Blackburn confirm van Nistelrooy interest
Blackburn boss Steve Kean is planning an audacious bid to bring former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy to Ewood Park in the summer. The move is seen by many as part of a larger plan to attract Europe’s biggest talent to Ewood Park following the takeover of the club by Indian group Venkateshwara Hatcheries or Venky’s.
van Nistelrooy, who will turn 35 in July this year will be a free agent in the summer, if Hamburg do not offer him a new deal. He has spent a lot of time on the sidelines this season, but has managed to score a goal every three games for his current club. van Nistelrooy rejected an offer from Blackburn couple of seasons ago when he chose to move to Germany from Real Madrid.
‘Yes, I can confirm we are interested,’ Steve Kean told the ESPN soccernet. But the move would depend on whether Blackburn can avoid relegation and stay in the top flight. Blackburn’s striking options have not worked out well. Mame Diouf is expected to return back to United after his season long loan comes to an end. Blackburn are also unlikely to make Roque Santa Cruz’s loan move permanent. El Hadji Diouf is on loan at Rangers. Jason Roberts, thus, would be the only experienced striker at the club.
Whether Nistelrooy would accept a move to England or continue to play in Germany, is a question that would only be answered when the transfer window opens!
Football Transfer Betting: Will Luka Modric at 3/1 sign for Chelsea in the 2012 January Transfer Window...?
Hodgson and Hughton favourites for WBA job
With the winter transfer window shut, player movements may not grab the headlines; but there is a lot of speculation on the managerial front. West Bromwich Albion parted with their Italian manager Roberto Di Matteo after his side lost 0-3 against a spirited Manchester City outfit at Eastlands. Speculation is rife with possible replacements for Di Matteo’s job.
Two men who are in the forefront include Roy Hodgson and Chris Hughton. The ironic part is that both these managers were fired from their jobs at Liverpool and Newcastle respectively, in the recent past. Michael Appleton has been appointed as caretaker manager till a permanent replacement is found. The WBA board believes that Roy Hodgson is the right man to steady the ship at the Hawthorns. If he rejects the offer, Chris Hughton is set to be approached. Derek McInnes, now in charge of St Johnstone, is also in the fray.
Roberto Di Matteo did well working on a limited budget, but WBA’s form had been suffering in the last couple of months and they were sliding perilously southwards. Di Matteo could have lost his job three weeks ago but a 3-2 win against Blackpool kept his head above water. League Managers’ Association chief executive Richard Bevan criticized the decision and launched an attack against the WBA board, ” Roberto represents yet another victim of the hire and fire mentality that pervades our game. The club have big matches ahead, against Wolves and West Ham and you have to question the decision to sack the manager. It is exactly in situations like those that we all want to see clubs back the individuals they have employed rather than see the sack as a panacea.”
Football Transfer Betting -
Vela nears West Brom loan move
Arsenal forward Carlos Vela is close to sealing a loan move with West Bromwich Albion, his agent Eduardo Hernandez has confirmed. Vela will join the Baggies till the end of the season.
Bolton were in pole position to sign the Mexican on a six-month loan deal. Bolton manager Owen Coyle had publicly expressed his desire to secure the services of the 21-year old. Arsenal gave the green light for Vela to negotiate terms at the Reebok Stadium but the move failed to materialize, because of lack of assurance over first-team football.
Vela, supposedly, has 15 offers from all over the world but had narrowed them down to three last week. Spanish club Valencia were the third team in the fray, but the striker refused a move to the Mestalla as he wanted to get first-team action in England.
West Brom are also hot on the heels of Brazilian striker Ewerthon. The former Dortmund and Zaragoza striker is currently a free agent and Di Matteo believes that he could be the answer to WBA’s goalscoring woes. West Brom are also keeping tabs on Greek striker Giorgio Samaras who has refused to commit to a new deal at Celtic Park.
Football Transfer Betting -
Sunderland make Piquionne inquiry
Steve Bruce is actively scouting the market for a striker who will be Darren Bent’s replacement at the Stadium of Light. His search has taken him to West Ham where he is expected to make a £3.5 million bid for Hammers’ top scorer Frederic Piquionne. The former Monaco and Lyon striker would jump at the opportunity to move to Wearside instead of being involved in a relegation battle. Piquionne’s move to Sunderland could also depend on West Ham’s ability to sign either Demba Ba or Robbie Keane.
Sunderland were also exploring the possibility to sign Ricardo Fuller from Stoke. But with Tony Pulis refusing to budge on his valuation of the Jamaican striker, Steve Bruce turned his attention towards Piquionne.
Sunderland may also complete the loan signing of Sulley Muntari from Inter Milan. He could well be the third Ghana player at the club after Gyan Asamoah and John Mensah. “If everything is sorted out with Sunderland he will be going there. The other Ghana players at Sunderland – Asamoah Gyan and John Mensah – have told him about the club which has obviously played a part, ” Muntari’s agent said.
Football Transfer Betting -
Wolves complete Hammill signing
Wolves have completed the signing of Barnsley winger Adam Hammill for a fee reported to be around £500,000. The 22-year old who began his career as a trainee with Liverpool signed a three and a half year deal with the Molineux club. Wolves pipped West Ham, Blackpool and Nottingham Forest for Hammill’s signature. He could make his Wolves debut against Liverpool on Saturday.
In his 60 appearances for Barnsley, Hammill has managed to net 12 goals. He has been their top performer this season with eight goals to his name. As a Liverpool player, Hammill played on loan to Dunfermline, Blackpool and Southampton.
The signing of Hammill has cast fresh doubts over ht future of Matt Jarvis. Jarvis has been in scintillating form for Wolves this season and is coveted by the likes of Everton and Liverpool. Jarvis is one of England’s rising stars is soon expected to break into the national side. Only time will tell if Hammill has been signed as Jarvis’ replacement or as his understudy.
Blackburn to continue their buying spree
Blackburn boss Steve Kean is keen to add a few more players to his squad before the transfer window draws to a close. He has the full backing of the Indian group Venky’s who own the club.
Birmingham midfielder Sebastien Larsson is high on Kean’s priority list. Blackburn have tabled a bid of £500,000 for the Swede whose contract runs out at the end of the season. Birmingham might be forced to cash in on their set-piece specialist in order to avoid letting him go on a free in the summer. Larsson was excluded from the Birmingham squad that took the field against Villa. Alex McLeish has already signed David Bentley from Tottenham on loan to replace Larsson.
Blackburn are also close to completing the signing of Argentine attacking midfielder Mauro Formica from Newell’s Old Boys in a deal estimated to be around £3 million. The 22-year old has been offered a four and a half year deal by Steve Kean. Formica looked set to move to Turkish club Galatasaray but Rovers hijacked the deal at the last moment.
Kean has already signed Roque Santa Cruz from Manchester City and defensive midfielder Jermaine Jones from Schalke. Both players have been signed on six month loan deals.
Football Transfer Betting: Will Luka Modric at 3/1 sign for Chelsea in the 2012 January Transfer Window...?
Darren Bent on verge of Villa switch
Aston Villa are inching closer to a sensational £24 million swoop for Sunderland striker Darren Bent. The deal involves £18 million to be paid upfront to the Black Cats with £6 million worth of add-ons. The 26-year old England international has arrived at Midlands for a medical and could well complete his move tomorrow. The move, which would be the club record fee for Aston Villa, clearly emphasizes Randy Lerner’s support for Gerrard Houllier.
Darren Bent formally submitted a transfer request following Sunderland’s 1-1 draw against Newcastle at the Stadium of Light, which the club accepted with a heavy heart.
Darren Bent has been one of the Premier League’s most prolific marksman. Since making his debut in 2005, Bent has scored 81 League goals – a figure which is bettered only by Didier Drogba and Wayne Rooney with 82 goals. After moving to Sunderland from Tottenham for a fee of around £10 million, Bent has scored 32 goals in 58 games.
Aston Villa have already completed the signing of Cameroon midfielder Jean Makon for about £7 million. Makoun was a pivotal player in the Lyon squad managed by Houllier a couple of seasons ago.
Football Transfer Betting: Will Luka Modric at 3/1 sign for Chelsea in the 2012 January Transfer Window...?
Pienaar looks set for Chelsea move
Chelsea have stolen a march on rivals Tottenham in the race to sign Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar. The South African midfielder whose contract runs out in the summer, has been the subject of interest from a lot of clubs in Europe. Everton are willing to sell him in the January window rather than letting him go on a free at the end of the season.
David Moyes has said that the club has accepted two bids for Pienaar in the region of around £3 million. Carlo Ancellotti is desperate to sign the dynamic midfielder in order to arrest the slump that might see his side slip out of the top four.
Pienaar joined Everton from Borussia Dortmund in 2007 for £2 million. He has been exceptional for the Toffees and even won the player of the year award last season at Goodison Park. He indicated his desire to leave the Merseyside club when he rejected their offer of a new contract six months ago.
Moyes is hoping to use the funds from the Pienaar sale for purchasing new players in the market. Many players set to exit Goodison as well. Nigerian forward Yakubu became the first player to leave when he joined Championship side Leicester City on loan till the end of the season.
Tottenham have shifted their focus onto FC Twente striker Bryan Ruiz who has set the Eredivisie on fire with his goals.
Football Transfer Betting: Will Luka Modric at 3/1 sign for Chelsea in the 2012 January Transfer Window...?
West ham eye Flores and Bridge
Reports in Italy indicate that West Ham are set to table a £5 million bid for Udinese striker Antonio Floro Flores. The deal would involve the 27-year old striker moving to Upton Park on loan till the end of the season with the Hammers having an option to buy him in the summer. The bid to sign Flores is a bit perplexing given that Italians have historically not done will in the Premier League. But Avram Grant is ready to take this gamble after missing out on Mbokani.
Wayne Bridge’s loan move to West Ham from Manchester City is more or less confirmed. The Hammers are trying hard to get the former Chelsea left-back registered in time to face Arsenal on Saturday. City coach Roberto Mancini confirmed that Bridge was in London undergoing a medical at West Ham. Grant needs cover at left back with Herita Ilunga injured for most of the season. Bridge’s substitute appearance against Aston Villa might well have been his last game in a City shirt.
Football Transfer Betting -