Southampton have completed the signing of
Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama on a four-year deal for an undisclosed
fee, reported to be a club-record £12.5million.
Kenya international Wanyama leaves the SPL champions after two seasons in which he made a big impression and won two titles.
The 22-year-old, who had been linked with other Premier League teams,
scored 10 goals in his 61 league outings for Celtic, who spent £900,000
to sign him from Belgian side Beerschot.
"It feels great and I am happy to be here, Finally it has happened
and we've come to the end [of negotiations], so I am delighted. There
were other options, but Southampton is a club with ambitions so I chose
to came here," said Wanyama, who was the SPL Young Player of the Year
for 2012-13.
"Southampton is a good club and it has good players, so I just want
to train hard and work hard to be a part of the starting XI. We'll see
where that will take me.
"I'm very grateful to be here and I'm looking forward to playing in the Premier League.
"I've seen that the stadium is great and the dressing room is looking
good, and I know some of the players. I hope they will help me and I
think I will get along with the others, so it will be good.
"I am happy to be a part of Southampton's squad. It means a lot
because because it has been my dream to play in the Premier League and
now I am here."
Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino said: "I am very pleased to have
secured the signing of Victor because we are a big admirer of his
talents and he will fit in well to the team here at Southampton.
"I want to stress that the deal could have been done sooner, but this
shows that we do business on our terms. The most important thing that
ourselves, Celtic and the player are all happy with the way it has all
gone.
"The fact that a lot of top European clubs were also keen to sign him
shows what an attractive prospect Southampton Football Club is to a
player who had his pick of the teams in England and abroad."
Manchester United have sent Wayne Rooney home from their pre-season tour
of Asia after the striker suffered a hamstring injury in training.
The
want-away United striker had flown out to Thailand with the rest of the
squad where he was expected to feature in David Moyes' first game in
charge against Singha All-Star XI.
However, the 27-year-old has become the latest injury concern
to hit the Premier League winners following a back problem picked up by
Nemanja Vidic, and Rooney will now fly back to England for treatment.
“Following
a scan this evening on a hamstring injury sustained in training, it has
been decided that Wayne Rooney should return home immediately for
further assessment and rehabilitation,” read a statement on the club's
website.
United's medical team expect Rooney to be unavailable
for selection for a month, which puts his participation in the club's
opening game of the Premier League season in do
Juventus have confirmed they have completed the signing of Angelo Ogbonna from Torino, for a fee believed to be in the region of €14 million.
The
25-year-old is one of the most highly-rated defenders in Italy and was
linked with Premier League champions Manchester United before the Bianconeri firmed up their interest. Ogbonna
grew up in Turin and made his Torino against Calcio back in February
2007, before spending the following campaign on loan at Crotone.
Since then he has blossomed into one of the Granata's
star men and has built a reputation as an athletically-blessed
performer, who can cover both the centre-back and left-back slots.
That
versatility is sure to have swayed Juve boss Antonio Conte into
securing his signature given his preference for a 5-3-2 formation.
Ogbonna made 10 appearances for Italy's Under-21 side before progressing to the senior ranks and he was included in the Azzurri's Euro 2012 squad, though he did not feature in the tournament.
His
arrival comes on the same afternoon it was revealed Emanuele
Giaccherini will leave Juventus Stadium for Sunderland, as the Serie A
champions look to claw back some of their transfer outlay.
Strikers Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez have already joined the club in what has been a busy summer transfer window for the Bianconeri so far.
Bruma's agent has confirmed that both Chelsea and Galatasaray have tabled bids worth an initial €8 million for the Sporting Lisbon attacker.
Newspaper speculation has repeatedly linked the 18-year-old, who
previously declared that he would hold discussions over his future after
the Under-20s World Cup, with a move away from the Portuguese Liga side
this summer.
Bruma was part of the Portugal team that topped
their group before exiting at the hands of Ghana in the last 16 and
scored five goals in his four appearances at the tournament.
The youngster's agent, Catio Balde, told Antena 1: "I was in charge or presenting offers to Sporting.
"There are offers from foreign clubs, from Chelsea and from Galatasaray, worth €8m, that could reach €12m.
"From
this moment on, considering that he is a highly coveted player, it is
possible that more offers will arrive, because I know that several clubs
were waiting for the best moment to make a move.
Marquinhos is likely to stay at Roma this summer, despite reported interest from Barcelona, according to his agent.
The 19-year-old enjoyed a stellar first season in the Italian capital and has since been heavily linked with a move to Camp Nou. However,
the former Corinthians youngster's representative, Roberto Calenda, has
insisted that there have been no talks with any club, with the Giallorossi eager to keep the Brazilian.
"The player has a contract for four season with Roma and he will surely stay," he told Sky Sport Italia.
"There
are no negotiations ongoing. It's normal that there are lots of teams
interested in him because we're talking about a very talented guy.
"But Roma have not allowed us to talk to anyone."
Calenda also slammed the level of press intrusion into his player's private life after he was pictured in a Rome restaurant.
"Marquinhos
was sent home this morning because he had a fever. I went to visit him
and we went to the restaurant in front of his house because he had
nothing to eat at home.
"Roma know everything, but unfortunately
there are people who take pictures without knowing things and you cannot
have a private life."
Ajax sporting director Marc Overmars says it is time Bojan Krkic
shaked off his "talent" label and began to fulfill his potential after
he completed a season-long loan deal from Barcelona on Thursday.
The
22-year-old was tipped for big things after breaking through at Camp
Nou as a teenager in 2007, but his career has faltered since then and he
has spent the last two seasons on loan at AC Milan and Roma.
But
that has not stopped the Eredivisie champions from stepping in and
offering him another chance to shine and Overmars expects him to do just
that.
He told the club's official website: "I'm very happy with
the transfer. We wanted Bojan for the right wing, but he can play more
positions up front.
"Bojan is 22 now, so it's time that he
shakes of the label 'talent'. He's a team player and can score goals.
That is what we expect from him."
The Dutch giants and the Blaugrana
have enjoyed a positive relationship when it comes to transfers in
recent times, after Isaac Cuenca spent last term on loan at the
Amsterdam Arena.
And Overmars, who played for Barcelona between
2000 and 2004, believes the impact of himself and coach Frank de Boer -
also formerly of Barca - was key in securing Bojan's signature.
"Ajax plays in the Champions League and he wants to play on the highest possible level," he added.
"Even
when he was young, Ajax was a favourite club, I heard. This is an
advantage that we have and of course it helps that Frank de Boer and I
know a lot of people at Barcelona. The fact that the loan of Isaac
Cuenca (last season) was handled well gave us a good image."
The
forward revealed his regret at moving to Serie A two years ago after
being unveiled as an Ajax player and admitted he may have been better
off moving to the club sooner.
"My choices for Roma and AC Milan
were wrong. Perhaps I should have already opted for the Eredivisie back
in 2011," the attacker told De Telegraaf.
"I am a young
player and I need to get regular first team action. I cannot make
progress if I only get 18 games or so per season. I will get the chance
to take the next step in my development at Ajax."
Napoli have confirmed the signing of Jose Callejon from Real Madrid for a fee believed to be in the region of €10 million.
The
Spanish attacker has signed a four-year deal with the Serie A club, and
brings his second stint with his boyhood club Real Madrid to a close by
agreeing to the move.
The 26-year-old made 40 appearances under Jose Mourinho at the
Santiago Bernabeu last term, but will now hope to help his new club
build on their second-place finish in the Italian top flight.
Callejon began his career with los Blancos' C and B teams, after
graduating from the club's youth academy, but after growing frustrated
at a lack of first-team opportunities in the Spanish capital, he moved
on to Espanyol in 2008.
His time at the Catalan club was the most successful of his career up
until that point, as he made 106 appearances over three seasons,
scoring 12 goals.
That form convinced Madrid to bring him back to the club for a fee of
€5.5m, and the forward would go on to play a prominent role in their
2011-12 title-winning campaign.
He has now opted to take on a new challenge, however, and will link
up with Napoli as they begin life under new boss Rafael Benitez.
Aston Villa
In: Aleksandr Tonev (Lech Poznan, undisc), Jores Okobe (FC Nordsjaelland, £4m), Leandro Bacuna (Groningen, undisc), Niklas Helenius (Aalborg, undisc), Antonio Luna (Sevilla, undisc), Jed Steer (Norwich, free)
Out: Calum Barrett, Joshua Barton, Courtney Cameron, Daniel Devine, Richard Dunne, Eric Lichaj, Andy Marshall (All released)
Cardiff In: Andreas Cornelius (Copenhagen, undisc)
Out: None
Chelsea
In: Andre Schurrle (Bayer Leverkusen, undisc), Marco van Ginkel (Vitesse Arnhem, £8.5m), Mark Schwarzer (Fulham, free)
Out: Amin Affane, Yossi Benayoun, Abdul Deen-Conteh, Paulo Ferreira,
Hilario, Florent Malouda, Archange Nkumu, Ross Turnbull (All released),
Thibault Courtois (Atletico Madrid, loan), George Saville (Brentford,
loan), Billy Clifford (Yeovil, loan)
Everton
In: Arouna Kone (Wigan, undisc), Gerard Deulofeu (Barcelona, loan),
Joel Robles (Atletico Madrid, undisc), Antolin Alcaraz (Wigan, free)
Out: Johan Hammar, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Sam Kelly, Jan Mucha (All released), Phil Neville (retired)
Fulham
In: Maarten Stekelenburg (Roma, £4m), Fernando Amorebieta (Athletic Bilbao, free), Derek Boateng (Dnipro, free)
Out: Chris Baird, Simon Davies, Mahamadou Diarra, Thomas Donegan,
Corey Gameiro, Georgios Karagkounis, James Musa, Richard Peniket, Mladen
Petric, Mark Schwarzer, Alex Smith, Csaba Somogyi (All released), Dan
Burn (Birmingham, loan) Hull
In: George Boyd (Peterborough, free), Maynor Figueroa (Wigan, free),
Curtis Davies (Birmingham, undisc), Ahmed Elmohamady (Sunderland,
undisc), Alan McGregor (Besiktas, £1.8m)
Out: Andy Dawson (Scunthorpe, free), Danny East (Portsmouth, free), Sonny Bradley (Portsmouth, free)
Liverpool:
In: Kolo Toure (Manchester City, free) Luis Alberto (Sevilla, £6.8m),
Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo, £7.7m), Simon Mignolet (Sunderland, undisc)
Out: Danny Wilson, Tyrell Belford, Jamie Stephens (All released),
Jamie Carragher (retired), Andy Carroll (West Ham, £15m), Jonjo Shelvey
(Swansea, £5m), Michael Ngoo (Yeovil, loan)
Manchester City
In: Jesus Navas (Sevilla, £14.19m), Fernandinho (Shakthar Donetsk, £22m)
Out: Wayne Bridge (Reading, free), Filippo Mancini (Released), Ryan
McGivern (Hibernian, free), Roque Santa Cruz (Released), Kolo Toure
(Liverpool, free), Carlos Tevez (Juventus, £7.6m)
Manchester United
In: Guillermo Varela (Penarol, undisc)
Out: Reece Brown, John Cofie, Michele Fornasier, Luke Giverin, Luke
Hendrie, Luke McCullough, Gyliano Van Velzen, Freddie Veseli (All
released), Paul Scholes (Retired)
Newcastle
In: Olivier Kemen (Metz, undisc)
Out: Steve Harper, Yven Moyo, Danny Simpson (All released), James Perch (Wigan, undisc)
Norwich City
In: Javi Garrido (Lazio, undisc.), Ricky van Wolfswinkel (Sporting
Lisbon, undisc), Nathan Redmond (Birmingham, undisc), Martin Olsson
(Blackburn, free), Carlo Nash (Stoke, free)
Out: Marc Tierney (Bolton, free), Chris Martin (Derby, free), Tom
Adeyemi, Lee Camp, Olumide Durojaiye, George Francomb, Simeon Jackson,
Ramil Sheriff, Korey Smith, Elliott Ward (All released), Jed Steer
(Aston Villa, free), Grant Holt (Wigan, £2m) Southampton
In: Dejan Lovren (Lyon, undisc.)
Out: Frazer Richardson, Danny Butterfield, Dan Seabourne, Ryan
Dickson, Ben Reeves, Sam Hoskins, Tommy Forecast, Alberto Seidi (All
released)
Stoke
In: Erik Peters (PSV, £3.6m), Marc Muniesa (Barcelona, free)
Out: Michael Clarkson, Rory Delap, Matthew Gledhill, Jadan Hall,
Matthew Lund, Andrew Musungu, Carlo Nash, George Rigg, Mamady Sidibe,
Matthew Upson, Dean Whitehead (All released), Michael Owen (Retired)
Sunderland
In: Valentin Roberge (Maritimo, free), Cabral (Basel, free), Modibo
Diakite (Lazio, free), Duncan Whatmore (Altrincham, undisc.), David
Moberg Karlsson (Gothenburg, £1.7m), Vito Mannone (Arsenal, undisc), El
Hadji Ba (Le Havre, free), Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar, £6m)
Out: Titus Bramble, Anthony Callaghan, Wade Joyce, Matt Kilgallon,
Ryan Noble, Adam Reed, Ben Wilson (All released), Simon MIgnolet
(Liverpool, undisc), Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull, undisc)
Swansea
In: Jose Canas (Real Betis, free), Jordi Amat (Espanyol, £2.5m),
Jonathan De Guzman (Villarreal, loan), Jonjo Shelvey (Liverpool, £5m),
Alejandro Pozuelo (Real Betis, undisc), Wilfried Bony (Vitesse Arnhem,
£12m)
Out: Mark Gower (Charlton, free)
Tottenham
In: Paulinho (Corinthians, undisc)
Out: Jack Barthram, David Bentley, John Bostock, William Gallas, Jack
Munns, Jake Nicholson (All released), Massimo Luongo (Swindon, loan),
Grant Hall (Swindon, loan)
West Brom
In: Nicolas Anelka (unattached, free), Goran Popov (Dynamo Kiev, loan)
Out: Marc-Antoine Fortune, Zoltan Gera, Gonzalo Jara, Romaine Sawyers, Jerome Thomas (All released)
West Ham
In: Adrian (Real Betis, free), Razvan Rat (Shakthar Donetsk, free), Andy Carroll (Liverpool, £15m)
Out: Carlton Cole, Jake Larkins, Gary O'Neil, Jack Powell, Jami
Rafati, Eoin Wearen (All released), Robert Hall (Bolton, fee to be
agreed)
Swansea have announced the signing of Cote d'Ivoire striker Wilfried Bony for €14 million.
The
24-year-old scored 31 goals in 30 league games for Dutch side Vitesse
last season, and has now moved to the Liberty Stadium in a club record
deal which eclipses the £5.55 million paid for Pablo Hernandez last
season.
“This move has been talked about for quite some time, so I
am delighted it is all completed," Bony told the club's official
website.
“Now it is important that I focus my mind on the challenge ahead because I hope to make the Swansea fans very happy.’’
The
Cote d'Ivoire international's goal-scoring exploits helped Vitesse to a
fourth-place finish in last season's Eredivisie, meaning they could face
Swansea in the Europa League's third qualifying round.
Bony
admitted the prospect of European football played a big part in his
decision to join Michael Laudrup's side, having previously finished as
the Europa League's top goalscorer with nine goals for Sparta Prague
back in 2010-11.
“The Europa League is my first focus," he added. “I enjoy playing in Europe; I am used to it."
“I
am looking forward to joining the training camp out here in Holland as a
Swansea player and building up good communications with the team and
coaching staff as quickly as possible.’’
The Ivorian is
Swansea's sixth major signing of an already busy summer, joining Jonjo
Shelvey, Jordi Amat, Jose Canas and Alejandro Pozuelo in linking up with
the Capital One Cup winners, while Jonathan de Guzman loan deal has
also been made permanent.
Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has confirmed he wants to sign Thiago Alcantara from old club Barcelona.
The highly-rated Spain Under-21 star has apparently decided he needs
to quit the Nou Camp in order to increase his chances of making next
summer's World Cup.
It seemed Manchester United were in pole position to sign the
midfielder, with new manager David Moyes keen for Thiago to bolster an
area of the Red Devils squad weakened by the retirement of Paul Scholes.
But United landed in Bangkok for the start of their pre-season tour
of the Far East and Australia to reports in Spain that Thiago had opted
to link up with his former boss in Munich.
And, speaking in Germany today, Guardiola has confirmed he wants Thiago at the Allianz Arena.
"Yes," Guardiola told reporters, when asked if he was interested in Thiago
"I don't know what's going to happen. We have to wait. But I know him very well. He is a super, super player.
"He can play in three, four or five positions."
And Guardiola has made it clear he is not interested in anyone else.
"It is either Thiago or nothing," he said.
Veteran striker Francesco Totti has suggested Roma's new home kit is
"the last one" he will ever wear - heightening speculation he will
retire next year.
The 36-year-old has scored 227 league goals - the second highest
all-time tally in Serie A - over 20 years with the Giallorossi but his
contract is set to expire at the end of the 2013-14 season.
And when posing for Gazzetta dello Sport photographers in Roma's
latest red and gold jersey today, he responded to the question "How does
it feel, Francesco?" by saying: "I've worn a lot of them, but this is
the last one."
It is understood the comment was meant to be taken ironically but it
has also been reported the former Italy striker is unhappy with the lack
of progress over a new contract at the Stadio Olimpico.
Then, perhaps in an attempt to change the subject, Roma's new French
head coach Rudi Garcia added: "This shirt is unique because we will win
with this one."
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers says the club are targeting players who will strengthen their starting line-up.
Rodgers
has already captured Luis Alberto, Iago Aspas, Simon Mignolet and Kolo
Toure, and he believes those acquisitions have sufficiently improved his
squad.
Now the Northern Irishman is focused on bringing in players who will boost his first-choice XI.
"Our recruitment team are doing a great job behind the scenes in
compiling lists of players that we can afford and might be available for
us," Rodgers, who failed to provide an update on unsettled striker Luis
Suarez, told the club's official website.
"What we've done in the early part of the summer is to improve the
squad. That's something I feel we've done with the players we've brought
in.
"Now what's important over the next three to five weeks is improving
the team. That's something the club is working very hard at.
"I'm sure by the time the end of August comes we'll be ready and we'll have a terrific squad ready to challenge."
Liverpool kick off their pre-season programme on Saturday at Preston North End.
Newcastle are in talks with PSV over goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet.
The
22-year-old has yet to play a first-team game for the Eindhoven club
but has impressed during two seasons on loan with RKC Waalwijk.
Zoet is first-choice keeper for the Netherlands Under-21 side.
If he moves to St James' Park he is likely to provide back-up for Tim
Krul and Rob Elliot, with Steve Harper having left the club in the
summer.
Pep Guardiola has launched a scathing attack on Barcelona president Sandro Rosell and accused him of using Tito Vilanova's illness as a malicious weapon against him.
The former Blaugrana
boss left Camp Nou last summer and embarked on a 12-month sabbatical
from football in New York - the same city in which Vilanova received
treatment in his battle against cancer. But Guardiola has been
angered by several stories that have appeared in the press suggesting
the pair were not in contact during his illness because of a breakdown
in their relationship, an accusation the 42-year-old says is fictitious
and instigated by Rosell.
"This year there have been too many
times when they [Barcelona & Rosell] crossed the line. Using Tito
Vilanova's illness to hurt me, that I will never forget. I saw Tito
Vilanova in New York, and if I didn't see him more it's because it was
not possible for me to do so.
"Do
I have to justify wanting a partner I've had for so long and helped me
so much to do well? That was something in very, very bad taste."
Tensions
between Rosell and Guardiola appear to stem from the current board's
dislike of the regime that appointed the now Bayern Munich boss to the
Camp Nou helm, which included former president Joan Laporta and Barca
great Johan Cruyff.
And the Bavarians coach has ordered his old
club to bring an end to their apparent smear campaign against him and
allow him to focus on his new life in Germany.
"Let me enjoy my job and these players that Bayern gives me to do the best I possibly can," he added.
If
any of the things I've said is not true, come out and rebut it. But it
has to be them (Rosell and his board), not intermediaries or Barcelona
messengers, them. They have to focus on making their team work and leave
me alone."
Guardiola spent a success-laden four years in charge
of Barcelona, working under Rosell in his final season at the club.
Juventus boss Antonio Conte admits the club are set to sell Emanuele Giaccherini to Sunderland in order to raise funds.
Reports
in the Italian media suggest the Black Cats have made a bid of around
£6.8m for the Italy international, with extra fees to be paid based on
appearances and goals.
Conte told reporters the bid has been accepted in order to fund his
own transfer plans, with Torino defender Angelo Ogbonna expected to
join the Italian champions for €15m, but is disappointed to lose the
28-year-old.
"Giaccherini was valued, they offered him an important contract,” the Bianconeri boss revealed at a press conference. “I'm happy for him but unhappy for me.
“I'm not happy with the sale of Giaccherini but in times of crisis when you buy must also make sacrifices.”
The
winger has been in and out of the first team since moving to Turin from
Siena two years ago, but featured in every one of his country’s
Confederations Cup matches this summer.
Paolo Di Canio’s men are
thought to have offered Giaccherini double his current wages in order to
tempt him to the Stadium of Light, having already signed seven players
in a busy transfer window.
Southampton have sold Vegard Forren back to former club Molde just
six months after signing him, Press Association Sport understands.
Forren was Southampton's only signing during the January transfer window and penned a three-and-a-half-year deal at St Mary's.
However, the defender underwhelmed manager Mauricio Pochettino and
his staff, failing to make a single first-team appearance for the club.
Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has been ruled out of the club's pre-season tour of Asia because of injury.
Arsene Wenger takes his squad to Jakarta later on Thursday as the squad begin their preparations for the new campaign.
But the Belgium international will be staying behind as he starts his rehabilitation on a back problem.
"Unfortunately, due to a back injury I can't join my team mates on
the Asia Tour the next few weeks," Vermaelen wrote on Twitter.
"I will be staying in London to receive the right treatment. Of
course I will do my best to return on the pitch soon, and I will keep
you posted on my progress."
Youngsters Chuba Akpom, Serge Gnabry, Kris Olsson and Gedion Zelalem
have been included in the 24-man group for the matches in Indonesia,
Vietnam and Japan.
However, Santi Cazorla and Nacho Monreal will also sit out the tour
due to their involvement in the Confederations Cup, while Yaya Sanogo is
still with France at the U-20 World Cup.
Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is ready to show just why new
manager Jose Mourinho recalled him to Chelsea as the squad jet out for a
pre-season tour of Asia.
The Belgian international initially joined the Blues from Genk in
January 2012, but spent the last campaign on loan at Bundesliga side
Werder Bremen.
Mourinho made it clear on his return to the Stamford Bridge hotseat
that the likes of De Bruyne, 22, and fellow promising young Belgian
Romelu Lukaku, who was on loan at West Brom last season, are very much
part of his plans for the new campaign.
It is an opportunity De Bruyne intends to take. Speaking to the
club's official website, www.chelseafc.com, he said: "The manager said
he has a lot of confidence and brought me back because he believes in
me.
"I have to show that on the pitch, but it is nice when the trainer
has confidence in you. I have to work hard and see what happens in
pre-season.
"After training you can have a good laugh, but in the session he
likes discipline and that everybody is working hard on the field."
Like Manchester United and Arsenal, Chelsea are making the most of
some lucrative promotional opportunities while in the Far East, where
they will play matches in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta before then
heading to the United States where they will take part in the Guinness
International Champions Cup, along with the likes of Everton, Inter
Milan, Real Madrid and Los Angeles Galaxy.
De Bruyne is expecting a testing schedule to sharpen up for the new
Barclays Premier League campaign, which will open against Hull on Sunday
August 18 as part of the first wave of live matches announced today.
"The tour of Asia will be difficult for us, with the heat and the
humidity, but we will see what happens and we just have to prepare
ourselves well for the season," he said.
"We have a lot of young players and it will be good to go on tour and
stay together, and get to know each other and other places. It is
always fun."
Czech Republic defender Tomas Kalas, 20, is another who will step up into the first-team group following his spell at Vitesse.
Barcelona full-back Adriano has claimed Thiago Silva is keen to join him at the Camp Nou from Paris St Germain but believes the Ligue 1 club is standing in the way.
Barca have been linked with a move for the Brazil centre-back
throughout the summer as they seek to strengthen in central defence
following their humiliating 7-0 aggregate defeat to Bayern Munich in the
Champions League semi-finals last season.
The Barcelona-based newspaper Sport reported earlier in the week that
the La Liga champions had agreed personal terms with the player, but
this was swiftly denied by Silva, via his agent Paulo Tonietto.
Speaking to radio station RAC1, Adriano, who is close friends with the
defender, said his compatriot wanted to come to Barcelona.
Adriano said: "He told me that it would be a dream come true for him if
he came to Barcelona. He has always wanted to wear the Barcelona shirt.
I am his friend and I speak with him a lot. His signing would be very
good news for Barcelona."
However, he acknowledged that the defender was a key part of the PSG
team and believes it will be difficult to convince the French side to
sell one of their most prized assets.
He said: "I think it's a question of what both parties want. If it was
just up to Thiago Silva, he'd already be here. But it's not just up to
him. PSG have also shown a lot of faith in him and if Barcelona want
him, they need to come to an agreement with the club."
Adriano, a full-back by nature, was forced to step in at centre-back on
several occasions last season, and admitted the club needed to add to
their squad over the summer.
He said: "We had more injuries than in previous seasons but that can
always happen. I think it makes sense to bring more players in, whoever
comes will add something to the team and will be welcomed with open
arms. It's up to the board of directors and the coach to sort out."
And he said he was looking forward to seeing what impact another of his
compatriots, Neymar, will have at Barcelona next season, alongside
four-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi.
"At last the soap opera has finished. We are very happy for him," he said.
"He'll learn a lot and we hope he adapts as soon as possible and will
be a big help to us. Neymar is a good person and so is Leo. I hope they
work well together and become the best partnership in the world."
Chelsea midfielder Kevin De Bruyne believes he learnt a lot from his
loan spell with Werder Bremen last term and is now eager to prove his
worth in the Premier League.
The Belgian, who was signed by the
Blues in January 2012, spent last season on loan at the German side
where he impressed scoring 10 goals in 33 games.
De Bruyne's performances for die Werderaner
earned him a place in the Belgium national team, and the 22-year-old
has hailed his time in Germany as a fantastic learning curve.
“We had a difficult season with a lot of really young players who
had almost no experience in the league, so it's very difficult, but I
felt I had a good season and played a lot of minutes, and also with the
national team which was very important for me,” De Bruyne told the
Chelsea's official website.
“I think I managed to have a good year and managed not to have my own injuries, so I was very happy.
“The
Bundesliga is a strong competition. You can compare it to the Premier
League, which is probably more physical, it's a lot of running, but
every team tries to play good football and always goes for the win.”
De
Bruyne followed Chelsea's performances last season closely and, having
returned to Stamford Bridge, is looking forward to showing what he can
do in a blue shirt.
“I managed to see the results, and some games, but not many because my own schedule was full,” the former Genk winger added.
“I
spoke to people from the club regularly, and they came to watch games
in Bremen, while I also talked to Eden Hazard in the national team also.
“It
feels great to be back here now. I drove back from Belgium with Romelu
Lukaku, through the channel tunnel. It's not that far and we enjoyed the
trip.
“I had a good vacation after the season and in the end I
was looking forward to starting again to get back to the normal life we
are used to as footballers.”
Atletico Madrid have completed the signing of Martin Demichelis on a free transfer, with the defender penning a one-year deal.
The
centre-back has spent the last two seasons with Malaga and made 40
appearances last term as the club reached the quarter-finals of the
Champions League.
But after turning down the offer of a contract extension with los Boquerones,
Demichelis has opted to join last season's third-placed Liga side and
spoke of his ambitions for the season ahead shortly after putting pen to
paper. He told Marca: "I know that I'm joining the best
defence in the league and I hope we can keep that up. I will come here
with a humble attitude and will contribute what I can. I hope it's a
successful year for me and for the team.
"I know that Miranda and [Diego] Godin have a huge amount of respect
in the team, they have both performed exceptionally well in the last few
years.
"My career has never been easy and I've always had healthy competition for places."
The 32-year-old then admitted the influence of Atleti boss and compatriot Diego Simeone had swayed his decision to join los Rojiblancos and snub both Malaga and River Plate.
"It was a difficult decision because two clubs to which I am eternally grateful, River and Malaga, wanted to sign me," he added.
"I went to Argentina and I was thinking about staying there, but then
Atletico appeared and Simeone was key in convincing me to join a
consolidated group that was playing for trophies.
"Simeone has known about me for a long time and is aware of my
performances in the last few years. He is one of the main reasons I'm
now an Atletico player."
After selling Radamel Falcao to Monaco earlier this summer, Atleti
have bolstered their ranks in recent weeks with the renewal of
goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois' loan for a third successive season and the
signings of Leo Baptistao and David Villa.
Ligue 1 side Monaco will appeal against a three-point penalty for crowd trouble.
Newly promoted Monaco was deducted three points (one suspended) and
ordered to play a game behind closed doors after trouble flared at its
final home game of the season - a second-division match against Le Mans.
The title celebrations were marred by a post-match pitch invasion, during which the referee was attacked by a supporter.
In a statement on Wednesday, Monaco says ''the punishment is abnormally severe and disproportionate.''
Roque Santa Cruz has signed a three-year contract with Malaga, the Primera Division club have confirmed.
The
31-year-old Paraguay striker spent last season on loan with Malaga,
scoring eight goals in 31 matches, and has decided to commit his future
to the Andalusian outfit after leaving Manchester City this summer.
A statement on www.malagacf.com read: "Malaga and Roque Santa Cruz
have reached an agreement for the Paraguayan-born striker to continue
with the Blue and Whites.
"Following the end of his previous contract with Manchester City,
Santa Cruz has signed with Malaga for the next three years, and will
travel to Germany this afternoon with Ignacio Camacho and Bobley
Anderson, to join the rest of the first team for pre-season training
with coach, Bernd Schuster."
Santa Cruz, who is Paraguay's record goalscorer, began his
professional career with Olimpia in his homeland before moving to Bayern
Munich in 1999.
After eight years in Germany he moved to England, first with
Blackburn and then City, who he joined in 2009 for a fee in the region
of £18million. During his time at City he played only a handful of times
for the first team while spending time out on loan at Blackburn, Real
Betis and Malaga.
Pep Guardiola has revealed he wanted to sign Neymar for Barcelona three years ago, while rubbishing reports claiming he doubted Tito Vilanova's ability to partner him alongside Lionel Messi.
The
Bayern Munich coach first became aware of the 21-year-old during his
four-year tenure in charge of the Liga champions and says he did all he
could to convince him to move to Camp Nou. He said: "(Rosell)
asked me to call him (Neymar) to discuss the possibility of convincing
him to come to Barcelona and what I did was trying to convince him. At
the last Fifa gala, I talked to him. We talked about football, the match
against Santos and the idea I had of football."
Neymar
eventually joined Barca from Santos for €57 million earlier this summer,
but the move provoked much debate as to whether the Selecao star would complement Messi because of the similarity between their respective games.
Some
sections of the media even claimed Guardiola himself had dismissed Tito
Vilanova's ability to successfully mould the pair together, but the
42-year-old hit back at what he says are false accusations on the same
afternoon he slammed Barca president Sandro Rosell for allegedly using underhand tactics against him.
"Winning
the league with the record points in Barcelona's history is enough of
an argument for me to tell if he [Vilanova] is qualified or not," the
Bavarians boss added.
"Good players are always able to play
together, and these too. Intermediaries are very wrong. The information
they gave is very wrong. I would never dare make a comment like the one
suggested I've done."
The Bavarians boss also revealed his interest in signing Barcelona star Thiago Alcantara, after mounting speculation the midfielder was set to join Manchester United.
Real Sociedad have signed Switzerland international Haris Seferovic from Fiorentina.
The 21-year-old striker took his medical with Sociedad on Thursday
morning before penning a four-year contract with the Primera Division
outfit.
Eintracht Frankfurt chairman Heribert Bruchhagen has cast doubt on completing a move for Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner.
The Denmark forward appeared to be on the brink of a switch to the
Commerzbank-Arena after Eintracht confirmed Bendtner was in Germany on
Tuesday to finalise his transfer.
However, talks appear to have broken down, with the 25-year-old's wage demands a possible stumbling block.
Bruchhagen told kicker.de: "After weighing up all the arguments, Bendtner turned out not to be a realistic prospect.
"Now it's up to us. There are no problems with Arsenal. We have to see if it's financially viable."
Bendtner spent last season on loan at Serie A champions Juventus but
they opted not to make the deal permanent after he failed to score a
goal.
Inter team manager Manzarri believes Paris Saint-Germain attacker Ezequiel Lavezzi would be a good signing for the Nerazzurri.
The
Giuseppe Meazza side have already showed an interest in signing the
28-year-old back in 2012, but Lavezzi left Napoli for PSG instead. Inter are now supposedly back in for the attacker, though, and Manzarri would welcome Lavezzi with open arms.
"Lavezzi? I used to enjoy playing against players like that - you had to really be on your toes to mark them," Manzarri told Sky Sport 24.
"He's a great player and he could do well here."
The Colombian then went on to discuss Inter's alleged interest in Napoli's Juan Zuniga.
"Zuniga?
Obviously I'm going to say that I'd like to have him here because I
rate him and have known him for a long time," he added.
"If he were to join, I think it would be an important step in his career."
Lavezzi has a contract with PSG until 2016, while the 27-year-old's Zuniga's deal with Napoli runs out next year.
Manchester City are set to take their summer spending to over €104 million after moving closer to securing both Fiorentina attacker Stevan Jovetic and Sevilla forward Alvaro Negredo.
Sporting
director Txiki Begiristain has not travelled with the squad on their
pre-season tour of South Africa as he looks to tie up deals for the
pair, who emerged as top targets in recent weeks after missing out on
Isco to Real Madrid and Edinson Cavani, who is close to joining Paris
Saint-Germain.
City officials met with Jovetic's agent, Fali Ramadani,
at Mottram Hall in Cheshire on Wednesday, with both parties keen to
discuss a deal to bring the 23-year-old to the Etihad Stadium this
summer.
The Premier League runners-up no longer have first option on the
Montenegro international following the sacking of Roberto Mancini in
May, but have maintained their long-standing interest in the attacker,
who they see as a viable alternative to Isco.
Goal understands
that Jovetic would receive an €92,000-a-week salary package at City, and
club officials are confident of tying up a move in the coming days with
Fiorentina happy to maintain their close links to City, harboured
following Stefan Savic's move to Serie A last summer.
Meanwhile,
City have also received the green light to complete a €23m move for
Sevilla striker Alvaro Negredo after the Spanish side confirmed the
signing of Carlos Bacca from Club Brugge.
Colombian Bacca has been brought in by Sevilla chief Monchi as a replacement to Negredo, who will see his salary doubled to €87,000-a-week in Manchester. Sevilla
and City have maintained a strong relationship following Jesus Navas'
€21m move to the Etihad earlier this summer, and the Premier League
outfit have agreed to meet the Spanish outfit's asking price.
Negredo emerged as City's key striker target after the club refused to meet Cavani's €63 million buyout clause at Napoli and baulked at his €290,000-a-week salary demands. The Uruguayan is close to completing a move to the French capital following discussions over his personal terms.
Jovetic
and Negredo would be City's third and fourth major signings of the
summer re,spectively, with Navas and Fernandinho having already been
secured in June prior to Pellegrini's appointment.
Clement Grenier has ended all speculation about his future by signing a new contract with Olympique Lyonnais until the summer of 2016 amid strong interest from Arsenal.
Arsene
Wenger recently admitted he was attracted by the prospect of bringing
the 22-year-old to the Premier League, but Grenier has decided to extend
his stay with his current club.
"My progress at Lyon is not over yet," Grenier said at a press conference. "I have had a good last six months but I still have a lot to learn here."
Meanwhile, head coach Remi Garde was delighted to tie the France international to a new deal.
"I am very happy to continue working with Clement Grenier. Hopefully we can help him progress further."
Club chairman Jean-Michel Aulas then went on to reveal a number of
high-profile players are likely to leave the club ahead of the new
season.
France international trio Bafetimbi Gomis, Jimmy Briand and Yoann
Gourcuff have all been linked with departures in the close season and
Aulas is welcoming offers for all three.
He added: "Bafe and Jimmy Briand are awaiting departure. For Yoann Gourcuff, we are looking for opportunities."
Ajax have completed the signing of defender Mike van der Hoorn on a four-year contract, the Eredivisie club have confirmed.
The 20-year-old joins the club from FC Utrecht for an undisclosed fee
on a deal which will keep him at the Amsterdam-based side until June
30, 2017.
Simon Mignolet has warned Pepe Reina that he has not joined Liverpool to sit on the bench, and expects to be played this season.
The
25-year-old moved to Anfield from Sunderland for a reported £9 million
fee in June and has signed a long-term deal with Brendan Rodgers’ side
after playing every minute of Sunderland’s Premier League campaign last
term.
Mignolet will now compete for the No.1 shirt with Spaniard Reina,
who has missed just 20 league games for Liverpool in eight seasons with
the club and affirmed his determination to become first choice.
"I'm not here to be sitting and resting. I'm here to come and progress, and play," he said.
"The
only thing I can do is train hard, show the manager that I'm ready for
it and in the games when I get my chance I have to be there and be
ready.
"Competition is something I have had at every single club.
"It's a challenge that can make you better and stronger and I will just try and do my best."
Mignolet
has 13 Belgium caps to his name and impressed last season, despite
Sunderland’s battle against relegation, keeping 11 clean sheets in 38
appearances.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho believes new signings Andre Schurrle and Marco van Ginkel are ready to make an impact in the Blues first team, despite their tender ages.
The
Portuguese, who is beginning his second stint at Stamford Bridge, is
pleased with his early summer business as he sees Schurrle, 22, and van
Ginkel, 20, as players for the present as well as the future.
"Andre
Schurrle is still so young but he already has great history because he
plays in his national team, he has played Champions League and he played
three complete seasons for Bayer Leverkusen," Mourinho told the club’s
official website.
"He is a player who is absolutely ready and he
gives us more than one position in attack and adds quality. He will be
important for us.
"Marco van Ginkel is one of the best prospects. He is not yet like
Schurrle - close to being a finished product - but he is a player with
great potential. Of course he needs to play and he will, because he is a
player with great potential and physically he is more than ready. He is
a natural athlete.
“By the technical and the tactical point of
view of course he is a kid, he has to learn, but I think he is very
open-minded and we analysed him for quite a long time. The Chelsea
scouting department did it for quite a long time and I did it in the
last five or six months, and we made a collective decision to bring the
kid here."
Mourinho also highlighted Chelsea's other young
starlets, including the returning trio of Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne
and Tomas Kalas, who he expects all have a role to play after
developing well during their respective loan spells last season.
He
added: "They are good players with a very good value in the market and
we have these players this season for free, after an investment that the
club did before. After the development of the players on loan it is the
right moment for them to be back.
"They are very young with
space to develop, they will be better year after year and I can imagine
in five years they are much better than today, but what they have today
is more than enough to belong to this squad.
"We have a team to
develop, we have a team to work. Of course we know there are
expectations already and we want to create expectations for ourselves,
we don't need other people to create them.
"So we are a very
young squad. We have an average age of 26.3 and the reality is the best
period of this team has yet to arrive. In five, six, seven years’ time,
this team will be in the best moment of their careers."
Juventus are close to securing the signature of Torino defender Angelo Ogbonna as he is currently undergoing a medical at the club.
The
Italy international had long been linked with a move to the Old Lady
and a transfer now only appears to be a matter of time following Juve's
latest announcement. "Ogbonna conducts Juventus medical. The
25-year-old defender visits Turin’s Fornaca clinic and Medicina dello
Sport center ahead of a proposed move to the Bianconeri," a Juve statement reads.
Juventus
have reached an agreement with Torino over an initial transfer fee
believed to be close to €13 million, potentially rising to €15m
depending on the fulfillment of a number of clauses.
Ogbonna is a product of the Torino youth academy and had developed into a key player at the Granata since making his official first team debut in February 2007.
He
has also caught the attention of Napoli and Manchester United, but now
seems set to continue his career at Juventus.
Santos have abandoned their plans to sign Brazilian striker Robinho from AC Milan.
The club, the player and Milan tried to agree on the conditions that
would make the transfer possible but, despite effort from all sides, it
was not possible to meet the numbers. The sum of the transaction, including the payment to the Italian club
and the athlete's salary remains far from the reality of Brazilian
football.
Liverpool new-boy Kolo Toure believes wantaway striker Luis Suarez has more chance of success at Anfield than at his old club Arsenal.
The
Cote d'Ivoire nternational left the Gunners four years ago to join
Manchester City in search of silverware, winning the FA Cup and Premier
League.
"Of course, if he stays he can have more chances to win trophies,"
Toure told reporters at his unveiling at Liverpool’s Melwood HQ. "This
club is definitely prepared - the organisation, the mentality of the
players and the staff. It's amazing.
"It's a top professional
club. Luis is a great player, a fantastic player. He is a massive player
for Liverpool, but it's up to the club to decide what is best for this
football club."
The 32-year-old spoke of his delight at being the
one chosen to replace the recently retired club legend Jamie Carragher
and to play for an "unbelievable" club like Liverpool.
He added:
"It's an honour to play for Liverpool. This club is unbelievable. I have
been here for two weeks and I have seen a lot of good things.
"I
know Jamie Carragher was a really important player for this football
club. He's retired now. Liverpool have looked for somebody to replace
him and I'm the one!
"It's a massive honour, firstly, to be
chosen. To replace Jamie Carragher is unbelievable because he was such a
fantastic player for this football club and a great leader.
"It will not be easy for me, but I will do my best."
Toure
also revealed he had offers from numerous clubs but was delighted when
Brendan Rodgers reached out to him as he could not turn down the team's
winning tradition.
He continued: "I had different offers, but when I got the phone call from Liverpool, I was like, 'Wow!"
"I
made my decision straight away. Liverpool are not in the top four, but
they have the history and the quality. They have the players and the
winning mentality as well.
"This club is a winning club. I want to be part of the story here and that's why I came."
