EPL Gossip for Saturday May 31st
And Liverpool have finally backed down over their £15m asking price for striker Peter Crouch… paving the way for the England international to join Portsmouth next week. (The Sun)
What do you mean finally? The season only ended two weeks ago. At £15m no one will come calling for Crouch services. At £10m, a good half dozen teams would be interested.
Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp is on the verge of hijacking central defender Richard Dunne’s £5m move from Manchester City to Spurs. (The Sun)
All I know is that Dunne is going somewhere. He soured on Manchester City the second half of the season.
Sunderland are plotting a £4m swoop for unsettled Aston Villa striker Shaun Maloney. (Daily Mirror)
If Sunderland have long term plans of getting into Europe, Maloney won’t be the kind of player that will take them there. Not a bad player, not fit to be a regular starter on a a top 6 EPL team either.
Savvy defensive midfielder Yaya Toure - younger brother of Kolo - could be joining Arsenal as part of the deal that takes Alexander Hleb to Barcelona. (Daily Star)
Maybe then that can keep his brother Kolo happy.
Liverpool are ready to unload left-sided attacking full-back John Arne Riise with Newcastle likely to target the Norwegian. (Daily Star)
Liverpool were ready to unload Arne Riise the second he hit the top of the net against Chelsea. If that was a striker people would be applauding the form taken in that header.
Spurs boss Juande Ramos has put £12m-rated Paraguay striker Oscar Cardozo at the top of his hit-list of replacements for Dimitar Berbatov. Ramos is sending one of his top spies to watch the powerful Benfica hitman, 25, in action for his country against France on Saturday eveing. (Daily Mirror)
If Benfica can make a profit from Cardozo, sell him. He didn’t exactly stand out in big games for them this season. Good player mind you, he is good in the air and he no trouble scoring with either foot in front of the net.
David Beckham is the shock contender to captain England in Sunday evening’s international friendly against Trinidad & Tobago as boss Fabio Capello continues his auditions. (Various)
Why it is a shock? The man handles himself with class, good with the media and can still deliver on a set piece like few in this world can.
Patrice Evra is close to ending the uncertainty over his future at Manchester United after reaching an informal agreement over a new five-year contract. The French international full-back, 27, is in line to earn more than £60,000-a-week plus bonuses though manager Sir Alex Ferguson is still keen to sign defensive reinforcements. (The Times)
Hope he gets every last penny out of United. Over came a rocky start to his United career to become one of the best left backs in the world.