There Is Only One Sinnacle

Bolton centre-back Gary Cahill has been cleared to join Arsenal after the Trotters signed Middlesbrough’s David Wheater as his replacement. metro.co.uk

Gary Cahill would fit in nicely at Arsenal but can’t see Arsenal playing over 10 million for a defender which Bolton will be after.

Birmingham have told winger Sebastian Larsson they will only offload him “when it is right for the club”. The Swede is out of contract in the summer and is a target for Newcastle and Blackburn. (Press Association)

Be it now or in six months it’s clear Larsson is going. Have a feeling he has been wanting to leave since Birmingham went down to the Championship a couple of years ago.

Meanwhile, Arsenal have put a £15m price tag on Nicklas Bendtner after a number of Premier League clubs asked about taking the 23-year-old Denmark striker on loan. However, Bendtner’s father says his son is not interested in leaving the London club. the Sun

At that price tag clubs would not be interested anyway.

Liverpool are still in negotiations with Ajax to sign Uruguay striker Luis Suarez, although the Reds’ offer is £8m short of the Dutch side’s £21m asking price. the Independent

It’s nice to see the press quote low transfer bids with Liverpool. For years it was Arsenal. If I was running Ajax and Liverpool called to only offer 8 million I’d hang up and never pick up the phone from them again.

Tottenham target Giuseppe Rossi has a £33m buy-out clause in his contract but the Italian striker’s Spanish club Villarreal are willing to accept £16.5m for the former Manchester United man.
Full story: the Independent

I’d cut the chequq at that price. He is younger and better than Darren Bent.

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has upped his bid for winger Charles N’Zogbia to £9m, although it is thought Wigan want £10m for the French 24-year-old. the Sun

In other words this deal will get done.

Manchester United’s Owen Hargreaves could miss out on a place in their Champions League squad despite making progress in his recovery from a hamstring injury. Daily Telegraph

You really can’t trust him at this point anyway.

Arsenal and Manchester United are preparing to move for Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos. The Spain international is valued at £25m. Caught Offside

I’ve heard the rumours of a falling out with Ronaldo but even before that Ramos was high on the list of my over rated players. He freelances too much at the back.

Everton left-back Leighton Baines and Benfica defender Fabio Coentrao have been lined up by Manchester United as possible replacements for Patrice Evra – if the 29-year-old Frenchman joins Real Madrid this summer. Daily Telegraph

If I was Manchester United i’d sercetly be hoping Evra does go to Real Madrid. Both Baines and Coentrao would be great replacements.

Manchester United have been warned off a summer move for Japanese star Shinji Kagawa, with Borussia Dortmund valuing him at £20m. talkSPORT

Borussia Dortmund is playing some great football. Will be interesting to see if they can keep their players. One advantage they do have is the fact that Dortmund can carry a large wage bill.

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce will approach his former manager Sir Alex Ferguson about signing Manchester United veteran Michael Owen this month as a replacement for Darren Bent.
Full story: Caught Offside

Owen has no future at United anyway, time for him to make the move.

Bruce has also enquired about Tottenham’s Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko but will not pay the £13.8m asking price for the 29-year-old and will instead turn his attention to Stoke’s Ricardo Fuller, Wigan’s Hugo Rodallega and Birmingham’s Kevin Phillips. Daily Express

Kevin Phillips? really? The man is 102, not the ideal replacement for Darren Bent.

Aston Villa are ready to let unwanted midfielder Stephen Ireland join Newcastle on loan and are preparing a third, improved £4m bid for Blackpool playmaker Charlie Adam. Daily Mirror

Talk about a player whose stock has dropped to an all time low. Sad to see Ireland wasting away his talent.

West Ham are targeting Sporting Lisbon’s attacking midfielder Simon Vukcevic, with the 24-year-old Montenegro player valued at £17m, although the Hammers only want to pay about £6m.
Full story: Daily Star

Vukceviv sure has the frame to excel in England. No way he is worth 17 million. Not even sure he is worth 6 million.

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has hinted he could leave the Spanish side this summer after a row with sporting director Jorge Valdano over transfer policy. Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United are all potential suitors, with the English Premier League his preferred destination. Daily Mirror

Jorge Valdano is an idiot. Let’s face it you or I could just about run Real Madrid with all their resources. Unless you have a Barcelona or Atletico Madrid connection there isn’t a player in the world that wouldn’t considering playing for Real Madrid. Valdano is angry cause Benzema didn’t start. The reason is he isn’t scoring goals. If you are ever going to try playing 4-6-0 it’s against a bottom of the table club. Sadly that didn’t work out but Benzema didn’t exactly turn the game around.

Stoke star Jermaine Pennant was reported to have forgotten he owns a Porsche in Spain after his former club Real Zaragoza contacted him about the car, which had been parked at a local rail station for five months. Pennant said he did not remember anything about the car and his agent denied the oversight.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Great story

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo says Manchester City’s Italian striker Mario Balotelli should “speak less and play more” after a series of outbursts by the former Inter Milan man. Daily Star

Sounds about right.

Liverpool’s midfielder Joe Cole will remain at Anfield despite links with a loan move to former club West Ham. goal.com

Joe Cole may not be the player he was before his knee injury but there is something left in his tank.

Ryan Babel is keen on a loan move back to Ajax – and believes the deal could form part of Luis Suarez’s potential transfer to Liverpool. “The transfer of Suarez to Liverpool opens the door for me to go to Ajax,” he said. De Telegraaf [in Dutch]

Whatever Ryan Babel has in the tank he doesn’t show it for Liverpool. Time to cut bait and if they can use Babel as a makeweight for Suarez all the better.

Leicester City have made an audacious bid to land former Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry. Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has made an enquiry about signing the 33-year-old striker on loan during the American Major League Soccer close season. Leicester Mercury

Signing Yakubu on loan is one thing. Thierry Henry is another.

Sunderland have made Tottenham’s Roman Pavlyuchenko their top target to replace Aston Villa-bound Darren Bent. goal.com

Sign Michael Owen on the cheap just to piss off Newcastle fans and use the money in other areas.

Former Tottenham striker Bent will cost Villa £18m – which will smash the club’s transfer record – and his move will be completed on Tuesday. Birmingham Mail

Or, Villa will pay £24m for the 26-year-old forward. Daily Mail

Both figures are silly.

It may not be his wonder free kick against France but it’s not everyday you see a goal scored from a corner. The second thing I took away from this clip, boy Ronaldo looks in rough shape.

Sunderland striker Darren Bent has put in a transfer request and could be on his way to Aston Villa for a fee of about £18m rising to £24m. (Sky Sports)

Love it when transfer stories break out of the blue. Would also love to know what went on behind the scenes here. Darren Bent must be a hard one to handle as he has bounced around quite a bit considering the amounts of money clubs have paid for him.

Tottenham are in pole position to land Steven Pienaar – even though Everton agreed a £3m fee to sell him to Chelsea. The South African has so far failed to agree personal terms with Chelsea and wants to push through a move to Spurs. goal.com

Can’t believe Pienaar hasn’t seen David Bentley and thought to himself that could be me in a few years. With Gareth Bale on one wing Pienaar will be fighting for one place with many other wingers.

Newcastle United have turned down a transfer bid from Tottenham, in the region of £15m, for star striker Andy Carroll. metro.co.uk

In the case it always comes down to money but I wonder if Carroll is really keen on leaving his boyhood club if Newcastle says yes to an offer.

Roma coach Claudio Ranieri has played down links with him taking the job of next permanent Liverpool manager. insidefutbol.com

To the delight of Liverpool fans.

Newcastle and Bolton have joined Fulham in the chase for 29-year-old Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips. Daily Mail

Bolton play a style of football Shaun Wright-Phillips would enjoy. With Fulham there is the Mark Hughes connection. Can’t see him deciding on Newcastle.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wants to bolster his defence by signing Roma centre-back Philippe Mexes. caughtoffside.com

I like Mexes but unless Wenger can get him on the cheap he isn’t the type of player Arsenal signs.

Birmingham have been rocked by Robbie Keane’s wage demands after the striker asked for a pay rise to move to Blues from Tottenham. Daily Mirror

Reading this does make me laugh.

West Ham United are desperately trying to persuade Martin O’Neill to become their manager after the Northern Irishman was angered by reports on Saturday morning claiming he would be named as Avram Grant’s successor later that evening. the Guardian

And former Chelsea and Portsmouth manager Grant has told friends that he will never quit as West Ham boss.
Full story: the Sun

Damn right, get that money. Don’t quit, it’s bad enough Grant works at a club with a bunch of fools as owners. Might as well get paid on the way out.

Stoke City have agreed to pay £5.9m for Hoffenheim’s Senegalese striker Demba Ba, according to German magazine Kicker.

Ba is going to find the football playing for Stoke a lot different then what he was used to playing for Hoffenheim.

Real Madrid and France striker Karim Benzema is willing to join Aston Villa on loan if the Spanish giants sign Manchester City’s Emmanuel Adebayor. Mirror

What a dumb rumour. Real Madrid are not going to add another striker only to send Benzema out on loan.

Liverpool are considering a summer move for Inter Milan striker Victor Obinna, who is currently on loan at West Ham. The defending Italian champions want £8m for the Nigeria international.
Full story: Talksport.co.uk

Another rumour that doesn’t make sense. Obinna foolish red card against Birmingham doesn’t help his cause either.

The agent of Borussia Dortmund’s Neven Subotic has told Arsenal they would be wasting their time pursuing the Serbia international defender. Talksport.co.uk

Considering Borussia Dortmund are 10 points ahead of everyone else in the Bundesliga I wouldn’t want to leave either if I was a player.

But the Gunners look set to beat Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United to the signature of Southampton’s highly rated teenage midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for £5m. Daily Mail

Oxlade-Chamberlain would have a better chance playing right away with Liverpool or Arsenal than Manchester United and Chelsea.

Aston Villa are close to completing a £6.5m deal for midfielder Jean Makoun from Lyon.
Full story: the Times

Not a shock to see Gérard Houllier first real move involves signing a player from French football.

Liverpool interim boss Kenny Dalglish is also keen on bringing England international Wright-Phillips to Anfield. Metro

I for one hope not.

Chelsea are close to a £21m deal for Benfica centre-back David Luiz, with right-back Paulo Ferreira moving in the opposite direction. The Premier League champions are also keen on £18m Ajax right-back Gregory van der Wiel. Mirror

I’ll believe it when I see Chelsea spending again.

The Blues have also entered the race for Everton’s Steven Pienaar, whose contract expires at the end of the season. Manager Carlo Ancelotti has lodged a £3m bid for the South Africa midfielder.
Full story: the Sun

This move however I could see happening.

Everton are set to sign Burnley winger Chris Eagles in a £1.5m deal. Full story: the Sun

Eagles would be a good replacement for the soon to be outgoing Pienaar.

Tottenham coach Les Ferdinand has warned that midfielder David Beckham’s arrival on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy could damage spirit within Spurs’ squad. “There is going to be mixed reception from the players. Some of them will look and say, ‘What is this guy actually going to bring us?’”
Full story: Daily Star

Which is the main reason why Tottenham shouldn’t sign Beckham.

Wane Rooney’s brother, John, has been signed up by Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls. The 20-year-old forward, who made 46 appearances for Macclesfield, could line up alongside former Arsenal attacker Thierry Henry. (Daily Telegraph)

Good luck to him, interesting to see John Rooney crying when he was taken by New York.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini believes training ground bust-ups between team-mates are far from unique to the Eastlands club and has revealed that he and former Nottingham Forest and England star Trevor Francis clashed during their time at Sampdoria together. the Sun

At the highest level players are going to be competitive and that is bound to boil over at things.

Spanish giants Real Madrid are ready to end Emmanuel Adebayor’s Manchester City nightmare by signing the striker on loan with a view to a permanent move in the summer. Daily Mirror

Just for the status alone I’m sure Manchester City would love to loan Adebayor to Real Madrid. Not sure if Real Madrid would like the status of taking on a player rotting away at Manchester City.

Real Madrid have approached Germany star Miroslav Klose and are interested in luring the veteran Bayern Munich striker to Spain to replace injured Gonzalo Higuain, his agent has told Spanish newspaper AS.

His agent is lying

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has admitted Tottenham winger Gareth Bale will be his top transfer target in the summer. Metro

Don’t if it was smart or dumb or Mancini to bring up Gareth Bale. Could understand why Harry Redknapp was annoyed at the comments.

Arsenal’s Spanish keeper Manuel Almunia and Russian forward Andrey Arshavin could both be about to leave the north London club.: Metro

Arshavin has his moment but it’s all or nothing with him. Mostly it’s been nothing.

Meanwhile Arsenal are set to re-sign England international defender Matthew Upson from West Ham, which could see the Hammers move for Newcastle centre-back Sol Campbell. Daily Mirror

West Ham are in trouble if they think Sol Campebll is the answer.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is set to make an offer for Blackpool captain and midfielder Charlie Adam who again impressed as the Tangerines beat his side on Wednesday. Daily Mirror

Despite Liverpool saying Dalgish has final say on transfer for the life of me can’t understand why a club would like someone who most likely will be in the press box in 6 months to have a final say in transfer targets. I do like Adam however.

Stoke City are lining up a £2m bid for Aston Villa defender Curtis Davies. Daily Mail

I’d take a chance on Curtis Davis for 2 million. Would be a smart gamble for Stoke.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is considering dropping out-of-form star striker Didier Drogba for Saturday’s match with Blackburn. Daily Mirror

Ancelotti can’t drop Drogba, he can scare him by placing it in his mind however.

Liverpool are in talks with Roma coach Claudio Ranieri and could offer the 59-year-old the managerial post at Anfield in the summer. caughtoffside

Ranieri upside is 2nd and 3rd in the league. Granted that would look great right now but it isn’t a long term answer.

photo credit: americanistadechiapas

Manchester United are lining up a bid for Lyon’s Brazilian wing-back Michel Bastos. caughtoffside.com

I can see Manchester United buying a player for the future but all these names linked to Manchester United like Michel Bastos I just don’t see happening.

Liverpool have joined Arsenal in the race to sign £10m-rated Southampton teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Daily Mirror

With Bale and Walcott and now Oxlade-Chamberlain a lot of clubs could learn from the Southampton model on how to develop players. Shame they only get a stack of money out of it however.

Genoa are keen to sign Wigan’s Argentine striker Mauro Boselli, who has scored only once for the Latics since they broke their club record to bring him to the DW Stadium in a £6m move from Estudiantes in the summer of 2010. the Sun

Can’t see any club being interested in Mauro Boselli at this point. I know Genoa got rid of Luca Toni but surely they can’t be interested in spending good money on Boselli.

Stoke City boss Tony Pulis has made a £4m bid for West Ham midfielder Mark Noble and is also keen on Hammers striker Carlton Cole. Daily Mirror

Too bad West Ham can’t sell Carlton Cole until the summer considering their state. Mark Noble they should keep.

West Ham are poised to make a move for Udinese striker Antonio Floro Flores, who is keen to leave the Italian club. talkSPORT

It doesn’t mean he is keen to join West Ham.

Chelsea will make a renewed attempt to sign 20-year-old Lyon midfielder Miralem Pjanic, who they see as the perfect long-term replacement for Frank Lampard.caughtoffside.com

Big fan of Pjanic just too bad this isn’t the Chelsea of yesterday as this might of happened.

Aston Villa are interested in Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko but the Russian striker is expected to sign a new contract at White Hart Lane. Daily Mail

Too little, too late as Pavlyuchenko isn’t going anywhere.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is aiming to bring in at least one of his three top targets this month – Bolton’s Gary Cahill, Werder Bremen’s Per Mertesacker or Emir Spahic of Montpellier – after defender Thomas Vermaelen suffered another setback in his recovery from an Achilles tendon injury.
Full story: metro.co.uk

In other words Emir Spahic of Montpellier will be the newest Arsenal player.

Blackpool manager Ian Holloway says Liverpool caretaker manager Kenny Dalglish was “the skeleton in the closet” who meant former Reds boss Roy Hodgson never stood a chance of success at Anfield.
Full story: Daily Express

Hodgson didn’t do anything to deserve any backing but it’s funny you never heard (at least I didn’t, could be wrong) Kenny Dalgish trying to unite Liverpool again when Hodgson was in charge. If I was Dalgish I’d be doing a fist pump after every Liverpool dropped point back. The players never got behind Hodgson either. It’s not like they tried very hard to save his job.

I apologise for speaking in Portuguese but I’m a proud Portuguese” Mourinho’s opening phrase upon acceptance of FIFA Coach of Year Award. Almost made me want to cry when he said that.