Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal are reportedly interested in signing Caen teenage striker M’Baye Niang.
The 17-year-old burst onto the Ligue 1 scene 18 months ago and has impressed with his physicality, movement off the ball and eye for goal.
His side were relegated from the French top flight last term, despite the youngster’s individual performances, and as such Caen will be willing to cash-in on their starlet should a sufficient bid be received.
Mirror Football have City as the frontrunners to sign the attacker, as Brian Marwood is believed to have invited the youngster to the Etihad Stadium for talks over a possible move.
However, The Daily Mail state the Tottenham have invited Niang to have a trial with them, and will make an offer should the forward suitably impress.
Arsenal have already had Niang training with them and as such Arsene Wenger now has a decision to make over whether or not to enter the bidding, with the player’s valuation thought to be in the £5-6 million mark.
Niang has represented France at under-16, 17 and 21 levels already despite his tender age.
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Arsenal target Juan Mata was among the goals as Valencia defeated Hamburg 2-1 in their pre-season friendly in Germany on Tuesday.Mata gave his side the lead with a delicate back heel, before Spain under-19 international Juan Bernat doubled the advantage in the 70th minute. Hanno Behrens nabbed a late consolation for the hosts.
Next up for Unai Emery’s side is a match with Romanian champions Cluj, while Hamburg start their Bundesliga campaign against champions Borussia Dortmund on Friday.
Valencia meanwhile will be hoping to still have Mata at their disposal when they start their domestic campaign against Osasuna on August 20.
A Sandro Wagner goal was the difference between Bundesliga club Werder Bremen and English Premier League side Everton.
Wagner exploited Everton’s defensive frailties to head home the winner on 37 minutes.
Promoted Premier League side Queen’s Park Rangers had more fortune in their friendly with Football League graduates Crawley Town, winning 4-2.
Charlie Wassmer scored a brace for the new League Two boys, but QPR were too strong, with Heidar Helguson scoring twice and Kaspar Gorkss and Lee Cook also finding the back of the net.
The January transfer window can be a chaotic mess at times; usually the breeding ground of panic buying, overpriced average players and a minimal amount of successful and viable signings. The top players are tied to their clubs, the smaller clubs fighting off relegation are determined to keep their stars and the players being floated about by agents and clubs are either unwanted, injured or put simply rubbish.
According to business advisory firm Deloitte, Premier League clubs spent just £30 million in the 2010 January transfer window. In the midst of an age of austerity most clubs prefer to focus on a loan to buy strategy, 70% of deals in the 2010 January window were of this ilk and the 2011 window looks set to follow the same pattern. Long gone are the days of £170 million (2009) and £150 million (2008) being spent. Even free spending Manchester City are going to have cut back on the spending and wage budget if they are going to have any hope of meeting UEFA’s impeding financial regulations (not that the impeding signing of Edin Dzeko will aid them in that respect).
Nevertheless you can still expect a flurry of ridiculous and unneeded signings, mainly in the bottom half of the table. For the top half most squads are set in stone with the only activity likely to be outgoings. There are five teams that will certainly be active in bringing players in, whether it’s to save their ailing title bid, pull themselves out of a relegation battle or to maintain a steady and unexpected ascent of the Premier League table.
Chelsea look to possess the squad with the most immediate need for investment, in the space of three months they have regressed from world beaters to a team that may struggle to finish in the top four. They have the smallest squad in the Premier League, with only sixteen players registered out of a possible twenty-five at the beginning of the season (obviously excluding players under the age of twenty-one). It is a statistic that has been catapulted to prominence in the absence of key players and a large proportion of their defensive unit spending spells on the treatment table. A defender is a must and the club have apparently had a £17 million bid rejected by Benfica for their Brazilian centre-half David Luiz. Potentially one of the best defenders in the game, Luiz would inject both youth and pace into the centre of Chelsea’s defence and the ability to fill in at left back further enhances his suitability for the champions. Benfica are said to want an outlandish £37 million and with City also interested it would make sense for Chelsea to try and rush through a deal. Before either City swoop in or they lose even more ground on Manchester United.
There will certainly be a degree of transfer activity for Liverpool this window. Former Spurs and Arsenal affiliate and the ‘Director of Football Strategy’ at Liverpool, Damien Comolli, is now overseeing Liverpool’s transfer activity. Comolli has been utilising his knowledge of European football over the last couple of months to fit in to NESV’s philosophy of creating superstars rather than buying them.
Multiple names have been linked with a wide man the most obvious target. Rennes’ Sylvain Marveaux was recently spotted at Anfield. The Frenchman posseses a striking similarity to one time Liverpool target Florent Malouda’s style of play and could give Liverpool a natural width that neither Kuyt or Maxi Rodriguez can supply. Whispers have intensified regarding a possible loan move for Manchester City’s Emanuel Adebayor to provide cover, assistance and more importantly competition for a misfiring and seemingly uninterested Fernando Torres.
A transfer window doesn’t go buy without a flurry of signings for West Ham and this window will follow the same routine as Avram Grant tries to get West Ham out of trouble. Numerous names have been linked as usual and a move for Steve Sidwell has had to be canned due to Roma’s inability to raise the necessary funds for Valon Behrami. The rest of West Ham’s supposed transfer interest is what you would expect from a club that thought a waist busting Benni McCarthy was the answer last season. Liam Lawrence of Stoke is allegedly the subject of a £4 million bid, just days after he secured a free transfer to Portsmouth and the owners also see perennial crock Wayne Bridge as worth of £90,000 a week.
The transfer window gives Aston Villa’s Gerard Houllier the chance to bring in some of his own players to the club. Spurs’ young right back Kyle Walker has already been brought in on loan to provide cover for the injured Luke Young. The club have continued the theme of claret and blue madness by rivalling West Ham for the ridiculously overpaid Wayne Bridge, despite having a superior left back already on their books in Stephen Warnock. Houiller will try to offload the likes of Carew and Ireland to fund any moves and the main target has to be a goal scorer. With Agbonlahor playing wide, Carew frozen out and Heskey being Emile Hesky goals could soon be in short supply. A reuniting of Michael Owen and Houiller could be on the cards and would suit both parties. Omar Cummings, a Jamaican from MLS side Colorado Rapids has been on trial and could be given a loan deal if he impresses.
Steve Bruce’s Sunderland side have deserved all the superlatives they have received thus far and it seems Bruce isn’t willing to rest on his laurels as he pushes for a European spot. It has been revealed that the club have approached both Sulley Muntari and Stephane Sessegnon from Internazionale and Paris Saint Germain respectively. Both moves show how far the club has come under Bruce’s tenure and should cement the clubs top half finish. Cover in the defence is also an issue for the Black Cats and the answer could well be a move for Richard Dunne who is amongst a clutch of Villa players seemingly frozen out by Houiller.
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It’s always an excited time for fans as newspapers and online sites rage with speculation, usually inane and inaccurate rubbish, but every now and then that piece of ridiculous speculation becomes fact. Hopefully by January 31st we will have an array of new stars demonstrating their talents in our league. Not to forget the return of a more than familiar face under the tutelage of Harry Redknapp.
Written By Lee Wilson at ‘This is Futbol’
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Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has admitted that the club are eager to sign quality not quantity this summer, and has hailed the arrival of Lukas Podolski.
The Gunners finished third in the Premier League last term and are assured a place in the Champions League group stage, and as such the north London club are eager to strengthen.
“I think the good thing about this summer is that there is more certainty in terms of our Champions League position,” Gazidis told The Guardian.
“We have acted early to get the critical signing in Lukas Podolski. Our fans will be able to see him compete at the Euros and see what a very good player he is.
“The great thing about Lukas is that not only can he contribute goals, but he can also play in different positions so you get tremendous versatility and Arsenal class. He is technically a top-class player and that was a good early addition for us.
“The key for us is not the volume of signings we might make but that the signings we make add something to the squad. That is something Arsene Wenger thinks extremely carefully about and for all of the pressure he is placed under, he tends to make good decisions.
“We want to win major competitions. We want to win the Premier League. We want to compete to win the Champions League. That is our ambition. My message to our fans is that we are doing everything in our power to make sure that Arsenal can challenge for trophies next year.
“That is what this summer is about and that is what we are focused on for next year. We have a good team, we have a good young core of players and we need everybody involved to have belief so that we can push forward into next year and make a run at the Premier League trophy and for the Champions League. We believe we can do that,” he concluded.
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He was brought to White Hart Lane in the midst of Ronaldinho fever with the mind-set that he could be even better. Whilst the Brazilian was bamboozling defences in La Liga whilst sporting the red and blue of Barcelona, Giovani Dos Santos was scribbling his signature on a contract that would see him wear the white of Tottenham Hotspur.
Fast-forward three years and things have gone considerably sour for the 22-year old Mexican. Frozen out, unwanted and seemingly stagnating at a club already brimming with a midfield full of quality players. It’s been a sorry decline for Dos Santos and the only way he can pick his career up is by moving on. However Harry Redknapp and the rest of Tottenham Hotspur might just regret not giving him a chance to shine.
There is no doubting that Dos Santos has bags of talent and Tottenham seemed like the perfect platform for him to rise to the top of footballs very best. The club were looking to progress to the next level after a series of fifth place finished and the winger was seen as the final piece of the jigsaw. Spaniard Juande Ramos was in charge and he had first hand experience of seeing Dos Santos in action during his time with Sevilla. A fee of £4.7 million was seen as a coup for a player highly rated by the biggest club in the world. But what transpired saw Dos Santos fail to make the desired impact and also get on the wrong side of Redknapp who replaced the Spanish boss early in the season. The Spurs boss criticised the Mexican’s attitude and life outside the club, as he would regularly turn up late to training on a Monday morning.
After so much hype he seemingly slipped off the radar and with other talented players coming to the fore everything seemed lost for Dos Santos. The pressure of being compared and having to live up to the world best footballer at the time had obviously gone to the young mans head. He’s played 10 games for Spurs in the last three years and is considered by many of the fans to be a flop. He is obviously still well thought of around Europe with Udinese joining Sevilla and Valencia in the chase for his services. However I still think Tottenham should give him one more chance to prove he is the player he was prophesised to be. He clearly slipped out of everybody’s mind and when he popped up playing for Mexico in South Africa in last years World Cup many people didn’t really bat an eyelid instead focusing on the players that were expected to excel at the tournament, which is understandable. I’ve always held a candle for Dos Santos after seeing him play for Barcelona a few years ago. He also proved to be one of the greatest ever free transfers for me on Football Manager but that’s a story for another day.
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What followed thoroughly delighted me to the point of sheer ecstasy. Whilst the rest of the country were complaining about England’s ineptitudes I was wild eyed like a little child who had just received the latest action figure for Christmas. I took so much pleasure in watching Dos Santos actually show the people of Earth that he is the player many people thought him to be. His performances for Mexico were a joy to behold and he was deservedly nominated as young player of the tournament narrowly losing out to Germany’s Thomas Muller. A decent loan spell at Racing Santander followed and this coming season he will be back at Spurs unless a move elsewhere materializes.
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But with the impending departure of star midfielder Luka Modric and as Redknapp struggles in the transfer market he’d be foolish not to hold out an olive branch to the Mexican. I have a sense that Dos Santos wants to succeed but first and foremost wants to play the sport he loves. You don’t see many ex-Barcelona players taking the opportunity to move to Ipswich Town and play Championship football. The World Cup highlighted the potential that he still possesses and at 22 he still has time on his side to make his Tottenham career a success. However I think Redknapp’s patience has already worn too thin and the death knell on Dos Santos’ White Hart Lane career may have already been signed, sealed and delivered. I’m certainly not apprehensive when I say that Tottenham will live to regret letting him go.
At the top of Kenny Dalglish’s shopping list in the January transfer window is likely to be a new striker to provide support for Fernando Torres and competition for David N’Gog. The AS newspaper is claiming that Alvaro Negredo may well be that man, as Liverpool are reportedly lining up a 20 million Euro bid for the Spanish forward.
The 25-year-old currently plays for Sevilla in La Liga and has the nickname ‘The Beast of Vallecas’. This season he has scored six goals and also has five assists to his name, hitting the back of the net every 130 minutes in La Liga, which is a ratio of a goal every one-and-a-half games.
Negredo has four caps and two international goals for Spain and is thought to be the complete striker. Like the majority of Spanish players he is technically sound, has a strong left foot, is an accomplished finisher, solid in the air and has decent speed.
Liverpool’s Director of Football Strategy Damien Comolli is thought to have kept a close eye on the striker and a bid is set to be made imminently. Whether Negredo would be a replacement for Torres is unclear, but Liverpool fans will be hoping they have an all-Spanish strikeforce come the end of January.
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With the incredible season coming to an end and promotion to League One secured at the first time of asking, Paolo Di Canio now has the job of putting together a squad that is capable of performing in League One and maybe even making a push for promotion. These are a few summer targets that I think could if the bill for the Robins next season:
Lee Holmes
The winger looks to be out of favour at Southampton and has impressed at the County Ground during his loan spell this season. Di Canio hast stated his desire to bring the winger to Swindon on a more permanent basis and I think securing his signature would be a great start to the summer recruitment. If he was snapped up I think he would be excellent signing for a League One side.
Jay McEveley
The left back, who was also on loan at the County Ground this season, has recently been released by Championship side Barnsley. Di Canio has stated how he wants to keep the 27-year-old defender and he has admitted that if the Robins offered a contract he would take it and I for one would love for him to sign on a permanent deal.
John Bostock
The midfielder has been on loan from Tottenham this season and in the few chances he has had here he has proved just how good a player he is. Di Canio has used in two different positions and he has performed capably well in both of them. I’m not sure a permanent transfer would be likely given his high price tag but a season long loan could be a big possibility.
Eunan O’kane
The talented young Irish midfielder has already been linked with us this summer and according to some media outlets we have already made a bid for him. With a relatively cheap £200k release clause I am sure lots of clubs will be in for 21-year-old Torquay midfielder. He was recently part of the PFA League Two team of the year and his play is one that would fit in well at Swindon.
Jake Jervis
The Birmingham City striker had been on-loan at Swindon at the start of the campaign where he scored three times in eleven appearances before moving up a division to join Preston North End. If we could get him in the summer I would be very excited as he showed what he could bring to the side during his short time at the County Ground this term.
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There are many more names that have been mentioned with summer moves to Swindon but these are the players that I can see being part of the Di Canio’s revolution at the County Ground and I think they will all fit in well at Swindon Town back in League One.
AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliano has moved to quash speculation that owner Silvio Berlusconi is set to walk away from the club.Berlusconi’s company Fininvest was handed a fine of 560 million euros by a Milan court on July 9 after an investigation into the firm uncovered corrupt activities dating back to 1991.
The Italian prime minister is a major investor in Serie A club Milan and fans are now worried that his latest financial setback could affect the club’s transfer policy.
But Galliano has hosed down speculation that Berlusconi’s legal troubles could affect his role at the reigning Italian champions.
“I’d like to reassure AC Milan supporters that Silvio Berlusconi hasn’t changed his feelings towards AC Milan: he is the leader of this club,” Galliano said.
“Nothing has changed and nothing is going to change. There hasn’t been any special meeting, this is the truth. There has only been the budget presentation, which has taken place in Arcore with owner Berlusconi and Cannatelli and Pellegrino of Fininvest and AC Milan managers. There wasn’t anything unexpected, neither any urgent meeting.”
Milan have been linked with moves for a number of high-profile players after veteran midfielder Andrea Pirlo opted to join Serie A rivals Juventus.
Manager Massimiliano Allegri fielded several questions from reporters on who he may be targeting, including Sao Paulo’s Lucas, Riccardo Montolivo of Fiorentina and highly rated Santos 20-year-old Ganso.
“(Lucas) is an excellent player, but many names will surely be made from now till August 31,” Allegri said.
“We should only be focused on working with the available players and I’m very satisfied with them. In this moment the team has all necessary players. Of course, Andrea Pirlo has left the team and we should replace him, but he should be replaced with an important player.”
“Two minutes ago you told me Lucas, now Montolivo,” Allegri responded to reporters. “Ganso, then there has been Fabregas. Other names as well have been made: Pastore as well. And the list could go on forever. I’ve known most of the players since more than a year.”
Fulham may have put in a far stronger performance in against Arsenal last time out than has been the case over the last few weeks, however that Mark Hughes’ men are only out of the relegation zone on goal difference suggests just how important a home win will be this Saturday.
If Hughes wanted an indication of how a decent run of form can drive you up the league, he only need look across Craven Cottage to his opposite number, Steve Bruce, who has masterminded a dramatic improvement in Sunderland’s consistency over the last couple of months, leaving the Black Cats on the cusp of the European qualification slots.
Whilst Sunderland have financial backing that belies their Premier League achievements over the last few years, Fulham will start to look back on a year that very nearly brought them Europa League glory yet ends with them staring nervously at the Premier League trap door.
Prediction: 1-1
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There is an ominous tower looming on the horizon of Europe’s footballing future. There a whispers about its implications, but few are yet to fully comprehend the vastness of the impact it will have upon them. Among these pilgrims, trudging towards a structure that grows increasingly larger, are Manchester United owners the Glazer Family, Sheikh Mansour, Roman Abramovich and other Premier League club owners. As they move closer the wealthy executives spot Michel Platini at its summit, scrutinising a number of documents. The president of UEFA is comparing their finances with the rules of the UEFA Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations and if their club is in the red, they will not be allowed to progress to European competition. Soon the full force of this will be felt across England and it could well change the landscape of the national game in coming years, as well as seeing a shift of power across the continent to Germany.
With the FFP rules continuing to clamp down on European clubs they will no longer be allowed to spend more than they receive in income. Therefore expenditure cannot exceed football-related earnings including TV rights, gate receipts, competition prize money and sponsorship. Currently, teams are allowed to register losses but the limits to these are being reduced with the aim of having every club break even. If any team fails to meet these standards, they could face expulsion from European competition as of the 2014-15 season.
These laws will stop owners from dragging the club out of trouble with their own personal wealth. Abramovich and the like will no longer be able to keep their clubs afloat out of their own pocket, an aspect of the game that Bayern Munich owner Uli Hoeness has been extremely critical about. He told The Mirror.
“The oil mafia takes money out of my pocket to invest it in footballers. For me this stinks to high heaven and I include Mr Abramovich in all this. If Bayern win it [the Champions League final], we will make around £20million. That is what the game is all about: sporting success based on sound economic sense. When the financial fair play rules come in it will be a golden era for Germany’s clubs.”
His claims are not unfounded. The Bundesliga already operates in an FFP environment, with the majority of clubs breaking even. With a large proportion of top-tier German sides also owned largely by the fans, it makes cash injections from wealthy owners almost impossible, reducing the risk of overspending. Large stadiums are regularly sold out, making it the league with the highest average attendance across the continent. FFP has by no means sacrificed the quality and competitiveness of the competition which recently overtook Italy in the UEFA coefficients rankings, earning it an extra qualifying spot in the continent’s premier club competition.
Indeed, the Bavarian club are an ideal example of a how to economically manage off the field. Their consistent growth in revenue has enabled the club to continue spending responsibly and continue to challenge for major honours. This Saturday will provide their second Champions League final in just three seasons.
Other German outfits such as Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 have seen their stature in the game improve in recent years. Domestic triumphs for BVB have raised revenues whilst the Gelsenkirchen club reached the semi-final stage of the previous Champions League. The proof is there to be seen that you can be self-sufficient and remain competitive. You do not need to spend big in order to win big.
England may have the most representatives of any nation in the 2012 Deloitte Football Money League top 20 (Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool) but only the Gunners comply with FFP, though Tottenham could also be safe if they participate in next season Champions League. Failure to do so could mean the sale of key players such as Gareth Bale and Luka Modric in order to raise the revenue that is lost from no taking part in the tournament.
Of course, the only team that can deny them that now is Chelsea. Should the Blues win the showpiece finale this weekend, they will qualify for next season’s edition of the tournament. If they lose, decreased revenues the following season would push them further away from breaking even. Hence the recent interest in building a larger stadium on the current site of Battersea Power Station in order to drum up more income.
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This weekend’s Champions League final could have huge implications on the credibility of FFP. Should Chelsea win, they will continue to be successful despite glaring losses, enabling them to stay afloat. On the other hand it could prove Platini’s point, that clubs that look after their finances will reap the rewards on the pitch. English clubs would then need to strive for the Bundesliga model as German clubs have shown you can be financially prudent and still achieve success. The Premier League giants, along with certain La Liga clubs and Serie A outfits, could struggle to remain competitive during the transition. With other teams across the continent scaling back their expenditure there is every chance that the Bundesliga could continue in the ascendancy and become Europe’s strongest league.