The news will be a big blow to Sir Alex Ferguson, who has been tracking Wesley Sneijder for 6 months
ROBERTO MANCINI is set to go head-to-head with bitter rival Sir Alex Ferguson in a £30m battle to land Inter Milan star Wesley Sneijder.
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has put Wesley Sneijder top of his wanted list after failing to land Alexis Sanchez from Udinese.
Manchester United have also held talks with Sanchez but the Chilean wonderkid has made it clear he prefers a move to Barcelona instead.
Now Starsport understands Mancini’s growing frustration has made him turn his attentions to Sneijder, 27. The Italian has sounded out former club Inter Milan about what it would cost to lure Sneijder to Eastlands.
The news will be a big blow to United boss Fergie, who has been tracking Sneijder for six months, having earmarked the Holland midfi elder as the perfect replacement for Paul Scholes. But the Scot knows he won’t be able to compete on financial terms with his billionaire neighbours, with Sneijder demanding wages of £200,000 a week.
With City also offering Champions League football next season, Mancini hopes Sneijder’s experience and talent will help his side to become a major European powerhouse.
It is the third time this summer Mancini and Fergie have been scrapping for the same player.
Sanchez has held talks with both Manchester clubs while Tottenham’s Luka Modric is also a target but Chelsea remain favourites to land the Croatian star.
Fergie, meanwhile, has suffered another blow with the news French Under-21 defender Raphael Varane is set to snub a £9m move to Old Trafford for PSG.
Police on alert SEVEN weeks before Manchester United v Manchester City Community Shield clash at Wembley
There were 34 arrests at April's FA Cup semi-final
Police are already planning for the Community Shield fixture at Wembley in August amid fears violence could erupt between fans.
The game will be a rematch of April’s FA Cup semi final which saw trouble outside clash outside the stadium. Officers have already held planning meetings ahead of the clash on August 7.
The Metropolitan Police praised fans for their ‘good behaviour’ after making 34 arrests at the cup game. But the force came under fierce criticism from supporters of both clubs with many claiming it was ‘bedlam’ before and after the match, which City won 1-0.
Many reported a lack of police presence as fist fights erupted on the coach park and on Wembley Way.
The M.E.N. understands there are concerns that those who travelled with families will not do so this time after their experience at the earlier game.
That has prompted fears that both sets of fans will be mainly made up of men – some with scores to settle. The Met declined to comment when contacted by the M.E.N.
However, it is understood they are looking at introducing booze bans close to the ground and having more officers on duty.
A debriefing was held after the semi-final and officers will review footage taken in the build-up to the match.
‘Spotters’ from Greater Manchester police will again travel to the capital to keep an eye out for known trouble-makers.
United fan Dr Geoff Pearson, a lecturer at Liverpool University who specialises in policing football crowds. was at the April match. He said: "On the way in I saw City fans attacking United fans on Wembley Way and on the way out it was role reversal.
"It was very nasty. This is a crowd dynamic the new Wembley has never experienced and it may take the Met Police a few goes to get it right.
"Banning alcohol is ridiculous. The people throwing punches were completely sober."
City fan Dave Wallace, editor of the King of the Kippax fanzine, said: "We had a lot of letters claiming the police didn’t know what was going on. They certainly need to be more diligent this time."
No ticket allocations for the match have been announced. Last season United and Chelsea were each given around 28,000 tickets.
Manchester City’s Yaya Toure listed by Forbes as highest earning African player
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has been named on top of the earning list of Africa’s foreign legion in a Forbes article.
Earning an estimated $13.3 million annually, Toure is ahead of other great African players such as Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba and Michael Essien. The Ivorian is joined on the list by his brother Kolo, who also plays for City.
Out of the eight players listed, only two do not play in England. Malian Frederic Kanoute plays his football in Spain while Cameroonian Eto’o plays at Inter.
It is also interesting to note that three of the six Premier League players are signed to big spending Manchester City while the other three are with Chelsea.
Another interesting fact is that four of the players are winners of the African player of the year award while the others have at one time or the other been nominated for the title. Nigeria’s John Mikel Obi has never been nominated, but won the young player award in 2005.
1) Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast) - $13.3 million
2) Samuel Eto’o (Inter and Cameroon) - $12 million
3) Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo and Manchester City) - $12 million
4) Kolo Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast) - $10.3 million
5) Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla and Mali) - $8.6 million
6) Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast) - $8 million
7) John Mikel Obi (Chelsea and Nigeria) - $5.8 million
8) Michael Essien (Chelsea and Ghana) - $5.5 million
Now the top kids in Europe get a Champions League of their own
Manchester City will face Barcelona in the headline fixture of a Champions League-style tournament for Under 19s this season.
Liverpool, Tottenham and Aston Villa are also in the UEFA tournament, dubbed the NextGen Series, which will consist of 16 clubs in four groups.
After England’s disappointing first-round exit from the Under 21 European Championship, the competition is seen as the ideal platform to improve the quality of opposition for younger players and give them valuable experience of an elite competition.
Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea are waiting to come in next season, along with Ajax.
The inaugural line-up has been determined by invitation and recommendation, influenced by the quality of each club’s academy. There is one more place to be confirmed.
NextGen is the brainchild of former Watford academy manager Mark Warburton and will pit some of the best young sides in Europe against each other home and away in a tournament that will start in August with the knockout stages in January.
Sportsmail revealed how the project was being formulated last year when Manchester City played Ajax in a friendly in Amsterdam. City are considered to be major players in the development of this tournament as they increase their profile around the world.
All the fixtures are yet to be finalised but it is understood that Villa are in a group with Norway’s Rosenborg and Fenerbahce of Turkey, and City and Barcelona will face Celtic and Marseille.
The top two teams in each group will go forward to a finals competition. TV rights are being negotiated and the finals could be staged in Abu Dhabi.
Warburton, a former professional footballer who established the Harefield Academy and helped Watford become the first English professional club to combine full-time academic learning and football, pioneered the competition to help prepare promising young players for top-level football.
He is now sporting director at League One club Brentford, and said: ‘Apart from the exceptional few who jump straight to the first team, many promising young players graduating from academies were not provided with enough consistent high-quality football challenges.’
Although the costs will be high, clubs have jumped at the idea as they look to improve the quality of players graduating from their academies and, crucially, tempt top young players from other clubs with the chance of playing in Europe.
Liverpool and Chelsea are among the clubs to have raised concerns about the level of investment in their academies and how it has failed to correlate with the end product.
Now they hope this can help bridge the gap in the development of young stars.
It is expected that the competition will grow as more heavyweight clubs rush to join in. The early European Cup, launched in 1955-56, also started as a relatively small competition and then mushroomed.
Mark Allen believes the club has taken a major step forward in helping to launch the ground-breaking Nextgen Series for Europe's elite young players.
City will contest a group that also features Barcelona, Celtic and Marseille, with the top two teams progressing to an eight-team knockout to be staged in January.
Head of Academy Allen is delighted that City are one of 16 leading clubs, including Inter Milan and Sporting Lisbon, who will test their youngsters at such a rarefied level this season.
He said: "We'll be competing against the best in Europe, a la the Champions League format, and we see it as an important chapter in the development of Manchester City.
"Barcelona at Hyde will not take much getting up for! That will go down well with everybody. Who knows, we might be seeing the new Lionel Messi on a Thursday night at Hyde.
"It's the next stepping stone, so as they come through the Academy system there is the platform for them to be playing football at a level that is commensurate with their development.
"It will prepare them for those balmy nights we'll hopefully have in the Champions League as the club moves forward. We want to prepare them for what they will encounter as fully-fledged professionals.
"The average age for a Premier League debut is becoming older, 21 or 22 when before it might have been 17 or 18. You have to bridge that gap and prepare them for a better standard of football.
City have opted out of the Barclays Premier Reserve League, and Allen added: "We found it just a little bit too rigid in terms of fixtures. This will allow us the scope for a flexible games programme.
"We can also take advantage of playing games further afield as we engage more with some of the clubs we have close relations with in Europe and across the UK."
OTHER BOLLOX
Chelsea defender David Luiz has attracted the interest of Spanish giants Barcelona, who are preparing a £27.5m offer. the Sun
New Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas is set to splash out £80m to rebuild the side at Stamford Bridge. Top of his list of targets are Porto duo Falcao and Joao Moutinho as well as Brazilian forward Neymar, who plays for Santos. Daily Mirror
Villas-Boas has targeted Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto'o, which will mean the end for Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka at Stamford Bridge. Daily Star
Borussia Dortmund are set to make a formal bid for Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner. However, the German club are unwilling to meet Arsenal's £12m valuation. (the Times)
Tottenham midfielder Wilson Palacios is on the brink of a £12m move to Italian side Napoli, which gives Spurs boss Harry Redknapp the funds to buy West Ham's Scott Parker. Daily Star
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is eyeing a move for Stade Brest striker Nolan Roux, who has scored 21 goals in 53 league games for the French club. talkSHIT
And Mancini is also interested in Villarreal striker Giuseppe Rossi, if Sanchez does not move to Eastlands. Daily Star
Manchester United goalkeeping target David de Gea has dropped his heaviest hint yet that he may stay at Atletico Madrid, calling the Spanish side "a big club". talkSHIT
Queens Park Rangers are keeping tabs on Fulham striker Andrew Johnson. (the Times)
West Brom are facing competition from Italy in their attempt to bring midfielder Zoltan Gera back to the club, according to the player's representative. (Press Association)
Blackburn striker Nikola Kalinic, who is rated at £6m, is ready to quit Ewood Park after becoming frustrated with a lack of first-team opportunities. the Sun
Turkish giants Fenerbahce are set to offer Tottenham misfit Jermaine Jenas an escape route with a £5m transfer. talkSHIT
West Brom striker Peter Odemwingie says he turned down a move to Arsenal because the London club did not offer him enough money. Daily Star
Turkish side Bursaspor have offered £2m for West Brom goalkeeper Scott Carson. Daily Mirror
Sunderland have made an £8m bid for Ipswich striker Connor Wickham, who has also been linked to Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham. However, the Suffolk side are demanding £12m for the England Under-21 international. Daily Mail
Stoke manager Tony Pulis is willing to include striker Ricardo Fuller in a player, plus cash deal for £15m-rated Birmingham defender Scott Dann, who is also wanted by Arsenal. Daily Mail
Free agent Mahamadou Diarra is keen on a move to Stoke or Fulham after the former Real Madrid midfielder ended his six-month contract at Monaco. Metro
West Ham have shortlisted Stoke's Thomas Sorensen, Reading's Adam Federici and Peterborough's Joe Lewis as possible replacements for goalkeeper Robert Green. (the Times)
Portsmouth will replace out-of-contract striker Dave Nugent with Blackpool forward Luke Varney, who is available for about £750,000. Daily Mirror
Chelsea's England Under-21 international Daniel Sturridge could be set for a season-long loan deal at Newcastle, who are short of firepower following the sales of Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan. Caughtoffside.com
West Ham defender Manuel Da Costa is set to join former team-mate Victor Obinna at Lokomotiv Moscow. the Sun
Chelsea's pursuit of Andre Villas-Boas could result in former Blues boss Guus Hiddink being appointed the new manager of Inter Milan. the Sun
Chris Hughton is expected to be confirmed as Birmingham's new manager. (Press Association)
Hughton will be appointed ahead of former West Brom boss Roberto Di Matteo.Daily Mail
Leeds manager Simon Grayson has told goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel that he has been sold to Leicester after United conceded too many goals last season. He said: "When Kasper goes, we have other alternatives that will make us better and keep us progressing." Daily Mirror
Former Zimbabwe striker Benjani will leave Blackburn this summer to sign for another Premier League club as he wants to secure a British passport. Daily Mirror
Former Arsenal and Barcelona striker Thierry Henry is not known for receiving red cards but the Frenchman saw red while playing for New York Red Bulls after a confrontation with Portland Timbers midfielder Adam Moffat.Metro
