Aston Villa's James Milner ready to sign for Manchester City
Ireland likely to move in opposite direction in £26m deal, but Irish midfielder still to agree settlement with City
James Milner's protracted transfer from Aston Villa to Manchester City is finally set to go through on Thursday after the two clubs agreed a package worth about £26m.
Stephen Ireland – whose agent today held talks with the Villa chief executive, Paul Faulkner – will sign for Villa as part of the deal, providing he reaches a settlement with City over the remainder of his contract. Discussions will take place between Ireland's representative and City's hierarchy tomorrow morning.
Ireland has been valued at £10m, meaning that Villa will receive a further £16m in cash in addition to the former Republic of Ireland midfielder. Should Ireland pull out of the transfer – there is no indication that is likely to happen at the moment despite Martin O'Neill's resignation yesterday – Milner will move to Eastlands in a straight cash deal. Both players have been pencilled in for medicals at their respective new clubs on Thursday and could make their debuts at the weekend.
The latest development will come as a relief to all parties involved. The Guardian revealed City's interest in Milner almost four months ago but negotiations between the two clubs have dragged on. City tabled a £20m bid in May that was flatly rejected, with Villa holding out for closer to £30m for a player who cost £12m two years ago. In the end Villa agreed to lower their demands although many of the club's supporters will feel pleased by the final outcome.
Ireland's inclusion as a makeweight in the transfer was thrown into doubt when O'Neill unexpectedly quit, but the talks that had been agreed before that development went ahead as planned. The 23-year-old, who was voted City's player of the year at the end of the 2008-09 season, appears to have accepted that he has no future with Roberto Mancini in charge. Having signed a lucrative five-year contract with City little more than 12 months ago, he will hope to negotiate a sizeable settlement.
Guardian
Kolo Toure upstages Balotelli
Manchester City target Mario Balotelli was upstaged by Blues skipper Kolo Toure as Ivory Coast beat Italy 1-0 in a friendly at Upton Park.
The controversial Inter Milan striker, who Roberto Mancini is confident of signing for £24million before the end of the week, played for an hour of the game.
Balotelli gave potential City team-mate Kolo a tough time and signalled his intent after only four minutes by hammering a 22-yard free-kick over the bar.
The Italians had a novel way of building team spirit, allowing each player to pick his own shirt number, with Balotelli promptly picking number nine.
Italy, who like England had a woeful World Cup, have turned their focus onto youth under new coach Cesare Prandelli, but it was the Ivory Coast who had the edge after Kolo powered home the winning header after 55 minutes in front of 11,176 fans
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Real Madrid are set to complete the signing of Portugal centre-back Ricardo Carvalho from Chelsea.
The Spanish giants have agreed a £6.7m fee to sign the 32-year-old, who will link up once again with former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
"Chelsea can confirm it has agreed terms with Real Madrid for the transfer of Carvalho," said a club statement.
Carvalho, who was also with Mourinho at Porto, joined Chelsea in 2004 for £19.8m and won the league three times.
The Chelsea statement added: "The transfer is subject to a medical and the player agreeing personal terms. Chelsea would like to thank Riccy for his six years of service, and we wish him well in his future career." http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 902830.stm
Tottenham are looking to sign former Arsenal defender William Gallas. The 33-year-old France international is a free agent after being released by the Gunners at the end of last season. Daily Telegraph
However, Gallas's demand for a two-year deal could scupper any attempt to join the White Hart Lane outfit. Daily Mail
Fulham's new manager Mark Hughes will make Algeria defender Rafik Halliche his first signing. The 23-year-old Benfica centre-back, who played for his country against England at the World Cup, will arrive in a £1.8m deal. Daily Mirror
But Hughes faces a struggle to hold on to goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who has handed in a transfer request after being linked with a move to Arsenal. the Sun
West Ham are closing in on Marseille midfielder Benoit Cheyrou, 29, who is the brother of former Liverpool striker Bruno. Daily Mirror
And Hammers midfielder Scott Parker is to end speculation about a possible move to Tottenham or Liverpool by signing a new four-year deal this week.the Sun
Former West Brom midfielder Robert Koren will reject Premier League newcomers Blackpool for Championship side Hull City. The 29-year-old Slovenia captain, who is a free agent, may be given a three-year deal.Daily Mail
Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic will demand to leave the club if he does not get the number one shirt this season, with Chelsea thought to be interested. Daily Mirror
Stoke and Italian side Brescia are both interested in West Ham midfielder Radoslav Kovac.Daily Star
OTHER BOLLOXAston Villa board member General Charles C Krulak, a friend of chairman Randy Lerner, has hit out at former manager Martin O'Neill for thinking he was bigger than the club. O'Neill made a shock exit from Villa Park on Monday. Daily Mirror
Blackpool manager Ian Holloway is on a collision course with chairman Karl Oyston over the club's cautious approach to finances. The Bloomfield Road outfit has a rigid wage structure and moves for strikers Rob Hulse, Jon Stead and Marlon Harewood have been rejected. Daily Mail
Sheffield Wednesday face a winding-up order over a £550m tax bill that HM Revenue & Customs claim has not been paid. Daily Mail
Liverpool's Steven Gerrard says it will take "years" for England to sort out the mess after their World Cup failure but it would make no sense to get rid of coach Fabio Capello. the Guardian
Fulham striker Bobby Zamora, who could make his England debut against Hungary on Wednesday, considered playing for Trinidad and Tobago because at one point it was his "only option" of getting international football. The 29-year-old qualifies for the Caribbean team because of his father's nationality. Daily Mirror
An addiction to computer games is affecting the performance of some Premier League players, says a sports psychologist who has treated stars from several big clubs. Daily Star
England rugby union international Danny Cipriani has been told he has the potential to make it as a professional footballer by Tottenham coach Tim Sherwood. Cipriani played for Spurs reserves in July and is training with QPR before going to play rugby in Australia for two years.Daily Mail
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