EPL Gossip for Friday May 9th
Alexander Hleb’s agent Nikolai Shpilevski says the player is to leave the club. He said: “He is leaving Arsenal even though they want to offer him a new long-term contract and better conditions.” (Belarusian newspaper Pressball, 0720 BST)
Football agents are just about the lowest life form there is. Guess Hleb wasn’t going out for “Ice Cream” in Milan.
Liverpool have knocked back a £25m bid for captain Steven Gerrard from Inter Milan. (The Sun)
Liverpool knows full well that it can’t sell Gerrard. Since the player himself hasn’t expressed a desire to leave Inter would be better off looking elsewhere.
Arsenal’s problems could also be exacerbated by Emmanuel Adebayor wanting a massive wage rise to stay with them. (Daily Mail)
At some point Arsenal will need to put there foot down on these types of matters.
Juventus are ready to table a £15m bid for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso. (Daily Mail)
Liverpool are ready to accept a £15m bid for Xabi Alonso. That is a nice chuck of change for a defensive midfielder.
Tottenham are ready to match Blackburn’s £15m valuation of David Bentley and bring the ex-Arsenal midfielder to White Hart Lane. (The Daily Express)
Spurs are also ready to beat Newcastle to the signing of Celtic winger Aidan McGeady. (Mirror)
Unless Tottenham are interested in selling Aaron Lennon I can’t see both happening. I don’t think McGeady wants to leave Celtic yet. There is a better chance signing Bentley but it won’t be cheap. Spending £16 on new signing Luka Modric and another £15m for David Bentley is a lot to spend on your midfield when the real issue is defense.
Liverpool striker Peter Crouch is angry at the club’s £15m valuation of him. (The Sun)
As he should be but what is Rafa Benitez going to say? It would be foolish to announce that you are willing to sell Crouch on the cheap.
Manchester City keeper Joe Hart has two years left on his contract and has rejected a new deal. (The Sun)
Smart move, I wouldn’t sign a new deal either with all the turmoil currently at Manchester City.
Sunderland boss Roy Keane has delivered a hands-off message to any clubs thinking of signing Kenwyne Jones or Craig Gordon. (Times)
Last week Keane send no one was untouchable. Watch want you say to the press.
May 9th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Even though Rafa is saying that Alonso is not for sale, they would be stupid to not accept 15 mil. Liverpool is currently not getting 15 mil worth out of him. He is an excellent player, but his form has dipped recently. Liverpool is strong at CM (especially if we get Barry) and can afford his departure.