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Manchester City offer €25m for Real Madrid enforcer Pepe
New Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini appears to be targeting some of La Liga’s best players.
With Jesus Navas all but wrapped up from Sevilla, reports this morning in Madrid based paper AS suggest Manchester City have offered 25 million euros for Real Madrid defender Pepe.
Manchester City will reportedly be in Madrid this week to negotiate for the Portuguese defender with Pellegrini a big fan after working with him at the Bernabeu.
Pepe currently earns 3.5 million euros and Manchester City are willing to give the hard man a serious pay rise, up to 7 million euros a season, according to AS.
Although contracted until 2016 at Real Madrid, Pepe may be eager to leave after being displaced in the first team by rising French defender Raphael Varane whilst at the age of 30 this may be his final chance for a big contract.
Real Madrid are also tipped to consider Manchester City’s 25 million euro bid for a defender who is unlikely to command much more from many other sides in Europe.
GOLDEN BOLLOX - 4th June 2003
David Seaman signs on a one-year deal after joining City from Arsenal on a free transfer, but lasts only six months before retiring through injury. Seaman replaces another goalkeeping legend, Peter Schmeichel and is steady enough, if nowhere near as sharp as he once was.
England coach Dave Watson may join Joe Hart at Manchester City
• Goalkeeping coach could continue working with Hart • Norwich City man to mentor Hart at Etihad Stadium
Dave Watson in 1997 during his playing days as Barnsley's goalkeeper, a year before a knee injury ended his career. Photograph: Ben Radford/Allsport
The England goalkeeping coach, Dave Watson, could be recruited to Manuel Pellegrini's backroom staff at Manchester City because of the relationship he has forged with Joe Hart while working with him on international duty.
Watson, currently at Norwich City, has been discussed by the deposed Premier League champions as they look to appoint a new mentor for Hart now Massimo Battara has left the Etihad Stadium as part of the clearout of Roberto Mancini's regime.
Hart's tie-up with Watson goes back to when England's No1 spent the 2009-10 season on loan at Birmingham City, winning the club's player of the season award and being voted on to the Professional Footballers' Association team of the year.
It is one of the reasons why Hodgson brought in Watson among his first appointments and has led to talks at Manchester City about whether the 39-year-old could be recruited to work with Hart again on a day-to-day basis.
Pellegrini, waiting to be announced as Mancini's successor, will clearly have his own input and may want to appoint his own man but Hart's views will also be taken into consideration.
Watson's playing career was spent at Barnsley before he was forced to retire with a knee injury at the age of 28. Since then he has also worked as a goalkeeping coach at Northampton Town, Huddersfield Town, Oldham Athletic and Nottingham Forest.
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Navas set to snub Reds for City
LIVERPOOL look set to miss out on Jesus Navas this summer, as the Spaniard eyes a move to rivals Manchester City
The Sevilla winger has been quoted in the Daily Star as saying: “I like Manchester City a lot and it has great players. Manchester City has done all it can to bring me in and I have to be grateful for that. I want to go on and win trophies.”
Navas has spent his career with Sevilla, where he won consecutive UEFA Cups in 2006 and 2007. But after the club finished in 9th in La Liga, it seems that the speedster is ready for a new challenge.
The 27-year-old, who won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 with Spain, has been targeted by Brendan Rodgers. But it appears the Northern Irishman won’t be getting his man this summer.
Navas didn’t score for Sevilla this season, but the club qualified for the Europa League Third Qualifying round, due to Malaga’s and Rayo Vallecano’s exclusion from European competitions.
Manchester City may have to pay up to £25million for Navas, who scored the winner for Spain in their group stage match against Croatia in Euro 2012.
Navas has been included in Spain’s squad for the Confederations Cup, with Uruguay their first opponents on the 16th June.
Hart blasts Twitter critics
Joe Hart has rounded on England's critics like Gary Lineker, telling them to keep "tweeting from their sofas" while he and the rest of the squad concentrate on trying to qualify for the World Cup.
England ended a difficult week on a high as they emerged from the newly-reopened Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro with a 2-2 draw that would have been a victory had it not been for a late equaliser from Paulinho.
Lineker had attacked Roy Hodgson on Twitter on Wednesday night, claiming the England boss had taken the national side "back to the dark ages" by playing a 4-4-2 system in the flat 1-1 draw against the Republic of Ireland.
Former England defender Rio Ferdinand joined in on the England-bashing the day after, claiming that the country needed a youth coaching overhaul after the national team had not played consistently well for a decade.
Bur Hart brushed off the comments, saying the squad were not interested in criticism from the likes of Lineker.
"We're not interested in stuff like that. They can tweet all they want from their sofas - we are out here doing it," the England goalkeeper said when asked about comments such as Lineker's.
"It is hard work and we are enjoying it. No-one in the squad is interested and they can tweet all they want."
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wayne Rooney both scored terrific goals on a memorable night at the stadium where John Barnes led England to one of their most famous victories 29 years ago.
But it was Hart who should take most credit from the game. He pulled off a series of top-class saves to fend off a Brazilian barrage in the first half, allowing England to come into the game in the second half.
Hart could do little to stop Fred scoring the opener and lax marking from Gary Cahill allowed Paulinho to grab an equaliser in the 82nd minute.
Hart saluted England's resolve, which he thinks bodes well for the future.
"It was pretty relentless in the first half, but we did what we usually do when our backs are against the wall - we fight until the end and never give in," the Manchester City man added.
"The Ox came on and did what he did. I would like to think English footballers fight until the end, particularly for all the fans who came out here. We got a result, and it's right up there with the best I have achieved."
The encouraging result will count for nothing should England fail to make it back to Brazil next summer for the World Cup, however.
England will be five points behind Group H leaders Montenegro if the Balkan country beat Ukraine on Friday.
Hodgson's men will have two games in hand by the time they face Moldova and Ukraine in September, but they may have to win all four of their remaining games to qualify.
"I would love to be back in Brazil next year but we have a long hard road ahead of us and we will put everything we can into it," said Hart, who won his 32nd cap in Rio.
"We have to take the positives though. We beat Spain and Brazil at home in friendlies.
"No-one has taken us apart - we just need to get over the finish line (in qualifying).
"We dug in when we needed to and we have to repeat that (in September)."
Oxlade-Chamberlain's performance - which came 29 years after his father Mark had won 2-0 with England in the same stadium - was particularly pleasing for Hart.
"The Ox came on and scored a marvellous goal," the 26-year-old said.
"He is a great prospect at 19. He plays with freedom. The world is not against him and we have to protect him."
Man City pursuit of £60 Million superstar hits a major roadblock
Edinson Cavani’s move to Manchester City has hit a roadblock with the Uruguayan striker secretly hoping that Real Madrid come in with a late bid for him. Cavani, who will only be sold by Napoli this summer to a club who meets his 60 million euro release clause, is apparently a massive fan of Los Blancos and hopes to one day wear the famous white jersey. Manchester City, who have been willing to stump up the money that Napoli want for Cavani, have reportedly been told to wait for the player to make a decision.
Real are desperate to add some more quality to their side after ending the 2012-13 season trophy-less, they had reportedly lined up two marquee signings for this summer – Cavani’s international teammate Luis Suarez, and Tottenham winger Gareth Bale. Real boss Florentino Perez is set to be appointed the club’s president today for yet another 4 year term, and typically needs to make a major signing this month to quieten his critics, who are upset at having lost Brazilian sensation Neymar to arch rivals Barcelona.
Cavani being their only target with a release clause is suddenly a low hanging fruit for Real, throwing a massive spanner in the works for Manchester City, who are desperate to strengthen their own squad this summer.
Aces announce Man City partnership
Mpumalanga Black Aces have announced an International partnership with Manchester City.
The deal, which is the first of its kind for City, will see Aces become the former English champions' ‘Official Regional School of Football Partner'.
As part of the three-year partnership, City will deliver coaching programmes to local children, teaching them the same techniques and philosophies used by the Citizens.
In addition to local children learning how to play the ‘City way', the Aces Academy coaches will also benefit from the delivery of a City Coach Education Programme, and will have the opportunity to ‘shadow' their coaches in South Africa.
They will also travel to Manchester, where their academy will play games against the City's youth academy sides.
The hope is that through shared learning, Aces coaches will be empowered to transfer their newly-obtained skills and knowledge back into their local communities, thus leaving a lasting legacy for future generations.
The football programmes will offer children the chance to improve and develop their football and educational skills in a fun and challenging environment.
Patrick Vieira, Head of City's Elite Development Squad, who recently announced the South African leg of their upcoming pre-season tour, says: “South Africa's love of football was clear for the world to see during both the World Cup, and most recently the Cup of Nations.
“The national pride shown for hosting both tournaments is a testament to how the country and people embrace the sport.
“It's a privilege for Manchester City to be part of South Arica's youth football development by passing on our expertise to the Black Aces coaches, at a time when the country is fast becoming a force in world football.
“Through shared learning, both clubs' can work together in order to provide children with a holistic football experience that places equal importance on football and education.”
Aces club owners and joint-chairmen, Mario Morfou and George Morfou, welcomed the partnership and were delighted with their association with Manchester City.
“The partnership is incorporated within youth development through the Manchester City School of Football. We believe that this partnership will benefit our players in the academy and will also attract top-class young talent throughout the country.
The coaching programmes will begin in July this year when City will be based in Durban as part of their summer pre-season training camp.
GOLDEN BOLLOX - 4th June 2008
Mark Hughes appointed as City manager after leaving his post with Blackburn Rovers. The former Wales boss brings the majority of his Ewood Park backroom staff with him and CEO Garry Cook says: "I am delighted to welcome Mark on board. In our view he is the brightest young manager in the game and he was our number one target for the manager's job."
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Returning Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has targeted Galatasaray playmaker Wesley Sneijder as one of his first signings. The Dutch international, 28, played under Mourinho at Inter Milan. Sun
Manchester City's 27-year-old striker Edin Dzeko, Benfica's ex-Blues midfielder Nemanja Matic, 25, and Porto defender Eliaquim Mangala, 22, are also on Mourinho's radar. Daily Telegraph
The Portuguese boss has told Romelu Lukaku, 20, that he will not be leaving Chelsea on loan again. The Belgium international scored 17 goals in a season-long loan at West Bromwich Albion. DSSC
Barcelona and Netherlands legend Johann Cruyff believes Mourinho will flop on his return to Stamford Bridge. Sun
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admits it would be impossible to turn down any opportunity to sign unsettled Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney. Daily Express
The Gunners are considering whether to make a move for Swansea attacker Michu. The 27-year-old scored 22 goals in all competitions in his debut campaign with the Welsh side last term. DSSC
Liverpool are not deterred by the £22m valuation that Shakhtar Donetsk have put on Armenia international midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Mkhitaryan, 24, scored a record 25 goals in the Ukrainian Premier League last season. Guardian
Fulham are close to sealing a £3m deal for Roma goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg. The Dutch international, 30, almost joined the Cottagers in January. Daily Star
Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas is stepping up his pursuit of Porto's highly-rated Colombian forward Jackson Martinez, 26. Metro
Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has urged the Gunners to sign Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama. The Kenyan, 21, is valued at £10m by the Scottish Premier League champions. Daily Express
Newcastle could compete with Liverpool to sign 24-year-old central defender Alex Pearce, whose contract at Reading ends this summer. The Shields Gazette
Sunderland hope to beat Southampton and Norwich to the £7m signing of 25-year-old Celtic striker Gary Hooper. DSSC
Barcelona striker David Villa, 31, who has been linked with Arsenal and Tottenham, has said he will not make any decision about his future until he has finished playing in the Confederations Cup with Spain. The tournament is set to run from 15-30 June. Independent
Newcastle plan to add only a central defender and a striker to their squad in the summer. The Journal
Brazilian defender Thiago Silva, 29, has said he will miss Carlo Ancelotti at Paris St-Germain, but has denied he will leave the club after the manager's departure. L'Equipe
Former Italy international Gennaro Gattuso, 35, has been named coach of Palermo. La Stampa
Former Brazil international Roberto Carlos, 40, has been named coach of Turkish side Sivasspor. Radikal
Atletico Madrid have bought Brazilian striker Leo Baptistao, 20, from Rayo Vallecano on a five-year deal. Marca
Real Madrid playmaker Mesut Ozil, 24, has thanked outgoing coach Jose Mourinho in a post on his Facebook page. Die Welt
Swansea's pre-season tour of the Netherlands will go ahead, despite boss Michael Laudrup's ongoing tax issue with Ajax. The Dutch champions claim Laudrup, who played for the Amsterdam club in 1997-98, owes them three million euros in tax. DSSC
Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey insists new boss Kenny Jackett, who was unveiled on the same day as Jose Mourinho's return to Chelsea was confirmed, is the "Special One". Express & Star
Crystal Palace will appoint trained solicitor Tim Coe as their new head of recruitment. DSSC
Head coach Stuart Pearce will allow winger Wilfried Zaha, 20, to decide whether he is fit enough to play in England's opening game in the European Under-21 Championship finals against Italy on Wednesday. The Times
Manchester United will soon announce that Phil Neville, 36, is to return to his former club as a member of new manager David Moyes's backroom staff as he follows the Scot to Old Trafford from Everton. Independent
Joey Barton has apologised "profusely to any coaches whose sessions I have ever criticised" and joked he could be about to send in a job application to Real Madrid as he completes his Uefa 'B' licence and starts an 'A' course with the Irish Football Association in Belfast. Joey Barton on Twitter
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