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Tevez targeted by Juventus as part of sensational triple swoop
Juventus look set to make an audacious triple-swoop in the transfer market this summer, with Argentinian trio Sergio Aguero, Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez all on the club's radar.
The 1996 Champions League winners have decided to overhaul their squad after a disappointing season has seen them slip to seventh in the table, while they crashed out of the Europa League in the group stages in December.
Argentinean newspaper OLE reports the hat-trick of players are interesting the Turin-based club as they look to once again become a major force in Serie A and on the European stage.
Mascherano has made 19 league appearances for Barcelona this season but with a midfield boasting the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets, the former Liverpool man may feel more valued at the Stadio Olimpico.
Aguero and Tevez especially represent more unrealistic targets though for the Bianconeri with both contracted until 2014 at Atletico Madrid and Manchester City respectively. TalkShyte

Bellamy: I'll be back at Man City next season - but I don't know if Mancini will
Craig Bellamy last night told under-fire Roberto Mancini to brace himself for his return to Manchester City.
Manager Mancini, who failed to establish a rapport with Bellamy and banished him from the first team, is struggling to prevent City's season falling apart.
The Italian has been widely criticised for poor man-management and now he faces the prospect of Bellamy coming back to the club after the completion of his season-long loan deal to Cardiff.
"Even if Cardiff are promoted, I feel it's very unlikely I'd stay," said Bellamy, who has a year left to run on his £90,000-a-week deal at Eastlands.
"It is not an option to have another year on loan here - I don't want to be on loan anywhere next season.
"The deal Man City did with Cardiff was for them to pay a lot of my wages but if we got promoted, they would have to buy me. It sounded romantic in August but if we look at it money-wise, it's probably not going to happen.
'It is difficult because I do have another year at Man City. I could be there the whole year and not be involved. It would not be ideal for anyone if that happens. It certainly wouldn't be ideal for them.
"I will have to be at Man City because I have a year left, but it will be an uncomfortable situation for everyone really, if Mancini is still in charge.
"There's nothing I can do. He is the manager. He chooses the squad - and rightly so."
Bellamy said he loved his two seasons at Eastlands and said the fans were among the best he had ever played for.
He knows that Mancini faces the sack if Man City do not finish in the top four this season and that he could still have a future at the club, where he was adored by the supporters.
"You never know whether it could still work out for me there," said Bellamy. "It all depends who you are working with. That's the key.
"If it was [Jose] Mourinho, you don't see many players who can't work with him or he can't revive. Or Harry Redknapp. Certain managers have that gift.
"I enjoyed everything about Manchester City. Success is inevitable there and what a great time it is to be a City supporter. I felt that as a player. What a great time to be at this club.
"To see what was happening there was just incredible. To watch players walking in through the door who have just been signed for £30million. Training was lifted again. If you could cope with it, you had to step up.
"Getting that drive and buzz every day was everything I have ever wanted in football. Every morning, you knew you were going to learn something new from the players you were with. If you weren't at it, you would get the ball taken off you in two seconds.
"It was a great time for me in my career - what a great time to be at a special club."

Rehashed Vincent Interview in Mirror
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Ma ... 16207.html

Man City could choose Cavani to replace BalotelliArsenal and Newcastle look set to come to blows over Napoli striker Edinson Cavani, though the Metro newspaper reports that Manchester City are also eyeing up the 24-year-old and might move in as the Gunners go at it hammer and tongs with the Magpies.
Cavani has been in captivating form this season for Napoli, scoring 29 goals in 40 games, including a pair in the 2-1 defeat of Cagliari at the weekend. With such prolific form it’s no wonder the Italian hotshot is valued at £30m and that Wenger sees his powerful physique as an answer to the Gunners' current woes.

Italian newspaper Libero says that Manchester City may turn to Fiorentina left-winger Juan Manuel Vargas in the summer after the disappointment of their 2010-11 campaign.
Currently fourth in the Premier League and all but out of the title race, the Sky Blues will battle it out with Barcelona for the right to Vargas’s signature.
The 27-year-old – who captains his country Peru – has been impressive in Serie A this season and according to Libero he has already held preliminary talks with City about a possible move. Fiorentina are said to want £17.4m for the player, which is the sort of money City's Sheik Mansour could lose down the back of the sofa and not even notice. FirstPost

OTHER BOLLOX
Xabi Prieto, Real Sociedad's £10m-rated Spanish winger, is on Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish's summer wish list. the Sun

Arsenal are to call Gael Clichy in for make-or-break contract talks. They fear the left-back will not stay at the Emirates and have pinpointed Celtic's Emilio Izaguirre as a potential replacement. Daily Mail

Striker Dimitar Berbatov will be a target for German side Bayern Munich if the 30-year-old's contract talks continue to stall at Manchester United. TalkSPORT

Tottenham are ready to pay £5m to bring 29-year-old Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole to White Hart Lane. Caught Offside

Real Madrid will need to pay £21.8m to sign Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini, who is also a target for Chelsea. Caught Offside

Tottenham, Liverpool and Everton are chasing Real Madrid's 24-year-old Argentine midfielder Fernando Gago, who could cost £10m. TalkSPORT

Everton tell Liverpool to forget about trying to sign defender Leighton Baines. The 26-year-old England international has a contract at Goodison Park until 2015. TalkSPORT

Fulham midfielder Zoltan Gera, a free agent this summer, is already being tracked by clubs in Italy and Spain. Daily Mirror

Manchester United goalkeeping coach Eric Steele went on a scouting mission to Germany on Sunday because transfer targets Manuel Neuer of Schalke and Rene Adler of Bayer Leverkusen played against each other. Daily Mirror

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand rang reinstated England captain John Terry to tell him that he has no problem with the Chelsea defender taking over the role he had taken away from him by national manger Fabio Capello. the Sun

Ahead of their Euro 2012 qualifying match, Wales forward Craig Bellamy has mocked the expectations heaped on England players while blaming pressure for their poor World Cup. Daily Mirror

Fitness permitting, England boss Capello would like to start Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney with Liverpool forward Andy Carroll against Wales on Saturday. Daily Mail

Vietnam veteran General Charles Krulak, who is the right-hand man to Aston Villa club owner Randy Lerner, has issued a rallying cry for the club to survive relegation from the Premier League this season. the Sun

Wolves winger Matt Jarvis phoned the restaurant his parents were eating in to tell them of his England call-up. "Fortunately they were there so I was able to tell them the news," said the 24-year-old. Metro

The chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, Gordon Taylor, wants to tackle dissent with a five-yard exclusion zone around referees and the introduction of sin bins. Daily Telegraph

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has joked he would rather play behind 48-year-old youth team coach Steve Bould than any of the club's current centre-halves. He also branded striker Nicklas Bendtner "arrogant" and fellow stopper Jens Lehmann "still a nutcase".Daily Star

next season's juve team is going to be something else..... ;-)

B*LL*X EXTRA
Carlos Tévez in a race to be fit for Manchester City's next Premier League match against Sunderland
Carlos Tévez would have risked missing the rest of the season had he played for Manchester City against Chelsea on Sunday.
The City captain has suffered a 2mm tear to an adductor muscle on his right side and the decision was taken, after a fitness test, that he would have aggravated the injury further had he played.
As things stand Tévez is expected to return in two to three weeks which means he is in a race against time to be fit to face Sunderland away on Sunday, April 3 which is City’s next Premier League match.
City lie in fourth place after Sunday’s defeat at Stamford Bridge and with eight league games left face a battle to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League. They will also want Tévez back for the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United on Saturday, April 16.
Assistant manager David Platt stated that it was too great a risk to play Tévez against Chelsea although the Argentine was sorely missed as City slumped to a 2-0 defeat.
“He wants to play every football match but to run the risk of maybe damaging the muscle would have meant he would have been out for a longer period,” Platt said.
“With the games we have left and the cup semi-final, we didn’t want to risk that. We have two weeks now and we believe we will be fine.”
Stand-in captain Vincent Kompany maintained City have a “good chance” of finishing in the top four which is the minimum requirement set for manager Roberto Mancini.
“My target is to win every game that is left,” Kompany said. “The teams around us are not guaranteed to get all the points so there is still something to do.”
If City fail to finish fourth, then the pressure will grow on Mancini especially after they missed out last season and considering the dour football they often play under the Italian.
The unrest caused by one of his expensive recruits, Mario Balotelli, who was signed for £24 million and may well leave this summer, and the failure so far of £27 million signing Edin Dzeko to score a Premier League goal has also not gone unnoticed.
There is a great deal of support, however, for Mancini within the club’s hierarchy, and Kompany also stated that it was “never going to be straightforward” for City to win the league. However they do need to remain competitive until the end of the campaign. Telegraph

Man City have a taste for Hennessey
Manchester City are ready to splash the cash to bring Wolves keeper Wayne Hennessey back to the club.
City intend to offload unsettled No.2 Shay Given, 34, and bring in fresh c­ompetition for first-choice Joe Hart.
And Eastlands scouts are looking at Wales international Hennessey, 24, with a view to a transfer bid in the summer.
Hennessey is a similar age to 23-year-old Hart, and the pair could push and compete with each other for years.
Hennessey started off his career at City, but was released while still a trainee in favour of Kasper Schmeichel.
However, the agile 6ft 5in star has since ­established himself as a top-class stopper for club and country. He will be in the firing line on Saturday when Wales face England in their Euro 2012 ­qualifier.
Bangor-born Hennessey signed a new contract at Molineux last July, tying him to the club until 2015, but would move on if Wolves were relegated.

great influence in the locker room, bellamy.

kinkylola wrote:great influence in the locker room, Mancini

Fixed.

from Football365.com

(it was a letter rather than a feature....) Made me laugh in a not very happy way

Are Manchester City a 'Rich Stoke City' ??
1.) They play the worst football among their peers(City in the top 4, Stoke mid table).
2.) Heavily dependent on one man/one tactic (Tevez,Delap throw) and both are extremely one dimensional.
3.) Both are wasting the talents of two f365 favourites (Silva and Tuncay).
4.) On a bad day you could be de-jonged or shawcrossed.
5.) Both on course for achieving the season targets that no one really wants them to.

EVENING BOLLOX
Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given believes Champions League qualification would make a 'huge statement'
Irishman would love to see Barcelona or Real Madrid at Eastlands
Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given believes that finishing fourth or even third would show rivals the club are now serious challengers for future league titles.
City finished fifth in the Premier League last season as they lost out in the race for the last Champions League place to Tottenham thanks in part to a Peter Crouch goal at Eastlands, however with it looking likely that it will be the same two sides who battle it out again, City are very much in the driver’s seat.
Given, who has played second fiddle to Joe Hart this season, believes if City do reach the Champions League, Europe’s elite will sit up and take notice.
Speaking to Abu-Dhabi based newspaper The National, the Republic of Ireland international said: “It would be a huge statement to other European clubs.
"It would show we are going to be around for a long time and that we are going to be the team to watch over the coming years.
"The club would be able to attract more players in the summer and keep some of the ones we already have happy.
"Everyone wants to play in the Champions League. It would have been fantasy stuff to the fans a few years ago to think City might have teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid at Eastlands.
“Now there is a realistic chance of it happening."
However, if City hope to reach the biggest club competition in the world, their recent form will have to be reversed as the club have picked up just two wins in their last seven league matches.
Given continued: “We started the season wanting to win the league; you've got to aim high.
"It looks like we're going to fall a bit short of that. The next best thing is to get in the Champions League. Nobody wants to finish fourth; they want to finish at the top.
"But as the season has progressed we've dropped too many points and it looks as though the most realistic chance is the Champions League."

City shunned!
Mancini target Alves pens new Barcelona deal to end speculation of Eastlands switch
Dani Alves has agreed a three-year contract extension with Barcelona, ending speculation over the Brazil full-back's possible move to Manchester City.
The new deal, which will keep the 27-year-old with the reigning Spanish champions until June 30 2015, will be officially signed on Wednesday.
The Brazil international joined Barca from Sevilla in a £26million deal in 2008 and has since gone on to become an integral part of Pep Guardiola's side.
Speculation over Alves' future had been rife amid apparent interest from a host of top European clubs - with City reportedly tracking his availability - and the announcement should finally quieten the rumour mill.
Alves is currently with the Brazil squad ahead of this weekend's international friendly against Scotland in London.

Manchester City could face fight for German right back
Manchester City could face competition from up to four European clubs for the services of German defender Andreas Beck.
The 24-year-old Hoffenheim right back has been identified by Manchester City as a possible acquisition for next season if an ambitious move for Barcelona star Dani Alves doesn’t come off.
However, according to talkSPORT, City could face competition from AC Milan, Juventus, Valencia and Borussia Dortmund, all of whom are ready to make a bid on a player who failed to make the Germany World Cup squad last summer.
With just over a year left on his Hoffenheim deal, Beck would certainly represent a cheaper option than Brazilian Alves.

Edin Dzeko mocks Mario Balotelli's wardrobe malfunction
Edin Dzeko was seen mimicking his teammate's befuddled and lengthy efforts to don a standard item of training ground apparel
Mario Balotelli opened himself up to a thousand jokes when his clumsy efforts to don a bib surfaced on the internet, and his team-mates clearly are not ready to let him forget about it just yet.
Edin Dzeko performed a gleeful re-enactment of the Italian striker's mishap for the benefit of the training staff, before going on to demonstrate how it's done.
[youtube]2rXHFrgXrgk[/youtube]
Balotelli has more serious problems to deal with than the proverbial "bit of stick" from his teammates, though. His name is in Manchester City's bad books for the moment, after his appalling tackle left Manchester City playing with 10 men against Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League.
It was Balotelli's second dismissal in just 20 games for City, and manager Roberto Mancini was quick to express his frustration after the defeat, branding the errant striker "stupid".

WONDER WHERE TEVEZ WILL BE GOING IN TOMORROWS PAPERS........ yawn it really is boring, he goes nowhere unless we decide to sell