Man Utd Look to Complete the Latest Transfer £30m for Moura

Ferguson

Manchester United pressing ahead in £30m chase for Brazil star Lucas

Manchester United are pressing to finalise the £30million transfer of Brazil’s Lucas Moura, 19, from Sao Paulo.

A delegation from Brazil is due for talks at United.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson clearly has his heart set on signing impressive young Brazilian international Lucas Moura this summer and the fact that the Sao Paulo man is in England competing in the 2012 Olympics gives the Scot a window of opportunity he is keen to utilize.

Having failed with earlier bids for the teenager the Old Trafford clubs are looking to try one last time to sign the attacking midfielder and this source claims that talks between the two sides are set to get underway.

Lucas Moura

The 19 year old starlet is considered one of the hottest prospects in South American football and with 15 national team caps to his name and over 100 senior appearances for Sao Paulo, Lucas Moura has already achieved a great deal and may feel the time is right to make what is something of an inevitable move to Europe, a move that most notable talents from the region will make at some point in their careers.

Though Ferguson has brought in Shinji Kagawa he may still feel the need to bring in more creativity to a midfield that is perhaps a little too rigid.

Man United lack a goal-threat from this area and Moura could well help provide a natural link between midfield and attack that perhaps Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes, Anderson and Darren Fletcher, who is still to recover from illness, are unable to provide.

That said £30m is a high price to pay for a teenager, especially one who has no European footballing experience and it seems unlikely that Ferguson will further increase his bid if Sao Paulo demand he do so.

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City is Ready to Launch a Bid for De Rossi

De Rossi

Manchester City ready to launch £20m move for Roma midfielder De Rossi

Manchester City are poised to firm up interest in Roma midfielder Daniele de Rossi with a £20million offer.
The Italy star, 29, has been on Roberto Mancini’s wishlist for 18 months and only signed a five-year contract in February.

Roberto Mancini has been ominously quiet during this transfer window. Indeed Man City are the only Premier League side yet to sign a new players. Now it seems that Italian is keen to rectify this by making an offer for long term target Daniele De Rossi.

The impressive box to box performer is tough in the tackle, a great distributor and a player with an eye for goal, one thing though, where exactly will the Roma man fit into the Man City starting eleven?

Last term Nigel De Jong was frozen out of first team affairs after Mancini opted to field a more attack minded line-up, believing, rightly, that playing the Dutch enforcer AND Gareth Barry was a bit to sterile a combination. But where will De Rossi fit in?

Presumably Barry and midfielder Yaya Toure are regulars that Mancini will not force out, so how can De Rossi be included into a line up that also tends to use David Silva in a floating advanced role.

29 year old De Rossi is a one club man who has been a regular at the Stadio Olimpico for eight seasons, racking up a total of 389 appearances for his hometown side, how will he take to having to fight for a first team slot?

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Cazorla Completed Move to Arsenal

Cazorla to Arsenal

Santi Cazorla met his new Arsenal team-mates on Friday after agreeing a £20million move from Malaga.

The 27-year-old midfielder has passed a medical and agreed a four-year contract worth £70,000-a-week.

The Gunners will pay Malaga a basic £16m fee as part of a deal that includes various add-ons.

So apparently the only reason Arsenal could not officially unveil Spanish international Santi Cazorla as a new Gunners signing was due to the fact that Malaga are in such disarray due to the change of ownership that is underway at the La Liga club, that the relevant documentation to complete the move was not completed in time.

However a deal has been agreed and as this source states the 27 year old will join the North London club next week and has already met his team-mates and put pen to paper on a four year deal.

Arsene Wenger has already bagged attacking pair Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud and will hope that a third major signing will help prove to wantaway skipper Robin Van Persie that the North London club do have the ambition, and spending power, to push for major honours.

Cazorla had an impressive first season at Malaga, scoring a career best nine La Liga goals and becoming a focal point of Manuel Pellegrini’s attack as the La Rosaleda side secured their first ever Champions League berth.

The fee paid to land the former Villarreal man will break Arsenal’s record transfer fee spend, which came in the form of the £15m move to land Andrei Arshavin three and a half years ago.

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Best English Premier League New Four Signings

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Left Attack – Lukas Podolski (Koln to Arsenal £11.9m)

Arsene Wenger is not a man who usually goes in for experienced established talents but the signing of a German international, who at 27 already has over 100 national team caps to his name, could turn out to be a masterstroke.

Right Attack – Eden Hazard (Lille to Chelsea £32m)

Lille man was perhaps the most sought after property in Europe and Chelsea landed the Belgian as Roman Abramovich has once again elected to splash the cash.

Attacking Midfield – Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund to Man United £16m)

Sir Alex Ferguson personally scouted the Japanese international and apparently decided he would push for the Borussia Dortmund man having seen him put in a quality performance in the club’s 5-2 win over Bayern Munich in the DFB Pokal final.

Striker – Fabio Borini (Roma to Liverpool £10m)

Brendan Rodgers realised the need to boost Liverpool’s attacking options and the move to capture this young Italian international may well turn out to be an inspired bit of business.

Honourable mentions: Oscar (Internacional to Chelsea), Olivier Giroud (Montpellier to Arsenal), Romain Amalfitano (Reims to Newcastle United), Michu (Rayo Vallecano to Swansea City) and Steven Naismith (Rangers to Everton)

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Madrid Must Get Neymar

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Neymar

Real Madrid is better than Barcelona, for now.

The latest Barca transfer news should have the Whites shaking in their cleats. The door will be open for Brazilian football phenomNeymar to team up with Lionel Messi. If Real Madrid plans on winning back-to-back La Liga titles, it can’t possibly let that happen.

According to Fox Sports, Barca vice president Jose Maria Bartomeu left no doubt that the club is interested in signing Neymar.

He said, "Neymar? We would all like to see him joining after the Olympics. If he decides to come to Europe we'll try to make it Barca."

Neymar is a legend waiting to happen. In the 2012-2013 campaign, he’s recorded 25 goals and eight assists in 27 starts for Santos and Brazil. The Pele comparisons continue to emerge for a reason—he’s a can’t-miss talent.

And if Real Madrid misses him, it's doomed.

Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t the difference in the Whites winning the La Liga title. Messi recorded more goals and assists in one less game than Ronaldo. Ronaldo’s supporting cast—Gonzalo Higuaín and Karim Benzema’s superior scoring ability to Alexis Sánchez and Xavi—is what separated Real Madrid from Barcelona.

If Barca pairs Messi with Neymar, it’s over. The Whites’ edge would disappear.

Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar are arguably the three best players in the world. Fielding two out of three of them on one team is guaranteed domination. Because of that, Neymar holds the key to La Liga supremacy.

The scariest part about Messi and Neymar combining efforts: Messi is 25 years old, and Neymar is 20. Barca wouldn’t just obliterate all opposition in its path next season, but if it manages to hang on to each of them, it would run the league for years.

If Real Madrid is confident in its club, that confidence will vanish quickly if Barcelona lands Neymar. And its only hope to stop that from happening is to bring him to Madrid.

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Santi Cazorla's Photo at Airport Coming to Join Arsenal

Wenger

The Daily Star are reporting that image below has been taken by a Malaga fan who bumped into Spanish international Santi Cazorla as he was about to leave for London.

Clearly this is not exactly irrefutable evidence of a move to Arsenal, or indeed even irrefutable evidence that this is Cazorla at the airport. However it does appear that a move to the North London club is moving into view.

Cazorla at Airport

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Manchester City are lining up a stunning £35million for Higuain

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Higuain

City boss Roberto Mancini is currently locked in a three-way battle with Manchester United and Juventus for Arsenal striker Robin van Persie.

But executive Brian Marwood is championing a move for Argentine striker Higuain instead - which would still count as a sensational coup for the Premier League champions.

Unsettled Higuain has also been a target for Chelsea and Tottenham, but money-bags City have the spending power to blow them away.

Although Mancini is desperate for van Persie, the Dutchman is believed to favour a transfer to either United or Juventus over joining the gaggle of Arsenal old boys at Eastlands.

Mancini has already expressed his frustration at a lack of transfer activity after hitting deadlock on van Persie.

The situation has caused City to look at alternatives such as Higuain, who would be able to link up with fellow Argentina forwards Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez if he made the move.



Real boss Jose Mourinho has said publicly that the club want to keep the 24-year-old and give him a new contract.

But Higuain grew frustrated last season when he was kept out of the team by Karim Benzema, and that may now tempt him to leave the Bernabeu.

Mancini went on record earlier this year about his admiration for Higuain, but City still need to ship out strikers as they try to fall into line with UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules.

Howver, Emmanuel Adebayor's move to Tottenham is on the brink of collapse over his £150,000-a-week wage demands.

The Togo striker also wants a £5m signing-on fee.

Tevez has been praised for his work-rate in pre-season but could yet leave, and Roque Santa Cruz - City's forgotten £17m striker - is being offered around, but they are struggling to even give him away because of his big-money contract.

But City now have other options as well as van Persie and Higuain would be a stunning deal to send more shockwaves through the Premier League.

* A CITY team which included their Euro 2012 representatives Joe Hart, Joleon Lescott, James Milner, Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri and Nigel de Jong in the starting line-up lost 2-1 to League One side Oldham in a friendly on Tuesday night.

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Barcelona Line Up for Neymar

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Neymar Brazil

Spanish giants Barcelona are ready to make a move for long-term target Neymar.

The Brazilian wonderkid has caught the eye at the London Olympic Games, firing Brazil into the quarter-finals with one goal and two assists in their 3-1 win over Belarus.

The 20-year-old Santos star stole the show with a stunning 25-yard free-kick into the top corner, before turning provider for Alexandre Pato and Chelsea new-boy Oscar.

Neymar is widely considered to be the finest up and coming striker in world football and has been described as Brazil’s answer to Barca’s very own Argentine superstar Lionel Messi.

The Santos forward has indicated that he is ready to stay in Brazil until the country hosts the 2014 World Cup before seeking a move to Europe but Barcelona vice-president Jose Maria Bartomeu says the Catalans will step up their efforts to sign Neymar after the Games.

“Neymar? We would like to see him joining after the Olympics,” he said. “If he decides to come to Europe then we will try to make it Barca,”Bartomeu told Sky Sports.

Neymar is likely to cost in excess of £35 million, with Barca’s fierce rivals Real Madrid also eyeing the striker.

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Man Utd Need Moura to Be Back on Top - York

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Moura

Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke believes Sir Alex Ferguson will be hard at work this summer as he attempts to wrest the title back from arch-rivals City.

The treble-winning Trinidadian claims the potential arrival of Sao Paulo starlet Lucas Moura will bolster an already-strong Red Devils squad and foresees another thrilling tussle for the Premier League title.

The 19-year-old is coveted by a host of Europe's top clubs, but Ferguson is thought to be leading the chase for the Brazil midfielder's signature.

Yorke told Sky Sports News: "I think when you look at United's squad, they're pretty strong in most departments except that one player that seems to excite people in creating goals.

"Paul Scholes has obviously done that over the years but because of his age, he's not been able to play on a regular basis so he has to select the games that he can play.

"You need a bit of youthfulness and creativity to open the gaps for the likes of Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck and these are the type of players that Sir Alex Ferguson will want to bring to Old Trafford."
Rivals

Yorke also pointed to the challenge of Chelsea, who enjoyed a stunning second half of the season under new manager Roberto di Matteo.

The Blues clinched the FA Cup before a momentous night at the Allianz Arena saw them lift the Champions League trophy by beating Bayern Munich in a dramatic penalty shoot-out.

And Yorke believes the west London club will be genuine challengers for the Premier League title in the upcoming season as they look to break the recent Mancunian monoloply.

Yorke said: "With City being the champions and Chelsea doing fantastically well to win the Champions League and the FA Cup, I think it will just be one of those seasons where you can't really predict what's going to happen - but it will certainly be exciting.

"It will give City confidence and give the club a stronger business profile to attract the best players in the world. The city is buzzing. It's the place where everybody wants to play their football now. It used to be London.

"It's just that fantastic way that football rotates in. Now it's the city of Manchester. United had it in their hands and it was grasped away from them by City in the final few games.

"United will make sure they come back fitter and stronger next season. They'll make sure they don't make the kind of mistakes they made last season because it's not too often you can say they've made mistakes."

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Juventus Line Up for City Striker

Edin Dzeko

Juventus believe they can get Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko on the cheap if they lose out to the Premier League champions in the race to sign Arsenal captain Robin Van Persie.

Following van Persie’s declaration that he does not intend to extend his contract at Arsenal, both Manchester City and Juventus have been heavily linked with a move for the Dutchman, but the forward’s future is still undecided.

Mancini criticised senior figures at his club last week for their failure to tie up a deal for van Persie, and City are expected to strengthen their pursuit over the coming weeks.

Edin Dzeko may well be on his way out at the Etihad Stadium as Roberto Mancini doesn’t appear to see the Bosnian striker as anything more than a back up to the likes of Sergio Aguero and Mario Balotelli, therefore leading many to wonder the wisdom of spending £27m on the big forward.

That isn’t to say that the former Wolfsburg hasn’t been effective at the Premier League club. Having struggled in his first six months at Man City Dzeko found his feet last term, netting 19 goals in 43 appearances (of which 17 came from the bench).

Juventus could well do with some fresh attacking options, last term Antonio Conte’s side lacked a prolific marksman but still clinched the Serie A title without suffering a single defeat. However efforts to progress in the Champions League and defend their domestic title will be greatly assisted by the purchase of a new forward or two.

If indeed Arsenal goal machine Robin Van Persie does prove to be out of the Turin side’s reach then Dzeko may prove a more than able back up plan.

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Tottenham Target Liverpool Unwanted Man

Carroll

Tottenham are readying a bid for Liverpool forward Andy Carroll as Andre Villas-Boas looks to bring in some much needed firepower to populate his under-strength front-line.

Brendan Rodgers has seemingly made it abundantly clear that the 23 year old is not part of his plans having accepted West Ham’s offer to take the former Newcastle United man on loan, only for Andy Carroll to turn down the East London side’s advances.

The England international cited his determination to partake in European football as the main motivating factor for refusing a move to Upton Park, sparking speculation that a move back to St James’ Park would be the most likely destination for Andy Carroll but now Tottenham are set to enter the race to sign the misfiring forward.

Tottenham boss Villas-Boas has a paucity of striking options with Jermain Defoe currently the only senior forward on the North London club’s books. Former boss Harry Redknapp offloaded a number of top strikers including Robbie Keane, Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko and last term the White Hart Lane side had to bring Man City’s Emmanuel Adebayor in on loan.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy had been in advanced talks to sign the Togo international on a permanent basis but the deal to do so has stalled due to Adebayor’s wage demands, leaving the club looking for alternative options.

Though Carroll has struggled to justify the £35m fee Liverpool paid for his services he did undoubtedly improve as last term wore on and was then fairly effective whilst on England duty at the Euro 2012 finals.

Tottenham are ready to make a significant outright offer for the Anfield striker but the prospect of selling a player to a competitor for a coveted top four spot may prove an issue.

Tottenham have already signed Jan Vertonghen and Gylfi Sigurdsson this summer and Villas-Boas has been given the requisite funds to bring in further additions which could well be funded by the probable sale of want-away midfield schemer Luka Modric.

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Barcelona Surprisingly Plot Move for Alex Song

Alex Song

Barcelona are planning a surprise £11.7 million bid for Arsenal midfielder Alex Song, according to talkSPORT.

New Barca boss Tito Vilanova is desperately seeking a new defensive midfielder this summer after allowing Seydou Keita to leave the Nou Camp.

Vilanova wants a new addition capable of playing in both defence and in front of the back four but is close to giving up on top-target Javi Martinez, with Athletic Bilbao demanding £25 million for the Spain international.

The La Liga giants are now ready to turn to Arsenal’s Song, who was reportedly recommended to Vilanova by former Gunners’ skipper Cesc Fabregas.

Senior Barcelona officials believe Song’s powerful physique and creative steak will perfectly complement the club’s ingrained style of play and are willing to part with nearly £12 million to land the 24-year-old.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is desperate to hold onto Song, particularly after learning the Jack Wilshere will not return to action until October. Wenger watched in vain as Fabregas moved to Catalonia last summer and the Frenchman is also close to missing out on midfielder target Yann M’Vila, who is wanted by Russia club Zenit St Petersburg.

Wenger is ready to offer the Cameroonian enforcer a new bumper deal to keep him at the Emirates beyond the summer of 2014 but it is thought a move to La Liga would interest Song.

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Arsenal Step Closer to Sign £18m Cazorla

Santi Cazorla Malaga

Arsenal’s move for Santi Cazorla appears a step closer after senior officials at Malaga gave the green light to cash in on the club’s best players.

The Spanish club, who are in the midst of a financial mess at the moment, have just been put up for sale, but have struggled to find a suitable buyer.

And Spanish newspaper AS reports that Malaga have now admitted that they must countenance the sale of their star players, opening the door for Cazorla to leave the club.

Arsene Wenger, who was reportedly interested in the midfielder prior to his move from Villarreal to Malaga last summer, could now succeed with an £18m offer for the Spain international, despite the fact it falls some way short of the 27-year-old’s £35m release clause fee.

Arsene Wenger appears to be moving ever closer to securing his third high profile signing of the summer, quite a feat for a manager who is not known for splashing the cash. Unfortunately these additions come at a time when most Gunners fans are fixated, and rightly so, on the future of prized asset Robin Van Persie.

That said, the capture of a player as talented as Santi Cazorla will greatly aid Arsenal’s attack, which has of course seen the addition of quality forwards Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud this summer.

The 27 year old winger, who can also play in advanced central midfield role, had a good first season at La Rosaleda netting a personal best of nine goals in La Liga action alone. Whilst primarily a supplier of chances the fact that the former Villarreal can weigh in with goals to boot will obviously be of interest to Wenger, who may well feel his side could well do with alternative sources of firepower.

The £18m fee stated by this source would of course represent a club record spend, exceeding the £15m forked out for Russian Andrei Arshavin three and a half years ago, Wenger may well feel that this is a summer where he simply must greatly improve his Gunners squad as he looks to push his Arsenal side into mounting a genuine challenge for major honours both at home and on the continent.

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