EPL Gossip for Wednesday July 16th
Wayne Bridge’s new contract at Chelsea will be worth £16.6m over four years as manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has made keeping the left-back at Stamford Bridge one of his top priorities. (The Sun)
There goes that rumor of him going to Portsmouth that appeared yesterday.
Stoke are poised to shatter their transfer record with the £4.5m signing of Reading striker Dave Kitson. (The Sun)
Good move by Stoke. If they have any shot at staying up Stoke will need to find players who can score goals. Kitson had a pretty good success rate scoring goals for Reading last season in the EPL with his 10 goals.
Hull boss Phil Brown is ready to break the club’s transfer record with a £5m bid for Manchester United striker Fraizer Campbell, whose goals during his loan spell last season played a part in securing their promotion to the Premier League. (Daily Mirror)
While this is nitpicking one of the few issues I can take with United is that unlike their great history of brining up young players to the first team lately the glass ceiling has started to form. Danny Simpson finds it hard to get a game. Gerald Pique left for Barcelona and players like Campbell, Jonny Evans and Darron Gibson keep being sent out on loan. If the Manchester United youth system is to keep on producing world class players, their young players have to see that they is a shot at actually being able to crack the United lineup at some point.
Midfielder Xabi Alonso’s failed move to Juventus means Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has abandoned plans to buy David Villa and David Silva from Valencia - and may have to give up hope of signing Tottenham striker Robbie Keane. (Daily Mirror)
I can understand why Alonso would want to stay at Liverpool. He is surrounded with fellow countrymen and is settled there but if I was Rafa Benitez I’d be telling Alonso what the deal is going to be. Alonso wasn’t a first team regular the latter half of the season and I’d make it clear to Alonso that staying in Liverpool will mean a lot of time on the bench. Not being able to cash in on Alonso will effect Liverpool’s transfer plans the rest of the summer.
Arsenal expect to be in a position to make an offer for Barry this week when they finally close the deal to sell their former captain Gilberto Silva to Panathinaikos (The Independent)
Gilberto to Panathinaikos is pretty much a done deal. Gilberto should of saw the writting on the wall when he wasn’t given the captaincy last year.
Lucas Neill moved a step closer to joining Manchester City after West Ham agreed a deal with Lazio right-back Valon Behrami. (Daily Mail)
West Ham haven’t exactly be masters of the transfer market in recent years but signing Behrami would be a great piece of business.
Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has blasted the summer transfer market as out of control. He said football is living in a fantasy world during a time the business community is heading for recession. (The Sun)
Again poor Arsenal. Raising the price of season tickets, playing in a new stadium with all the extra revenue, not to mention playing in a league with the largest television rights deal. Besides there hasn’t even been a transfer this season that I would say is even financially irresponsible. Blackburn can cry poor and I would feel sorry for them. A team the size of Arsenal I don’t.