The Mail continue to report Bellers going to Spurs, I think they must be on a % ...
Tottenham to "tempt" Manchester City with £4m bid for Craig Bellamy
Tottenham are planning to offer Manchester City a cheeky £4million for Craig Bellamy.
In January 2009, City beat Spurs to sign Bellamy from West Ham for £14m, but they now need to sell players before the season starts to meet new 25-man Premier League squad rules.
‘It is clear some of the players we have will have to be left off,’ said boss Roberto Mancini.
Meanwhile, Santos hope to keep Robinho on loan and Fenerbahce are interested in Roque Santa Cruz.
City want a permanent deal for £160,000-a-week Robinho but Santos cannot afford it.
However other sources say he could be Leslie's first signing upon being appointed later this week ...
Mark Hughes is on the verge of being appointed the new Fulham manager - and wants to make Craig Bellamy his first signing.
The Premier League club have offered former Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers and Wales boss Hughes the post following talks over the last 48 hours and he will be given the same £15 million transfer budget on offer to No.1 choice Martin Jol.
His first task will be to concentrate on making a mark in the transfer market, for which he has been promised significant backing by Fayed.
It is believed that Hughes has told the Fulham owner that he would like to take Bellamy under his wing for a third time.
The Manchester City forward, who played for Hughes at Blackburn and at City, as well as the Wales national team, has been heavily linked with a move away from Eastlands but his wage demands could be a problem for Fulham, whose highest earner is believed to be on £40,000-a-week.
Hughes, who has been out of work since his dismissal from Manchester City last December, moved to the top of the pecking order ahead of Sven-Goran Eriksson, Ottmar Hitzfeld and Juergen Klinsmann.
His Premier League experience and success in working at a club with a similar budget at Blackburn Rovers were particularly attractive to Al Fayed.
Gibson leaves Man City after 12 years
Gibson has been a coach with City's academy for over 12 years.
He helped nurture players such as Shaun Wright-Phillips and Vladimir Weiss as well as other youngsters who didn’t make the grade with City but have gone on to play elsewhere.
Gibson told City's website: "I’m leaving for purely personal reasons. The Club have been fantastic with me, but I just feel it’s time now to change and seek a final career challenge before I retire.
“I’ll always cherish our FA Youth Cup win in 2008 against Chelsea – that will stay with me forever. I’ll miss working with the lads, but I hope to call in from time to time."
Javier Garrido set to leave Manchester City for Lazio in £2.5m deal
Manchester City have begun trimming their squad by holding talks with Lazio over the sale of the left-back Javier Garrido for £2.5m. The defender is available at Eastlands following the arrival from the Italian club of the Serbia international Aleksandar Kolarov.
Lazio had hoped to sign Luca Antonelli from Parma as Kolarov's replacement but that deal fell through, prompting them to turn to Garrido. "We are a step closer to the definitive agreement for Garrido," the Lazio president, Claudio Lotito, admitted.
Garrido was signed by Sven-Goran Eriksson in the summer of 2007 from Real Sociedad for £1.5m, but found his chances limited under Eriksson's successor Mark Hughes and more recently Roberto Mancini.
Mancini has admitted that City will need to trim their sizeable squad, particularly with the Premier League's new 25-man squad rule, and Garrido could be the first to depart Eastlands.
Hart ache for Fabio Capello: Joe left in England limbo as Shay Given returns for Manchester City
England manager Fabio Capello faces a huge goalkeeping problem after it emerged that his preferred No 1, Joe Hart, is likely to start the Premier League season on the bench.
Capello is looking to rebuild his shattered team after the disaster of the World Cup in a bid to qualify for — and hopefully win — Euro 2012 in Poland and the Ukraine.
Installing Manchester City goalkeeper Hart as his No 1 is fundamental to the Italian’s
rebuilding process but the return to fitness of City first-choice Shay Given looks set to relegate Hart to the bench for the start of the season.
The 23-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Birmingham, had hoped to be first choice after Given dislocated his shoulder at the end of last season.
But Given, 34, has amazed City’s medical staff with the speed of his recovery and seemed in good physical order as he trained with Hart and City No 3 Stuart Taylor at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome on Tuesday.
Now that he is on the verge of fitness, it seems inconceivable that the Ireland keeper will not start as first choice at Eastlands and that will leave Hart — and indeed Capello — with a big problem.
Robert Green was jettisoned after blundering in England’s first World Cup game against the United States in South Africa while David James is currently without a club.
That means that Hart is likely to play in a friendly against Hungary at Wembley on August 11, but whether he is retained ahead of the qualifiers against Bulgaria and
Switzerland in September is another matter.
Given has declared himself ready for action and was hoping to play some part in
City’s friendly against Club America in the early hours of this morning.
He said: ‘The shoulder is better than ever and that is all credit to the medical lads at City. I feel sharp and full of optimism and can’t wait to get into a game situation.’
Making himself big: Hart saves from Joao Pereira during City's 2-0 defeat to Sporting Lisbon
Hart will not wish to leave City and may not even be allowed out on loan, given that manager Roberto Mancini has a Europa League schedule to think about.
But a season as Given’s No 2 will not sit easily with him.
At the weekend Mancini suggested that he has still not decided who will be his first choice goalkeeper but his suggestions that Given is still not fit seem at odds with the player’s training performance in America.
Mancini said: ‘Joe Hart will be the first choice goalkeeper for the next 10 years for England. I don’t know if he will be my first choice, it depends.
‘I will pick the players who deserve to play. I don’t know if I will rotate the players. It depends. At the start of the season I will decide who is No 1.
‘Shay is not fit at the moment. He is not 100 per cent ready to go in goal but we must wait and be patient because it was not a small problem, it was a big problem two months ago and we have a month more.’
4-1 Penalty win on Video
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TRANSFER BOLLOX
David Beckham has promised to tell West Ham soon whether he will end his career at West Ham. The 35-year-old former England captain, who plays for LA Galaxy in the United States, was born in east London. The Sun
Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson wants Aston Villa's Bulgarian midfielder Stiliyan Petrov, 30, to replace Javier Mascherano at Anfield and is ready to offer £7m. Daily Mirror
Luke Young's £2.5m move to Liverpool is in doubt as the 31-year-old defender wants a pay-off from Aston Villa as he would have to take a drop in wages. Daily Mirror
Chelsea chief Ron Gourlay says manager Carlo Ancelotti will be given the money to rebuild the side and that striker Didier Drogba will not be leaving.: Daily Mirror
The Blues want to wrap up the £17m signing of Benfica midfielder Ramires in time for their pre-season tour of Germany which starts on Saturday. Daily Star
Wigan are preparing a club-record £7m bid for Chile's World Cup striker Humberto Suazo. Birmingham and Sunderland are also eyeing a swoop for the 29-year-old, who started two of Chile's four matches in South Africa. The Sun
Blackburn are ready to sell Australian midfielder Vince Grella to Turkish giants Galatasaray at the second attempt with the clubs seeking to negotiate a deal of around £2m. Daily Mirror
Danish goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard, who plays for Norwegian side Aalesunds, is being lined up by Manchester United as Edwin van der Sar's successor. Daily Mail
Manchester United are leading the chase for Ghana midfielder Anthony Annan. Chelsea and Arsenal are also interested in the 24-year-old who plays for Rosenborg. The Sun
Besiktas are looking at Aston Villa striker John Carew to add firepower to their Turkish title assault. Daily Mail
Wolves boss Mick McCarthy has ruled out a permanent move for Chelsea's Michael Mancienne. Daily Mail
West Ham have offered midfielder Scott Parker £20m to stay, but he wants to leave to play European football. Daily Mail
Hammers co-owner David Sullivan has reiterated that he will not sell midfielder Scott Parker this summer after turning down a £7m bid from Tottenham. He said: "I will not, for any amount of money, break that promise to the West Ham supporters." Daily Star
Avram Grant wants free agent Laurent Bonnart to become his latest West Ham recruit. Daily Mail
Premier League new boys Blackpool are in talks with transfer-listed Ipswich striker Jon Stead, 27, who has snubbed a move to Bristol City. Daily Mirror
Bristol City manager Steve Coppell has made an audacious bid to lure England goalkeeper David James, 39, to Ashton Gate. James has been offered a 12-month contract with the Championship club. Daily Mirror
OTHER BOLLOX
Arsenal may have to start the season without three key men as striker Nicklas Bendtner is struggling with a groin injury and may need further surgery. There are also fears that Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie will not be ready for the Premier League opener against Liverpool on 15 August. Daily Star
Portsmouth face the prospect of paying out more than £500,000 in wages at the end of the week to players no longer at the club. David James will pick up around £140,000 provided he does not sign for anyone else before Saturday night. Daily Express
Tottenham's teenage midfielder John Bostock reckons his progress is being damaged by foreign players in the English game. The 18-year-old, who was on loan at Brentford last season, wants another loan move as he has only made three substitute appearances for Spurs in two years. (Various)
England goalkeeper Robert Green's first save in his first pre-season appearance for West Ham was greeted with ironic cheers on Wednesday night. Green's fumble in the World Cup allowed the United States to draw 1-1 with England in South Africa. (Various)
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