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Van Persie Snr Rules Out Man City or La Liga Move
Arsenal striker Robin van Persie will not be joining Manchester City, Real Madrid or Barcelona, according to the players own father.
Van Persie has entered the final year of his Arsenal contract and has delayed making a decision on his future until after the European championships, despite holding talks with Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis at the end of last season.
His future has filled the gossip pages in recent weeks with several clubs linked with a big-money move, but according to the players father, Bob, Van Persie won’t be making a move to La Liga or any other Premier League side this summer.
Bob Van Persie is quoted in Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo (Google English translated version here), and when asked about a potential move to Barcelona or Real Madrid, he said:
“What the hell would Robin do at the club? They already have Messi and it does not make sense to go.”
“I like Real Madrid, but that would not fit. Not team players, but a group of stars.”
Van Persie senior was then quizzed about a move within the Premier League:
“It is impossible to go to another English team.”
Perhaps the best indication that Van Persie could stay at Arsenal is given in his fathers final comments, when he stressed that although his son does everything to win, victory is not his only goal.
“Robin does everything necessary to win, but victory is not his only goal. Play to win, but not at any cost.”
Is this a subtle hint that his son would rather remain at Arsenal and not win trophies, as long as his family are happy?
The happiness of his family has been one of the main reasons i’ve been confident RVP would still be with us next season. He has always maintained his wife and children are happy in London and he loves how his kids are growing up here, so it would have to take something special to make him leave in my eyes.
If his own dad is ruling out Madrid, Barca and City, where does that leave us? Juventus are still being linked but would RVP want to go to Serie A, which is nowhere near the level of the Premier League, and move his family to Italy?
I suppose only time will tell. But if these quotes attributed to Van Persie senior are accurate, it looks far more likely we’ll see Robin in the Red & White again next season. Or maybe i’m just being naive/optimistic!!
Nasri fears teasing from England mates
Samir Nasri knows full well that his life will be made a misery by his Manchester City team-mates if England beat France at Euro 2012. Samir Nasri knows full well that his life will be made a misery by his Manchester City team-mates if England beat France at Euro 2012.
The two great rivals are scheduled to meet in the opening game of Group D on June 11 and while the fixture is of the utmost importance in terms of both nations' hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages, the attacking midfielder is more worried about dressing-room bragging rights at Eastlands.
"There is no choice for me: it must be a victory for France," Nasri admitted in an interview with France Football.
"Otherwise, when I go back to City, I will be teased from all sides.
"There will my team-mates (Joe) Hart, (Joleon) Lescott and (James) Milner; therefore we must win!"
Nasri admitted that the rivalry between France and England remains as intense as ever, but he feels that it is one founded on respect.
"In England, they like 'the Frenchies' when they are wearing the colors of their clubs," the former Arsenal ace said.
"But in the national team, there is no more sentiment.
"But with the English, respect is earned on the pitch. I saw that clearly after our victory at Wembley (in November 2010)."
MANCHESTER CITY FACE ROBERTO MANCINI QUIT FEAR
ROBERTO MANCINI’S Manchester City future is hanging in the balance – and could be decided by his wife.
Starsport can reveal Mancini is stalling over signing a new £5.5m-a-year deal because his wife Federica wants to quit Manchester.
City are desperate for Mancini to sign a new and improved contract after the Italian led them to the Premier League title last season.
He has only one year left on his current deal but nothing has been agreed, despite Mancini holding talks with the club’s billionaire owners in Abu Dhabi last month.
Federica has told Mancini, 47, she wants to return to Italy and the Blues boss is facing a huge dilemma over his future – especially if the national team job becomes available after Euro 2012.
A club source said: “The manager’s wife does not like the north west and spends as much time as possible back in Italy.
“She has not been able to get on board with the weather or the lifestyle, and has made this known to Mancini.
“The manager himself regularly flies back to Sardinia straight after a match, although this has sometimes been due to his father’s ill health.
“But his wife’s dislike of Manchester is a genuine issue which isn’t going to go away and could determine his long-term future.
“The manager is happy here, but he is also very family-orientated.”
Losing Mancini would be a huge blow to the Blues, who are willing to make him one of the highest-paid bosses in Europe.
But to make matters worse Mancini has also emerged as the leading candidate to succeed Italian coach Cesare Prandelli.
He has been earmarked as fi rst choice to replace Prandelli if Italy fail to deliver in Poland and Ukraine.
Mancini, who is currently on holiday in Sardinia with his family, could could be tempted by the prospect of coaching Italy at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The Italian has admitted that he has ambitions to manage his home country at some stage in his career.
Manchester City to Use £30m Pair as Bait to Land Tottenham Winger Gareth Bale
Man City are poised to step up their interest in Gareth Bale with Emmanuel Adebayor and Adam Johnson potential bargaining chips.
Spurs are still negotiating with both Adebayor and the Premier League champions about brokering a permanent £10m stay for the player, who is understood to now be willing to take a drop on his reported £170,000 a week wages.
But City, having seen Eden Hazard choose Chelsea, have also been keeping close tabs on winger Bale, and are aware Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is a huge admirer of £20m-rated Adam Johnson.
Spurs have previously made it clear they are in no mood to part with their £40m rated Welsh raider, but City could now seriously test their resolve with Adebayor and Johnson, plus a major cash adjustment.
Johnson, who only signed a new five-year deal back in January on a reported £70,000 a week, has become frustrated by a lack of regular starts at the Etihad Stadium.
Whilst Tottenham may well have no interest in selling Gareth Bale this summer if the Welsh winger does look to move on to a club who can offer him Champions League football and the chance to challenge for major honours then the North London side may not get a better deal than this one.
Harry Redknapp clearly knows what Emmanuel Adebayor is capable of, the Togo international was Tottenham’s most effective attacking weapon last term, notching up 18 goals and 12 assists in all competitions and a move to White Hart Lane would surely interest the big forward.
The inclusion of Adam Johnson into the bargain would helpfully add another wide option, although admittedly he does ply his trade more on the right than the left the former Middlesbrough man has been known to work on both flanks. The 24 year old has been criminally underused since his move to Man City, making just ten Premier League starts last term.
That lack of first team football cost him a spot in Roy Hodgson’s Euro 2012 squad and that blow may well be the wake-up call Adam Johnson needs in order to move on.
This source values the Man City pair at £30m and states that Mancini would offer a cash sum on top of the two proven talents and that’s a bid that would surely lead Messrs Daniel Levy and Redknapp to consider their options though they would surely not think about selling Gareth Bale unless he made it clear he wished to move on.
Manchester City outcast Johnson must take wage cut to land Sunderland move
Manchester City forward Adam Johnson’s wages are threatening to scupper Sunderland’s attempts to sign him this summer.
Martin O’Neill wants to land the England winger ahead of next season, however the 24-year-old will have to take a pay cut to return to the north-east.
Johnson earns in the region of £85,000-per-week at the Etihad Stadium, but Sunderland’s wage ceiling is around £60,000-per-week.
And early indications are that Johnson would be unwilling to take such hit in his wages.
Nevertheless, O’Neill is still keen to pursue a move for Johnson and could look into the prospect of loaning him if a permanent deal is not financially viable.
Johnson only signed a new long-term deal contract at City last November but has fallen out of favour with manager Roberto Mancini.
Sunderland have already contacted City about their interest in Johnson ahead of the new season.
Inter Milan considering a summer swoop for Man City free kick specialist
Inter Milan may have locked their sights on Aleksandar Kolarov for their left-flank, if rumours in Sports Media set are to be believed. The 26 year old Serbian primarily plies his trade as a left-back but can also add flexibility to the side by operating anywhere on the left flank and is known for his sharp overlapping runs and tremendous free kicks.
Kolarov, currently a Manchester City player, would relish playing for the Nerazzurri, as chances have been hard to come by of late with the Premier League champions. Down in the pecking order after Gael Clichy, Kolarov has only been able to get himself 36 League games in 2 years at City. A chance to play at the San Siro regularly with such a prestigious club might be too much to resist for the Serbian.
Kolarov’s marginalised role at City has led to the player posting statistics that request for more action. He has been used consistently as a squad player, featuring in a lot of Cup games, especially in second string competitions like the League Cup and the Europa League.
With the player not really on Manchester City’s ‘must sell list’, he is unlikely to go cheap, but word is that Inter Milan are still considering opening talks with City regarding his availability.
Maturing Hart vital to England by Phil McNulty
Among the fall-out from the incident that left Gary Cahill with a double fracture of the jaw and renewed the debate about Rio Ferdinand's exclusion from England's Euro 2012 squad, manager Roy Hodgson may eventually reflect that things could have been worse.
The cynical shove from Belgium's Dries Mertens that ended Cahill's hopes of figuring in Poland and Ukraine also narrowly avoided inflicting damage on goalkeeper Joe Hart as his late evasive action unwittingly injured Chelsea's defender.
And as one of the most precious pieces of cargo aboard England's plane to Krakow on Wednesday, the prospect of losing the 25-year-old Manchester City keeper would have been nigh on unthinkable for Hodgson.
Such is Hart's sporting prowess that he earned accolades as a promising young cricketer with the Worcestershire academy before making his way in football. New Road's loss has been England's gain.
Hart's measured performance in front of the world's media at England's first press conference following their arrival in Poland was merely a mirror image of the assurance he has brought to his work at international level and as a Premier League title winner at City.
This mature, rounded personality has bought in fully to the philosophy England have brought to Poland, a determination to embrace the culture and history of this proud country while at the same time focusing on the business of football.
Hart is serious about England's aspirations for Euro 2012 - but there was no mistaking how important he felt Friday's emotional visit to Auschwitz will be to the team. This may be a sporting showpiece but this was clearly a crucial element of the overall experience here in Poland.
He said: "You need to experience these things. You need to see these things to appreciate them. It's talked about, you hear words like the Holocaust but you have to find out what they are to help you respect people. It gives you more of a feeling about the history of this world."
Hart is becoming an increasingly impressive figure on and off the field with a demeanour many feel marks him out as a future candidate for the England captaincy.
To watch Hart in close-up action during England's open training session at Wembley on Friday before the 1-0 win against Belgium the following day was to witness someone with a growing command of their craft - and someone who will be invaluable to Hodgson when his Euro 2012 campaign opens against France in Donetsk on Monday.
England's current captain Steven Gerrard admits to marvelling at Hart's work in training, revealing: "He just makes world-class saves, jumps back to his feet and prepares for the next shot like nothing has happened. The rest of us are just looking at him wondering 'what the hell was that?' but it's just normal to him. Amazing."
Hart's rise to prominence now has him regarded as one of the world's goalkeeping elite but there is caution in his message. He says: "I'm not living on some sort of confidence where I think I'm untouchable and I can do whatever I want.
"I don't think you can get too lost in it. I have always been doing all right in football but there have been times when I was left on the bench when Shay Given came to Manchester City. I wasn't cool about it but there is no point getting lost in it all."
Hodgson has been so impressed with Hart that he was even moved to mention him in the same breath as the great World Cup winner Gordon Banks after the win against Belgium. And Hart was outlining his determination to be "the rock that England needs" exactly 42 years to the day since Banks's legendary save from Brazil's Pele in Guadalajara during the Mexico World Cup.
Fabio Capello regarded Hart as too young to risk at the World Cup in South Africa two years ago. The keeper's role was restricted to offering very public consolation and comfort to Robert Green after his error allowed Clint Dempsey to give the USA a crucial draw in England's opening game before a 39-year-old David James completed a tournament that was nothing short of abject misery.
No such debate or uncertainty surrounds the choice of England's goalkeeper in Poland and Ukraine. Hart will be among the first names Hodgson writes down on his teamsheet and one that will give his England team-mates a sense of security about their last line of defence.
Hart has been described as a future England captain. Photo: Reuters
Hart has the most solid hold on England's number one shirt since his boyhood hero David Seaman made his last appearance for the England team in 2002. And if the former Arsenal keeper prided himself on his "Safe Hands" label then the same applies to the goalkeeper who cost City just £600,000 when he arrived from Shrewsbury as a teenager in May 2006 with only 54 senior games behind him.
He is working closely with England's new goalkeeping coach Dave Watson and Hart said: "Dave wants to do so well. He doesn't see his role as just smashing a few balls at the goalies and then send them into a game. His role is to prepare you and he takes everything personally.
"He really, really takes his role on. He's shown me his plan for the next three weeks. He's already got it ready, how he wants to prepare for this. He's always asking do I need anything - he's just very professional. He takes so much pride in his work and I just feel ready."
Hart accepts England's intention to be seen as "good tourists" with their hotel based in the heart of Krakow, mingling with the locals and attending a reception held by the Mayor on Thursday evening.
It is all a far cry from the isolation of the now infamous "Camp Capello" in Rustenburg, where England were so cut off from South African civilisation that they could have been anywhere.
Hart, however, does not lose sight of what is top of his agenda. He said: "It was fine with the fans at our hotel when we arrived. We weren't mobbed. It was just people showing an interest and I'm sure it will die down.
"I'm here to prepare for a football tournament but if we need to go out I'm sure the lads won't think twice about having a wander. Sometimes you need a change of scenery but we are here to play football."
And if England are to thrive at Euro 2012, it is becoming increasingly clear that their outstanding young goalkeeper is vital to those hopes.
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[/spoiler]SNUB COUNT BOLLOX: [strike]73[/strike] 77
OTHER BOLLOX
Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric, 26, is on his way to Manchester United with Sir Alex Ferguson offering £25m, rising to £30m based on appearances and success. the Sun
Manchester United have agreed a £3m fee for 18-year-old Chilean striker Angelo Henriquez. Daily Mail
Bolton are set to hijack Celtic's move for out-of-favour Leicester defender Matt Mills, 25, who is rated at £3m. the Sun
Birmingham's Ben Foster, 29, is Queen's Park Rangers' top target in their search for a new first-choice goalkeeper. Daily Mirror
Tottenham have agreed a deal to sign Nottingham Forest's 18-year-old centre-back Jamaal Lascelles, beating off competition from Arsenal. CaughtOffside
Newcastle have entered the race to sign former Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou, 26, who is available on a free transfer after the Champions League winners decided not to offer him a new deal. talkShite
New Norwich manager Chris Hughton has vowed to hold on to striker Grant Holt amid speculation he could follow Paul Lambert to Aston Villa. the Sun
Fulham are lining up a move for in St Etienne's versatile Romania full-back Banel Nicolita. Daily Mail
David Beckham is to spearhead Team GB's attempts to win gold at the London 2012 Olympics. Daily Mail
Midfielder Niko Kranjcar has spoken of his joy at completing a move to Dynamo Kiev after admitting that his time at Tottenham was "disappointing". Metro
X Factor bosses have rearranged the schedules for the auditions in Glasgow next week so staff on the show can watch England's opening match of Euro 2012. Metro
