are equal to them, if not more, and we want to win."
Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said Balotelli's performance had proved he had developed into a team player and not just an individual.
"Mario is rather unique, he's atypical. He's very strong and fights for the team. He's always been there when called upon and he fights in the penalty area," he said.
"The career of Mario Balotelli has only just begun."
Not all the Italians were as content, however. Captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon stormed off the field at the final whistle, furious at Italy's failure to convert a host of second-half chances that would have put the result beyond doubt.
"I was annoyed because I don't celebrate second place and I was angry with us because we could have avoided the difficult final five minutes," Buffon said.
"When you can score seven goals against Germany, you have to score seven because if they come back to 2-2 they'll beat you 10-2 in extra-time. We need to be more mature and to know that even if football is a game, when you reach the European Championship final, it's no longer a game."
Andrea Pirlo, who was named man-of-the-match, also sounded a note of caution for Sunday's final. "We haven't done anything yet," he said. "There's no use going to Rome and not seeing the Pope. We want to go home with this cup."
Boateng, Ferdinand, Rossi & more: Twitter reacts as Italy reach the final
Mario Balotelli scores twice as Italy shock Germany to reach the Euro 2012 final, prompting a huge reaction on Twitter
MCF.net THREAD: viewtopic.php?f=119&t=43369&p=442602#p442602
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Transfer Bollox - June 2012
The January transfer window closed for new permanent signings on 31 January.
The transfer window officially reopens on 1 July, although once a club has completed their competitive fixtures for 2011-12, they are able to sign players.
As many players' contracts expire on 30 June, some deals announced between now and 1 July will not officially go through until then.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/transfers/
Tottenham target Nuri Sahin has ruled out acting as a makeweight in any Luka Modric transfer deal, insisting he's happy to stay at Real Madrid. Metro
However, Ajax boss Frank de Boer has told Tottenham not to give up on signing defender Jan Vertonghen, despite their dispute with the Dutch club. Metro
Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande are reportedly in the market for Real Madrid's Kaka and Manchester United's Wayne Rooney. footylatest.com
Liverpool have fallen behind Juventus in the race to sign Uruguayan sensation Gaston Ramirez. talkShit
Chelsea will face competition from Napoli to secure the services of Porto full-back Alvaro Pereira. talkShit
Newcastle will go back to Lille with an improved bid of around £6m for France international right-back Mathieu Debuchy. Daily Mirror
The Magpies are also poised to sign 19-year-old defender Curtis Good from Australian side Melbourne Heart, for a fee in the region of £400,000. Goal.com
Arsenal and Tottenham target Samir Handanovic is not for sale this summer, according to Udinese's technical manager Andrea Carnevale. talkShit
Fulham, Norwich and West Brom are in a three-way battle for Danish striker Nicklas Helenius, who caught the eye with Aalborg last season. footylatest.com
Sam Allardyce is keen to strengthen the West Ham attack with a £5m move for Sochaux striker Modibo Maiga. Daily Mail
Sunderland are weighing up a move for Aston Villa defender Carlos Cuellar. talkShit
Fulham want Tottenham's midfield misfit David Bentley, either on loan or at a bargain fee. Daily Mirror
Southampton have joined Fulham and QPR in the race for Vitesse Arnhem midfielder Alexander Buttner. Daily Mirror
Nani claims Portugal team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo insisted on taking the "glory" penalty in their semi-final shoot-out on Wednesday night, which Spain won before it got to Ronaldo... Daily Mirror
...but the Real Madrid superstar says Portugal coach Paulo Bento had no objections to him taking the fifth spot-kick. Metro
Tottenham target Clarence Seedorf is still considering his next move as he trains with LA Galaxy. talkShit
Defender Ledley King will test his knee in pre-season but will be offered a coaching role if he turns down a new Tottenham deal. Daily Mail
Despite looking rusty for England at Euro 2012, Wayne Rooney has been told he doesn't have to go on Manchester United's pre-season tour of South Africa and China. Daily Mirror
Spain put their supporters through an emotional rollercoaster on Wednesday night - and TV pundit Tomas Roncero burst into tears on air while ranting about La Roja's shoot-out win. 101greatgoals.com
FRIDAY'S TOP BOLLOX SCOOP
Wolves are keen to take Manchester City defender Stefan Savic on loan.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... -City.html
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No really! ... just click the link .. atrounding article.
More bollox later ....
