Wilfried Bony: Man City in advanced talks with Swansea
Manchester City are in advanced talks with Swansea City over signing Wilfried Bony, BBC Wales Sport has learned.
It is thought it would take more than £30m to prise the Ivory Coast striker, 26, from the Liberty Stadium.
Swansea manager Garry Monk has said it will take an "astronomical" fee to secure Bony in the January transfer window.
He was the Premier League's top scorer in the calendar year of 2014 with 20 goals.
Bony joined Swansea for a club-record £12m from Vitesse Arnhem in 2013.
He is on Africa Cup of Nations duty with the Ivory Coast for at least the next three weeks, and any deal would likely be concluded after his return.
"Bony signed a one-year contract extension in November and, although that couldn't ward off interest from Manchester City, it did get rid of the £20m release clause in the striker's previous deal. Swansea can now demand £30m or more for the 26-year-old, not that a fee of that size will put off a club of City's financial power. As Bony is currently with Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations, he may well have already played his final game for the Swans."
Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham were all reported to be interested, but the Premier League champions have made the first move to bolster their attacking options.
They were without injured strikers Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko for the festive period and manager Manuel Pellegrini is keen to add further depth to his squad.
The fee being discussed would break the Welsh club record sale of £15m that Liverpool paid Swansea for midfielder Joe Allen in August 2012.
Just last week Pellegrini had indicated the Premier League champions were not looking to do serious business in the January transfer window. He told reporters: "We have important restrictions about amount of money and restrictions on players we can put in our Champions League squad."
The club were hit with Uefa sanctions last year for breaching financial fair play rules which included a spending cap of £49m, plus any money raised from transfer fees.
They spent around £48m in the summer on Eliaquim Mangala, midfielder Fernando, and goalkeeper Willy Caballero, although sold Jack Rodwell to Sunderland for a reported £10m and midfielder Javi Garcia joined Zenit St Petersburg for £13m.
Aguero set to make Man City return at Everton
The Manchester City striker is ahead of schedule as he looks to recover from injury, while Edin Dzeko and Vincent Kompany could also face the Toffees.
And, in a triple boost for the Blues, Vincent Kompany and Edin Dzeko are also lined up for a return to action at Everton as they head into a crucial phase of the title race.
Aguero returned to outdoor training this week, and will have been out of action for five weeks by the time the squad heads to Goodison Park.
The Argentine ace, who still heads the Premier League goalscoring charts despite his absence, urged caution in a tweet he put out on Monday.
He said: “I wanted you to know I’ve already started field work. Slowly but surely I’ll be back at the right moment. Thanks for the wishes!”
But M.E.N. Sport understands Aguero is progressing well, and – as long as he continues to improve – is pencilled in for a place on the bench at Everton, at least a week ahead of schedule.
It would be ironic if he does make his comeback against the Toffees, as he sustained his medial collateral ligament injury in City’s 1-0 win over the Merseysiders at the Etihad Stadium last month.
At the time, manager Manuel Pellegrini predicted the injury would take from four to six weeks, or possibly eight weeks, putting Aguero’s participation in crunch games against Arsenal at home on January 18, and Chelsea away on January 31, at risk.
But Aguero has responded well to treatment, the injury was a low-grade one, and he should be back in full training by the end of this week.
Kompany is also fit again after suffering with calf and hamstring problems. At a push he could have played in the FA Cup third round win over Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend but was not risked with so many big games coming up.
Dzeko sparked a striker crisis when he pulled up with a calf problem in the warm-up at Leicester, a week after Aguero’s injury – and he is also close to a comeback.
That means City are close to having the full complement of three senior strikers back, along with the possible addition of Wilfried Bony from Swansea.
Jovetic suffered a slight hamstring tweak in early December, and that meant City went into pre-festive games at Leicester and Crystal Palace without their three front men.
But they won at Leicester with a Frank Lampard goal as 18-year-old Jose Angel Pozo was drafted in to the team, and then the midfielders all weighed in with goals over Christmas as City closed the gap on Chelsea at the top.
David Silva scored four, Yaya Toure two and there was one each for Fernandinho and Fernando, while James Milner filled in as a makeshift striker.
The loss of Aguero was seen as a major blow to City’s title hopes after he began the season with a brilliant burst of 19 goals in 21 appearances.
But since he limped off in tears after seven minutes of the Everton game, the Blues have won five and drawn one of their six league games, qualified for the Champions League last 16 with a superb win at Roma and taken their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup by beating Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend.
In fact, Aguero’s absence could now be viewed as a blessing as he will return to action refreshed and hungry – and with Arsenal and Chelsea looming in the league, and the big European showdown with Barcelona just seven weeks away, that could work to City’s advantage
Manchester City face UEFA confrontation as they look to acquire stake in another European club
Manchester City could be on a new collision course with UEFA as they look to acquire a stake in another European side as part of their ever-expanding global portfolio of clubs.
City’s relationship with New York City FC has been under the microscope after the Major League Soccer side were left embarrassed by their parent club’s decision to keep Frank Lampard until the end of the season.
But City will press on, and want to take advantage of their new expansion into South America, which makes their scouting network on the continent the most developed in the Premier League.
A stake in a Belgian or Portuguese club would help them circumvent British work permit rules for young Brazilian and Argentine players.
But Uefa have strict conflict of interest rules on club ownership that could stop them competing in European competition.
In April, claims from a former Vitesse owner that Chelsea had discouraged the club from winning the Eredivisie title to avoid qualifying for the Champions League were investigated by the Dutch FA.
The Blues have loaned players to Vitesse 14 times in the last five seasons, and the club is owned by Alexander Chigrinsky, a close associate of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
Under current Uefa rules, two clubs under the same ownership cannot play in the same competition, and City have already had a run-in with European football’s governing body after being fined £49million for breaching Financial Fair Play rules.
But from May 1, Uefa will outlaw third-party ownership of players, a move which will significantly lessen the grip of Portuguese clubs over the transfer market in South America - and City are poised to take full advantage.
Young Argentine midfielder Bruno Zuculini was the first product of City’s increased presence on the continent, with Joan Patsy - a key ally of Man City CEO Ferran Soriano - leading a sophisticated and expanding team out of their Buenos Aires headquarters.
City are looking to recruit more young talent at source, rather than paying inflated fees when these players later prove themselves on the European stage.
These players would then be loaned out to gain first-team experience and work permits ahead of returning to Manchester City’s new state-of-the-art academy.
Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis showed a side of him fans don’t normally get to see by scoring a training ground wondergoal.
Watch on youtube.comMCF.net THREAD: viewtopic.php?f=119&t=49534
Former referees' chief Hackett criticises 'appalling' standards
BBC Sport Former referees' boss Keith Hackett claims officiating standards in the Premier League over Christmas were "bordering on appalling".
Hackett, 70, has named five current top-flight referees who should be removed at the end of the season.
In addition, he believes successor Mike Riley should step down from his job.
Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has rejected Hackett's claims, stating standards have risen since Riley replaced Hackett in 2010.
Former Fifa referee Hackett claims he counted "over 20 major errors" during the Christmas period.
He cited Wayne Routledge's red card during Swansea's game at QPR on 1 January, which was later overturned, as being of particular concern.
"I see standards falling," he said. "Over the Christmas period it reached standards that were bordering on appalling.
"Routledge received a reckless challenge. My expectation was that his opponent might receive a red card."
C'mon ref!! Managers' recent frustrations
"The officials clearly got it horribly wrong. Frustrated is an understatement. Baffled is more the feeling" - West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce on Alex Song's disallowed goal in last month's defeat by Arsenal.
"I am losing a little bit of faith. I'm limited on what I can say and I'm tired of it. It's hard when we are constantly getting decisions like this. It sounds like me moaning but I don't want to be talking about it, I only care about the football" - Swansea manager Garry Monk on the Routledge red card.
"We were mainly talking about the referee. I hope there's no lip readers otherwise we're both in serious trouble" - Hull's Steve Bruce on his touchline chat with Jose Mourinho during the 2-0 loss to Chelsea.
Hackett added: "There was a pretty poor performance from Andre Marriner in the Manchester City-Everton game. First of all the failure to spot a challenge that resulted in Sergio Aguero having to go off, then a non-penalty decision.
"I was with a group of Fifa referees from Nigeria who watched with amazement. Do you think I took joy in that?"
Marriner is one of the five referees identified by Hackett in his blog, You Are The Ref, who in his view should finish at the end of the season. Mike Jones, Lee Mason, Chris Foy and last season's FA Cup final referee Lee Probert are the others.
"You can't live on your reputation," Hackett said. "At the moment, these guys are performing well below the level."
"Some of the decisions made in and around Christmas and over this last week or so have looked ridiculous. Some of the decisions are beyond belief at times. A lot of the decisions early on in the season have been quite good. But when you get some howling errors they seem to escalate."
Hackett, who refereed at the European Championship and the Olympic Games in 1988 and who led PGMOL for almost six years after replacing Philip Don in March 2004, feels Riley should take responsibility.
"I am criticising very strongly," said Hackett. "If the guy is at the bottom of the league then his job is at risk. At this moment in time he [Riley] is more than bottom.
"I am seeing a regression. The performances of the referees are not acceptable. He must carry the responsibility."
Information supplied to the BBC by PGMOL states that the accuracy of decision-making by referees in the Premier League is currently at an all-time high.
The figures claim accuracy on major decisions was up to 95% from 94.1%, accuracy on decisions in the penalty box stood at 98%, and offsides were now 99% accurate, compared to 92% when Riley took over.
PGMOL adds that delegate marks for referees have gone up every season since Riley succeeded Hackett and the latest data shows referees are being asked to do 176 high-speed runs and 50 sprints in a game - a 64% increase on five seasons ago.
Leicester City have beaten Chelsea to the signing of Rijeka's 23-year-old Croatia striker Andrej Kramaric after agreeing a club-record fee of £9.7m. (Times)
Tottenham are being offered West Brom striker Saido Berahino, 21, in exchange for midfielders Andros Townsend, 23, and Aaron Lennon, 27. (Daily Mirror)
Real Madrid are on the brink of signing 16-year-old Norway midfielder Martin Odegaard - a reported target for many of England's top clubs - after flying him to the Spanish capital in a private jet on Tuesday evening. (Inside Futbol)
Manchester United say they have had no contact from the same player's representatives after he visited the club's training complex and Old Trafford before Christmas. (Manchester Evening United News)
Arsenal are still interested in Southampton's £25m-rated France midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, 25. (London Evening Standard)
Meanwhile, the Gunners and the Saints will battle it out for £16m-rated Colombia midfielder Juan Quintero, 21, currently at Porto. (Daily Star)
Tottenham defender Younes Kaboul, 29, is set to quit the club after falling out of favour, with Turkish side Besiktas having made an approach. (Sun)
Striker Andrew Johnson, 33, is a free agent again after his short-term deal at Crystal Palace expired. (DSSC)
Liverpool have agreed a £10m deal to sign Bayern Munich's Switzerland midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri, 23. (Daily Star)
Arsenal have had a bid rejected by Polish side Legia Warsaw for 17-year-old midfielder Krystian Bielik. (Sky Sports understands)
David Moyes's Real Sociedad are in advanced talks to sign 22-year-old Arsenal forward Joel Campbell. (Mundo Deportivo)
Borussia Dortmund appear willing to let Manchester United sign £16m-rated midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, 24, this winter. (Daily Express)
West Ham are showing an interest in 27-year-old Atletico Madrid midfielder Mario Suarez. (DSSC)
Liverpool are yet to approach Lille about a possible recall of 19-year-old Belgium striker Divock Origi, according to the French club's president Michel Seydoux. (Talkshit)
Chelsea striker Islam Feruz, 19, is keen to sign for Cardiff City on loan until the end of the season. (Wales Online)
Chicago Fire have announced the signing of former Southampton striker Guly do Prado, 33. (MLS)
England manager Roy Hodgson has described Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane, 21, as having "come on leaps and bounds". (DSSC)
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar believes the club could be plunged into "disarray" when captain Steven Gerrard, 34, leaves at the end of the season. Talkshit
Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, 24, expects to regain his place in the Arsenal team to face Stoke City on Sunday, despite the furore over him smoking a cigarette in the shower area of the dressing room after his most recent appearance. (Guardian)
Louis van Gaal admits his first six months in charge of Manchester United have not come up to scratch. (Manchester United Evening News)
Hull City defender Harry Maguire, 21, has set his sights on becoming a Premier League regular in 2015 as he aims to kick-start a frustrating first season at the club. (Hull Daily Mail)
Peter Pannu has been re-elected to the board of Birmingham City's parent company. (Birmingham Mail)
Talks are at an advanced stage over a possible takeover of Sheffield Wednesday by a group of Thai investors. (Yorkshire Post)
Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas, 27, gave his Twitter followers a glimpse of the good life on Tuesday, posting an image of him boarding what looks like a private plane from a luxurious and sunny location.
QPR's Charlie Austin and Hull City's Curtis Davies seemed astonished at a video of Tottenham's incoming signing Deandre Yedelin showcasing incredible pace.
Marco Verratti has revealed his Paris St-Germain team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 33, settled nerves during their 2012-13 title run-in by proclaiming they should put their faith in him as he is Jesus. (FourFourTwo)
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