EPL Gossip Tuesday January 13th
City are expected to agree a deal to sign Craig Bellamy for about £12m this week after preparing an improved bid for the Wales striker. (The Times)
For those of you on the edge of your seat waiting for the latest Bellamy to Manchester City rumors. This would be another deal where I’d be shocked if it didn’t get done. Mind you I also believed Stewart Downing to Tottenham was a done deal and that appears to be in a holding pattern.
Redknapp is losing patience with left-back Gareth Bale and wants to sell him or use him as part of a deal to land Middlesbrough midfielder Stewart Downing. (Daily Mirror)
Bale who is very talented is just weak defensively. Not being able to defend your position when you are a left back isn’t ideal for an EPL player.
Newcastle midfielder Geremi has emerged as a target for Turkish club Besiktas, while FC Porto midfielder Raul Meireles may be making a £4m switch to St James’ Park. (Daily Mail)
I’m sure Newcastle would have no problem offloading Geremi to anyteam who comes calling. Meireles was touched upon yesterday and the fee is also too low.
Palermo midfielder Mark Bresciano is said to be attracting interest from Fulham, Middlesbrough, Blackburn and Newcastle. (Daily Telegraph)
Bresciano is a player who goes under the radar due to playing for Palermo but can be a useful player for most teams.
Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari’s job is on the line in the wake of an astonishing bust-up with Nicolas Anelka. The French striker is angry at being a substitute for the last three games. (The Sun)
Blues owner Roman Abramovich will decide on Scolari’s future over the next eight weeks. (Daily Express)
To be fair most coaches are only three weeks away from being fired. Scolari demands his players to buy into a family like mentality and it appears this philosophy is not going over so well for these Chelsea players.
Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho poured scorn on Scolari’s Chelsea when he claimed the team that lost 3-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday were unrecognisable from the side he built during his time there. “I didn’t see Chelsea,” said the Inter Milan manager. (The Independent)
To be honest I expected Mourinho to pull no punches after watching that Chelsea performance. I’ll assume he didn’t want to kick his former club when they are down.
Rafael Benitez’s contract talks are on the brink of collapse over the Liverpool manager’s demands for total control of Liverpool’s transfer policy. (Daily Star)
Rafa is no fool and he also doesn’t miss a step. I’d be shocked if he signed a contact before this summer as he keeps an eye towards Real Madrid.