friday's gossip

[cockney hammer]

Manchester United's interest in Gremio's Douglas Costa is cooling after the Brazilian club demanded £20m for the teenage forward.
The Times

Manchester City have tested Everton's determination to hang on to defender Joleon Lescott by submitting a £15m bid to Goodison Park. (Various)

City will make a £30m move for Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan if they fail to agree personal terms with Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor.
Daily Mail

Real Madrid are confident that an improved bid of around £32m will be enough to prise Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso away from Liverpool.

If Alonso does depart for the Bernabeu, Valencia midfielder David Silva would be top of Reds' boss Rafael Benitez's shopping list. (Daily Mirror)

Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal has told clubs in pursuit of midfielder Franck Ribery that it is now too close to the start of the season for the France midfielder to leave. (Daily Telegraph)

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has denied that there has been any approach for winger Ashley Young after rumours that Tottenham and Chelsea were mulling over £25m bids.
The Times

Fulham manager Roy Hodgson has entered the £12m race for Portsmouth striker Peter Crouch.
The Sun

Hodgson is also considering a move for Columbia international forward Fredy Montero who plays for Major League Soccer side Seattle Sounders. (Daily Star)

Tottenham are poised to add to their forward line with the signing of Real Madrid's Alvaro Negredo.
The Sun

Spurs are also holding out hope of landing Real Madrid and Netherlands striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar despite Stuttgart already having had a £17m bid accepted for the player.
Full story: The Times
pair Kyle Naughton and Kyle Walker, both right-backs, will move to White Hart Lane in a deal worth a total of £8m after Tottenham stole a march on Everton who were also interested.
The Independent

Leeds' highly-rated midfielder Fabian Delph has attracted an offer from Tottenham, but is also being chased by Fulham.
The Times

Arsenal will attempt to lure defender Brede Hangeland from Fulham with the offer of Philippe Senderos as part of a deal worth around £10m. (Daily Star)

Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh has claimed that a move to Arsenal would be "perfect". (Daily Mirror)

Portsmouth centre-back Sylvain Distin is ready to take a pay-cut in order to seal a £2m move to Aston Villa.
The Sun

Chelsea have told Portugal international defender Ricardo Carvalho that he will be staying at Stamford Bridge after a possible move to Inter Milan fell through.
The Sun

Carvalho could be joined by Serbia midfielder Nemanja Matic who is close to tying up a £5m move from MFK Kosice to Chelsea.
Full story: The Sun

Blackburn are ready to splash £2.5m on Rapid Vienna forward Erwin Hoffer as a replacement for Roque Santa Cruz.
The Sun

Valencia targetman Nikola Zigic is also in Blackburn's sights, but there are 15 clubs in the hunt for the Serbia striker according to his agent.
The Independent

Wigan Athletic are in negotiations with Crystal Palace over a possible switch for £5m-rated midfielder Victor Moses.
The Times

Midfielder Dean Whitehead could be on his way from Sunderland to Stoke in a £5m switch. (Daily Star)

Birmingham are keen to sign £5m-rated midfielder Craig Gardner from Aston Villa ahead of their return to the Premier League. (Daily Star)

Hamilton's 18-year-old midfielder James McCarthy is set to sign for Wigan after turning down a move to Wolves.
The Sun

Sporting Lisbon are back in talks with Manchester City over a possible loan move for striker Felipe Caicedo.
The Sun

Sheffield Wednesday forward Marcus Tudgay is ready to to submit a transfer request to try and force through a £2m move to Burnley.
The Times

Sunderland's attempts to sign defender Nathaniel Clyne from Crystal Palace have been frustrated with the Eagles holding out for £5 million. (The Sun)

Out-of-contract winger Jerome Thomas could be thrown a Premier League lifeline by Hull City after an ill-fated spell at Portsmouth. (Daily Mirror)

St Johnstone manager Derek McInnes is hopeful of bringing former Millwall colleague Filipe Morais to McDiarmid Park. (Daily Record)



LA Galaxy and England midfielder David Beckham has revealed that he would only move back to the Premier League with Manchester United. (Various)

Beckham also believes that John Terry will not turn his back on boyhood club Chelsea to move to Manchester City. (Various)

Chelsea's Joe Cole will miss the start of the season after the midfielder underwent surgery on his troublesome knee. (Various)

Former Middlesbrough boss Bryan Robson has turned down an offer to coach Iranian Premier League side Persepolis Theran to stay as a Manchester United ambassador. (Daily Mail)

Striker Carlos Tevez has revealed that big-spending Real Madrid made an approach for him before he finalised his move to Manchester City.
Daily Telegraph


Oasis's Noel Gallagher does not want Chelsea captain John Terry at his beloved Manchester City. "He's got funny eyes and he's a cry baby," he said.


Manchester City will move for Diego Forlan if their move for Emmanuel Adebayor falls through, while Birmingham are chasing Craig Gardner.

THE SUN
David Beckham has warned John Terry to think very carefully before making a decision to quit Chelsea.

Blackburn have lined up Rapid Vienna's 22-year-old Austria international striker Erwin Hoffer to replace Roque Santa Cruz.

Ricardo Carvalho has been told he must stay at Chelsea.

Chelsea are close to wrapping up a deal to bring 20-year-old Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic to Stamford Bridge from MFK Kosice after months of talks.

Emmanuel Adebayor is set for a medical on Friday ahead of his switch to Manchester City.

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson will try and hijack Sunderland's bid for Peter Crouch.

Portsmouth defender Sylvain Distin is poised to join Aston Villa for just £2million.

Tottenham aim to sign Real Madrid striker Alvaro Negredo in the next few days.

DAILY MIRROR
Real Madrid are ready to increase their offer for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso to £32million.

Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh says a move to Arsenal would be "perfect".

Hull have offered former Charlton midfielder Jerome Thomas a trial.

Spurs are set to land Real Madrid striker Alvaro Negredo in a £13million deal.

DAILY MAIL

Peter Crouch will meet with Fulham on Friday in the hope of finalising his £12million move from Portsmouth.

Manchester City will consider a fresh bid for Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan should they fail to sign Emmanuel Adebayor.

Cristiano Ronaldo believes Michael Owen is worthy of wearing Manchester United's number seven shirt.

DAILY EXPRESS

Birmingham will sign Barry Ferguson from Rangers before launching a bid to take Craig Gardner from Aston Villa.

Madjid Bougherra has told Rangers he wants to quit Ibrox for French champions Bordeaux.

After signing Middlesbrough's Stewart Downing for £12million on Thursday, Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill will now bring in Sylvain Distin from Portsmouth for a cut-price £3million.

DAILY STAR

David Beckham has revealed that Manchester United are the only Premier League club he would play for.

Fulham are keeping tabs on 21-year-old Colombia striker Fredy Montero, currently on loan at MLS club Seattle Sounders from Deportivo Cali.

Stoke hope to sign Sunderland midfielder Dean Whitehead.

Shay Given has followed Manchester City boss Mark Hughes by sending John Terry a "come and join us" message.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Manchester City hope to complete a £25million deal to sign striker Emmanuel Adebayor from Arsenal in the next 48 hours, despite the move threatening to stall after delays in agreeing personal terms.

THE INDEPENDENT

Manchester City tabled a bid of around £15million for Everton's Joleon Lescott on Thursday, underlining manager Mark Hughes' belief that the England international is needed as a partner for John Terry, and not as a back-up.

THE TIMES

Manchester United look set to end their summer pursuit of 18-year-old Brazilian starlet Douglas Costa due to Gremio's £20million valuation.

DAILY RECORD

Rangers have told Bordeaux they will have to up their offer if they want to land defender Madjid Bougherra.

James McCarthy has offers from four Premier League sides other than Wolves, while Celtic are set to make an offer for the Hamilton midfielder.


City launch £15m raid for Lescott



Everton angry as Spurs snatch defensive duo



Tottenham Hotspur have beaten Everton to the signing of both Kyle Naughton and Kyle Walker from Sheffield United. The two right-backs will join Spurs this month in a deal worth a total of £8m, despite Naughton having been a long-term target for David Moyes.



Manchester City tabled a bid of around £15m for Everton's Joleon Lescott yesterday, underlining manager Mark Hughes' belief that the England international is needed as a partner for John Terry, and not a back-up.

City remain hopeful that the Arsenal striker, Emmanuel Adebayor, will join the club, possibly within 24 hours, and that particular deal is understood to have progressed well yesterday, despite the absence of tangible evidence of completion.

The situation remains fluid – the player is reported to be pondering whether he wants to make a move to less well known club – but the mood from City is positive where the £25m deal agreed with Arsenal is concerned.


Former West Ham and Charlton bos Alan Pardew has been named new manager of Southampton, Huddersfield Town's first opponents.

Pardew, 47, has joined the south coast club on a three-year deal.

He said: "I'm proud and very excited to be joining a club with an immense history and huge potential."

New Saints owner Markus Liebherr said:"We are delighted to have been able to attract Alan to St Mary's from a very strong field of candidates."

Pardew, who has been out of football since leaving Charlton in November 2008, replaces Dutchman Mark Wotte.

Wotte left the clubt after Swiss businessman Liebherr completed his takeover of the club earlier this month.

Saints came close to going bust after they were relegated from the Championship in May, and will begin their League One campaign on minus 10 points.


City make £15million Lescott bid - Various

Manchester City are testing Everton's resolve to hang on to defender Joleon Lescott by tabling a big-money offer. Will David Moyes be able to hold on to the centre-back?

Duo battle for Crouch - Various

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson is ready to compete with Sunderland counterpart Steve Bruce for Portsmouth striker Peter Crouch's services. Where will the England international end up?

United drop Douglas interest - The Times

Manchester United are reported to be set to end their chase of Brazilian starlet Douglas Costa as they are not prepared to meet Gremio's £20million asking price. Will Douglas make the move to Old Trafford?

Real continue Alonso pursuit - Daily Mirror

Real Madrid are preparing a £32million bid which they hope will help prise midfielder Xabi Alonso away from Liverpool. Is the Spain international set to leave Anfield?

Chelsea to keep Carvalho - The Sun

Blues coach Carlo Ancelotti is reported to have told Ricardo Carvalho to forget about a summer move to Inter Milan. Will the Portugal international stay at Stamford Bridge?

Allardyce eyes Smith - Daily Express

Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce is planning to bring Alan Smith to Ewood Park from Newcastle. Would you be happy to see the versatile former Leeds man in a Rovers shirt?

Villa prepare Distin swoop - The Sun

Martin O'Neill is hoping to bolster his defence by signing French defender Sylvain Distin from Portsmouth. Would he be a good replacement for the retired Martin Laursen?


Milan To Swoop For Inter’s Amantino Mancini


The Rossoneri could be set to make a move for the winger, according to the latest reports.
It is well known that Milan are desperate to sign an attacker this summer, having so far failed to make any significant additions following the departure of their former superstar, Kaka, to Real Madrid.

With their interest in Sevilla’s Luis Fabiano seemingly going nowhere, the Rossoneri have turned their attentions to a player from their neighbouring rivals, Inter, in Amantino Mancini.

The former Roma man is all but certain to leave the Nerazzurri in the coming weeks, just one season after his controversial move from the Italian capital.

According to Corriere dello Sport, Mancini would be an ideal addition to the Milan squad, as he would perfectly complement the likes of Ronaldinho and Pato in Leonardo’s new setup.

For now, these reports remain rumours, as both clubs are yet to comment on the speculation; however, it is claimed that the Rossoneri will consider acquiring the player on loan for the coming season, with the option to purchase him outright next summer.

[Matt]

Love the club kit based colour coding, nice addition! Cheers as ever CH, this is probably the one item on the internet I read every single day.

[cockney hammer]

Love the club kit based colour coding, nice addition! Cheers as ever CH, this is probably the one item on the internet I read every single day.

only done it like that because i have a day off will try and do it at the weekend..

[clawhammer]

Love the club kit based colour coding, nice addition! Cheers as ever CH, this is probably the one item on the internet I read every single day.

Thanks for the gossip CH as ever BUT please forget the colour coding. It is just confusing.

[Bobby Orangeboom]

AC Milano or West Ham, a tough, tough decision for Mr Mancini to ponder... :lol:

[beckton]

AC Milano or West Ham, a tough, tough decision for Mr Mancini to ponder... :lol:

but Mourinhio doing business with Milan would be like Duxbury doing business with Spurs!


:lol:

[cockney hammer]

Hammers target Obraniak set to stay with Lille



West Ham's hopes of signing Lille midfielder Ludovic Obraniak look set to be dashed.

Lille have stated that no further players are to leave the club this summer and Obraniak, who has been negotiating with the Hammes reportedly, is set for a pay rise.

[cockney hammer]

http://thegamesgonecrazy.blogspot.com/2 ... m-and.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I cannot believe how tolerant the fan base is being about the club's lack of activity in the transfer market this summer. Let's get something straight. Unless we sign two quality strikers before the season kicks off, we are going to be in desperate trouble. Zola is rumoured to be interested in Eider G (I can't spell his surname) but the club apparently can't muster £5m. You what? Are we seriously in a position where we cannot find £5m to buy a player for a key position? We also want Mancini but he is not a forward anyway and appears to be as enthusiastic about joining us as Joey Beauchamp. Look elsewhere I say!

And who have we got exactly? Cole, who I rate as a target man but not as a goalscorer, Jimenez (on loan) who is apparently more a creator than a finisher, and Ashton who seemingly needs the intervention of Jesus Christ himself to get him off his death bed. What happens if Cole and Jimenez pick up injuries exactly? Who is going to play up front? Dixon is still injured and isn't considered part of the first team so who else is there? Have I forgotten somebody? We haven't even got Sears, Di Michele or Tristan waiting in the wings!

I have heard Zola say that he is trying to "spot" where we are short. Bloody hell, Blunkett in a blindfold could spot where we are short. Let's stop the trying to spot the blindingly obvious and do something about it! And fast.

Last season a series of brilliant, backs to the wall, defensive performances kept us out of trouble. However, our goals per game return was appalling. In 38 games, we scored just 42 goals, and 8 of those had been scored in the 4 games before Zola took over. That means that in Zola's 34 games in charge, we mustered 34 goals, exactly one a game. West Brom scored 36 in 38 and Newcastle 40 in 38. Our goals per game return was what you would expect of a relegated team. Incredibly, however, personnel wise, we are in an even worse position than last season. Remember, we had Bellamy for 13 starts and he chipped in 5 goals. Take those out of the equation and we are down to 37 goals in 38 games. Ashton scored 2 in 4 too and, one way or another, I don't expect to see him playing in C&B this season. I know Tristan, Sears and Di Michele were at best ordinary, but at least they were warm live bodies who could run around up front! (OK, running was perhaps beyond Tristan but you know what I mean!)

Now I know this will provoke the "In Zola we can trust" responses but can we? His side did not score enough goals last season and I can see no reason why we would improve on that next season, unless something dramatic happens quickly. Eider and Mancini would be a start but neither are out and out goal scorers, both are creators first and finishers second. Who exactly is going to be in the six yard box tucking away the chances? I can't see anybody either on our books now or who we are being linked with. That spells relegation in my book.


bloody hell the season has not even started yet and he is tipping us for the drop. imo i just think another average season beckons and i think we will finish in 12th place

[Matt of iron]

We won't be relegated but unless we sign someone we will be 12 or even lower as you have said Ch.

This bloke is talking out of his arse.

[jam]

it's only the 17th July?

[BMU.WIC]

Amazing how many people are so ready to pull the trigger with more than a month left of the window...

...leave off. Personally my opinion is we're gonna be alright this season.

[bobd_uk]

Of course we'll sign someone - whoever wrote that is an idiot.

We'll go for players like EG, if they say no we'll work down a list. Worst case scenario is we sign someone very average, but to suggest we'll go past the end of the window with only Cole and Ashton up front is idiotic.

[Up the Junction]

it's only the 17th July?

End of thread.

[Memorial Ground]

This is why I filter out blogs from my newsnow.

[kingofthebling]

Thanks for the Info .. priceless

[Incey-is-a-moron!]

This is the worst West Ham blog on the net. I cannot remember there ever being anything worth reading on it. Just total crap.

[Dieter Eckstein]

Burnley
Wolves
Birmingham
Stoke
Portsmouth
Bolton
Hull

There's 7 reasons why we won't be relegated, even if we don't sign anyone else this summer!

[il_martello_di_genovesi]

What a ****ing prick.

[Turns to Stone]

The only thing that I agree with in that blog is that he can't spell Gudjohnsen!

Some people shouldn't be allowed an Internet connection!

[JonG86]

What a load of rubbish!