Manchester City Plan £35m Transfer Raid On Barcelona In January
Manchester City will bid £35m for Barcelona defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets in January, according to a report in Italy by Tutto Mercato.
They claim Busquets is the “dream signing” for Man City boss Roberto Mancini, but convincing him to leave Camp Nou would likely be immensely difficult.
The Spain international has won three La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues in the last three years at Barcelona – as well as the World Cup with his country last season.
However, the way that Manchester City are currently playing, there is certainly an argument that Busquets is not required at the Etihad Stadium – even though Mancini admitted he was pursuing a top class defensive midfielder in the summer.
With financial fair play restricting the club from making more huge signings in January, Owen Hargreaves was signed after his Manchester United contract expired.
Perhaps Busquets’ acquisition will depend on how Hargreaves settles in.
Aguero: I want to be City's Maradona
Sergio Aguero has vowed to do for Manchester City what Diego Maradona did for Napoli.
The dazzling striker arrived in Manchester this summer for £38million from Atletico Madrid and has already become a hero at the Etihad Stadium with six goals in his first four league games.
He knows the Argentine magician better than most as he began dating his daughter four years ago and they’re now married with a son.
And although he wasn’t even born at the time, he knows all about Maradona’s move from Barcelona to Napoli and how it changed his life and the team’s. Maradona helped the unfashionable club upset Italy’s established order of Juventus, AC Milan and Inter.
He led Napoli to the most glittering period in their history and between the late 80s and early 90s, they won their only two Serie A titles, the UEFA Cup and the Coppa Italia.
Now Aguero is taking inspiration from his father-in-law’s achievements as City attempt to break Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal’s grip on the Premier League.
“I hope I can help Manchester City do great things like Diego did with Napoli,” said the prolific striker.
“I’m coming here to help the team develop and win titles and if we can do that this year, it will be perfect. But we’ll keep on trying to get better and better and I hope to play a big part in that.”
Aguero lived up to the advance hype and found a place in City fans’ hearts just eight minutes after coming on for his debut against Swansea on August 15 with a debut goal.
And he had them dreaming of a new hero in stoppage time that night with a blistering 30-yard strike for his second.
He scored again against Tottenham and his hat-trick against Wigan took his tally to six goals in his first four league games, and a growing reputation which could rival the way Maradona was revered in Italy.
Ironically, Napoli provide the opposition on Wednesday for City’s first Champions League game. But Aguero was disappointed that Maradona will not be there because of coaching commitments in the Middle East.
He had a Champions League taster with Atletico Madrid a couple of seasons ago, and added: “Diego can’t come because he’s in Dubai training his team. The league is starting there so he won’t be able to make it.
“I played with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and we had a good campaign.
“With City, we’re looking to go as far as we can, but now we’re just concentrating on the group stage .”
Aguero played in the Champions League in 2008-09 for Atletico in a group that contained Liverpool. He scored three goals, against PSV and Marseille, helping Atletico reach the knockout phase where they were beaten on away goals by Porto.
The following season he came off the bench against Chelsea and scored both goals in a 2-2 draw.
Adebayor calls City relations 'broken' as striker promises to help Spurs
Emmanuel Adebayor has made a veiled plea to sign for Spurs’ permanently after describing his relationship with Manchester City as: ‘broken.’
The on-loan striker made a promising start to his career with a debut goal at Molineux before questioning his treatment at Eastlands.
'It’s too early to say whether I’ll stay (at Tottenham),' he said, 'but the love between Manchester City and myself is broken.
'I still have three years left on my contract and even at the end of this season, another two. I will decide on my career in April or May.
Quick off the mark: Adebayor nets on his Spurs debut against Wolves
'Now, I want to help Tottenham. I have nothing to prove to Manchester City. Everyone in the country knows what I am capable of.
'I showed it with Arsenal, I showed it on my debut for Manchester City. I’ve shown it here.
'I’ve got nothing to prove to them. What am I going to prove to Garry Cook and Brian Marwood?
'The club’s view on me changed when Roberto Mancini came in. But I have a huge respect for the man.
'However, it’s more than strange. When you have a player like myself who they suddenly say is not good enough, I went to Real Madrid, played, and scored goals.
'I came back here to prove to everyone else that I’m still a good footballer.
Defiant: Adebayor
'For me, if you don’t allow me to train with a professional team, there is something wrong there.
'So, for me, it’s over. I have to take the positives out of it. I have the chance to play for Tottenham and that’s all that matters now.”
Spurs’ boss Harry Redknapp declared himself satisfied with the forward, adding: 'For me, I never worried about the ex-Arsenal thing. Patrick Vieira wanted to join us two years ago and I went around to his place to talk about it.
'He’s a real legend there. If he can come to Tottenham, then anyone can. They are professional footballers - not burglars. You can’t say he can’t play for another team.'
OTHER BOLLOX
England boss Fabio Capello has been targeted for one huge final pay-day by big-spending Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala. Daily Mail
Italian giants AC Milan are keeping tabs on Chelsea striker Fernando Torres and could make a loan bid for the Spaniard, who has yet to find his best form at Stamford Bridge. Inside Futbol
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has confirmed his interest in signing former England captain David Beckham. "If David wants to come to Tottenham, I'd welcome him with open arms," said the White Hart Lane boss. Caughtoffside.com
But Beckham's club, Los Angeles Galaxy, are trying to tempt the 36-year-old to stay in the United States by offering him a new one-year contract worth £5.6m. Metro
Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes wants to leave the club in January after losing his place to summer signing Brad Friedel.Daily Mirror
Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas has hinted that Fernando Torres could be left out of their Champions League match with Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday. The Sun
Queens Park Rangers' boss Neil Warnock says he trusts midfielder Joey Barton not to do anything stupid when he makes his debut against former club Newcastle on Monday. The Sun
Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke has broken his silence on The Gunners' deadline-day transfer spending. Manager Arsene Wenger splashed the cash on the likes of Mikel Arteta and Per Mertesacker but Kroenke admitted: "There's a risk of going backwards if you overreact and start throwing money around in an attempt to solve your problems." Caughtoffside.com
Harry Redknapp has revealed Spurs missed out on a staggering £13m windfall for Giovani Dos Santos in January. Italian side Udinese made the lucrative offer but the forward wanted to go to Sevilla, who tabled a much lower bid. Daily Mirror
The wife of Bolton captain Kevin Davies, Emma, has revealed that her husband has apologised to Tom Cleverley after his challenge left the United midfielder with ligament damage in his foot. Daily Star
Newcastle United striker Nile Ranger has been arrested on suspicion of drink driving. Daily Mirror
Andre Villas-Boas wants to see changes made to the way teams drop out of the Champions League and into the Europa League. The side finishing third in each group currently moves into Europe's second club competition, but Villas-Boas says that rewards failure. Sky Sports
Former England footballer Trevor Steven was hauled from a river at the weekend after he rescued his dog from drowning. Daily Mirror
AFC Bournemouth supremo Eddie Mitchell stormed furiously onto the pitch to confront supporters protesting against the way he runs the club following their 3-0 home defeat by Chesterfield.Daily Mirror
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