There Is Only One Sinnacle

Either Porto Accept New Offer For Cissokho Or We Will Scrap Deal – Milan’s Galliani

Reports suggest the Rossoneri are hoping to bag a 20 percent discount and pay €12million for Cissokho rather than €15m, which was the original agreement.

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What a joke, a deal is a deal. No wonder A.C Milan are miles behind cross town rivals Inter Milan who have their act together. If Porto wishes to find middle ground they should accept the 12 million with the extra 3 million depending on performance. If A.C Milan wishes to stick to their guns Porto should walk away and if Cissokho isn’t happy then tell him to go to the dentist and fix his teeth.

Roma’s Julio Baptista: I’m Not Interested In Manchester City

‘The Beast’ has once again spoken of his desire to remain in the Eternal City, despite Manchester City chasing his signature…

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Baptista hated life in London when he spent a year on loan at Arsenal so there would be no way he’d return to England.

Harry Redknapp Worries For Manchester United, Post-Cristiano Ronaldo

The Tottenham boss feels that Ronaldo’s departure could spark an exodus…

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Redknapp does say it best with his line at the end.

“I do not believe there is one single player in the world capable of filling the gap left by Ronaldo’s move to Real Madrid.”

Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o is edging closer to a Manchester City move with wage demands of £192,000 a week, after tax, being weighed up by the Premier League club. Daily Mail

Always a good sign when a player is only willingly to play for a team due to the excessive amount of money he is being paid. Regardless of this if you are Manchester City and you have even a remote shot at Eto’o you gotta try and make the deal.

Man United are considering a move for Arsenal striker Robin van Persie who is yet to sign a new contract.

With one year remaining on his current deal, the Dutch star is desperate to win more silverware and said money was not everything.
The Sun

Robin van Persie may win silverware with United but he’ll be in a track suit injured like he is every year watching the rest of his United team mates do the work.

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has confirmed he made an enquiry about taking on former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson. (Daily Record)

McLeish and Ferguson have a lengthy history when McLeish was coach of Rangers and the Scottish National Team but meat and potatoes players like Ferguson are a dime a dozen. Only if Birmingham can sign Ferguson cheap should McLeish consider this.

Man United and Arsenal target Lyon forward Karim Benzema looks set to stay with the French club for at least another year after committing his immediate future to the French outfit before going on holiday. (Daily Express)

These Benzema to insert team here rumours annoy me. Benzema has never made a request to move and when he talks about his future the player mentions Spain as his preferred destination. Benzema playing game in and game out for Lyon makes him a lock for the French national team come next years World Cup. Raymond Domenech has always held a soft spot for players playing in Lique 1. Moving to Manchester for example where he could become the 3rd striker isn’t the smartest option prior to a World Cup year.

Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker is being used as bait with manager Martin O’Neill eyeing up Tottenham’s Tom Huddlestone. Daily Mirror

West Ham fans may not be fond of their former captain but Reo-Coker has done a decent job for Aston Villa during his two season there. Even filled in at right back when asked.

Meanwhile, Man City have denied Brazilian superstar Robinho will join Barcelona on a loan deal. Chief executive Garry Cook said: “The story is completely without foundation.” (The Times)

For once Garry Cook says something which is based on fact.

Chelsea are ready to appeal over the Uefa four-match ban dished out to striker Didier Drogba for his behaviour in last season’s Champions League semi-final with Barcelona. Daily Mirror

I’ll wish Chelsea good luck with that. UEFA is not going to do Chelsea any favours over their display against Barcelona.

Gunners star Emanuel Eboue is set to reject a transfer to Italy and fight for his place. (Daily Mirror)

I’m sure Arsenal fans are rejoicing upon hearing this news.

Portsmouth centre-back Sol Campbell is mulling over an offered 50% wage cut to stay at Fratton Park, with Basel and Fenerbahce also attracting interest in the former England star. The Times

Nice of Portsmouth to make Campbell a pity offer. A rule of thumb despite your age is when a club offers you half of what they previously paid you, it’s a pretty good sign that they really don’t want you back.

Champions Manchester United begin the defence of their Premier League title at home to newly-promoted Birmingham City on August 15.

Next up for the Red Devils is a visit to Burnley where they take on the Championship play-off winners.

For the complete fixture list click on the link below.

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Less than two months away from the EPL starting back up. Hopefully time flies til August 15th.

Milan Keen On Real Madrid’s Trio Of Sneijder, Van der Vaart & Robben – Report

The Rossoneri are expecting Perez to return the Kaka favour by allowing Milan some leeway for a number of players…

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Now this is a transfer rumour I could get behind. There was no way a player like Robben would play for Tottenham. A.C Milan on the other hand would make perfect sense and I’m sure the team wouldn’t mind going back to the days of Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, and Marco van Basten with a new generation of Dutch stars.

BREAKING NEWS: Aly Cissokho Move To Milan May Collapse Due To Failed Medical

Sky Sport Italia are reporting that a problem with the Frenchman’s teeth may see the move fall through…

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I fail to see how a players teeth could prevent him from playing football then again this season is just breaking so I don’t have the complete details. All I know is that Porto will be none too happy if they have to give A.C Milan back their 15 million.

Real Madrid are leading the race to sign Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery, who is also being targeted by Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester United. The Sun

And Manchester United may ditch a move for Ribery as they do not want to sign players aged 26 or over for large transfer fees.
Guardian

Too bad Manchester United learned this lesson a year too if true regarding large transfer fees. Carlos Tevez would still be happy in Manchester and Berbatov would still be moody in Tottenham.

Liverpool winger Ryan Babel could be offered a route out of the club with new galatasaray manager Frank Rijkaard interested in signing his Dutch compatriot. Daily Mail

It still baffles me that Frank Rijkaard couldn’t do better than Galatasaray after his Barcelona run ended.

Manchester City playmaker Robinho is also a target of Champions League winners Barcelona and the are ready to bid £35m for the Brazilian. Full story: Daily Mirror

Barcelona must been watching the Robinho who plays for Brazil instead of the Manchester City version this past year. Despite Barcelona’s interest Manchester City and Robinho are tied to each other for the time being, both would look foolish if the player left after one year.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy may help Real Madrid recoup some of their extravagant summer spending by thrashing out a £37m deal to sign winger Arjen Robben, striker Klass-Jan Huntelaar and defender Gabriel Heinze. Daily Mirror

Robben and Huntelaar would never sign on to play for Tottenham even if Real Madrid told each to leave.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will step up his attempts to sign Fiorentina midfielder Felipe Melo with a £15m bid. Daily Mail

Wenger is not to type to buy a player when his price tag has never been higher. Melo has increased his profile 100 fold since joining Fiorentina from Spanish side Almería in 2008.

Arsenal right-back or right-sided midfielder Emmanuel Eboue wants to move abroad if he is not going to get more first-team football. Daily Express

Somehow doubt the loss of Eboue would hit home with Arsenal like it did when Mathieu Flamini leave for A.C Milan last year.

Manchester City are close to capturing striker Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn in a deal worth £15m, plus more depending on the success of the Paraguyan. The Sun

Just get it done since I’m tired about Manchester City battling with themselves trying to sign Santa Cruz.

Fulham are keen on some Brazilian flair as they want to bring Manchester City striker Jo to Craven Cottage for £8m. (The Sun)

You are telling me Fulham valued an injured Andrew Johnson at 12 million last year but Jo who is not only younger but has way more upside is only valued at 8 million?

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has questioned whether Newcastle striker Michael Owen has “the bottle” to cut it in the Premier League. Daily Star

Poor Michael Owen. Part of me believes if Owen is to revive his career he’ll have to do so far away from the EPL.

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba will find out on Wednesday whether he will be banned for his behaviour following his side’s Champions League semi-final exit to Barcelona last season. Full story: Times

The question shouldn’t be will he, the question should be how long will he be banned.

Jorge Valdano: Real Madrid Cannot Match Barcelona’s Bid For David Villa.

The Blaugrana are reportedly set to make an official €50 million offer, €40m in cash plus Martin Caceres and Bojan Krkic (on loan), a proposal that easily outmatches Los Blancos’ €25 million plus Alvaro Negredo bid.

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Think it’s great that Barcelona is trying to steal some of Real Madrid thunder by signing David Villa from underneath them. Just don’t want to hear Barcelona complain about the money Real Madrid is spending when they aren’t exactly penny pinching themselves.

Egypt lodge protest over alleged “video evidence”

Referee Howard Webb and his assistant both signalled for a corner after Ahmed Al Muhamadi stopped a shot on his goal line with his arm. But Webb eventually produced the red card and pointed to the spot after the intervention of the fourth official.

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Just go with it, Howard Webb is European so close enough for me to place it here. No denying Webb changed his mind and was informed about the hand ball but at the end of the day he got the call right. Zinedine Zidane red card was only issued after the Ref was told about the head butt via his ear piece and nothing was done there nor will anything be done here.

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has laughed off reports linking him with a move to Manchester United, saying he would never swap Anfield for Old Trafford. (Daily Star)

Hopefully that puts this rumour to bed. Good on Torres part to resist any temptation to leave Anfield.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has launched a dramatic late bid to sign Carlos Tevez from under the noses of Manchester United and Manchester City in a £25m deal. (The Sun).

Ancelotti made the last-gasp approach personally after getting Tevez’s phone number from fellow Argentina striker Hernan Crespo, who worked with Ancelotti at AC Milan four years ago. (Daily Mail)

Wonder how disappointed Crespo was when he realized the call wasn’t regarding his services.

The Reds have, however, won the race to sign defender Glen Johnson from Portsmouth for a massive £19.5m. (The Sun)

Liverpool will have to finance the deal by selling defender Alvaro Arbeloa to Real Madrid for about £8m, while the fact that Portsmouth still owe the Reds £7m as part of the deal that took Peter Crouch to Fratton Park last summer will also reduce the overall fee. (Daily Express)

At 19.5 million Portsmouth won this race. I’m sure Jamie Carragher won’t be missing Arbeloa if he ends up leaving for Madrid.

Defender Ricardo Carvalho, meanwhile, has launched a parting shot at Chelsea as he nears a move to Inter Milan, claiming they “should have given me more support” during his time injured last season. (Daily Star)

Tough year for Carvalho all the way around. Also respect the fact Carvalho waited until after the season to make his dissatisfaction known.

Real Madrid have contacted a host of Premier League clubs with a list of nine players they are willing to sell in a bid to recoup some of the £150m they will lay out on Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. Arjen Robben, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Klass-Jan Huntelaar, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Royston Drenthe, Javier Saviola, Gabriel Heinze and Mahamadou Diarra are the players available. (The Guardian)

If I was a Dutch player at Real Madrid I’d be real worried about my spot right about now.

But Tottenham’s bid to sign Van Nistelrooy could be scuppered by the Dutch striker’s £90,000-a-week wage demands. (The Sun)

Not often a player with Van Nistelrooy’s class is willing to play for Tottenham. Despite his age Spurs should bite the bullet and sign Van Nistelrooy for the next year or two.

Spurs midfielder David Bentley is in talks with Aston Villa about a cut-price £7m move. (The Sun)

Would be a win-win for all involved if Tottenham cut their losses on Bentley. Would do the player some good as well getting a fresh start.

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes will make a bid for Portsmouth striker Peter Crouch if he is priced out of a move for Blackburn frontman Roque Santa Cruz. (The Guardian)

Crouch or Santa Cruz? Interesting choice, could see both sides of the coin but would side with Crouch if given the choice.

Sunderland are closing in on a £5m deal for Manchester City defender Richard Dunne. (Daily Mail)

He could be replaced by Everton defender Joleon Lescott in a deal worth £16m. (Daily Mail)

The only person more tired then me regarding these Lescott to Manchester City rumours must be Everton and even the player himself.

Villarreal, Roma and Fiorentina are interested in signing Arsenal defender Phillipe Senderos, who has one year left on his contract at the Emirates Stadium. (The Times)

Arsenal would do business for Senderos who fell apart mentality during their 2007-2008 title chase.

And United are also continuing to monitor teenage Gremio midfielder Douglas Costa. (Daily Mail)

Sir Alex Ferguson is also leading the chase for Argentine midfielder Javier Pastore, 19, from Huracan. (The Sun)

United replaced Beckham with Ronaldo so it wouldn’t be the worst idea to repeat recent history with another young player.

Strikers appear to be the order of the day at Craven Cottage, with manager Roy Hodgson also considering moves for Manchester City’s Brazilian frontman Jo and Inter Milan’s Robert Acquafresca. (The Times)

Big fan of Acquafresca and with Hodgson ties to Inter Milan I’m sure he could at least get a chance to speak with the player regarding a move. Don’t see Jo wanting to put his career in limbo again by going out on loan, nor do I see Fulham coming up with the 15 million or so it would take Manchester City to sell Jo.

It’s not that unthinkable to believe that the two best players in the world might not feature in the next World Cup. Below will be the current standings in South America. Top four qualify and 5th place goes into a playoff.

Points
Brazil 27
Chile 26
Paraguay 24
Argentina 22
Ecuador 20
Uruguay 18
Colombia 17
Venezuela 17
Bolivia 12
Peru 7

Below is Portugal’s qualifying group. 1st place gets direct entry into the next World Cup. 2nd place goes to an home and away playoff format.

Points
Denmark 16
Hungary 13
Portugal 9
Sweden 9
Albania 6
Malta 1

Argentina is in better shape than Portugal but they have very little room for error and can’t afford anymore slip ups like their 2-0 defeat to Ecuador last week. Portugal on the other hand can’t slip up period. In order to at least grab second place they will need to win out in their final four games. Needless to say I’m excepting Argentina to get their act together but look for Portugal to be on the outside looking in come next years World Cup. Wipes away tear.

Christoph Metzelder: Real Madrid’s Big Spending Is Wrong

Real Madrid’s big spending is not going down well with everyone and has not impressed the whole squad…

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Needless to say Christoph Metzelder must of been told his future lies away from Real Madrid. If he hasn’t these comments would seal a move to another club. Considering Real Madrid leaked goals at an impressive rate I’m sure they would love to ship Metzelder back to the Bundesliga.

Porto Star Aly Cissokho: I Choose Milan

The French defender says he did not think twice when the Rossoneri knocked on his door.

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Don’t care how you slice it. 15 million euros for a player which was bought in for 300k less then six months ago is great business. Cissokho has gone from a team about to play in the 3rd division in France to one of the biggest clubs in the world. Nice leap for the player.

Inter confirm interest in Carvalho and Deco

Inter Milan have confirmed their intention to sign midfielder Deco and centre-back Ricardo Carvalho from Chelsea.

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The stock market phrase buy low and sell high can easily apply to football. At the moment you’d be high pressed to pick up players of Deco’s and Carvalho talents at such a cheap rate. It’s clear Deco doesn’t fit into Chelsea’s future plans. Clubs rarely owe a player anything but if Carvalho isn’t going to be anything more than cover going forward they should do the right thing and let him play first team football with Inter.