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Barcelona claim they only spent £65m on Luis Suarez

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Suarez’s move to the Camp Nou was by far the biggest profile transfer of the summer and after finally being allowed to present their newest asset to the Barca crowd, the Spanish giants decided to clear the air.

Barcelona claim that despite suggestions from Liverpool that they had to meet Suarez’s impressive £75m buy-out clause, they actually only spent £65m.

Barca official Jordi Mestre said: “The cost of signing Suarez was €81million (£65million).”

He went on to say that they got him at this lowered price “because of his great desire to come.”

The Merseyside club still insits that they got the Catalan giants to pay full price to acquire the forward’s services but with Barca having a history of negotiating down player prices, it’s unclear at the moment which club is right.


By Phil Wellbrook

Arsenal closing in on Rabiot signing

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Arsenal were allowed to speak to the player over the weekend and it seems that PSG are willing to let him leave after he turned down a new contract offered by the Parisien club.

After reports of the French giants accepting the Gunners’ £5.6m bid emerged, Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio says the PSG man is on the verge of joining Arsene Wenger’s side.

It is thought that Roma have made a late bid for Rabiot in an attempt to hijack the deal but the North London side have offered the teenager an impressive new deal and are really pushing to see the deal through.

The 19 year-old’s current contract with the Ligue 1 champions runs out at the end of the season and he has publically expressed his desire to play in the premier League in the past.

Rabiot will fight for a place against some of the best midfielders in the league, including Mesut Ozil, Aaron ramsey and Santi cazorla if he does join the Gunners in the end.


By Phil Wellbrook

Rogers: We’re after 1 more world class striker

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Liverpool Manager Brendan Rogers has spoken about his desire to sign a top class striker to partner Daniel Sturridge to help fire his Liverpool side to the premier league title.

Liverpool lost out winning their first premier league crown by only a couple of point last season curtesy of an end to the season to forget and Rogers is keen to make amends this time round.

Luis Suarez has come and gone and his 30+ goals of last season need replacing, a win of Southampton at the weekend papered over the cracks but if Liverpool are to challenge for the title and in the champions league Rogers must buy a suitable replacement for the Uruguayan.

“I do still think we need another striker,” Rodgers said. “It is something that we will look at but that will depend on the availability of one. Sunday was about winning and we got there.

“So we will search for that through to the end of the window but you see the players, the quality that we have.”

Liverpool face champions Manchester City on Monday night and the reds will rely heavily on Sturridge if they are to pick up points at the Etihad, Rogers is all to aware his front line needs bolstering ahead of the long campaign.

Our ambitions here at Liverpool have to be bigger than one player, big clubs lose big players and our ambitions are bigger than Luis.

Liverpool have been linked with Cavani, Falcao, Lavezzi to name a few and there was also a failed attempt at signing Loic Remy after the QPR player failed a medical.

By Alastair Cook

£62 million duo impress Mourinho

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Chelsea beat Burnley 3-1 last night in what was described by many as very impressive with new signings Fabregas & Diego Costa excelling on their Chelsea debuts.

Mourinho has singled out the duo who were outstanding especially Cesc Fabregas who was involved in all 3 goals including a masterful chip to Shurrle for the second goal.

Jose has said the duo has lifted Chelsea to a new level and are ready to compete on all fronts as his impressive squad takes shape and already sit top of the Barclays Premier League table.

He also praised the blues strength of character after falling behind to an early goal with Turf Moor rocking on a cold Monday night, they managed to turn it all around within 20 minutes and were 3-1 up at half time. Chelsea cruised in the second half seeing the lion share of possession and bossed the tempo.

Mourinho felt that Costa was extremely unlucky when judged to have dived in the box when Burnley keeper Heaton raced out and seemed to clip him sending the striker flying, but apart from that he described it as the perfect start.

The man of the match was given to Fabregas which Jose Mourinho ‘completely agreed with’ he went on to say his Spanish midfielder controllers the tempo of the match and provided the key assists.

He told Sky Sports: “We had control of the game and in some moments we had the quality and style which we want to play.

“You gave Cesc the man of the match and I completely agree. He was the maestro and controlled the tempo of the game with (Nemanja) Matic.

“He dictated the speed and intensity of the game

“Diego did something very important for us which was the first goal. His movement and interaction with Eden (Hazard), Oscar and Schurrle was very good, although I feel sorry for him because it was a penalty and never a yellow card.”

Chelsea next fixture is at home to Leicester on Saturday and he’ll need his duo to be on song again if they are to break down the foxes defence.

By Alastair Cook

Arsenal and Tottenham to battle it out for Alex Song

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North London rivals, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, are set to battle it out for FC Barcelona midfielder Alex Song, after the Cameroon international was told he could leave the club this Summer.

New manager Luis Enrique, has told Song that he is not in his plans this season, and if he stays at the Nou Camp, he would be sitting in the reserves, rather than in the first-team, and that has sparked a transfer battle between several teams around Europe.

A few big teams in the Premier League are interested in Song’s availability, but it appears that Arsenal and Tottenham are favourites to land the ex-Gunner.

It’s believed a loan move could take place this Summer, with a view to a permanent signing next year.

Whether Arsenal officially make a move to re-sign their former-midfielder, it’s unknown, due to him leaving the club under a cloud due to falling out with assistant manager, Steve Bould, but Arsene Wenger has made it public knowledge that he’s keen to sign a defensive midfielder.

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

Scholes: Wenger is to blame for Wilshere

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Manchester United legend Paul Scholes says Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is to blame for midfielder Jack Wilshere’s career stalling. 

The former England international was highly critical of Wilshere’s progress last season, and believes that the player has not grown in development since he was 17. 

Scholes admitted that he hoped his view would stay private but has now took a swing at Wenger, pin-pointing the fact that the boss has not helped Wilshere develop in the way that he should. 

Scholes said: “I wasn’t having a pop [at Wilshere]. 

“I was disappointed he wasn’t being helped by his club, by his manager or his assistant manager.

“As an English midfield player I just want him to do better. I know he has had a nightmare with those ankles, but I played against him when he was 17 and I just thought ‘Jesus’.” 

By Ollie Brown

Liverpool remain in the hunt for Falcao

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Liverpool have not given up on the signing of Falcao, despite being told how much the AS Monaco striker would cost them this summer.

Brendan Rodgers is eager to replace the gaping hole left by the talismanic striker Luis Suarez in the Anfield attack this season following his £75 million move to Barcelona last month.

He has identified Falcao, Samuel Eto’o and Edinson Cavani as potential replacements, with the former Porto man Falcao believed to be the favoured out of the three by Rodgers.

Daniel Sturridge and veteran Rickie Lambert are Liverpool’s current centre forward options, and the Liverpool boss is keen to add more depth to his front line with a long season ahead.

The striker would demand wages of around £200,000 as well as a huge transfer fee to tempt Monaco into selling their most prized asset. Having already sold James Rodriguez this summer, the French side don’t want to lose both unless they make a financial gain from the deal.

Liverpool will have to move quickly for the striker, with just under two weeks remaining in this summer’s transfer window. If they can’t agree a deal this summer they could risk missing out to Real Madrid next summer once they’ve moved a couple of players on to free up the transfer money, having already spent their budget on the forementioned Rodriguez.

Written by Matthew Derrig

Garth Crook’s opening weekend XI

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After an exhilarating opening weekend of the Barclays Premier League, football pundit Garth Crooks has published his first eleven that has shone during the opening matches.

It appears that buisness is resumed, with Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea all winning, with Manchester United losing against Swansea at Old Trafford. 

Burnely were a surprise package against Chelsea eventhough they eventually lost 3-1 to Chelsea, with Hull and Swansea both impressing. 

Any players who featured during Monday night’s clash of Chelsea vs Burnely will not feature.  

Here is the XI picked by Garth Crooks: 

GK: McGregor- Hull City 

RB: Eric Dier- Tottenham

CB: Chester- Hull City

CB: Vlaar- Aston Villa  

LB: Clichy- Manchester City 

CM: Gardner- Sunderland

CM: Sigurdsson

CM: Silva- Manchester City

LW: Sterling- Liverpool

ST: Dzeko- Manchester City

RW: Berahino- West Brom

 

Do you agree with Garth?, if not who would you of picked? let us know..

 

By Ollie Brown 

 

Chelsea become the frontrunners for Carvalho

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Chelsea have become the favourites to sign highly rated midfielder William Carvalho from Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon this summer.

The 22-year old has been linked with both Arsenal and Manchester United over the last six months, but their hesitation to make a bid during this time could see Chelsea swoop in for the holding midfielder.

Jose Mourinho claimed earlier in the transfer window that he had finished his summer transfer business, although they then went on to re-sign former striker Didier Drogba which suggests the ‘Special One’ is still on the lookout should a quality player become available.

Arsenal have been linked for a while with the Sporting player, but now look to turn to PSG’s Adrien Rabiot as a long term alternative to current holding midfielder Mikel Arteta with the £35 million price tag for the Portuguese international thought to be putting him off.

Carvalho would face competetion with Nemanja Matic in the Chelsea XI, although with Mourinho having doubts over John Obi Mikel’s ability, Carvalho could provide that alternate option to the Serbian should he get injured or rested throughout the season.

Written by Matthew Derrig

Benatia ready to pen new deal at Roma

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Roma fullback Mehdi Benatia is ready to snub a move and sign a new deal at Italian Serie A side Roma, according to The Daily Express. 

The 27 year old is set to meet Roma officials in the coming days to negotiate a new deal, with Chelsea and Manchester United both keen to prize the player to the Premier League. 

German side Bayern Munich are also keen, with Roma previously slapping a £40 million price tag upon the player. 

Benatia is a regular in the Italian side, and will compete with new signing Ashley Cole in the fullback position, with Benatia set to sign a new long term contract with Rudi Garcia’s side. 

By Ben Reardon 

@BenReardon1


 

Di Maria given permission to speak to Manchester United

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Angel Di Maria has been given permission to speak to Manchester United, reports The Metro. 

The Real Madrid has slipped down the pecking order of late, and is a transfer target for Louis Van Gaal, who is more than keen to add to his current squad. 

Real are demanding around £50 million for Di Maria’s services, with French Ligue 1 side PSG also keen. 

But Van Gaal will be hoping that the pending transfer of Marco Rojo from Sporting Lisbon could convince his fellow Argentine, Di Maria, to join him at Old Trafford. 

Di Maria, aged 26 made 34 La Liga appearances last season, and also helped the Spanish side to a European Cup win. 

By Ben Reardon 

@BenReardon1

Rojo confirms Manchester United deal worth £15 million fee

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Marco Rojo has confirmed his transfer to Manchester United, according to The Metro. 

Sporting Lisbon have agreed a £!5 million transfer plus United winger Nani, who will re-sign for the Portuguese club as part of the deal. 

The fullback is now set to fly to England to complete a five year deal, with Nani going on loan until the end of the season. 

24 Year old Rojo confirmed the transfer, and stated his delight in a recent interview. 

‘I’m living this like a dream,’ he told Argentina radio.

‘United are a fantastic club. I spoke to Juan Veron about his opportunity and he gave me some advice. It wasn’t easy to leave Sporting.’ 

By Ben Reardon 

@BenReardon1

Jose Mourinho wants Petr Cech to stay at Chelsea

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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is hoping that veteran goalkeeper Petr Cech will remain at the club, despite Thibaut Courtois being handed the number-one jersey for the season.

The Blues boss made his decision regarding the goalkeeper position yesterday, as Courtois started against Burnley for their season opener, which they ended up winning 3-1 thanks to goal from Diego Costa, Andre Schurrle and Branislav Ivanovic.

Throughout the Summer, both Courtois and Cech have been very vocal about their futures if they weren’t chosen as Mourinho’s number-one ‘keeper, and despite Cech being benched, the boss is hoping that he will remain at Stamford Bridge and fight for his place.

He said: “Petr Cech was disappointed but football is sometimes like this, players can often be unhappy and be unhappy with managers. But between the group of players and their mates they have to be supportive.

“I hope he doesn’t want to go and I hope he doesn’t have offers to go and if he does have offers he refuses to go. I would be delighted to have two of the best goalkeepers in the world in my squad.”

The 32-year-old is currently wanted by Real Madrid, AS Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain.

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

Arsenal closing in on Kostas Manolas

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Arsenal are closing in on signing Olympiakos centre-back Kostas Manolas, in a deal worth around £6million.

The Gunners have been interested in the Greek international for the past year, sending scouts to watch him on a regular basis, but their interest in him heated up this Summer after they sold Thomas Vermaelen to FC Barcelona for £15million, leaving the club with just Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker as recognised central defenders.

Official talks with the Greek side began over the weekend, and according to reports, the initial talks went well, and both parties are confident a deal can be wrapped up before the window shuts at the end of the month.

Despite being quoted at £8m for the centre-back, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, is feeling confident that he can sign him for £6m, and that is the offer he is putting on the table.

Manolas has also been monitored by Bayern Munich, Juventus and Manchester United, but it looks like it will be Arsenal who win the race to sign the 23-year-old.

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles