David Silva in bid to lure Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas to Manchester City
David Silva has revealed he is keen to see his international team-mate Cesc Fabregas leave Arsenal and join him at Manchester City.
City boss Roberto Mancini is planning another summer spending spree after clinching a Champions League spot and has made Gunners skipper Fabregas his top target.
Press reports suggested Mancini had asked Silva's advice about how to tempt his fellow Spanish World Cup winner to Eastlands and it seems the classy winger is happy to help.
'If only he could come, it would be great, marvellous,' Silva told the Sun.
'We know what he's achieved as a player and he has a lot of experience of playing in England.
'He likes to keep the ball and that's how we like to play. He treats the ball as his friend and I get on with him well. I know him from the national side, so it would be great.'
.Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger indicated on Friday he was not interested in selling Fabregas, despite rumours linking the midfielder with Man City and Barcelona.
'The first target is not to weaken our team but to strengthen it,' said the Frenchman. 'We look not to weaken because we want to keep all our players, and then try to strengthen.'
Man City battle for £18m rated Leighton Baines
EVERTON are heading for another summer transfer stand-off with Manchester City – with Leighton Baines a target for Roberto Mancini once the season is over.
Goodison and England left-back Baines is high on the list of players Mancini wants to recruit for the club’s first assault on the Champions League.
But Everton are holding out for a whopping £18million for the speedy defender, who is a big danger at set-pieces. That is sure to evoke memories of the acrimonious stand-off between the clubs over defender Joleon Lescott.
Lescott joined City two years ago from Everton after a bitter and protracted transfer saga, during which Toffees boss David Moyes accused the mega-rich Eastlands club – then managed by Mark Hughes – of “disgusting” behaviour in their pursuit of the versatile star.
Everton eventually forced City to cough up a staggering £24m for the defender – and Moyes will dig his heels in again and insist City pay the going rate for 26-year-old Baines, who signed from Wigan four years ago for £6m.
Moyes will point to the fact City paid £16 million for 25-year-old Serbian Aleksandar Kolarov from Lazio last summer and the defender had no Premier League experience.
Baines is seen as an ideal catch – especially as City seem certain to let Wayne Bridge, currently on loan at West Ham, leave in the summer.
Mancini wants to get his squad sorted early this summer, especially as City will probably have to play a Champions League qualifier at the beginning of August.
Manchester City are edging closer to the £25m signing of Udinese's Chilean midfielder Alexis Sanchez. (News of the World)
Tevez considers options
Carlos Tevez has refused to pledge his future to Manchester City despite helping them beat Stoke to win the FA Cup Final.
Tevez returned to City's starting line-up to help them claim their first trophy for 35 years by beating Stoke 1-0 amid emotional scenes at Wembley on Saturday.
But the Argentina international has made no secret of his desire to be closer to his family and has repeatedly been linked with a move away from Eastlands.
Tevez withdrew a transfer request at the end of last year after talks with boss Roberto Mancini but wants to time to think before deciding if he will end his two-year stay at City.
"I will think hard about what is best for me, first I want to clear my head," Tevez told El Mundo.
"It's difficult to be far from my daughters. I will think hard about what is best for me, first I want to clear my head.
"I'm very well, very calm, but l also want to make it clear that I have no problem with the board, nor with Roberto (Mancini).
"As there has been a lot of talk that I have a problem with Roberto, I want to clear that up.
"If I stay at City I have to start thinking about what I can bear and it's very difficult, that's the truth."
WAG OF THE DAY
Today was going to be a celebratory WAGfest ... alas I was with drink last night/this morning and appear to have lost the file I prepared therefore you will have to settle for a classic today for the time being ...
BANNER BOLLOX
What To Do With The 35 Year Banner?
Well, we all knew it was going to happen sooner or later. Man City have won their first major trophy since 1976, their 35 year wait is over, and with it, so is the totting up of the years on the famous banner that hangs from the south side of the Streford End.
To be honest, until I read the many comments on Facebook and the websites and forums out there, I didn’t know how much that banner meant to those City fans! For some, it appeared that the prime motive for winning a trophy was to bring that banner down, rather than to get a trophy in their own rather empty cabinet.
Anyway, it’s over, £1 billion of blood money later and they’ve rendered the banner null and void. Or have they? There’s a big dilemma here about what to do with it now. Here are some ideas:
Proposition 1: Replace it with a “43” banner.For those who are unaware, 43 years would symbolise the last time that Man City won the league title, in 1968. That’s right, the same year that United became the first English team to win the European Cup, a feat that was accomplished two weeks after City pipped us to the title.
To be honest, I see this idea as kinda clutching at straws and also tempting fate a bit. Ten years ago did it seem City would end what was then a 25-year run without a major trophy? No. But one rich oil-baron later and here we are.
Proposition 2: Leave it at “35”, as a reminder
I kinda like this idea. A reminder for City that, were it not for the millions of corrupt pounds injected into them by a Middle Eastern consortium, they’d, in all probability, still be languishing in what was a purgatory of an existence. It may also remind them of a time of when they supposedly had that beloved moral high ground of theirs.
Proposition 3: Replace it with a “19” banner
For me, this is probably the best idea. Basking in our own unprecedented and unparalleled glory rather than in the misery of others, this would purely be a statement of our domestic dominance of the English game, a reminder of the depth of our history and the magnanimity of our achievements.
Again, I don’t want to tempt fate, Fergie’s first league title in 1993 made it 18-8, and I don’t think any Liverpool fan anywhere could have imagined us ever surpassing their total. But 19-2? It is a dangerous game to play, but I’m sure that our good friend Mr Financial Fair Play will ensure that the blue pretenders can’t buy too many more trophies for £1 billion. Some Rag site
They've missed the obvious option 4 ... shoving it up their arse!
OTHER BOLLOX
Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri is a £30m target for Bayern Munich. (News of the World)
The Gunners meanwhile are ready to fight Manchester City and Liverpool for Everton's sought after full-back Leighton Baines. (News of the World)
Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has been given the go-ahead to leave the Spanish club and join Arsenal for £25m. Metro
Benzema's Real Madrid team-mate Kaka has also been placed up for sale with the Spanish club placing a £50m price tag on the Brazilian forward. Sunday People
Edwin van der Sar has recommended his own successor for the Manchester United goalkeeping job - Ajax's Maarten Stekelenburg, the man who followed him into the Netherlands team. Sunday Mirror
Spurs, Liverpool and West Brom are all keen to sign Aston Villa keeper Brad Friedel, who becomes a free agent this summer, although the Villa Park club want him to sign a new deal. Sunday Mirror
Winger Ashley Young will turn down an £80,000 a week contract with Aston Villa to seal a dream move to Manchester United. (News of the World)
Manchester United have offered injury-plagued midfielder Owen Hargreaves a new one-year pay-as-you-play deal. Sunday Express
United meanwhile are set to battle Liverpool for the signing of Newcastle left-back Jose Enrique. Sunday People
Liverpool are keen on signing QPR midfielder Adel Taarabt and could offer forward Joe Cole in part-exchange. Metro
Highly rated Anderlecht striker Romelu Lukaku says he is only interested in joining a team of "winners" like Manchester United or Chelsea. (News of the World)
Fulham midfielder Clint Dempsey is a shock target for French side Paris Saint-Germain. (News of the World)
West Ham will be forced to sell eight players, including Scott Parker, Robert Green and Matthew Noble, if they are relegated. Sunday Mirror
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is set for a summer transfer budget of £50m - but he has warned he will not be held to ransom by greedy players. Sunday Mirror
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti insists that the Blues should have no regrets about their trophyless season and has promised to reveal exactly why the team suffered a mid-winter slump that cost them the league title. Mail on Sunday
Striker Wayne Rooney marked Manchester United's historic 19th league title by shaving his chest hair in the shape of the number.
Sunday Mirror
more later as my beeriod disapates ...
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