I know, our summer transfer has been quiet to say the least which is why I'm presuming no Bollox all week!
Here's so from this morning for anyone missing it like me!
Oh, and RVP can fuck right off!!!!
Van Persie, 29 on Monday, has made it clear to Arsenal that his preference of the three clubs who are pursuing him is Juventus and, failing that, Manchester United. Both clubs' valuation of him falls well short of what City are prepared to pay for a player who will be out of contract next summer. While Arsenal do not wish to sell Van Persie to City either, they do want to earn as much as possible from a player who has stated his intention to leave.
It is understood that although the player is adamant that he does not want to go to City, the prospect of not being able to leave at all is a serious concern for him. Following his public refusal to consider a new contract at Arsenal, he feels he cannot play a final season at the club. Whether that would be enough to convince Van Persie to accept a move to City should Arsenal decide to negotiate with them is a decision he will have to make.
For now, however, the £30m valuation placed on him by Arsène Wenger is way in excess of the amount that both Juventus and United are prepared to pay. Both clubs are hopeful that Van Persie sticks to his guns with Arsenal and insists that he joins one of his two first-choice options regardless of what City are prepared to offer.
Van Persie will join the rest of his Arsenal team-mates on their pre-season training camp in Germany next week, where they will play a friendly against Cologne a week tomorrow, further evidence that the deal is unlikely to be resolved in the immediate future. He had previously missed this summer's tour of Asia last month with expectations then that the deal could be done.
It raises the possibility that Van Persie could even start the Premier League season as an Arsenal player. The intention of the club's hierarchy, however, is still that he should be sold and that the option of allowing him to run down his contract makes no sense financially. As things stand, ideally for both Arsenal and the player himself, Juventus would offer around £25m for Van Persie, although that currently looks a distant prospect.
Arsenal are understood to be close to a deal to sign the Spain international Santi Cazorla from Malaga in the next few days on a four-year deal. The Turkey international Nuri Sahin has been told by Jose Mourinho that he can leave Real Madrid with his destination likely to be Arsenal. Mourinho said of Sahin: "The point is that he's a young boy who wants to play every match. He wants to play to be happy and in Real Madrid with Xabi Alonso, Sami Khedira, Lassana Diarra, Esteban Granero and Mesut Ozil, the situation is not easy.
"Real Madrid is very difficult. It is not an easy club, because we demand a lot. We have great players and when you don't start well, it's difficult to do it. If he stays, he's not a problem for me. He's one more solution. We are leaving the situation in his hands."
The Caen president Jean-François Fortin has said that Arsenal have made a bid for the France international M'Baye Niang, 17, an attacker. He told L'Equipe: "Arsenal made me a proposition, but other clubs are interested – two in England and one in Italy."
Home » Premiership » Manchester City
City target talk played down by Reds
Manchester City, 20:04, August 3, 2012
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers claimed Daniel Agger's Europa League absence was due to his fitness and not links to Manchester City.
Rodgers spoke out after the 27-year-old Denmark international defender, who has been heavily linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium in the past week, failed to make the trip to Belarus for Thursday evening's 1-0 win against Gomel.
There were immediate claims that Agger's failure to fly with the Reds squad was because he is poised to link up with Roberto Mancini's Premier League champions.
Agger's agent, Per Steffensen, muddied the water further by insisting his omission from the squad was a mystery because, 'he is not injured in any way'.
However, while Steffensen also confirmed that Agger is 'very happy' at Liverpool and rubbished reports he has handed in a transfer request, Rodgers insisted that the player was left out purely due to his fitness levels.
"The plan was always for Daniel to stay behind," Rodgers said. "Everyone knows his history of injuries. He came back to pre-season training after everyone else and is still not up to speed.
"He is fit, but I have to make sure he is up to speed before he plays, because everyone knows his history with injuries."
Agger is still contracted to Liverpool for another two years, but indicated that he would discuss a new deal at Anfield which means Mancini will probably have to look elsewhere for defensive.
The Argentine striker enjoyed a stunning debut season culminating in Manchester City’s championship win. At 24-years-old, the player could become a world football star.
When Agüero scored the dramatic injury-time goal against QPR to wrestle the league title off rivals Manchester United, he firmly established City as perennial contenders, graduating from high-spending pretenders.
City had endured a variable campaign having seen an early lead at the top of the table slip away as did progression in the Champions League but with six games left, City clawed back an 8-point deficit to leaders United as they won their first league title for forty-four years and vindicated the record spending that had taken place in constructing the team. Following on from the previous season’s FA Cup success, the Premier League title win will have developed a mindset in the club capable of competing with the best clubs in Europe.
It was record signing Agüero who led City’s goal scoring with 23 from 31 starts in his debut season. Following a reported £38m move from Atletico Madrid, the young striker continued the form that had initially earned him the transfer and demonstrated himself as one of City’s key performers.
Yet, his goal scoring record in the Premier League this past season was not a stroke of serendipity. In his previous season in Spain, Agüero scored 27 in all competitions. Even at 20 years old, in the 2007/08 season with Atletico Madrid, he scored 19 league goals followed by another impressive season of 17 goals.
Although there were concerns over his physicality to adapt to the Premier League, his persistent goal scoring pedigree has given short shrift to these claims. His performances were such at Atletico that Fernando Torres was not missed after he moved to Liverpool in 2007. Indeed, Agüero equalled Torres’ maximum number of goals in a league campaign in the subsequent 2007/08 season. Following Torres’ move, Agüero (and new-signing Forlan) helped fire Atletico into Champions League qualification.
A facet that young Agüero did improve on following his move to Manchester City was his contribution to overall play. In the title-winning league campaign with City, Agüero amassed 10 assists whereas in the previous season in Madrid he had set up a modest 2 league goals.
As the 24-year-old enhances his reputation year upon year, could the player in the future emulate the success of Maradona, his godfather? The legendary Argentine won several personal awards including the Golden Ball for best player at the 1986 World Cup and other World Player of the Year awards from sports journals. Had Maradona been eligible for the Ballon d’Or (European Player of the Year) he surely would have collected the prize. Could the godson one day replicate these personal achievements?
And for Agüero, a growing Manchester City furnishes him with a befitting platform to showcase his talents. As the final moments of the game against QPR encapsulated, Agüero’s own performances and goals tie into the collective success of Manchester City and as Agüero continues to improve, so will the Manchester club’s quest for trophies prove more fruitful.
Manchester City’s development into a European giant will further define Agüero’s reputation as one of Europe’s best players. If Agüero can contribute substantially to the club’s potential success in England and in the Champions League, the player will receive the highest personal accolades accordingly. It is this reciprocity that will be key to Sergio Agüero being recognised in the same esteem as players such as Messi and Ronaldo.
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