Monday's B*ll*x
Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 7:01 am
Manchester City Bench Warmer Offered £8m Lifeline
Mancini to Mull Over Marseille Move for Santa Cruz
French champions Marseille are ready to take unwanted Roque Santa Cruz off Manchester City’s hands after watching the striker in action for Paraguay.
Marseille coach Franck Passi was in the stands taking notes as Santa Cruz, 28, starred for Paraguay as they beat Greece 2-0 in a World Cup warm-up match in Switzerland.
Marseille boss Didier Deschamps wants to launch an assault on the Champions League next season but only has a budget of £14million to play with. City will be prepared to let Santa Cruz go a cut-price £8m. (Daily Mail)
You have to feel for Paraguayan Santa Cruz, not in any real way given he is a millionaire playing a game he loves, but because he has been wasted at an Eastlands outfit with an embarrassment of attacking riches. A move to the Ligue 1 champions may well be work well for all concerned.
It seems likely that Roberto Mancini would accept decent bids for the 28 year old as he looks to chop and change his squad ahead of the new season. Roque has proved himself at Premier League level before and could surely have been a 15-20 goal a season striker at City if he was given the chance, it just so happened that Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor were the players who were given the nod as the club’s first choice starting pair.
It is also fair to say that in his six starts last term the former Blackburn man didn’t exactly excel but then arguably needed more time to bed in.
Manchester City to battle AC Milan for Paraguay striker Barrios
Manchester City are preparing a €30million bid for Borussia Dortmund 's Lucas Barrios , who is also interesting AC Milan , according to German daily Bild.
25-year-old Barrios was born in Argentina and recently gained Paraguayan citizenship, which has enabled him to be selected in the Paraguay squad for the World Cup.
The target striker moved from South America to Borussia Dortmund last summer and enjoyed an impressive first season, scoring 19 goals in 33 appearances. Nicknamed, "The Panther", Barrios is strong in the air and possesses a fearsome shot.
Barrios has played only three games so far for Paraguay, but is already attracting attention from Italian giants AC Milan , who will likely look to add to their strike force over the summer, particularly given the disappointing form of Dutchman Klaas Jan Huntelaar.
However, Bild claims that Manchester City are also interested in Barrios and will look to price AC Milan out of the race with a €30million bid. Manchester City have made a habit of bringing players from the Bundesliga to Eastlands, including Vincent Kompany, Nigel de Jong and most recently Roberto Mancini has added Jerome Boateng to his squad.
Should City sign Barrios, it is unclear whether he would join or replace fellow Paraguayan striker Roque Santa Cruz
CITY TO INCREASE MILNER BID TO £27M
What with this World Cup lark, talk of James Milner moving on from Aston Villa has gone quiet for the past few days and weeks. However, the story is once again backpage material after the Daily Star splashed their claim that City 'will make a final £27m bid for James Milner in the hope of luring the England star to Eastlands. Roberto Mancini has already seen a £20m offer rejected by Aston Villa, who are holding out for £30m for the former Leeds and Newcastle midfielder.'
So why not just bid the £30m? Forgive us for sounding blasé about £3million, but it's not as if City are short of cash. Well...
'The club's billionaire backers from Abu Dhabi are refusing to be held to ransom just because they have wads of cash to spend. They have been criticised in the past for paying out huge transfer fees and believe the offer for Milner is a fair price.'
Celtic are yet to make a move for Manchester City attacker Craig Bellamy.
The Scottish Sun says Celts sources have insisted they have NOT made a move to bring Craig Bellamy back to the club.
Reports in England and Wales have linked the Manchester City ace with a return to Parkhead on loan.
Bellamy, 31 next month, would be the big signing Lennon and the fans crave.
Aston Villa and Spurs would be in the frame if City boss Roberto Mancini sanctioned his sale.
Celtic could only come into the equation if City agreed to pay the bulk of his £85,000-a-week salary in a loan deal.
Manchester City To Include Robinho In Offer For Barcelona Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic
The Brazilian could finally sign for the Blaugrana...
Manchester City are reportedly preparing an offer for Barcelona frontman Zlatan Ibrahimovic with out-of-favour Robinho included in it.
The Brazilian winger joined Santos on loan in January in a bid to find regular first-team action ahead of the World Cup after being relegated to the periphery at Eastlands.
He has recently indicated he hopes for an extended Santos stay, but City are believed to be interested in either cashing in on him or including him in one of their summer deals.
According to publication Sport, the 26-year-old could be used as make-weight in the Premier League side's push for Ibrahimovic, whom City boss Roberto Mancini highly regards after coaching him during his time with Inter Milan.
Robinho was strongly tipped with a move to the Camp Nou last summer, having even gone as far as to make his interest in the move public.
With Barcelona understood to be looking for a new man for their left flank, chances are that they will study the possibility of having Robinho in their ranks very carefully.
WAG OF THE DAY
http://wedontknowfootball.files.wordpre ... emie42.jpg
TRANSFER BOLLOX
Arsenal are prepared to let midfielder Cesc Fabregas leave for Barcelona if the Catalan club doubles its offer to £60m for the Spanish midfielder. Daily Mail
Real Madrid are considering an offer of £40m for Fabregas in an attempt to sabotage Barca's efforts to sign the 23-year-old Spain international.
Footylatest.com
But Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard is the preferred transfer target for Real Madrid fans, according to a poll in Spanish newspaper Marca.
Footylatest.com
West Brom have entered the race to buy Norwegian teenage striker Marcus Pedersen from Stromsgodset, with Sunderland, Blackburn, Bolton, Everton and Fulham also keeping tabs on the highly-rated 19-year-old.
Daily Mail
Birmingham will increase their offer for Palermo striker Fabrizio Miccoli after the Premier League's club initial £3.4m bid was rejected by the Serie A side.
Daily Mail
Tottenham are preparing a £16m bid for Porto's Colombian striker Radamel Falcao.
Footylatest.com
German side Wolfsburg are ready to spend up to £20m to take Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov away from Manchester United.
Footylatest.com
OTHER BOLLOX
Former Liverpool favourite Robbie Fowler believes Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is the ideal man to take over at Anfield following Rafael Benitez's departure. The Sun
Slovenia midfielder Robert Koren says his team will not be scared of England in their final Group C match on 23 June in Port Elizabeth. The Sun
The referee who will officiate England's opening World Cup match against the United States, Carlos Eugenio Simon, was suspended by the Brazilian Football Association last season amid accusations of being "unambiguously inconsistent, unfair and inequitable".The Times
The Football Association has sought safety assurances from local organisers that England's friendly match against South African side Platinum Stars on Monday in Lesetlheng will be free of crowd trouble following a stampede at a similar game in Johannesburg that resulted in 15 people being injured on Sunday. The Independent
Platinum Stars defender and former Tottenham Hotspur Mbulelo Mabizela says his side "will get stuck in" against England at the Moruleng Stadium. (Daily Telegraph)
Brazil president Lula da Silva says Argentina manager Diego Maradona's policy to allow his players to have sex with their partners in South Africa will undermine their chances of winning. "I want to see the Argentines arrive staggering and exhausted to their games," he said. The Guardian
Mancini to Mull Over Marseille Move for Santa Cruz
French champions Marseille are ready to take unwanted Roque Santa Cruz off Manchester City’s hands after watching the striker in action for Paraguay.
Marseille coach Franck Passi was in the stands taking notes as Santa Cruz, 28, starred for Paraguay as they beat Greece 2-0 in a World Cup warm-up match in Switzerland.
Marseille boss Didier Deschamps wants to launch an assault on the Champions League next season but only has a budget of £14million to play with. City will be prepared to let Santa Cruz go a cut-price £8m. (Daily Mail)
You have to feel for Paraguayan Santa Cruz, not in any real way given he is a millionaire playing a game he loves, but because he has been wasted at an Eastlands outfit with an embarrassment of attacking riches. A move to the Ligue 1 champions may well be work well for all concerned.
It seems likely that Roberto Mancini would accept decent bids for the 28 year old as he looks to chop and change his squad ahead of the new season. Roque has proved himself at Premier League level before and could surely have been a 15-20 goal a season striker at City if he was given the chance, it just so happened that Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor were the players who were given the nod as the club’s first choice starting pair.
It is also fair to say that in his six starts last term the former Blackburn man didn’t exactly excel but then arguably needed more time to bed in.
Manchester City to battle AC Milan for Paraguay striker Barrios
Manchester City are preparing a €30million bid for Borussia Dortmund 's Lucas Barrios , who is also interesting AC Milan , according to German daily Bild.
25-year-old Barrios was born in Argentina and recently gained Paraguayan citizenship, which has enabled him to be selected in the Paraguay squad for the World Cup.
The target striker moved from South America to Borussia Dortmund last summer and enjoyed an impressive first season, scoring 19 goals in 33 appearances. Nicknamed, "The Panther", Barrios is strong in the air and possesses a fearsome shot.
Barrios has played only three games so far for Paraguay, but is already attracting attention from Italian giants AC Milan , who will likely look to add to their strike force over the summer, particularly given the disappointing form of Dutchman Klaas Jan Huntelaar.
However, Bild claims that Manchester City are also interested in Barrios and will look to price AC Milan out of the race with a €30million bid. Manchester City have made a habit of bringing players from the Bundesliga to Eastlands, including Vincent Kompany, Nigel de Jong and most recently Roberto Mancini has added Jerome Boateng to his squad.
Should City sign Barrios, it is unclear whether he would join or replace fellow Paraguayan striker Roque Santa Cruz
CITY TO INCREASE MILNER BID TO £27M
What with this World Cup lark, talk of James Milner moving on from Aston Villa has gone quiet for the past few days and weeks. However, the story is once again backpage material after the Daily Star splashed their claim that City 'will make a final £27m bid for James Milner in the hope of luring the England star to Eastlands. Roberto Mancini has already seen a £20m offer rejected by Aston Villa, who are holding out for £30m for the former Leeds and Newcastle midfielder.'
So why not just bid the £30m? Forgive us for sounding blasé about £3million, but it's not as if City are short of cash. Well...
'The club's billionaire backers from Abu Dhabi are refusing to be held to ransom just because they have wads of cash to spend. They have been criticised in the past for paying out huge transfer fees and believe the offer for Milner is a fair price.'
Celtic are yet to make a move for Manchester City attacker Craig Bellamy.
The Scottish Sun says Celts sources have insisted they have NOT made a move to bring Craig Bellamy back to the club.
Reports in England and Wales have linked the Manchester City ace with a return to Parkhead on loan.
Bellamy, 31 next month, would be the big signing Lennon and the fans crave.
Aston Villa and Spurs would be in the frame if City boss Roberto Mancini sanctioned his sale.
Celtic could only come into the equation if City agreed to pay the bulk of his £85,000-a-week salary in a loan deal.
Manchester City To Include Robinho In Offer For Barcelona Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic
The Brazilian could finally sign for the Blaugrana...
Manchester City are reportedly preparing an offer for Barcelona frontman Zlatan Ibrahimovic with out-of-favour Robinho included in it.
The Brazilian winger joined Santos on loan in January in a bid to find regular first-team action ahead of the World Cup after being relegated to the periphery at Eastlands.
He has recently indicated he hopes for an extended Santos stay, but City are believed to be interested in either cashing in on him or including him in one of their summer deals.
According to publication Sport, the 26-year-old could be used as make-weight in the Premier League side's push for Ibrahimovic, whom City boss Roberto Mancini highly regards after coaching him during his time with Inter Milan.
Robinho was strongly tipped with a move to the Camp Nou last summer, having even gone as far as to make his interest in the move public.
With Barcelona understood to be looking for a new man for their left flank, chances are that they will study the possibility of having Robinho in their ranks very carefully.
WAG OF THE DAY
http://wedontknowfootball.files.wordpre ... emie42.jpg
TRANSFER BOLLOX
Arsenal are prepared to let midfielder Cesc Fabregas leave for Barcelona if the Catalan club doubles its offer to £60m for the Spanish midfielder. Daily Mail
Real Madrid are considering an offer of £40m for Fabregas in an attempt to sabotage Barca's efforts to sign the 23-year-old Spain international.
Footylatest.com
But Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard is the preferred transfer target for Real Madrid fans, according to a poll in Spanish newspaper Marca.
Footylatest.com
West Brom have entered the race to buy Norwegian teenage striker Marcus Pedersen from Stromsgodset, with Sunderland, Blackburn, Bolton, Everton and Fulham also keeping tabs on the highly-rated 19-year-old.
Daily Mail
Birmingham will increase their offer for Palermo striker Fabrizio Miccoli after the Premier League's club initial £3.4m bid was rejected by the Serie A side.
Daily Mail
Tottenham are preparing a £16m bid for Porto's Colombian striker Radamel Falcao.
Footylatest.com
German side Wolfsburg are ready to spend up to £20m to take Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov away from Manchester United.
Footylatest.com
OTHER BOLLOX
Former Liverpool favourite Robbie Fowler believes Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is the ideal man to take over at Anfield following Rafael Benitez's departure. The Sun
Slovenia midfielder Robert Koren says his team will not be scared of England in their final Group C match on 23 June in Port Elizabeth. The Sun
The referee who will officiate England's opening World Cup match against the United States, Carlos Eugenio Simon, was suspended by the Brazilian Football Association last season amid accusations of being "unambiguously inconsistent, unfair and inequitable".The Times
The Football Association has sought safety assurances from local organisers that England's friendly match against South African side Platinum Stars on Monday in Lesetlheng will be free of crowd trouble following a stampede at a similar game in Johannesburg that resulted in 15 people being injured on Sunday. The Independent
Platinum Stars defender and former Tottenham Hotspur Mbulelo Mabizela says his side "will get stuck in" against England at the Moruleng Stadium. (Daily Telegraph)
Brazil president Lula da Silva says Argentina manager Diego Maradona's policy to allow his players to have sex with their partners in South Africa will undermine their chances of winning. "I want to see the Argentines arrive staggering and exhausted to their games," he said. The Guardian