BENFICA MAKE ENQUIRY ABOUT NAPOLI PLAYER

Pablo Armero's agent Luciano Ramalho has claimed that Benfica have made an enquiry about the Napoli man's availability with an eye on a possible transfer ahead of the 2013-14 campaign.

The Portuguese giants are looking to sign a new left-back this summer and have previously been linked with Real Madrid's Fabio Coentrao, who is believed to be looking for a route out of the Santiago Bernabeu.

However, they are also keeping tabs on Armero and might see the Colombia international as a cheaper alternative.

"Benfica have not directly contacted us, but they have done so via an intermediary," Ramalho told A Bola.

"I have informed Pablo about it and he reacted with excitement. Benfica are a top club.

"Everything's possible in football, but Napoli have only recently purchased him. We will have to wait and see if Benfica's interest is concrete."

The defender, 26, joined Napoli from Benfica in the January transfer window and has a contract with the Partenopei until June 2016.

GERRARD: LIVERPOOL WILL BREAK INTO TOP FOUR

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard believes the club has the capabilities to finish in the top four next season.

Brendan Rodgers' side finished 12 points off the Champions League spots last season, ending the campaign in seventh as they failed to qualify for European competition altogether.

However, Gerrard feels Liverpool, who lost just one of their last 13 games in 2012-13, can overhaul the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham and secure a place back among the continent's elite clubs.

"The final five or six months of the season were fantastic, we showed fantastic form - I think it was top-four form," Gerrard told the club's official website.

"We certainly finished the season really strong, but we were very inconsistent from August to Christmas - that's the reason why we never managed to achieve what we set out to do, which was a top-four finish.

"But I felt at times in the season we played some brilliant football. If we can find that level on a consistent basis, I've got confidence we can break into the top four.

"The realistic message is to say to the fans that the last four or five months of the season were really positive, we played well.

"If the fans get behind us and show the support that we know they can, I believe we can push into the top four. That would be a fantastic achievement if you look at the standard of the teams in this league."

Gerrard is also quick to praise manager Rodgers, who he thinks is improving the team despite a slightly disappointing first season at Anfield.

He added: "I think the manager has done well - he's taken a huge job on at a young age.

"I think he's moving the team and the club forward and making good progress. If he gets the backing from the owners, and the current squad that we've already got improves, I'm sure we can make the fans happy."

LIVERPOOL REJECT £30M ARSENAL BID FOR SUAREZ

Liverpool have rejected a bid from Arsenal for Luis Suarez and remain steadfast in their insistence the striker is not for sale.
Press Association Sport understands the Gunners made an offer in the region of £30million for the Uruguay international last week which was rejected out of hand by the Reds.
Despite the 26-year-old this summer voicing his dislike of his treatment by the English media and suggesting a move to Real Madrid would appeal, the club have no intention of selling, a stance which was not even tested by an offer well below what is considered Suarez's true value.

Suarez, who has three years remaining on an improved contract he signed last summer, is currently on extended leave after his involvement in the Confederations Cup.
Neither he nor his representatives have spoken to Liverpool about any intention to ask for a move but his comments while on international duty in South America have left the club in a difficult position.
It was expected any approach from Madrid would come after the end of the Confederations Cup but so far has nothing has materialised and the fear is the Spanish giants will leave it late in the window in order to drive the price down.
Arsenal's surprise bid may have been more strategic than realistic as they are currently trying to push through a deal to sign Real striker Gonzalo Higuain.
Making an offer for Suarez may have just been a ploy intended to focus the minds of Bernabeu officials on signing off the Higuain move.
Suarez is not due back for pre-season until July 22 and he will then be expected to join the club's tour matches in Australia and Thailand.

BOJAN: I REGRET LEAVING BARCELONA

New Ajax signing Bojan Krkic feels that he made the wrong decision to leave Barcelona for Roma in the summer of 2011 and then join AC Milan the following season.

The 22-year-old completed a loan move to the Dutch champions at the weekend and he has now admitted that he regrets not making the move to the Eredivisie at an earlier stage of his career.

"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.

"I really wanted to get this loan move wrapped up as soon as possible. Leaving Barcelona could have been more difficult if Alexis Sanchez or David Villa had been sold, so I wanted to complete the move quickly."

Bojan could make his official Ajax debut in the Johan Cruyff Schaal encounter against AZ on July 27.

SUNDERLAND MAKE OFFER FOR JUVENTUS STAR

Emanuele Giaccherini's agent does not believe the Italian international will be sold by Juventus, amid claims that Sunderland have lodged an offer for his services.

It has been reported in Italy and England that the Black Cats have turned their attentions to the 28-year-old attacking midfielder and submitted a bid of €10million (£8.6million).

However, his agent does not believe that Juventus are looking to sell.
"Myself and my partner have not called anyone, and also [Juventus director general Giuseppe] Marotta has made it very clear on the future of Giaccherini," he told Furio Valcareggi IlSussidiario.net.
"And he gets on well with Antonio Conte, who is a great coach and he has no intention of selling him - he is not for sale."
Asked if the player was looking for a move, he added: "Absolutely not, he is fine at Juventus.
"He has the confidence of everyone and still wants to win so much. I believe Juventus are in a strong shape to win a third consecutive title."

ZANETTI URGES INTER MILAN NOT TO SELL PLAYERS

Javier Zanetti has stressed that Inter cannot afford to sell key players like Samir Handanovic and Fredy Guarin if they want to return to the European elite this season.

The goalkeeper has recently been linked with a move to Barcelona, while the Colombia international has caught the attention of Tottenham among other clubs. 

However, even though Zanetti understands that the side's financial situation plays a big role in their dealings this summer, the club captain feels their sporting ambitions should prevail.

"Selling Guarin and Handanovic? I would not sell anyone if I were in charge. If we want to return to the top, we cannot allow our best players to leave the club," Zanetti told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Obviously, nobody here wants to weaken Inter, but in difficult economic times like this you might have to consider certain things, though."

The Argentine then went on to discuss the appointment of Walter Mazzarri as Inter's new head coach and he believes the former Napoli man is the perfect man for the job.

"I believe the claims saying that Mazzarri could be our marquee signing are right. We are talking about a coach who has always shown character and determination throughout his career," Zanetti continued.

"What I like about him the most is that he really wanted to coach Inter and this group of players. He's motivated all of us."

Mazzarri left Napoli at the end of the season to replace Andrea Stramaccioni as the man in charge at the Giuseppe Meazza.

MOYES EYES WINNING THE QUADRUPLE

New Manchester United manager David Moyes has insisted he will challenge on all fronts during his first season in charge at Old Trafford.

Having wrestled the Premier League title off city rivals Manchester City last season, United will start their campaign on August 11 against Wigan in the Community Shield before embarking of their three-pronged domestic run and the Champions League.

United last won the FA Cup in 2004 and Capital One Cup in 2010 and, despite failing to win silverware during 11 years in charge at Everton, Moyes is gunning for a historic quadruple.

"You have to do well in all competitions - not just the Premier League," he told The Sun.

"When you are at Manchester United my thinking is you have to go for everything, you attempt to win everything.

"Maybe you miss out sometimes, but you have to try to win all the trophies.

"I’ve done it everywhere else I’ve been and I’ll certainly do it here because I have a bigger squad, quality players and a club with the tradition of being used to winning things."

Moyes officially took over from the retired Sir Alex Ferguson on July 1 to become the club's first new manager in 27 years.

The Scot was handed a six-year deal when he agreed his departure from Goodison Park and hinted that such confidence in him from the Old Trafford hierarchy should relay back to the squad.

He added: "I’ve talked to the players and told them I hope they respect his decision to pick me."

CHELSEA PREPARE BID FOR BENTEKE

Chelsea are preparing a bid for Aston Villa star Christian Benteke as Jose Mourinho seeks a solution to the club's pursuit of a new striker.

The returning manager has been thwarted in his attempt to sign Edinson Cavani and has thus far been unable to convince Robert Lewandowski to choose English football over a future move to Bayern Munich.

Benteke fits the coach's preferred profile of a physically powerful striker capable of leading the attack alone and is more readily attainable as a result of Villa's fragile financial state.

At 22, the Belgium international is attracted by the prospect of playing Champions League football and competing for the domestic title after a first Premier League season in which he scored 19 times for a club fighting relegation.


With Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis refusing to back down on his demand that Cavani's €63 million release clause be met in full, the Uruguay international is near to joining Paris Saint-Germain instead.

Also, aware that Borussia Dortmund would sell to Chelsea this summer rather than see Lewandowski join Bayern in a year's time, Mourinho has attempted to persuade the Pole to join him at Stamford Bridge - so far without success. Jurgen Klopp, the Dortmund coach, has confirmed that a move to their Bundesliga rivals is likely.

Mourinho identified a striker as one of three key positions to reinforce before he accepted Roman Abramovich's invitation to return as Chelsea manager after five seasons managing Inter and Real Madrid. The Russian billionaire is on board with Mourinho's intention to sell record signing Fernando Torres after two and a half campaigns under four different coaches.

January acquisition Demba Ba is also surplus to requirements in Mourinho's preferred squad make-up and has been permitted to seek an immediate transfer out of Chelsea.

There is, however, room on the Portuguese's playing staff for Romelu Lukaku after the younger Belgian scored 17 goals in 35 Premier League appearances on loan at West Brom.

Lukaku will be given an opportunity to prove himself as Chelsea's back-up striker in the belief that the 20-year-old has the fundamentals to improve further in the position.

Chelsea also retain an interest in Mario Gomez, who has been allowed to secure new employers by Bayern after losing a guaranteed starting berth to Mario Mandzukic during their treble-winning campaign.

One of German football's best paid players, Gomez is looking to sustain an after-tax salary of €6m, while Bayern are asking for a significant transfer fee amidst competing interest from Fiorentina.

MILAN REJECT €30M OFFER FOR EL SHAARAWY

AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani has revealed that the club rejected a bid of over €30 million for Stephan El Shaarawy this summer.

The Rossoneri vice-president refused to name the club that attempted to lure the 20-year-old forward from San Siro but says that he ran the offer by the Italy international, who did not want to leave the Serie A side.

"What we haven't told anyone is that we received a very big offer for El Shaarawy, but I will never name the club involved," the 68-year-old told the 7 Gold television network.

"It is a very important club, though. I informed the player's agent and as soon as he returned from the Confederations Cup I spoke to Stephan.

"We did not want to sell him, so we simply informed the lad and his family that this proposal had arrived for him. I asked him what he wanted to do.

"He said the money he had was more than sufficient, that he is a Milan fan and [that he] did not want to leave. I kissed him on the cheek and that was that.

"We were not tempted by the offer, but we couldn't exactly hide it from him. He saw the figures, but did not want to budge. How big was the offer? More than €30m.

"We discussed tactics for next season, as we are returning to a 4-3-2-1 system and he is happy to play as a support striker.

"He had a goal-scoring crisis in recent months, not a physical one, but he always worked hard for the team.

"He is only 20, so some ups and downs are natural. It even happened to Edinson Cavani, who didn't score for two months."

El Shaarawy, who was crucial in the first half of last season for Massimiliano Allegri's side before suffering a dip in form in 2013, has a contract at the club until 2018.

MONACO SIGN EX BARCELONA DEFENDER

Former Barcelona defender Eric Abidal has signed for Monaco on an initial one-year contract.

The former Barcelona defender joins the newly-promoted Ligue 1 side on a one-year deal, but the club will have the option of offering him an extra year when the current deal expires.
The 33-year-old France international has been a free agent since June after Barca decided against offering him a new contract.
Abidal's career has been heavily interrupted in recent years due to illness.

He underwent surgery to remove a liver tumour in March 2011 but made a rapid recovery and was playing again before the end of the same season and started the Champions League final against Manchester United that year, which Barcelona won 3-1.
However, in March 2012 it was announced Abidal needed a liver transplant, which he underwent in April of that year and kept him out of action for just under 12 months.
He returned to training last December and made his long-awaited comeback on the pitch as a substitute in a league match with Real Betis at the Nou Camp in April, and went on to make a total of five appearances for Barcelona in the final two months of the season.
The Frenchman began his professional career with Monaco in 2000, spending two years there before joining Lille.
He announced he had returned to the club with a message on his official Twitter account, which said: "I am very happy to have returned to France and Monaco, where it all began for me."
Abidal, who was unveiled at the Stade Louis II stadium today, is the latest of a growing list of notable captures by the French principality club this summer, which includes Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez, Ricardo Carvalho, Jeremy Toulalan and Joao Moutinho.