AGUERO SIGNS FOR CITY
With flagrant disregard for Financial Fair Play Rules, Manchester City have signed Sergio Aguero from Atletico Madrid for a fee thought to be around £40m. The Argentinean forward’s signing is a defiant statement of intent to the whole Premier League, one that proves City are genuine title contenders. Once infamously branded ‘noisy neighbours’ by Alex Ferguson, expect City to crank up the volume and give the Scot a few sleepless nights this season. If City are to balance the books however, homesick Carlos Tevez must surely be sold before the end of the transfer window.
FERGUSON THINKING ABOUT GETTING A BRAZILIAN
Alex Ferguson is considering signing Brazilian wunderkind Adryan from Flamengo. The 16-year old netted eight goals in fourteen matches at the Under 17 World Cup. Ferguson has apparently been keen on signing the youngster for some time, but faces competition from Barcelona in the fight to sign him. His agent has said that clubs must first agree a fee with Flamengo before serious negotiations can take place. With 3 years to run on his contract, and the two biggest clubs in Europe fighting it out for his signature, prepare yourselves for a long, drawn out affair with this one…
CHELSEA LOOK TO POACH ADAM JOHNSON
With the Financial Fair Play Rules and a bloated squad weighing heavy on their minds, Man City must be looking at offloading some players. You know it, I know it, and apparently Roman Abramovich knows it too. Chelsea boss Andre Villas Boas is apparently interested in the 24-year-old winger, and Abramovich has reportedly given him the green light to put in a bid. Roberto Mancini will not be at all keen on losing the England winger however, and will demand huge money if he is to leave. Still, look on the bright side Roberto, you’ve still got Milner and Wright-Phillips…
Meanwhile at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have improved their initial £18m for Romanu Lukaku to £20m in an attempt to lure him away from Anderlecht.
SPURS HIJACK ARSENAL BID FOR MATA
How many is it now, about 320? It’s definitely over three hundred. I got up to about 307 before I lost count and then missed a few while making a coffee. Let’s call it 310. Yes, the three hundred and tenth supposed hijacking of an Arsenal bid this summer has arrived, and this time it’s their hated North London rivals Spurs. The Spain Under-21 captain Juan Mata has a £20m buy-out clause in his contract, which is likely to deter penny-pinching Arsene Wenger, but just might be low enough for Spurs to throw a cheeky bid his way. Maybe a swap deal for Crouch? Rumours are that Stoke are in for the big forward, but rumour has it that Valencia is even nicer than the Potteries.
FABREGAS ORDEAL MAY SOON BE OVER.
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas and his agent are to meet with Arsene Wenger and Arsenal Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis for a four-man Battle Royal to decide once and for all the future of the Spanish midfielder. The match-up is set for some time on Friday morning, and rumour has it that Wenger will be using the trusty ball and chain he so successfully beat Samir Nasri into submission with recently. Fabregas on the other hand will be relying on his cheerleaders, the entire Barcelona starting eleven, who (while possibly wearing frilly skirts and boob tubes) will be screaming support from the sidelines. Meanwhile expect to see tabloid journalists running frantically around the country to find a footballer whose future they can speculate over for the next seven years.
ON THE CONTINENT
PSG are said to be interested in signing 21-year-old Man United target Ganso for a whopping £35m. Have PSG heard of Financial Fair Play?
Valencia are lining up a bid for Newcastle captain Fabricio Colloccini.
Lazio are supposedly interested in Liverpool target Miralem Pjanic.
IN OTHER NEWS
Javier Hernandez has spent a night in hospital after suffering a ‘mild concussion’ during United’s pre-season tour of the USA.
The pots for the World Cup 2014 have been decided, and to spare you weeks of mind-bending calculations about who each team could face in qualifying, suffice to say that England could meet France. The draw takes place on Saturday.
Senegal have banned El Hadji Diouf from all footballing activities after he failed to attend a disciplinary hearing. It’s unclear why he missed the hearing, but it’s certain that he wasn’t at training, as he has also been fined by Blackburn Rovers for not showing up. If you see him, maybe suggest he buy a personal organiser. From outside spitting range, obviously…