Santa to fuck off after Christmas
Carlos Tevez's future at Manchester City is back under scrutiny amid a growing feeling behind the scenes at the club that he is not fully enjoying life in England and is homesick for Argentina.
Tevez has admitted recently that he is "not enjoying the life of a footballer" and it is becoming increasingly clear that his City colleagues are aware of his apparent disillusionment. Roque Santa Cruz, City's Paraguayan striker, said: "He wants to be among his people, who are in Argentina. Your heart goes out to his family. His siblings and his daughters are there … when you feel that your homeland is calling you back, you could end up giving up everything to return. Still, I think he will see it out and fulfil his contract with City before returning home."
Tevez is contracted until 2014 but, if there is a desire on his part to return to Argentina, it is unlikely in the extreme that the club will wait until his deal has expired and he can leave for a free agent.
For now, however, the view from within the club is that they hope Tevez can find happiness from helping Roberto Mancini's team challenge for major honours and being in an environment where he knows he is thought of highly. With seven goals already this season, his performances have not indicated a player who does not want to be there, and Mancini made him the captain in the summer in a deliberate attempt to show him how important he is to the club.
However, Santa Cruz, speaking on the Spanish radio station Cadena Sur, believes City are still short of being in a position to harbour realistic ambitions of lifting the league trophy. "We are below the level of those who will fight for the title," he said. "Our goal must be to be among the top four. Chelsea look the strongest, the most stable. Manchester United and Arsenal have great squads and will end up fighting for the title and we will have to play for fourth, probably with Tottenham."
Santa Cruz went on to confirm that he wanted to leave City, having been marginalised under Mancini to the extent that the former Blackburn Rovers player is not even included in the club's Europa League squad list. "Unfortunately I'm not playing as I'd like. The club have invested heavily, competition for places is great and I'm working every day to try to convince the coach but I'm still not getting picked. The situation is very complicated, I wanted to think well of it, but I'm not getting the playing time to convince anybody and my priority is to leave in the January transfer market. The coach has opted for certain players and, on top of that, his system is to play with only one striker, so I have even fewer options."
Santa Cruz knows City will make bringing in a new striker in January a priority, principally to take the pressure off Tevez. The club had believed Wayne Rooney was willing to move across Manchester before his decision to sign a new five-year contract at Old Trafford last week and they will now turn their attention to trying to resurrect a move for Edin Dzeko, Wolfsburg's prolific Bosnian international.
City pulled out of a deal in the summer when Wolfsburg quoted an asking price approaching £50m the view from Eastlands being that the 24-year-old was worth closer to £30m and that the German club were being unreasonable in the negotiations because they thought – wrongly, as it turned out – that money would be no object to the men financing the richest club in English football.
Fulham manager Mark Hughes will try to bring Santa Cruz to Craven Cottage during the January transfer window. Hughes signed the Paraguay frontman while in charge of Manchester City and Blackburn. Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... -Cruz.html
Manchester City may make a move for Lazio's Romanian defender Stefan Radu, who is eager to leave the Italian club in the January transfer window. talkSPORT http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/ ... azio-talks
The Eastlands outfit are also interested in Sporting Lisbon defender Daniel Carrico. Juventus and Atletico Madrid are among those eyeing the Portugal Under-21 star. Daily Mirror
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Manchester United target Steven Defour says he is willing to move to Old Trafford. The 22-year-old Standard Liege star is regarded as one of the best midfielders in Belgium and has been tracked by the Red Devils for more than a year. talkSPORT
Queens Park Rangers are hoping to boost their defence by acquiring Sean Morrison of Swindon but face a battle with Newcastle and Sunderland for the highly rated 19-year-old. Daily Mail
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has spoken out for the first time over the fury surrounding his contract wrangle, insisting: "I was never going to leave Man United". the Sun
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Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce and chairman John Williams are likely to keep their jobs when the expected £46m takeover by Indian group Venky's goes through in November. the Guardian
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted he is under pressure to bring the club's five-year wait for a trophy to an end this season. Daily Express
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Everton manager David Moyes insists Jermaine Beckford will adapt to the Premier League, despite the striker's poor start to the season. Moyes signed the 26-year-old from Leeds on a free transfer in the summer. Daily Mail
Fans of Paul the psychic octopus who are in mourning after his death can take comfort from the news that his spirit will live on - in clothing lines and mobile phone applications. The creature, who correctly predicted the outcome of all Germany's matches - as well as the final - at the 2010 World Cup, also features in a documentary. Daily Mail
Manchester United fans flocked to the club's Old Trafford megastore on Tuesday. However, it was not striker Wayne Rooney's name they wanted on the back of their replica jerseys - it was that of Mexican forward Javier Hernandez, the new United hero who has his nickname Chicarito emblazoned across his number 14 shirt. Daily Star
Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier has warned his players there is no place for nightclubs and alcohol in a modern footballer's life. (Daily Telegraph)
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