Currently second last in the table with a single point more than Derby County and just one win in their twelve games, things are not looking good at all for Bolton Wanderers. With the ever loyal Nicolas Anelka (extreme sarcasm may be present) stressing every other day that he will probably be leaving Bolton in January, relegation is by no means a distant nightmare for a team who finished in the European qualifying places last season.

After the sacking of Sammy Lee due to Bolton’s shambolic start to the Premiership season, Gary Megson has improved results- but not by much. Bolton have picked up two draws in their past two games; while the latest one, a match against West Ham at Upton Park was tricky, the club really should have disposed of Aston Villa at the Reebok. Coming back to draw in the 90th minute against West Ham United would have been a great boost for the club, and fans will hope that this will be the jumpstart that their season needed; sadly, with the squad they have it does not look like anything other than the bottom half of the table for them.

When Anelka leaves in January (and I say when, because he certainly will), Bolton are screwed. Screwed really, really badly in fact, as Anelka is the one player they have that can create a goal out of nothing; their other players don’t even come close. With Anelka in the side, Bolton look potent up front (at times), and if they do not replace him with a similarly talented striker, which they do not have the funds to do, they will go down. A good bet for Megson if he’s still around would be to try and bring in Alfonso Alves from the Eredivise on a loan deal; how willing he would be to come is another matter altogether.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

All across the football world, be it in the floodlit stadiums of the English Premier League or the dusty streets of Brazil, good players are there to be found. Whether it’s the fancy footwork of Cristiano Ronaldo; the pace and vision of Cesc Fabregas or the flair of Kaka, there have always been plenty of good players- and then there are those who are even better.

Every fan craves the elite players of the game; if you offered the fans any team in the world Kaka, the majority of them would say yes, while those that don’t are lying. Talking about that unlikely scenario, if you had the option of having any player in the world pulling on your club’s strip, who would you choose?

To try and start this off with something different, I’ll not go with the choice of Kaka as many of my fellow Gooners would, I’m sure; rather, I’d go for the wing wizardry of Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite Cristiano Ronaldo being known as a diving little cheat player who’s antics are questionable at times, I feel that the Portuguese player would add an extra element to our team- even more so than Kaka, or Leo Messi for that matter.

Kaka is a phenomenal player; he has the ability to drive a team forward on his own, and get a few goals to boot. However, the Gunners have enough players in the position that the Brazilian occupies; Rosicky, Fabregas and Hleb are all capable of playing there well, and an the dynamism Ronaldo would provide on the wings would turn this Arsenal side from playing excellent to unbeatable.

I have long called for Wenger to buy a winger; too often have we failed to use the width provided on the slightly larger Emirates Stadium pitch, while last season Arsenal fans were frustrated to the point of wanting to break something as Rosicky and Hleb continued to cut in and run into walls. Someone that can move the ball at pace, or a proper, ‘out and out’ winger as they’re known as these days would be excellent for the Arsenal; and as much as I hate to say it, Ronaldo is the best kind of this player in the football world today. Wenger has tried to create this kind of player by moving Eboue up to right wing; sadly I feel that a natural is needed, as well as one that can bang them in for fun. Do you think Ronaldo would do well in the red and white, as unlikely a prospect as that seems?

Now that I’ve done it for Arsenal; let me have a short go at other teams- Manchester United would do well with Dimitar Berbatov, simply because they need someone better than Saha capable of playing alone up front; Chelsea would not go amiss if the talents of Kaka were added to their midfield; Liverpool would thrive with Robin van Persie playing off Fernando Torres up front. Who do you think who improve your team best if you were given the option of signing any player in the football world? Let me know below.

Note that this is purely fantasy; I’m not saying that you should take this article seriously, or that I would not be slightly (heck, loads) disgusted were Cristiano Ronaldo to be linked to the Arsenal.

So all of you that enjoy the daily mill of impossible, never to happen transfer rumours… get debating

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

I came across this on the Arsenal forum I visit a few minutes ago; enjoy. A few of you might remember something similar being done to Peter Crouch; the Photoshop pros were bored over the weekend and this time it’s Cesc Fabregas, and his frenetic celebration in the Arsenal v Liverpool that is the victim.

The one you’re seeing up top is perhaps the best one, but here’s another one that I think runs quite close:

For the rest, head over to this Goonersweb thread.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Yesterday’s Carling Cup ties threw up a bunch of surprising moments but the end results were quite predictable:

Arsenal never stepped out of second gear against a mediocre Sheffield United side, Liverpool grabbed a win after a Stevie G winner while even Spurs, who have a habit of faltering against lower teams nicked a comfortable win at home to Blackpool. Chelsea were the team that played in yesterday’s match filled with shocks; they only just sneaked a 4-3 win over Leicester after a Frank Lampard hat-trick.

While there were twists and turns during the course of yesterday’s matches, they did end up as expected, so here I will ask you the question- is the Carling Cup a valued competition, or is it just a load of shite?

Manchester United fans will probably agree with the above; their reserves have faced two lower league sides and after they were woefully inadequate unlucky on the day, they suffered the ignominy of being knocked out. The team I support, Arsenal on the other hand have used the competition to breed players such as Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner in recent years; all three look to play a major part in the Gunners’ future battles. Liverpool have tended to continue with their rotational policy for the Carling Cup while Chelsea generally play a full strength side with a couple reserves; as for the other teams in the Premiership, even a few of them have rested major players if they are drawn against lower league teams.

So a lot of the Premiership teams do rest their players in the Carling Cup. Would it be better then, if the Carling Cup was a competition excluding the top four?

Whilst the competition offers plenty of opportunity for shocks, it tends to go the way of the big teams- in the last five years, only Middlesbrough have taken the trophy outside the top four; the rest have been picked up by Manchester United, Chelsea (x2) and Liverpool. Out of ten finalists in those five years, just three have been from outside the top four, with Wigan Athletic (who were thrashed 4-0 by Man Utd) joining Bolton and Middlesbrough. Those stats would have been expected; which is why quite a few football fans have questioned the value of the Carling Cup, especially when it does not have the history or the glamour that the FA Cup does.

For me as an Arsenal fan, I’ve seen the Carling Cup as a useful way to catch a glimpse of the next Henry, the next Vieira or the next Bergkamp, however fans of other teams in the top four, as well as those lower down the Premiership may see it as a waste of time. I’ve only spoken to a few people about this, and have received widely contrasting views; most of them have been Arsenal fans though so slightly biased.

What about you? Do you see the Carling Cup as a decent way to play the reserves and get them facing some real competition, or is it just another set of games in an already overcrowded league calendar?

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Tottenham Hotspur currently sit 18th place in the table, in the relegation zone and only above Bolton and Derby County.

With just seven points coming from their first eleven games, this is hardly the stuff of a team that many claimed would break into the top four this season; their poor results have led to Martin Jol being sacked and Sevilla boss Juande Ramos being brought in to replace him. Ramos of course managed Sevilla just a short while ago, and while Tottenham have had many questionable managers in the past, Juande could be the man to finally bring glory to the north London side.

I am an Arsenal fan; I’m sure most of you will know that, and those that don’t know it now. Now for me, Tottenham have never really been a ‘rival’ to us; sure, they’re a local side but in general don’t provide that much of a challenge to beat, and apart from two seasons ago when they f**ked it up on the last day of the season, haven’t really challenged Arsenal for their place in the league.

Them bringing Ramos on board is something that has almost brought about a tiny shiver of fear; while Ramos will not be able to get Tottenham challenging for the top four this season (and will have a hard time making the UEFA Cup too at this rate); if the c*ntish Spurs board let him work his magic, they will have a good chance of doing so in the upcoming seasons.

Juande Ramos is a man that does not need to spend boatloads of money to create a solid team; while he had the natural talent of Sevilla’s youth academy in Spain, he could not compete financially with Real Madrid and Barcelona, so he didn’t. Ramos built a team that was at one point in pole position for the title last year; they fell behind as the fixture congestion grew too much to handle, however the club still picked up a bit of silverware (including the UEFA Cup) by the end of the year, and did well to come so far against the wealth and super-stardom of the ‘Big Two’.

Ramos was unveiled at Tottenham Hotspur yesterday; upon being introduced he showed a surprising grasp of English, saying:

‘Our main aim will be to try to get good results straight away, to try and bring some confidence back in the team. Ultimately, we will see what we can achieve in the long term. I’ll try to instill some discipline into the team and I’m sure the players will respond in the right way.’

So now we know his aims. Anyways, why was I almost scared of Spurs after they stole signed Ramos? Well, Ramos can get his teams playing a very decent attacking style of football- something that Tottenham have failed to do in the past (as comedic it is to watch their defending, their football going forward is extremely inconsistent) and surely he will only shine with more money to spend, despite him not needing it- press reports already have him going back to his old club to take away a few of their more decent players. A manager should only do better with more money at his control; while this is not always the case (as with Rafa Benitez and even Arsene Wenger) it has shown to be true more often than not.

So, do you think that Ramos will mould Tottenham into a top four team next year? Let me know why (and why not) below, and I’ll try to laugh at your views respectively offer my opinion as to whether I agree with you below

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Playing away at Anfield will always be one of the biggest games in a league calendar, however ask any Arsenal fan and they would say that yesterday’s game was not the most important one Arsenal will play in these short time period. The most important game for Arsenal has, and always will be the game against Manchester United- ie the one coming up on November 3rd.

Local rivals Tottenham provide a source of amusement, but quite frankly aren’t very good; Manchester United Football Club provide a match that can both be challenging to the extreme (see last season’s two games) while also occasionally thrown up the odd amusing moment (ie Fergie getting whacked in the face with a slice of pizza). While Liverpool are a team that will challenge for Europe, the real team that Arsenal will have to do well against if they want to win the title is Manchester United, and I’m sure all the players and the fans know this.

After yesterday’s draw, Manchester United cut the gap at the top to just goal difference and the game in hand; should they pull off a win next week then they will be three points ahead with the game in hand (ie level). While this would not be the worse scenario, as Arsenal would still have a chance to do level should they beat Newcastle; it must not be allowed to happen.

Once Manchester United get in front, they rarely, if ever relinquish their grip on the title, so what this youthful Gunner side must do is win. Unfortunately, as the game is at home I fear it may have a negative effect on the team- I would have much preferred it to be at Old Trafford.

Normally games being at home (in this case the Emirates Stadium) is good for a team, however here I feel it may work against us. With this advantage, Arsenal will surely be expected to come off better of the two sides- however I don’t think that any Gooner would be displeased with a draw.

Why? Well, since Manchester United are away from home, and risk being destroyed by our brand of attacking football if they decide to come out and attack, they will try to kick us off the park- I guarantee this. Liverpool tried this a few times yesterday- most noticeably the angelic Jamie Carragher, who should have been sent off after his tug in the penalty box and his elbow on Eboue, however Manchester United are far ‘better’ – most Arsenal fans (and Jose Reyes in particular) will remember the day where they pulled off a win after not even attempting to play football.

Manchester United are one of the best teams in the world at going forward, but not even they can match Arsenal at its finest. If Arsenal play the football that everyone knows they are capable of, they will have a very good chance of winning next week. If Arsenal play the football that everyone knows they are capable of, and take at least 50% of the chances they make… they will thrash Man Utd.

Sadly, everyone knows Arsenal’s weak point is their finishing- despite them having scored the most goals in the league this season, they could have scored a lot, lot more had they taken more of the chances like the two sitters they passed up against Liverpool – it was not the first time this year they have missed such easy chances, and it will certainly not be the last. Manchester United on the other hand create fewer chances every game, but score a higher percentage of them.

For the team news, it is hard to see who will play. It is likely we will see a similar formation as yesterday – ie 4-5-1 with Adebayor up top on his own, and as that worked well last season there is no reason why it won’t this. Adebayor has played far worse than he is capable of these last few games but let’s hope he puts in a similar performance to the one he did last year at Old Trafford, where he terrorized their back four for the full ninety minutes, culminating of course in that late winner.

It will be good to see the likes of Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner on the bench; I do feel they are up to the task, and will prove themselves worthy should they be required to come on and change the game. I’m sure the writers on Soccerlens who support Manchester United will have their say soon enough so I’ll try not to keep you waiting; let’s hope that they do not try to irritate y’all as much as I hope to do

Prediction: 2-1 win for the Gunners.

You can follow the Arsenal v Manchester United game live here on Soccerlens on Saturday.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Follow the 21st April Liverpool v Arsenal live on Soccerlens!

First off, before the half thought out crap detailed analysis of yesterday’s Arsenal-Liverpool game, I’d like to applaud (as best I can for two teams I *hate*) the performances of Manchester United and Chelsea a couple days ago.

Both teams played some excellent stuff- Manchester United showed strength to fight back when Boro equalized (and this piece of interplay between Rooney and Tevez was just sublime) while Chelsea of course did a demolition job on this season’s surprise team Manchester City. Now often I turn off the TV when Manchester United go 2-0 up (as is often the case), but on Saturday I had to watch their game (and extended highlights of the Chelsea game) because both teams were absolutely class.

Now, to the real stuff.

If you went by the book, everything before yesterday’s game at Anfield promised an absolute thrashing for Liverpool- Arsenal of course had come of the phenomenal 7-0 win over Slavia Prague while Liverpool had gone down midweek to Besiktas. Sadly as we all know, football never works out like that, however we were still treated to an enthralling match that could have gone either way.

Liverpool scored first, Steven Gerrard netting from a powerfully hit free kick after the Arsenal wall broke apart; while Arsenal’s young genius Cesc Fabregas toe-poked the ball past Reina to bring the Gunners level. Whilst I felt that we should have won it- hitting the post twice with the subsequent missed sitters, Liverpool fans will feel the same after Almunia’s decent saves off Gerrard and Crouch while Gallas blocked Gerrard when clean through in the box.

All in all a decent result for the Gunners; a draw at Anfield is never a bad thing while Liverpool fans should be feeling worse off after the game- although Arsenal had the better chances to win it, it was ‘Pool that needed the victory more. Liverpool had a chance to cut the gap at the top to just four points with a game in hand; they now sit six points behind with the same amount of games played as the leaders.

Now that we’ve talked about the match, the analysis. I said it last week, but this game once again strengthened my claim- Arsenal Football Club will win the league, and not just that; they will do it in style. The nerve the team showed to fight back against a 1-0 deficit away from home at one of the toughest places to play at in the world was incredible; and the future core of this team- Fabregas, Walcott, Bendtner are not even 21 years old yet. Fabregas is fast developing into the best midfielder in world football- he had quite a bit of what was needed before, but lacked the goals; this season he already has ten in just fourteen starts. As for Bendtner, and Walcott, it will be good to see them start against Sheffield United this week; the former has impressed every single time he has come on this season while the latter is slowly developing into the player he was hyped up to be.

Anyways, enough of the creaming over excellent analysis of the Arsenal players; how does that result set up the league? We have three teams that will be going full force for it- Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, and we could well have one of the most exciting battles ever seen. I stand by my other claim- Liverpool are not going to compete for the league, and were never in with a shout (well, they might have been on the first day of the season but then so were Derby County) of winning it; they will however make up the top four.

Yesterday’s round of results sets it up quite nicely for the game against the scum Manchester United next week at the Emirates; those games are always good to watch and more of the same results as last season’s ones, please. I will probably be doing another piece about the game closer to the event; I’m sure the Manchester United supporting writers of Soccerlens (who are horribly misguided, but ah well ) will have their fair share to say too.

Do you think I’m talking shite, and that Liverpool are still in with a chance? Tell me below

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Today’s transfer rumours involve: Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Juventus, AC Milan and Bolton.

Manchester United After Bilbao Pair

Manchester United seem to be the club most linked with players in the transfer rumours every day; today they’ve been linked with half the Bilbao first team. Diario Sport had Fergie sending scouts to watch their game against Real Valladolid last week; it appears that Javi Martinez and Markel Susaeta were the players that he was interested in.

No, I haven’t heard of them either but they have played for the Spanish U21 side so they must have some level of quality; and as I keep bringing up, Fergie is pretty good at spotting decent young talent. Those two players were not the only ones though- Manchester United were also linked with Fernando Llorente, Andoni Iraola and Fernando Amorebieta, other Bilbao youngsters.

Chelsea’s Drogba Now Wants Juventus

If you read SoccerLens regularly you’ll know about the controversial article about Drogba ‘Whoring’ himself out (not my words ); the striker of course said he would leave Chelsea even if Kaka and Ronaldinho came to the club, yet this was followed by a statement saying the complete opposite a few days later. I’m not saying what might have made Drogba change his mind, but I’m sure it is a very valid reason ($$$$$$$).

Anyways, Drogba appears to be still looking for a club; today’s papers have him linked with Juventus. This is not a baseless rumour though, as quite a few of them are these days- the quotes came from his agent, Etienne Mendy. Mendy said: “It’s no secret that Didier likes Milan a lot as he jets off there whenever he gets some time off, but we can’t discount the other big Italian side Juventus”. Chelsea fans will be pretty happy, I suppose, as their club appears to be falling apart.

Arsenal Linked with Modric and Di Maria- AGAIN!

Arsenal has been yet again linked with the two wingers they were in the summer; that is Luka Modric, of Dinamo Zagreb and Angel Di Maria, currently with Benfica. Arsenal were supposed to be odds-on favourites to sign Di Maria before he opted for first team football at Benfica; while they bought in Modric’s strike partner Eduardo da Silva in the summer.

Despite Di Maria having signed a five year deal to stay at Benfica, press reports have him moving to the Emirates Stadium as early as next July. Modric on the other hand has been linked to Arsenal numerous times, and as he has an almost telepathic understanding with Eduardo he could be a good move for the club.

Arsenal have looked light on the wings; with Eboue failing to impress so far while Rosicky is constantly out and Walcott may be used up front. Although Modric primarily plays as an attacking midfielder he is comfortable on the wing, and would be an excellent addition to the squad if the Gunners signed him this January.

Tottenham tracking Michael Kightly

The Manchester United fans amongst you will be familiar with the name of Michael Kightly- the player was famously linked with the Red Devils a few months ago after impressing at Wolves. Kightly had been playing non league football just a year ago, so this would be a tremendous rise should he move to the Premier League; Tottenham look to continue their approach of buying young English players.

Despite Kightly signing a four year deal with Wolves in June, should his performances stay the same it is likely he will be making the move up a league sooner rather than later, and with the likes of Everton, Aston Villa and Bolton all rumoured to be interested at the time there will be a fierce battle for his signature.

Bolton’s Anelka to Milan?

Nicolas Anelka has been linked with all the top four clubs in the Premiership at one point or another during the season, especially after his almost daily outbursts about how he wants to leave struggling Bolton. It seems that Anelka is tired of playing at a club currently bottom of the table and would like to move to a team matching his ambitions; AC Milan may be able to do that.

Milan has still not properly replaced Shevchenko and would be willing to pay decent money for Anelka- who would get his wish of playing in the Champions League fulfilled. AC Milan of course won the Champions League last year and will hope to do so again; with possible World Player of the Year Kaka in their ranks they will always have a good chance of doing so. Anelka would look slightly weird playing in the red and black of the Rossoneri, but a player of his quality would boost the team; and with the January transfer window nearing a quick move could be in order.

Other Rumours

• Tottenham Hotspur target Blackburn boss Mark Hughes to replace under fire Martin Jol. Considering Blackburn are doing a lot, lot better than Spurs, can’t see why he’d move.
• Chelsea and Real Madrid to ‘battle’ it out for two Brazilian starlets; Corinthians attacking player Lulinha and Flamengo striker Renato are the players linked.
• Arsenal’s Gilberto linked with a move to Italy; this time it’s Juventus. He won’t be off in January, but will be gone in the summer.
• Palermo coach tells Manchester City to f**k off in their quest to sign Amauri and Bresciano; fine, he didn’t exactly say those words but the statement was a clear message to the Eastlands side. Colantuono said (in jest), “Manchester City want Amauri? First they wanted Mark Bresciano, now him, they should probably just send us a shopping list!”
• Fiorentina want to sign Sissoko; Liverpool of course have about 20,000 defensive central midfielders so a move may be in order for the player, who has looked good in patches.
• Manchester City go striker mad; they’ve been linked with a 14 million pound move for Lyon’s Karim Benzema.
• Tottenham back in for Juan Roman Riquelme, who is unwanted at Villareal; how well Riquelme would cope with the pace of the Premiership is another matter altogether.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

WARNING- This is going to be one of the most biased articles that you’ve ever read on SoccerLens, so if you don’t like that kind of thing I suggest you don’t read it. I’ve seen a lot of Manchester United based articles from the likes of Ahmed and my other fellow writers here, so I thought it’s probably the perfect time to reciprocate for (and probably piss off around 95% of you) my favourite team; that is the Arsenal.

First off; top of the league. Many wrote off Wenger and the young Arsenal side before the season; telling us that Arsenal would struggle to make the top four and could even be usurped by the wealth of Tottenham, currently in the relegation zone (where they deserve to be, but that’s for another article ) and various other teams. Well, the statistics speak for themselves- played nine, won eight- two points ahead of Manchester United in second with a game in hand. Granted, the next two games are tough; Liverpool at Anfield followed by a visit by Manchester United to the Emirates, but this team has shown that it can compete with the best in the past, and will surely do so again.

Many have hinted that it may be possible, but few have stated it as a given; here I will- Arsenal are going to win the Premier League this season. Cockiness rarely gets you anything in life apart from a good thrashing, which I promise that all the readers of SoccerLens may give me should we not be top in May. However, I see no reason we cannot win it, and definitely think that we can beat off Manchester United- who have played far worse than they did last season; Chelsea, who may well lose out their top four place to Manchester City unless Abramovich splurges in January and Liverpool, who were never capable of winning it anyway (yes, I’m expecting a round of hammering for that statement too).

Arsenal are a youthful side, but this season they have grown to possess maturity as well. In the past, teams found they could physically affect Arsenal enough to put them off their stride; this year, it will take a lot more to sneak a win from the Gunners. While the two games coming up are definitely hazards for us (in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if we lost to Liverpool), we will still have enough quality to rise to the top, and in this league that is what matters. I feel that this team has the potential to match the feats of the ‘Invincibles’, and with the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor and Manuel Almunia all in the best form of their careers, it seems that this team can only continue to get better.

Anyways, feel free to bash me using the comments section below; when one writes such an extremely biased article, one expects it. Do you think Arsenal won’t win the league, and Manchester United or Chelsea will claim it (Sorry to write off Liverpool, but they’ve done jackshit in the league for the last seventeen years)? Post below and I’ll try and respond to some of the sensible (and not so sensible) comments .

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

A look at the latest transfer rumours – today’s teams in question are Man City, United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Villa and Newcastle.

Manchester City in for Amauri

Manchester City have been linked with the likes of Michael Owen and Nicolas Anelka to play up front in the last few weeks; this time it’s Amauri, currently playing for Palermo in Serie A. Amauri has been in decent form for Palermo over the last few seasons, and it seems Sven has noticed this has he looks to raid the Italian club.

Amauri is not the only player Sven wants though; Manchester City has also been linked with a move for Australian midfielder Mark Bresciano, who did well with the national side at the last World Cup. Bresciano for me would fit into the Premiership without a problem; while Amauri is hardly a weakling when you look at his size.

Chelsea’s Shevchenko back to AC Milan?

This rumour started a month after Shevchenko moved to Chelsea for around £30 million; it has only gotten stronger as he failed to make a mark and show what he was capable of in England. Now Italian super agent Enzo Bronzetti has said that a move might finally take place, ruling out Milan’s interest in Leo Messi but stating that perhaps Shevchenko would return.

Whether Abramovich would be happy to let him leave is another matter, but as Shevchenko has not done as well as he was expected too, perhaps it is the right time to let him go. With Drogba’s outburst of how he wants to leave the club too, perhaps a massive January or summer revamp will be in order for Chelsea.

Portsmouth interested in Jonas

Although Portsmouth had a £2.5 million bid turned down during the summer for Real Mallorca winger Jonas Gutierrez, it appears that they will be back in for the player- this time with a fee of £7 million being mooted this time around. Portsmouth are apparently interested in a January swoop for the Argentine international as they look to bolster their squad; they will have quite a few players off to the African Cup of Nations. Gutierrez was also linked with Liverpool in the summer, and due to his size should have few problems adapting to the physical side of the league.

Drogba Wants To Leave Chelsea

First it was Mourinho; now Didier Drogba wants to leave the club. The Ivorian striker was unhappy at the departure of his manager, and hinted at discontent, talking about how “damage is big in the dressing room”. Drogba’s comments have made it quite clear that he wants to leave Chelsea, saying that he would go even if both Ronaldinho and Kaka came to the club.

The striker should have his choice of destinations, with Real Madrid, AC Milan and Inter Milan being linked in the past; some papers have sneakily linked him with neighbours Arsenal in a cut price deal. Chelsea have plenty of money to replace the forward should he leave, and will be after the likes of David Villa and Klaas Jan Huntelaar. Chelsea are also supposed to face competition from Inter Milan for the signing of Rafael Van der Vaart, who they were linked with a few days ago in a January move.

Aston Villa in for Dica

Next up for the rumours is Aston Villa, who have been linked with Steaua Bucharest striker Nicolae Dica. Aston Villa were apparently interested in Dica during the summer, and will renew their transfer bid either in January or next summer. Dica is capable of playing in midfield, but generally plays up front, and has also been the target of Greek side Olympiakos who are supposed to have already made a bid for him.

With the amount of money in the Premiership and the transfer budget promised by new owner Randy Lerner, should Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill decide he wants the player then they will have no problems outbidding the Greek side.

Newcastle United’s Martins to Italy?

Most of the transfer rumours these days have a player joining the Premiership; this one is different however as it links Newcastle United striker Obafemi Martins with a move away. Martins has been linked with the Serie A, with Fiorentina, Lazio and Palermo all rumoured to be interested. Martins has developed into Newcastle’s premier striker over the last few months, and considering that they paid around ten million pounds to lure him to Tyneside, it would take a pretty high fee to make him leave.

Whether Newcastle can afford to sell him is another matter, with Owen’s constant injuries and Alan Smith’s failure to show consistent form since his move from Manchester United. The Italian clubs are supposed to be in for a January swoop, but this does not seem likely with the African Cup of Nations coming along, and a summer move looks more realistic.

More Transfer Rumours:

• Thierry Henry wouldn’t mind moving to the MLS at some point in the future; Luis Figo is considering it. If those two players made the move, an increase in popularity would be almost guaranteed.
• Mexican striker Carlos Vela will join Arsenal in January. Vela is owned by Arsenal, but was not allowed to play in England due to work permit issues; it seems that those have finally been resolved and he will join the club when the transfer window opens. How happy that will make current benched striker Nicolas Bendtner is yet to be seen.
• Liverpool will not sell Peter Crouch. The lanky forward was linked with a move away from the club after not getting a lot of games this year; Benitez has said that will not be the case.
• Manchester United were fairly happy with their trial of Carlos Tevez’s brother Miguel; they will be looking at signing the player on a permanent deal.
• Bolton are interested in bringing back Chris Coleman from Real Sociedad to the Premiership. Bolton of course just sacked Sammy Lee after a run of poor results.
• Van der Vaart tells Chelsea to wait for him; the midfielder does not want to leave Hamburg for the Premiership yet, but will consider it at the end of this season.
• AC Milan are leading the race to sign Ronaldinho, beating off interest from Chelsea. Chelsea have the money to finance the deal, but Milan are looking at a player swap for Kaka.
• Last but not least, Middlesbrough and Chelsea set to battle it out for the transfer of Danish youngster Simon Kjaer. Kjaer plays as a centre half for FC Midtjylland, and was the subject of a £500,000 bid from Real Madrid in the summer. Kjaer currently plays for the Denmark U19 team, and is tipped for great things by those close to him.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News