Juventus have offered 45 million pounds for Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez, according to Corinthians president Andres Sanchez.Brazilian Serie A club Corinthians have already seen a bid in the region of 35 million for their former player rejected by City, who are believed to be looking for a fee around the 50 million-mark.
And Sanchez has claimed that Juventus have joined the race to sign the Argentine, although there has been no confirmation from the Italians that this is the case.
“Nothing has changed. They have to decide whether to sell or not,” Sanchez told reporters in Brazil.
“They have a proposal for 52 million euros (45 million pounds) from Juventus, but Tevez does not want to stay in Europe.”
“I keep dreaming. I made the offer in the end, even I was surprised. But it now depends on City. If I am president of a club that has Tevez then I would not want to sell. But the word of the player has a lot of weight.”
Juventus’ Serie A rivals Inter Milan have confirmed their latest signing, swooping for Brazilian defender Jonathan from Santos for an undisclosed amount.
The defender had been training with the Milan club since Wednesday, with the final details have now been ironed out to officially make the 25-year-old an Inter player.
“I’m delighted to have this chance to ply my trade here and show what I’m capable of,” he said.
Returning to the English Premier League, Aston Villa have reportedly lodged a bid of 10 million pounds for Wigan Athletic midfielder Charles N’Zogbia.
Villa are looking to fill the void left by the impending departure of Stewart Downing to Liverpool and see N’Zogbia as the perfect replacement.
The Midlands side currently have money to spend given the fees received for both Downing and Manchester United new boy Ashley Young.
The Frenchman scored nine goals in 34 appearances last year for Wigan, and Alex McLeish will hope he can replicate that form for the Midlands club.
Elsewhere in the Premier League, Blackburn appear set to land Argentine forward Mariano Pavone on a three-year deal.
The 29-year-old spent the 2010/11 season on-loan at River Plate from La Liga club Real Betis, but now is destined for a move to England: “He is now looking forward to the next chapter with an ambitious club like Blackburn,” Pavone’s representative Barry McIntosh told Sky Sports.
Having spent time in Spain, England and Turkey over the past three seasons, USA international Jozy Altidore is move again this season after revealing via Twitter he has signed for Dutch club AZ Alkmaar.
“To all my amazing fans, I have indeed agreed to terms to join AZ In holland!” the 21-year-old wrote on Friday.
In Germany, Rosenborg midfielder Per Skjelbred will join Hamburg in August after the two clubs finally came to an agreement on what date he would link up with the Bundesliga club.
Argentina manager Sergio Batista refused to call his side’s Copa America campaign a ‘failure’ on Saturday.Batista was speaking after the 5-4 penalty shootout defeat in the quarter-finals to Uruguay, which came after 120 minutes of football ended with a 1-1 scoreline.
Uruguay’s Diego Perez was sent off after just 39 minutes but Argentina could not make the most of their numerical advantage, before midfielder Javier Mascherano was sent off late in normal time.
“I wouldn’t call it a failure,” Batista said.
“We had the same objective, to win the tournament. We worked to win it. We just have to continue working to get to the most important thing, and that is the World Cup.”
“We have to continue working to get better.”
Batista also felt Mascherano should not have been sent off, while praising Lionel Messi who scored one of Argentina’s four penalties in the shootout but was not able to find the back of the net in normal time.
“It wasn’t worth a red card,” he said about his captain.
“Lionel had a very good game. I always like how he plays. In the second half, he was down as was the entire team.”
Uruguay striker Luis Suarez was delighted, comparing the win to another famous triumph on July 16.
That was the date that Uruguay won the 1950 FIFA World Cup Final against Brazil 2-1, beating the host nation, and they repeated the dose in Santa Fe by stunning the Argentine support.
Suarez also praised the fans from Uruguay to watch the crucial match.
“July 16 was a historic date, and we talked about it, and we also wanted to make history,” Suarez said.
“It’s an incredible moment. I believe we deserved it because in the first half ‘the Russian’ (Diego Perez) was sent off, and justice was served.”
“We knew playing against the hosts was going to be difficult because we had all of the stadium against us, but we have to thank all of the fans and family who came to support us.”
Uruguay not meet Peru in the first semi-final on Tuesday in La Plata.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has denied claims he is a dictator, made by former Executive Committee member Mohamed Bin Hammam.Deposed Asian Football Confederation president Bin Hammam used the term to describe ally-turned-rival Blatter, soon after the Qatari was found guilty of corruption charges on Saturday.
But Blatter, 75, hit back on Wednesday in Rio de Janiero, ahead of Saturday’s preliminary round draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil.
“I am not a dictator, as has been said,” the Swiss said.
“I am not alone, I work with my executive committee, with my administration, and with a lot of advisors.”
“They know what it means to have transparency on one side, and anti-corruption on the other side. Do not forget that in FIFA we have 300 million people who work directly in football and in 300 million you cannot have only good people.”
“But I will not make any comments on the decisions of the Ethics Committee, and the follow-up by the media, and I ask you to understand my situation and let FIFA work in compliance with the strong demand of the FIFA Congress to go forward.”
Blatter refused to comment specifically on Bin Hammam, who is planning to appeal the findings from the FIFA’s Ethics Committee.
FIFA also announced that the 2014 World Cup would run from June 12 until its conclusion on July 13.
Arsene Wenger is one man that is clearly splitting opinion in and around the Emirates. The Frenchman once walked on water around these parts but six years without a major trophy has seen patience tested to the ultimate limit, with few willing to sit back and accept the excuses anymore. It could have been a whole different summer for the Frenchman had his charges not failed to show up at Wembley back in February. The problem with unrest at a football club is that causes people to panic and I truly believe that is what happened by Arsene on deadline day.
I have to say Arsenal’s activity completely baffled me if I am honest. Of course the signing of Per Mertesaker was superb and much needed, but can the same be said of the rest of the additions? The loss of Fabregas and Nasri was obviously a problem hole to fill, but is Benayoun and the injury prone Arteta really the answer? Wenger must have known that he was set to lose the duo months previous which makes the decision to replace them in the last hours of the transfer window all the more confusing – knee jerk reaction to their 8-2 trouncing perhaps, I mean it wasn’t as if these players were readily available to sign at any point this summer.
Looking at some of the Arsenal blogs there does appear to be optimism in their transfer dealings. I often wonder if that is more to the delight of seeing new faces and seeing Wenger spend some money, rather than thinking they will actually improve the current team. Mikel Arteta has masses of ability, but let’s be honest he isn’t in the same league as the two departed. It also begs the question that with this obvious optimism among supporters as to whether this will buy Wenger more time to bring success to the Emirates? I am sure the answer to this question in most cases will be no, but surely you can’t expect all the new signings to hit the ground running?
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Wenger has been in the game long enough to realise that he is under pressure to deliver silverware therefore why didn’t he look to have his new look squad ready weeks before the season started? Could it actually be, as I truly believe, that Wenger felt the likes of Ramsey and Rosicky would be able to fill in with ease this season and their unconvincing start forced his hand? There just doesn’t appear to be any other logic behind the delay in strengthening this squad, given the amount of money they received with the sales of Fabregas and Nasri alone. Delaying his purchases until the last knockings has done nothing but put Arsenal back this season as they are completely underprepared for the rigours ahead. Wenger is certainly not the first manager and won’t be the last to react to pressure, I just wonder if the poor preparation and subsequent panic buying may have taken his Arsenal side back further.
The Daily Mirror exclusively reports this morning that a bid has been received from a Qatari financial body, reported to be backed by the Royal Family, for the full value of Manchester United. The unpopular Glazer family have endured serious financial difficulties since the start of the recession and will have to give serious consideration to the bid, which the Mirror says is in the region of £1.5bn.
In today’s other stories, Mohammed Bin Hammam’s appeal against his lifelong ban from football has been denied by a FIFA appeals committee, Sol Campbell blames “institutionalised” prejudices in English football for the lack of black or ethnic minority managers in the Football League, and there are growing fears for the whereabouts of former West Ham striker Savio after the German youth international went missing from his current Italian side, Juve Stadia. Interpol are joining the efforts to locate the 22–year-old.
Qatari Royal Family in £1.5bn bid for Manchester United – Daily Mirror
FIFA appeal committee upholds Bin Hammam’s life ban – The Guardian
Parliament ramps up the pressure on FA to reform – The Guardian
Bayern Munich lining up new bid for Malouda – The Sun
Campbell: Lack of black managers is thanks to “institutionalised” prejudice – Daily Mirror
Spurs to land starlet after hush-hush trial game – Mirror
Wenger won’t rule out permanent deal for Benayoun – Mirror
Fletcher: United facing toughest title defence yet – The Guardian
Fabregas: Hard to see Arsenal winning trophies any time soon – The Independent
Agbonlahor: I almost quit Villa because of Houllier – Daily Telegraph
Pardew: Taylor ready for England call – Daily Mail
Bruce may give teen prodigy Wickham first Premier League start this weekend – Daily Mail
Former Hammers striker Savio feared missing in Italy – Daily Mail
Ball thieves leave Wigan kicking air – Daily Mirror
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An England under 21 international who has been tipped for a big future in the game by one of footballs most successful coaches in Carlo Anceloti, Josh McEachran is so very close to making it at the top level of our game. He is currently training daily with the senior squad at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground, and has regularly found himself occupying the bench for the club in the last 12 months.
Yet, history proves that as close as he is, there is still a long way to go for the youngster. A creative midfielder, in his handful of appearances McEachran has impressed the faithful at Stamford Bridge with his sure touch and precise passing game. However, with his 20 appearances thus far largely off the substitute’s bench, both McEachran and the club must not run the risk of allowing his development to stagnate.
Chelsea are blessed with numerous options in midfield and the summer signings of Juan Mata and Oriel Romeu seem to have further limited McEachran’s chances of a consistent run in the Chelsea first team. At one point in the season, if suspensions and injuries combine, McEachran may well just get his chance to make an impact under Andre Villas-Boas. But, what if the Chelsea midfield remains largely injury free? Quite simply, McEachran needs football.
At any stage of their career, footballers need to be playing competitive football regularly. With the news that Swansea City may be interested in taking McEachran on loan, surely the move can only benefit all parties involved.
Jack Wilshere found himself in a similar situation in January 2010, on the cusp of making it into the Arsenal first team. Wilshere was sent on loan to Bolton and under the management of Owen Coyle made a significant impact for the club. Bolton wanted to take Wilshere on loan once more at the start of last season but Arsene Wenger had seen enough.
Wilshere was thrown straight into the first team and went on to win PFA Young Player of the Year. Now a regular in both the Arsenal and England sides, few would doubt the effect his short spell at Bolton had in helping establish himself.
Brendan Rogers has been working wonders for Swansea and the clubs style of football is well suited to McEachran’s natural game. Rogers, a former youth coach at Chelsea, would be the perfect manager to aid McEachran in his devlopment.
If the move goes ahead, or at the very least McEachran finds himself on loan at another Premier League club this season, and the young midfielder is successful, then there is every chance McEachran can be a Chelsea regular in the near future.
A loan move is the best one for all, let’s just hope for McEachran’s sake that the club do not let his talents waste away by a continued lack of competitive football.
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With an ever increasing amount of foreign players plying their trade in the Premier League, debate in recent years has often revolved around their impact on English football and in particular the youth development in this country. It is often suggested that clubs increasing willingness to go out and spend on a foreigner, is the reason why there is a lack of good English talent coming through, but can we really blame the foreign invasion for the state of youth development in this country?
If we look at the national teams results alone, it would be difficult to suggest that the presence of foreign footballers in the Premier League has had a detrimental effect. In 1992 the Premier League boasted a mere 12 foreigners, and England faced a barren few years at international level. Over the past decade the number of foreign players in the English game has swelled to huge levels, and England-ignoring fans and media expectation-haven’t had a bad record at major championships during this time.
It could be argued that the level of quality foreigners in the English game has actually raised the standards of our home-grown talent, as the English players who now make the break through to senior sides have to be of a very high quality and merit their place, due to the competition they face. Foreign players have undoubtedly improved the standard of English players, who can only improve by playing against the best players in the world on a regular basis. They have also brought improvements to the game in terms of nutrition and training, which have ultimately upped the level of English players.
English clubs have spent millions developing their academy systems and bringing up the youth in this country, yet it often seems as if this talent is stunted from progressing any further, as clubs are likely to go for a quick fix option and buy cheaper foreign players. Young English players need time to develop, and they are increasingly not afforded this luxury, as their places are taken by cheaper foreign imports. There is no doubt that practising every day with the best talent in the world is one way to improve standards, but young players must also be afforded the chance to break through at senior level.
Despite the congested nature of a lot of the big clubs, exceptional talents are still able to break through if they are good enough. England internationals like Steven Gerrard and John Terry broke through and managed to cement first team places at big English clubs. However, it appears that this is not always the case, and more often than not young talent has been held back. Look at how long it took Daniel Sturridge to breakthrough the ranks at Chelsea. If players are deemed worthy then they should be given a fair shot, rather than relying on cameo appearances and being shipped out on loan. The problem seems to lie in the footballing philosophy and mindset in England. Clubs are simply more concerned about short term solutions, as long term investment in academies and nurturing players for the future often takes a back seat to the constant demand for results and success.
Clubs have also taken to scouring other countries for teenage talent, at the expense of developing home-grown players, although there have been moves to stem the flow of foreigners in the Premier League. Under the recent home-grown quota rule, clubs must now fill a third of their sides with home-grown talent, who have spent their formative years being coached in England/Wales. However, players who come from foreign countries at a young age, still qualify as home-grown, despite the fact that they are not eligible to play for England, which is a severe blow to this country’s youth development. The rule, instead of creating a philosophy where we base youth development around young English talent, simply continues to allow clubs to bring in teenage talent from other countries. If clubs can bypass the intention of the rule so easily, then it is unlikely to have much of an impact on real proper development in this country.
If we take Arsenal as an example, a number of their players who qualify as home-grown are not eligible to play for England, so what point does the rule serve? If anything the new rules will make clubs start scouring even harder for foreign teenage talent and ultimately jack up the fees of young English players even further. This then leads to a vicious cycle, where clubs are forced to look abroad, where they can get more for their money. The new demands encourage clubs to invest in their academies and promote from within which is positive, but academies must be filled with English not foreign talent, otherwise we are only aiding other countries progression, and making the English talent pool even smaller. Academy sides are now as cosmopolitan as senior sides, and this is not in the best interests of the national side. The home-grown rule doesn’t solve any problems, and though it is a way of getting clubs to stop neglecting their academies, it doesn’t stop them neglecting English youth.
It seems as if we are at a crossroads, of whether we want to see the best league in the world, with the best players, or we want a thriving national side with the best English players. Having such a fantastic league is all well and good, but forcing English players to wait in the wings as foreign players jump ahead of them serves no purpose. Obviously we don’t want to lower the quality of the leagues level, for the sake of fulfilling some quota, as this won’t be of benefit to anyone, or force anyone to improve, but there has to be some sort of changes to aid English youth development. The Premier League recently announced their Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) which seems to be a move in the right direction, as it aims to produce more top quality English players, but we will have to see if the changes have any real impact.
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It is unfair to place the blame for the state of youth development in this country solely on the influx of foreign talent, as there are other issues like investment in grass-roots, coaching quality and talent pool which all have some effect. However, the foreign influx is a contributing factor behind why English talent is failing to make the breakthrough to the next level. As well as welcoming the wonderful talent from the world stage, it is important that home-grown talent is also afforded the chance to breakthrough, and the opportunity to develop at senior level. As exciting as foreign imports are, their presence does little to promote the development of English players through the ranks, and a balance must be struck between the two, in order for youth development in this country to progress.
Do you think the influx of foreign players has had a negative effect on youth development in this country? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below or following me on Twitter @LaurenRutter for more comment and debate.
If you ask any football fan, they will always have certain issues and laws within the game that irk them more than others, and even when casting around for ideas on this feature, many different suggestions were put forward, including the rather humorous one that I should include ‘the way all refs favour Manchester United’ and whilst Ryan Babel may be nodding in agreement, I’m sure all the United fans reading this are dying to comment and disagree! In seriousness, football is the beautiful game, yet some of the ridiculous rulings imposed by governing bodies are stopping the full enjoyment of the game, and this needs to end.
So I have complied a list of the top ten rulings in football that range from just something people disagree on to the downright ludicrous that have all fans screaming in the standards and even the pundits in the studio shaking their heads.
Click on Howard Webb to unveil the top rulings that have to change
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Do you agree? What are the rulings that annoy you the most? Comment to me on twitter @RebeccaKnight01
Francesco Totti is a Serie A legend, one of the greatest Italian footballers of modern times. A player of his calibre certainly needs a WAG of equally high quality and that’s exactly what Totti has got in the shape of Ilary Blasi. Ilary Blasi, aka Mrs Francesco Totti, used to be a model and showgirl before settling down to the life as a wife of a professional footballer and World Cup winner.
She has caught the attention of the Italian press and public, having featured in Italy Offside three times in their regular WAG feature. But just in case you’ve not had the pleasure of seeing Ilary Blasi before then here she is and make sure you look out for her on TV when you’re next in Italy on your holidays!
Click on Ms Blasi below to see her in all her glory
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Steve Parish, the Crystal Palace chairman has this week spoken out over the EPPP and the new rules which will soon come into force, stating that it is a ‘brazen attempt’ to help the wealthy elite comply with UEFA’s home grown rule. Well I have to say, that on the surface Steve seems entirely correct.
I am fully aware that in the past I have been critical of FIFA, UEFA and the likes, and especially of the home grown rule, stating that there is little point to it, because of the loopholes involved in the rule – Fabregas qualifying as a home grown player for Arsenal pretty much says it all here – and with the EPPP now set to abolish the 60 minute rule (where the club’s academy can only recruit youngsters within a 60 minute radius) and now most top clubs will be able to implement a nationwide policy, allowing them to cherry pick youngsters from the Football league clubs to join their top academy’s. Oh, and another thing – gone will be the tribunal system and a fixed compensation scheme will take its place – one suspects this again will favour the elitist clubs.
Whilst United academy manager Brian McClair is more than happy to talk up the system, saying it is the only way we can keep up with our European counterparts – most notably the Spanish who’s youth system, especially at Barcelona, has produced the likes of Fabregas, Pique, Messi, Xavi and Iniesta – and without the new EPPP rules, they would have no chance.
Yet it does just seem like a thinly veiled attempt to favour the elite clubs – 22 of the football league clubs voted against the new proposals due to the fear of the ‘top’ clubs now being able to poach their talent easier than ever before.
A class one academy – such as United or Chelsea – will, under the EPPP rules, be allowed to attend any training ground session to watch a potential prospect providing they give 48 hour’s notice. Well as Parish rightly points out, it is like letting lions into the petting zoo or indeed Balotelli into a firework shop and such easy access is quite frankly ludicrous. What chance do football league clubs have of holding on to these players?
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The Premier League however will have you believe that they are in actual fact doing the football league clubs a favour with the new fixed compensation structure, removing the uncertainty of ‘unearthing a gem’ and giving a fixed income which would in their calculations, take the income of the clubs who were involved in 125 deals over the last four years from £17 million to £25million.
Whether this will ring true is anyone’s guess, and it has to be said that the argument of trying to keep up with Europe’s elite does not ring entirely true here – Barcelona when playing United’s under 16’s had three players from Africa and one from Argentina – well they are not from anywhere in Spain, and when you think of their Academy’s greatest triumph of recent years – Messi – again not a Spanish international.
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The EPPP is clearly about allowing the best of the English crop of young players to move to the top Premier League clubs and be able to register as home grown. Even the way the Football League agreed to the proposals is typical of the FA – in the same weekend that the Premier League agreed to increase parachute payments and provide solidarity money for the football league they were ‘informed’ of the EPPP scheme and their anticipated support in exchange for the afore mentioned proposals.
I have to say I fully agree with Parish when he says that the gulf between the football league and top clubs – or even the gap between the top few and the rest in the premier league will widen, and all to allow our elite clubs an easy ride when it comes to home grown registration of players. To say this is about the English national team is a downright lie. Since when have Fergie or any of the top managers or even players in their clubs – think Gerrard here – put their country before their club? They do not. At least if the FA manned up and called the EPPP proposals what they are people may have a modicum of respect for them. As it is, they have attempted to disguise yet another way to benefit the league’s elite.