Chelsea are ready to bid £22 million for Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini once the transfer window reopens, according to Mirror Football.
The Belgium international has grown in stature since moving to the Goodison Park club from Standard Liege back in 2008, and despite rumours over his future, signed a new contract with the Merseysiders recently.
Fellaini has been in good form of late, scoring in the team’s recent fixtures against Manchester United and Fulham, and with Everton cash-strapped David Moyes may well be tempted to sell the star.
Chelsea are expected to have a busy transfer window, as Roman Abramovich tries to add an injection of youth into his squad, and the west London outfit have already secured the £8 million signing of Germany international Marko Marin.
Fellaini is currently under contract with Everton until 2016, after signing a five-year extension back in November.
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has stated that he is intent on keeping key players Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri at the club. Both midfielders have been linked with a summer Emirates departure, with the Spaniard being linked with a move to boyhood club Barcelona and the France international subject of a £20 million bid from Manchester United after rejecting a new contract. Despite this, the 61-year-old has stated he will do all he can to keep the duo in North London.
“Our position is always the same – we want to keep Cesc and I will fight as hard as I can to keep him. Samir Nasri is exactly the same. We will do everything we can to keep him,” the Frenchman told the club’s official website.
The Premier League side fly out to Asia on Sunday for games in China and Malaysia, but Fabregas will not travel with the squad, sparking speculation of an impending move. Wenger has rejected this claim and stated the World Cup winner is staying in England as he has an injury.
“We will take the strongest possible squad, but Fabregas will not travel because he still has a small muscular problem. He will stay and practice here.”
One man that will be on the plane is Ryo Miyaichi, who spent a successful 2010/11 on loan at Eredivisie side Feyenoord, and may feature in the English side’s first team squad next campaign.
“He is on the plane because he is quality. It is a good opportunity for him to show that he has the talent to play for Arsenal. Everybody will be curious to see him play in Asia,” Wenger continued.
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Lille forward Gervinho is expected to sow up a move to the Emirates in the near future after passing a medical, but the club’s coach concluded by saying that they will only sign the right players and not panic buy.
“I can understand that people say ‘you have money, just go out and buy’, but it’s not only that, we want to find the quality we need,” he commented.
Not a great deal to report this Friday as the media focus appears to have turned back to transfer gossip and speculation, with Liverpool appearing to be at the centre of it. Elsewhere the post mortem has started into Ray Wilkins shock dismissal at Chelsea; Harry Redknapp questions Van der Vaart’s fitness, while Peter Schmeichel has felt the need to pass judgment on Manchester City and how they spend their money.
Cook flies transfer wishlist to Abu Dhabi – Guardian
Chelsea sever ties with ‘blue-blood’ Wilkins – Daily Telegraph
No muppet tells me what to do – Sun
Solskjaer: I want to be United manager one day – Daily Telegraph
Schmeichel warns Man City scattergun spending will only buy problems – Daily Mail
Harry fires fitness warning to out of shape Van der Vaart – Mirror
Russian striker Aleksandr Kerzhakov admits Liverpool approach – IM Scouting
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Arsenal interested in Bolton’s Cahill – Guardian
Parker: We must end this mess – Sun
Liverpool draw up list of Reina replacements – Daily Telegraph
The pressure is firmly on Manchester United now in the Premier League title race. Their eight point lead has been chopped down to just four points in the matter of a week. A 1-0 defeat at basement battlers Wigan has allowed rivals City to close putting the onus on Sir Alex Ferguson’s men to win their game in hand against Aston Villa. It’s inconceivable that the Red Devil’s will throw away their slim advantage but they’ll need to be a lot better than they were at the DW Stadium on Wednesday night. With the blue half of Manchester relentlessly breathing down their necks United know they have to keep winning in order to ensure the Premier League title remains at Old Trafford for another season.
This week on FFC has United’s number 10 really curbed his volatile ways and which young shot stopper has Fergie got his eye on?
[divider]
Best of FFC
Simply a changed man at Old Trafford?
Fergie and the other Premier League big boys given license to nab the cream of the crop
Juventus target United and Chelsea stars
Top 15 ‘most dynamic subs’ within the Premier League
Manchester United confirm transfer interest
Mad to leave Manchester United?
Fergie interested in young goalkeeper
[divider]
Best of WEB
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Is The Answer To The Scholes Question Already In The United Squad? – Red Flag Flying High
Desperate Times, Desperate Measures… Berbatov? Or Am I Talking Out Of My Squeaky Bum?! – 7Cantonas
The wake-up call – United Rant
A Stark Reminder If Ever One Was Needed – The Busby Way
Why always us? – 7Cantonas
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[divider]
Quote of the Week
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“We have to put it in a bit of perspective. You drop points in the second half of the season. We have done it most years. There has been an odd year when we have gone on a long run without losing but a couple of years back we lost 4-1 to Liverpool
and won the league.
“You do drop points on the run-in. City and ourselves have both experienced that. But from the position we were in a few months ago, to where we are today, we have to be delighted. The great part of our club is that we do recover, and we have to recover from Wednesday.” Sir Alex Ferguson backs his side to deliver the title despite dropping valuable points at Wigan
Tony Adams believes that George Graham was a better coach than Arsene Wenger and it is the Scot’s coaching manual that the Arsenal legend is choosing to follow in his own management career. Adams also suggested that he couldn’t foresee a return to management in England, given the trigger happy nature of chairman in this country.
In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Manchester United make their move for Nasri; Dave Whelan confident that Roberto Martinez will stay at Wigan, while Stuart Pearce believes Phil Jones is a future England captain.
*
United fear Giggs could retire over affairs scandal – Mirror
Supporters Direct faces cuts after tweets – Guardian
Manchester United make their move for Nasri – Daily Telegraph
Tony Adams interview: Graham was better coach than Wenger – Mirror
Whelan confident Martínez will stay – Guardian
Pearce: Phil Jones a future England captain – Daily Telegraph
Toure torment! Kolo took drugs due to obsession with his ‘fat belly’ – Daily Mail
Spurs want Gyan if Bruce chases Crouch – Guardian
Pardew hails £4.3m Cab – Sun
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Liverpool turn attention to Arsenal contract rebel Clichy – Daily Mail
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger praised striker Marouane Chamakh after his double strike secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory at Wolves.
The summer signing struck in the first and last minute at Molineux to take his tally to eight goals in 17 games since his switch from Bordeaux, with Wenger full of praise for the 26-year-old Morocco international.
He commented:"He was not sharp against Newcastle and I only played him for an hour after he had been sick for all the previous week.
"I thought he would be sharper tonight. If you look back since the start of season, he has been decisive in many games.
"We went early into the lead and the victory was so important for us tonight that the focus was more on defending and keeping the result safe.
"If you look at the game, we had many chances, but I must say you have to give credit to Wolves.
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"They are good defensively, they are good at winning the ball back and they always looked dangerous. They will give problems to anyone in this league."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
But neither side of Manchester is starting to creek,
As Liverpool falter, Arsenal close the gap,
Four off Spurs, who they now can trap,
Fiery encounter on the Tyne,
Where Tioté made an almighty whine,
Sessegnon sent off results in a draw,
Whilst down in West London, it’s goals galore,
Who needs Zamora, when Fulham have the Pog,
As the Wolves defence sleeps like a log,
Whilst just a mile down the Fulham Road,
Villas Boas leaves his humble abode.
Player of the Weekend
In his three appearances for the Cottagers, Pavel Pogrebnyak has been sublime. A goal on debut against Stoke was followed up by a strike in the West London Derby with QPR – meaning Pogrebnyak fast became a fan’s favourite. His hat trick on Sunday will only increase his popularity by the River Thames.
What’s more it was the perfect hat trick. The first, a low diving header was swiftly followed by a sumptuous second, sweeping Andy Johnson’s pull back past Wayne Hennessey. For his third he managed to dig the ball in with his left as chants of “Who needs Zamora, when we’ve got the Pog” rang round Craven Cottage. Pogrebnyak has already managed to net more than Zamora did in his first season at Fulham in just three games. It’ll be interesting to see if the burly Russian can maintain his excellent start.
Goal of the Weekend
Another January signing to have an impact over the weekend was Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson. Like Pogrebnyak, the Icelandic international arrived from the Bundesliga and he produced not one but two fantastic strikes against Wigan on Saturday. His curling free kick to secure the game was edged out by his fantastic first. From 30 yards, Sigurdsson managed to arrow the ball over Ali Al Habsi and into the top right hand corner.
He was only signed on a loan deal from Hoffenheim and judging by his performances, Brendan Rodgers might have to pay a fair amount if he wants to secure his services on a permanent basis.
Miss of the Weekend
Some sitters defy belief and Akos Buzsaky’s miss against Everton falls into that category. As Bobby Zamora laid the ball across to the Hungarian just three yards from the gaping goal, the midfielder must have turned his thoughts to what his celebration was going to be. Buzsaky then conspired to hit the post and QPR went onto draw the game 1-1. Mark Hughes will be hoping his side don’t come to rue this miss when the season comes to a close such are the fine margins separating the bottom five teams currently.
Talking Point of the Weekend
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Another year means another sacked manager at Chelsea. André Villas Boas wasn’t even given a year to make his mark at the club but Roman Abramovich obviously felt that the Portuguese had had ample time. Yet if the Russian owner of Chelsea continues to be so flippant with managers, he can forget winning the Champions League, or the Premier League for that matter.
André Villas Boas deserves some sympathy but he must have known what he was letting himself in for when he was appointed in June last year. Not seeing eye-to-eye with the players has ultimately cost him job. Chelsea will now attempt to reclaim fourth spot off Arsenal under Roberto Di Matteo. Whether he’ll have much impact remains to be seen. As for AVB, he’ll certainly have learnt plenty from his managerial reign in West London.
For more on the Premier League, why not follow @arhindtutt on Twitter
Johan Elmander leads a host of names preparing to leave English Premier League club Bolton Wanderers.Sweden forward Elmander – who hit 12 goals in all competitions for Bolton – elected not to sign a new deal at Bolton and joins Jlloyd Samuel, Joey O’Brien and Tamir Cohen in leaving the club on free transfers.
Elmander arrived at the Reebok Stadium in 2008 for a club-record deal of 8.2 million pounds, but is now expected to join Turkish club Galatasaray.
Owen Coyle paid tribute to the departing quartet, who have all been at the club for multiple seasons.
“I wish all the players who are departing the club all the very best,” Coyle said.
“I want to thank them for their efforts and professionalism. Ultimately when these decisions come about they’re made for footballing reasons.”
In further changes to Coyle’s squad, loanees Daniel Sturridge and Rodrigo have both returned to parent clubs Chelsea and Benfica respectively.
Sturridge was particularly impressive in his loan stint, hitting eight goals in 12 appearances.
Forward Robbie Blake has won a one-year extension to his Bolton contract, while the club is in negotiations to prolong the stay of winger Ricardo Gardner.
Goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi also returns to the club after a season-long loan at Premier League rivals Wigan.
West Brom boss Roberto di Matteo admitted his team had caught Manchester City at exactly the wrong time as Roberto Mancini's side produced one of their best displays of the season to beat the Baggies 2-0 at The Hawthorns on Sunday.
City had lost their last three games in all competitions and the pressure was increasing on boss Mancini, who was able to welcome Carlos Tevez and Nigel De Jong back in to his side following injury.
Mario Balotelli scored both City's goals before being sent off, while Albion had Youssouf Mulumbu dismissed in the closing stages.
Di Matteo said after the game:"There is never a good time to play a team like City because they have so many good players. It's a shame we found them in good form.
"I think it's fair to say City were very good and we need to give them credit. They never let us settle into the game – especially in the first half.
"We tried to press them but they were good and moved the ball around in a one-touch style. They had good possession and quality players on the pitch. They were coming off the line, rotating and they just had quality on the ball.
"Balotelli showed sheer power and strength to hold off our defender on their second goal and it was difficult for our boys.
"In the second half, we managed to get closer to them and we put them under a little bit of pressure.
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"We were a bit unfortunate in hitting the post and crossbar.Maybe, if we'd got one goal back, it would have lifted the crowd and ourselves a little bit more and given us a better chance.
"In terms of Youssouf's second yellow card, there was no doubt about it. But he wasn't aware he had received a yellow card for the first one. That's why he was surprised."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Now a lot of you may have been surprised by the move of Samuel Eto’o to Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala at the start of the season, especially with him being linked to some of the best teams in Europe.
Having said that, when you have played for some of the biggest teams in Europe and you reach the pivotal age of 30, as soon as a club comes to you with a three-year-deal worth 20 million Euros per season you don’t really take time to think twice.
Straight out of Kadji Sports Academy in Cameroon, Samuel Eto’o found himself plying his trade in Spain with Real Madrid’s B team. Unable able to break into the first team in 1997 he secured loan moves to various other La Liga clubs and eventually parted company with Real Madrid and joined Mallorca on a permanent deal in the year 2000.
The Cameroon striker was their all time leading scorer with 54 goals, later rewarding him with a move to Barcelona in 2004, where Eto’o accumulated 130 goals in 200 appearances for the Catalonians winning a Champions League trophy with Barcelona, making him one their top ten greatest goal scorers of all time.
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As we all know, his time at Barcelona lasted until 2009 which saw the prolific striker move to Italy with Inter Milan where he managed 53 goals in 103 appearances while also bagging another Champions League trophy with the Italian Giants.
Now, I’m not one to pass judgement on players who do their job well, but surely the sheer dominance of of Samuel Eto’o leading the frontline of any superior team in Europe would have been an excellent prospect. The Former Barcelona player was linked with moves to Arsenal, AC Milan, Manchester City and Manchester United.
The Cameroon international would have been no stranger to the Premier League or even the Bundesliga; two leagues in which he evidently didn’t play in. His stats show that he has an over 50% goalscoring ratio, no matter where he goes.
Eto’o at any top European club would have been a huge asset to many potential buyers, for the very fact of the matter is he guarantees you goals. Although the price range would have been off-putting for some clubs, especially with his age to consider, it would have been a risk worth taking due to his experience and footballing ability on the pitch. You don’t win three Champions Leagues for nothing.
The only issue I would have with him in the Premier League at this stage is maybe his ego; he’s always been known to fall out with players and staff, but in some cases that can be used as a positive if handled correctly. Samuel has always been known for his controversy; it was only last year that the Cameroon Football Federation handed him a 15 match ban for his role in the national teams strike.
So far, for Anzhi, the 30 year old has bagged eight goals in 12 appearances, so it’s quite hard to say he is not worth what he’s being paid, ok, maybe just a bit much but you understand where I’m coming from. Will there still be time for him to perform at the highest level after his contract is up? I doubt it; Anzhi looks to be the last straw for Samuel in a very successful career.
In his defence you’re going to get a little bit of arrogance with every good player, and it can pay off once a player is delivering the goods at the highest level, and that’s what he continues to do.
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So although I am disappointed to not see him in the Premier League especially, I do understand his reasoning behind resisting the chance.