This Will Get You Up To Date
04 June : multi :
BARTON TO JOIN TOON WITH MORE TO FOLLOW
Newcastle are expected to announce the signing of Man Citeh midfielder Joey Barton later today.
Meanwhile, according to The Guardian, 'Sam Allardyce is also hopeful of fending off competition from Birmingham City and acquiring Mark Viduka on a free transfer from Middlesbrough this week.
'Yet, as ever, defence remains Newcastle's priority and the new manager intends to sign Tal Ben Haim, available on a free after allowing his contract to run down at Bolton. However, Allardyce's relationship with the Israeli international deteriorated markedly when he blocked Ben Haim's mooted move to Chelsea last January. Bridges may need to be rebuilt before any reunion takes place.'
AND AJ TO FOLLOW PARKER TO WEST HAM?
Barton is set to take Scott Parker's place at Newcastle with the midfielder poised to complete his move to West Ham today - becoming Alan Curbishley's first summer signing.
As in January, Curbishley has been given plenty of cash to spend by Eggert Magnusson. According to the back page of The Daily Mail, the Hammers will offer £13m for Andrew Johnson and tempt him south with the promise of £90,000-a-week wages.
'The England striker is aware of the interest and although West Ham expect Everton to rebuff their opening bid, the London club are prepared to go as high as £18m, which could prove too good to turn down,' it reports.
VILLA IN FOR ANOTHER MIDFIELDER
Despite plenty of gossip to the contrary, Aston Villa have yet to make their mark in this summer's market, with both Parker and Barton reputedly snubbing interest from Villa Park to move elsewhere.
So it is now being claimed that Martin O'Neill has set his sights much closer to home. 'West Bromwich midfielder Jason Koumas has revealed that Aston Villa have joined the race to sign him,' declares the Mail. 'Koumas, 27, is also a £6million target for Everton, Blackburn Rovers, Sunderland and Celtic following Albion's failure to return to the Premiership.'
Not that the Mail is necessarily a reliable guide - it claimed on Friday that Barton was joining West Ham.
ANOTHER SECTION ON HENRY
Talk of Thierry Henry leaving Arsenal will not quieten down until either he leaves Arsenal or the transfer window slams shut. The latest rumour, provided by The Sun, is that 'AC Milan are lining up a shock bid' for their columnist.
The Mail continues to maintain that Barca are on the hunt again, and 'are ready to make an official approach to Arsenal. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is on holiday so no decisions on the future of Henry, 29, will be made imminently, but it is believed that he would consider a bid of around £20 million.'
Back to The Sun. They reckon that 'Arsenal are close to signing Auxerre right-back Bakari Sagna for £6million.'
It sounds unlikely - the Gunners recently handed Emmanuel Eboue a new long-term contract, with another for his understudy, local boy Justin Hoyte. Another right-back is far from a priority, especially when that rancid piece of s**t less-than-perfect midfielder Alex Hleb is still considered a first-team pick.
If you are interested, the 24-year-old Sagna was 'recently voted France's best player in his position by his fellow players, was in the national squad for the first time for Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifying win over Ukraine.'
ANELKA UNLIKELY TO JOIN HEINZE AT MANYOO
Nicolas Anelka claims he has no plans to leave Bolton, but admits he "could not say no" to an offer from Manchester United.
Gabriel Heinze, however, is on his way out of Old Trafford. The left-back has held discusssions with Real Madrid about becoming Roberto Carlos' successor, but is now also thought to be wanted by Barcelona.
"When the internationals are over we'll see where I will play. I don't know if I'll play for Madrid or Barcelona," the Argentine is quoted as saying in The Sun.
INTERESTING STUFF FROM JOSE
Just a few days after saying that he was happy to work on a limited budget at Chelski, Jose Mourinho has announced he wants to sign a defender, a midfielder, and a striker.
In one respect, the quotes are confusing as they don't clarify whether or not Alex has already arrived from PSV. Chelski have always been deliberately vague over their ownership of the Brazilian defender, yet it is widely believed that he will move to Stamford Bridge from Holland this summer after a three-year placement with the Dutch champions. However, any such deal would only begin on July 1st - explaining why Mourinho stated he is still looking to sign a central defender.
As reported by The Independent: 'Asked how many newcomers might be joining Sidwell, Mourinho, in Africa on a charity mission with Chelsea, said:"I think three, and it is obvious a central defender because we have problems during the season with injuries in defence. A central defender, a midfielder and a striker."'
Does he mean another striker in addition to Claudio Pizarro, signed from Bayern Munich on a free transfer last week? Probably. Both Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou are expected to miss a large chunk of the domestic season due to next year's African Cup of Nations and Jose would understandably be reluctant to rely on just Andriy Shevchenko and Pizarro for a month.
"I will try to keep them [the African players] until the last moment, just before the competition starts, but they have the Fifa rules on their side so if they want to go a couple of weeks before the competition starts just to train we have to let them come," he said.
BUT WILL HE SIGN THE MAN THAT PLEATY CALLS SHIMBOMBA?
He certainly will if you believe The Sun, who are convinced that Spurs will be offered more money than they know what to do with for Pascal Chimbonda.
Spurs, they say, 'are turning to Portugal defender Jose Bosingwa as they prepare for life without Pascal Chimbonda.
'Spurs boss Martin Jol has targeted the versatile Porto right-back with a view to a £3million deal.
'Chelsea want Chimbonda and refuse to give up despite having a £10m bid knocked back last week.'
And having told us that 'a £3million deal' is in the offing, the rag then informs us:
'He is a free agent.'
Top work.
TODAY'S VICTIMS: WIGAN
Wigan have all but put pen to paper on a deal to take Titus Bramble to the JJB.
Sorry, Latics fans.
AND THE REST
Birmingham's veteran defender Bruno N'Gotty will join Leicester today on a free transfer...Wigan are close to snapping up Sheffield Wednesday's Northern Ireland international Chris Brunt in a £2million deal...Coventry are set to sign Crystal Palace full-back Gary Borrowdale for a fee that will be decided by a tribunal...Leicester have joined Southampton and Burnley in the race for Polish striker Marek Saganowski...West Brom full-back Paul Robinson wants to leave after the club failed to win promotion to the Premiership, with Sunderland ready to make a £2million bid...
...Newcastle are hoping to sign Paris Saint-Germain's Czech Republic defender David Rozehnal for £3m, which we could have told you earlier but forgot...Kilmarnock have rejected a £450,000 offer from Rangers for Steven Naismith, and will only sell for £1.5million...Celtic hope to tie up young midfielder Teddy Bjarnason on a two-year deal this week...Bolton are in talks with Antoine Sibierski...
