Manchester United are set to raise their offer for Borussia Dortmund winger Shinji Kagawa to £13 million, according to The Daily Mail.
The Japan international has been a star in Germany over the last number of seasons, but with the Asian attacking midfielder’s contract expiring in 12 months time a move abroad seems likely.
With Arsenal also lurking, Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to step up his attempt to land Kagawa, as he looks to add a bit of energy into the team’s midfield.
Meanwhile, United are reportedly confident of landing Lille star Eden Hazard despite the interest of Manchester City and Chelsea.
The Belgium international will choose on of England’s top club this summer, but reports indicate that the Old Trafford outfit are confident of winning the race for his signature.
Hazard has once more indicated that a move to the Premier League is likely, but his destination has yet to be decided.
“I do not know when I’ll make a decision about my future club,” he confessed.
“It will anyway be Manchester City, Manchester United or Chelsea.
“The decision will depend on the amount of play I would see and the position where I would play.
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“Not everyone can say that he can make a choice between the three top clubs,” he concluded.
Fulham have been linked with moves for strikers Hugo Rodallega and Pavel Pobrebnyak, as the Craven Cottage outfit look to bolster their attack before the transfer window closes on Tuesday.
With Andy Johnson’s contract expiring and a dependence on attacking midfielder Clint Dempsey to contribute with goals, Martin Jol is thought to be eager to add a new forward to his squad for the remainder of the season.
The Daily Mail report that The Cottagers have offered £2million plus Andy Johnson in a player-plus-cash deal to Wigan to try and bring Rodallega to London, which is being considered by The Latics.
Meanwhile, Sky Sports have stated that Stuttgart marksman Pogrebnyak is undergoing a medical with the Premier League side.
The Russia international has fallen out of favour with the Bundesliga team and is eager to find first-team football ahead of Euro 2012.
West Brom had been linked with the eastern European also, but Fulham are now reportedly close to signing the 28-year-old, who will become a free agent in the summer.
Lastly, reported Fulham target Marc Janko has left Dutch side Twente to join Porto, ending speculation that he could be moving to the Premier League.
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Bill Shankly once said of Everton: “If they were playing down the bottom of my garden- I’d draw the curtains.”
While that may have been true from every Liverpool manager’s benchmark, the prospect of the Netherlands training in my ‘garden‘ made me do anything but draw the curtains.
Staying in Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg for the duration of the World Cup, I was informed that the Dutch team would be training in the stadium next to my block.
Despite a trip being organized by the tutor who’s leading the newsroom I’m working on for the next four weeks, which involved looking at Lions and Elephants, I decided I could always see Elephants anytime, but how often do you get the chance to see Dirk Kuyt miss from 2 yards?
So after grabbing a ticket from the University office- which was for the Grandstand seating no less- I joined the many assembled Dutch fans in the queue as we waited to be let in.
Holland are well supported here in South Africa as many white South Africans or Afrikaans are descended from the Dutch.
The Dutch fans mainly seemed to be South African residents although there were still a few who’d made the trip from the country that gave us legalized weed and clogs.
After two Wits Uni’ students and I had taken our seats in the Grandstand- think Unibond Prem- we waited for about fifteen minutes before the team arrived on the pitch.
Looking out into the ‘Sea of Orange’, sorry I promised myself I wasn’t going to say that but couldn’t help it- it struck me that there must’ve been at least a few thousand who’d turned up to see Bert Van Marwijk’s men.
As the team walked onto the pitch the sound of vuvuzela’s –which had already been blaring intermittently- rose to a crescendo –with the shouts of ‘Robin’ or ‘Ryan’ or ‘Manchester United’ -for some inexplicable reason- barely audible.
The training session itself was fairly routine stuff, a bit of jogging and sprinting followed by passing and a bit of ‘keep ball.’
While the players had a bit of a breather I spoke to a couple of fans to see how they viewed their team’s chances.
After finally finding three lads from Holland- at the tenth time of asking- I got the lowdown on just whether they thought they really could go all the way.
Moike Sovavacs – I think that’s its name but to be honest he’s a little drowned out by vuvuzula’s – from Rotterdam.
When asked how well he thinks Holland will do he says he believes they will be champions, pointing at his friend before adding he is from Brazil and even he thinks Holland are the best.
Speaking about the group he says with a big smile that he thinks it’s very easy and not until the second round does he expect any difficulty.
When I ask him which is the best Dutch player his smile fades slightly : “Robben….but he don’t come here.
“Other than him Van Persie, he is the best one now, he will make the goals now.”
When I ask him which teams he’s wary of, he lists Argentina, Brazil, Germany and Spain.
Jose Antonio is one of Moike’s friends and he tells me that he believes Holland will go far stating he’s “90 per cent confident we will win.”
Again he believes the group stages will be easy and laments the loss of Robben but believes Wesley Sneijder is good enough to shoulder the burden, he also expects to meet Argentina in the final.
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It’s now time for the Dutch team to play a match against each other so after the player’s move the goalposts to the edge of the 18 yard box, the game kicks off.
It was a fairly routine affair, with Dirk Kuyt volleying wide from two yards, Robin Van Persie looking a tad rusty to be perfectly honest and Sneijder holding onto the ball well. Klaas Jan Huntelaar rifled a first half winner, while Rafael Van Der Vaart hit the bar from twenty yards with the last kick of the game. There was a slightly shaky moment for the assembled fans when Sneijder started limping and holding his foot after a challenge but he soon ran it off. Overall the Dutch looked pretty impressive with Sneijder and Van Der Vaart being particular stand-outs.
I grabbed another fan just before the end and asked him the same questions I’d posed earlier- he was a little bit more pessimistic than the previous two, stating that he was worried about Argentina and Brazil- although he felt confident that they’d get through the group easily.
The team then did a lap with much of the crowds chanting seemingly reserved for Robin Van Persie- although it was difficult to hear much as there were a few vuvuzela battles going on near me.
It struck me that none of the fans I’d spoken to, including the two South African students I’d gone to the session with, rated England as one of the top teams, maybe that’s a good thing, but who knows?
The sun was shining as we left the stadium to the sound of more vuvuzela’s- yes they do get very annoying and I’m dreading to think what several thousand are going to sound like- all in all not a bad way to spend a Wednesday afternoon.
Manchester City anchorman Vincent Kompany believes the club will be in the fight for the Premier League title this season if they can perform like they did at Fulham last week on a regular basis.
The Citizens battered Mark Hughes' outfit 4-1 at Craven Cottage to move within three points of Chelsea at the summit and the powerful defender is confident they can sustain their charge.
But with a tough trip to Stoke City ahead of them this weekend, he has called for a sense of realism.
"We have Stoke next and I wouldn't say they were any less difficult than Fulham because both are difficult teams to play against, particularly on their own ground," he said.
"It will be a tough, physical challenge but we will go into the game in great confidence and really go for the win.
"We'll be prepared because Stoke gave us a number of tough encounters last season and they were up the challenge each time.
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"They are also on a good run of form at present so it will be a real test, but if we play to our maximum in defence, midfield and attack we are a match for any team.
"In fact, if we show the kind of mentality we did at Craven Cottage on a weekly basis, we will have a very good season."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
We’ve all heard them. Yep. Wesley Sneijder is 100% CERTAIN to join Manchester United this summer. How do we know? Well, everyone says so. Oh and by the way, City are preparing a £100 million move for Wayne Rooney and he wants to leave. Why? Ermmm, well Sheikh Mansour has promised him unlimited wages and a free hair transplant every three months.
Football rumours are big business and part and parcel of the modern day game. Where would we be without the tabloid press telling us who’s going where or which club has sealed a sensational deal for which superstar? However, the development of football in the media has risen to new levels with the explosion of the internet and more specifically, Twitter. It’s given every man and his dog the opportunity to become an ‘in the know.’ Reasonably knowledgeable about football? Well, you can build yourself a bit of a reputation these days by simply making up utter tripe. Some people can spot the ‘in the knowers’ a mile off, but there are those who’ll get rather over excited when their club is linked with a big-named player and take your word as gospel.
Fancy the opportunity to trick the footballing world? Sick of the regular rumours doing the rounds every transfer window? Well, here’s your opportunity to change all that. Check out the ten ingredients needed to become a modern day ‘in the know.’ And please, we all know Sneijder’s joining United. It’s a done deal right?
Click on twitter below to unveil the top 10 ingredients
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When Didier Drogba arrived in the Premier League it was with a hefty reputation and an even weightier price-tag. The rampaging savagery he displayed against English teams in Marseille’s European exploits the previous season had put clubs on red alert, and the fact that the new billionaires managed to snare him was of little surprise. Despite helping Chelsea to their first league title in fifty years, the hulking Ivorian struggled to convince even his own fans at the beginning. That is no longer the case.
Despite being a beast of man, there was far too much theatrics. There seemed to be plenty of charging about, until contact with defenders was made, in which resulted in flung arms, and screams of agony: perhaps deemed acceptable in Ligue 1, the Premiership wasn’t buying it.
16 goals (in all competitions) in each of his first two seasons was by no means a disaster, particularly as Chelsea had won the league in both seasons, but it still didn’t quite justify the £24m that Abramovich had shelled out.
While Drogba managed to win over any Chelsea fans that had their doubts, there was still much scepticism from the average fan. Part of it was probably wrapped up in the anti-Chelsea sentiment that still exists today, but not nearly as much as it did during Jose Mourinho’s title winning years.
Since then Drogba has become more and more reliable, more important to Chelsea’s cause, and more destructive in his performances. The potentially loose first touch has become as soft as silence, the sometime wayward finishing has become clinical, and the theatrics have become (thankfully) a much rarer sight to see. What’s more, there is a far broader passing range, the amount of assists he gets is severely underrated (tenth on the PL history list), and he has shoved Frank Lampard away from free-kick duty because he is actually far more capable of finding the top corner.
Fans have really begun to appreciate how good a player Didier Drogba actually is. Certainly if we’re talking about strikers that can hold the ball up, there is no one better in the world. Right now, maybe only David Villa is the only striker who can realistically lay claim to being on the same level as Drogba. Regardless of the style of play, Drogba is capable of adapting, and if in the mood, it is simply up to him how many goals he scores – just ask any Arsenal defender of the last five years.
I think fans get a genuine sense of awe in watching a player single-handedly beat teams. Cristiano Ronaldo did it, and Thierry Henry before him, now it is Drogba’s turn. There is much to admire in the way he beats teams, as the fulcrum of what has become a potent Chelsea front line. There is also however, as much to appreciate in terms of how he has adapted to the Premier League, and listened to the gripes of his critics. The charity work he does in his native Ivory Coast; building hospitals and donating entire endorsement fees (Pepsi) put him in a sort of demi-god status. And there is the work he does for his first professional club; Le Mans.
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Drogba has become one of those players that you watch, hoping he will turn it on and run a team ragged, unless he is up against your own team, which is when he becomes one of those few players that you actually fear. In his time at Chelsea, as he as increased his own level of performance to unrivalled standards, he has transformed himself from moody, aloof and whining, to destructive, exciting and admirable. The Premier League, and its fans, are now far more pleased that he is theirs to enjoy all year round.
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Darren Bent might only have scored one goal in an England shirt but, following his surprise move to Aston Villa, top-flight managers have now spent a total of £53m to acquire the striker’s services throughout his career. The reason? As has been widely quoted this week, only Didier Drogba and Wayne Rooney have scored more Premier League goals than Bent since the summer of 2005. What’s more, the 26-year-old’s tally is only one fewer than that of the Chelsea and Manchester United strikers.
Why, then, has the size of Bent’s transfer fee been so widely derided? After 32 strikes in 58 league appearances on Wearside, it is not difficult to see why Gérard Houllier has identified the former Ipswich, Charlton and Tottenham player as the man to address his side’s goals-for column as they languish in seventeenth place in the table. Does £24m for Darren Bent represent any more of an abandonment of common sense on Aston Villa’s part than the £27.5m that Manchester City paid Wolfsburg last week for Edin Džeko? After all, the Bosnian’s goalscoring ratio of 66 in 111 games in the Bundesliga works out at but 0.04 goals better than Bent’s average at Sunderland.
Perhaps the indifference that a lot of fans in England feel when presented with the statistical merits of Darren Bent as a forward is rooted in his failure to stick around at one club long enough to truly become a part of any set of supporters’ affections. Since breaking through as a teenager at Ipswich, Bent has followed up that spell with relatively brief stints at three clubs. Two years in south-east London were followed by two years in the north of the capital, and just eighteen months in the north-east.
Another factor could be that, for all Bent’s personal success plundering goals, this has not always coincided with his various clubs enjoying a happy period. Sunderland are the first club he has left in a better position to the one in which he joined them. The striker was only 18 when Ipswich were relegated in 2002 at the end of his first season as a professional but Charlton went down five years later despite Bent hitting the net 13 times. His £16.5m move to Spurs went through that summer but, following the exit of Martin Jol as manager, there followed Juande Ramos’ year in charge at White Hart Lane that admittedly brought League Cup success but also left the club bottom of the table with two points from eight games at the beginning of the 2008/2009 season.
Leaving a team lying sixth for one just above the relegation zone with such eagerness – even handing in a transfer request to push the deal through – inevitably raises the issue of any financial incentives that Bent might have been offered to swap red-and-white for claret-and-blue. Nonetheless, had this transfer been proposed during the close season, after Villa had finished the previous campaign seven places and 20 points better off than Sunderland, then the move would have made a lot more sense – particularly with the £26m that Manchester City stumped up for James Milner leaving Villa newly flush.
Taking all these ideas together, then, perhaps being a player still in his mid-twenties who is already on to his fifth employer, who experienced relegation with two of them and left another after two tumultuous seasons for the club, and who has now opted to leave a team seemingly on the up for one fighting for its Premier League survival, all counts against Bent’s image. That is not to say that he is an unpopular player with fans – he might be a Villain now, but Bent is a long way from being disliked in the way that, say, El Hadji Diouf is – but he just doesn’t seem to be anywhere near as well-loved or well-respected as a player with his obvious scoring ability should be.
With Stewart Downing and Ashley Young to supply him, Bent should be provided with the opportunity to add to his goal tally and help lift Aston Villa away from trouble at the foot of the table. However, if he is to make a name for himself as something more enduring than a reliable Premier League scorer, he should try to stay in Birmingham long enough to work his way into the fans’ long-term memory. Should Villa climb the table this campaign and push for a return to the top six next term – thanks to Bent’s goals – then it could also see him become a fixture in the England team in time for Euro 2012. For their part, Sunderland fans will probably remember that they still have Asamoah Gyan, Jordan Henderson and (once fit again) Danny Welbeck, and find it easier to forget about the player they’ve just sold for a very tidy profit.
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West Bromwich Albion manager Steve Clarke has urged his players not to get carried away despite their impressive start to the 2012/13 Premier League season.
The Baggies are currently third in the league table with seven points from three matches, just two points behind leaders Chelsea. This has been West Brom’s best start to the English top flight for 34 years, but Clarke wants everyone at the club to keep their feet firmly on the ground. He told the club’s official website:
“I think everybody is pleased with the start. What’s good, though, is that even though the players are pleased with the start, nobody is getting carried away. We understand there are many tough games to come. We’re just focused on the next game and trying to get a positive result down at Craven Cottage. The good thing about it here is that it’s a good experienced squad. All the experienced players understand how difficult the Premier League is. Their feet are firmly on the ground.”
The Baggies have recorded two clean sheets and conceded only one goal in their opening three Premier League fixtures, with Arsenal the only side in the Football League who have yet to concede. Clarke has taken time out to praise Gareth McAuley, whose impressive performances alongside Jonas Olsson at the heart of defence have helped improve the Baggies’ defensive record since joining on a Bosman 14 months ago. He continued:
“Gareth has really stepped up to the mark. He’s risen to the challenge, which is something that comes better with experience. He understands and respects the fact he’s got a talent in football. There’s a lot of players like that, who just come in, do their job and try to do the best they can everyday in training and everytime they are picked to play in a match. It’s a great gift. It’s also fantastic for me as a head coach when you’ve got players like that.”
West Brom travel to Craven Cottage to face Fulham on Saturday.
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has reiterated that youngster Jack Wilshere will not be rushed back into the first-team after spending 14 months on the sidelines with injury, according to The Daily Mail.
Wenger had dismissed speculation that the Arsenal ace could be in line for a return against Chelsea on Saturday and says Wilshere will play for the Gunners’ under-21 side against West Brom on Monday.
The Frenchman believes that Monday’s game is another important step in the recovery from the 20-year-old’s persistent ankle problems, “It is another important step, but he has not played for 14 months so we have to calm your impatience a little bit.”
Wenger says that he is personally delighted that Wilshere is on the mend, “It is fantastic for him, especially for him.” Wenger also remarked that it had taken a lot of mental strength for Wilshere to recover from his injury woes which subsequently saw the midfielder miss the whole of last season and Euro 2012, “When you are that age and are out for such a long time, that is absolutely massive to take.”
With the international break forthcoming, England have a double-header in which Wenger is reluctant to let Wilshere partake in. The Gunners boss joked that whilst he would have reservations letting his starlet feature in the Poland match, he would happily let him play in the Three Lions’ World Cup qualifier, “I think that will be too early for him. He has not played for 14 months. Who does England play, San Marino? I think he can play in that game.”
The return of Wilshere will certainly come as a welcome addition for Arsenal. Now 20, the talented Wilshere is the youngest ever league debutant for the Gunners after making his debut aged 16 at Blackburn, and is also only the fifth sixteen-year-old to play in a Champions League game.
Meanwhile, the Arsenal boss has received further injury boosts this week after confirming that captain Thomas Vermaelen will return for the Chelsea game after missing last Sunday’s draw at Manchester City due to illness.
Additionally, dogged midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong came off the bench in Arsenal’s 6-1 victory over Coventry last night following a serious knee injury he sustained whilst on loan at Championship outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers last season. He is expected to once again start from the bench for the arrival of the European champions.
Despite this, Saturday’s London derby will come too soon for Frenchman Bacary Sagna, who like Wilshere, is back in full training.
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Adam Johnson could miss Sunderland’s Premier League home tie with Wigan Athletic despite making a return from injury against the MK Dons in the Capital One Cup.
The 25 year old was kept out of first team training on Thursday and may not be ready for Saturday, regardless of his five minute cameo at Stadium MK.
Manager, Martin O’Neill said to safc.com: “Adam did a bit of training yesterday and came off feeling okay, then just had what I’m hoping is a superficial problem.
“He had some x-rays and everything seemed fine, or certainly there’s been no new damage. He didn’t train today; we’ll see how he is with a late assessment.”
Already stretched on the injury front, the Wearsiders were handed some boosts ahead of Saturday, rested centre back pair: John O’Shea and Titus Bramble trained, while Seb Larsson also came through the session after the hamstring injury he picked up away at West Ham.
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O’Neill added, “Titus trained today, Seb did a bit, so did John. I’m hoping Carlos [Cuellar] can come through too.”