There’s no new Kaka news to report on, and there shouldn’t be for another couple of days, but that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing else going on in the world of transfers.
Who’s in the transfer news headlines today? As always, the lion’s share of the tidbits are from England, but we’ve also got news and rumors to report on from Spain, Italy, Germany, and Greece.
England
Chelsea Lodge Big-Money Bid For Villa
Chelsea have made a £40m offer for Valencia striker David Villa in hopes of beating out Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Barcelona. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: Let the bidding war begin? The biggest beneficiary of that would be Valencia, without a doubt. They may hate to lose their prized asset, but whatever he’s sold for, they’re going to get some much needed financial help.
Manchester City To Bid For Liverpool’s Alonso?
Manchester City could be set to make a £20m bid for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso. (The Mirror)
Analysis: If Alonso does go anywhere, I think the likeliest destination is Real Madrid.
Chelsea And Tottenham In For Villa Star Young
Chelsea (The Mirror)”>The Mirror) and Tottenham (Daily Mail) are both heavily interested in Aston Villa star Ashley Young, who is said to be concerned with the club being able to replace Gareth Barry. Chelsea haven’t lodged an official bid yet, but Tottenham have apparently offered Villa £8m + David Bentley for the England international winger.
Analysis: Martin O’Neill has previously been pretty adamant about keeping Young. I don’t see him making the lateral move of going to Tottenham, even though Bentley is someone that Villa are eying, but at the same time, I don’t see him going to Chelsea either, at least not right now.
Busy Arsenal Eye Quartet
Arsenal have opened talks with VfL Wolfsburg over a move for striker Edin Dzeko. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: This could be a sign that Arsenal are preparing for life without Adebayor, though whether or not he’s still at the Emirates next season, adding a new forward is essential for Arsenal after they had issues with several staying healthy or consistently finding the net last season.
Arsenal are once again being linked with a move for Kolo Toure’s brother Yaya, with the Gunners reportedly set to make a £12m bid for the Barcelona midfielder. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: Considering Arsenal’s supposedly small summer transfer budget, it’d appear that they’d have to sell (Emmanuel Adebayor, perhaps?) before they could make such a buy.
Arsene Wenger is also on the lookout for a new center back, and Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini could be in his sights once again. But in one of the more interesting rumors of the day, Arsenal are being linked with his teammate, keeper Gianluigi Buffon, with a 20m bid being in the cards. (Goal.com)
Analysis: You can dismiss the Buffon rumor as nothing but silly speculation, especially when Juventus would probably laugh off an offer of 20m if it was made. As for Chiellini, it may well cost that much to land him, but then you have to consider that Juventus aren’t going to consider selling him to Arsenal or anyone else.
Villa After Jenas and Milijas
Aston Villa are being linked with a move for Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas, and they could also be set to hijack Wolves’ move for Red Star Belgrade midfielder Nenad Milijas. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: The loss of Barry’s presence in midfield leaves Villa needing to not only fill his void on the pitch, but prove to their fans that ambition hasn’t gone out the window. I don’t know if going for a couple of Tottenham players in Jenas and Bentley and a relative unknown from Eastern Europe is what they had in mind, but Jenas and Bentley both have the skills to be stars at Villa, and Milijas, like Barry, has a defensive background but is a serious threat in attack, as shown by his astounding 17 goals last season.
Everton Back In For M’Bia
Everton are once again looking to make a move for Rennes midfielder Stephane M’Bia. They were unable to agree a fee for the Cameroonian last summer, but they’ll be hoping to land the 23-year-old for £6m this time around. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: You’ve certainly got to give credit to Everton for not giving up on this guy, especially with how Rennes played hardball last summer.
Stoke Interested In Cisse and Dunne
Stoke could be set to launch bids for striker Djibril Cisse (Daily Mail) and defender Richard Dunne (Daily Mail).
Analysis: Signing a proven scorer and a quality defender could do wonders for Stoke’s hopes to not only better their 12th-place finish from this season, but to be able to think realistically about making a push to be in the mix for a European place in the near future.
Bruce Wants Zigic At Sunderland
Sunderland could be set to move for Tottenham’s Darren Bent sometime in the near future, but they’re also looking at vertically blessed Valencia striker Nikola Zigic as well. Zigic was linked with a Premier League move last summer. (The Mirror)
Analysis: Step aside Peter Crouch! Zigic didn’t really have much of an impact at Valencia, but as shown by his 13 goals in only 19 appearances in a loan stint for Racing Santander this past season, he knows his way around goal very well, and Sunderland need that, to say the least.
Martinez Wants SPL Stars At Wigan
Soon-to-be Wigan boss Roberto Martinez could make moves for Hibs striker Steven Fletcher and Hamilton midfielder James McCarthy once he’s on the job. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: Both players have been heavily linked with Celtic, but the opportunity to play in the Premier League could be too tempting to turn down. Hibs have rebuffed interest from Celtic in the last couple of transfer windows, but Wigan would have no problem shelling out the £4m that Hibs wanted for Fletcher in January. Hamilton turned down an offer from Portsmouth recently, but if Wigan offer a fair amount more than the £500k that Pompey offered, it could get Hamilton to budge.
Birmingham To Make Improved Bid For Cardiff’s Johnson
After having a £3.5m bid for Cardiff defender Roger Johnson rejected, undaunted Birmingham are hoping to get Cardiff to cave with a higher bid for the 26-year-old. (Clubcall)
Analysis: If Birmingham do bid £5m or more for Johnson, it’ll be hard for Cardiff to turn it down. There’s a good chance he won’t be the last key Cardiff player to leave either, with midfielder Joe Ledley and striker Ross McCormack both being linked with summer moves.
Spain
Barcelona In £20m Mascherano Move
Barcelona will look to capitalize on the financial uncertainty at Liverpool by making a £20m bid for midfielder Javier Mascherano. (The Sun)
Analysis: Just like Liverpool shouldn’t consider selling Alonso unless it’s an offer they absolutely can’t refuse, the same can be said for Mascherano.
Zokora To Cost Sevilla £8m
Sevilla are interested in Tottenham midfielder Didier Zokora, but to land the Ivorian, they’ll have to fork out £8m. (The Mirror)
Analysis: Zokora only made a handful of starts after Wilson Palacios was signed from Wigan in January, and with opportunities likely to be just as limited next season, it’s best for him to seek greener pastures. Sevilla would be a great opportunity for him, providing Champions League football and some familiarity as well, with Ivorian compatriots Arouna Kone and Romaric.
Italy
Inter Milan Step Up Cassano Pursuit
Inter Milan are working hard to land Sampdoria striker Antonio Cassano. Inter have met with Cassano’s agent, and they’ve also already made an opening offer for the former Roma and Real Madrid man. (Tribal Football)
Analysis: Without Cassano’s huge contributions last season, Sampdoria likely would’ve been involved in a battle for survival. If they are to sell him, Inter are going to have to make an offer that benefits Sampdoria and their hopes of avoiding more struggles just as much as it benefits Inter to add Cassano, who’s really gotten his career back on track at Samp.
Germany
Bayern Munich Target Chelsea’s Bosingwa
Bayern Munich could make a £12m offer for Chelsea right back Jose Bosingwa. (Goal.com)
Analysis: What happens here will hinge on if Chelsea end up signing Portsmouth’s Glen Johnson. If they do sign Johnson, that would severely limit Bosingwa’s opportunities next season, and a move could then be in the cards.
Greece
Olympiakos Must Pay 5m For Loan Star Derbyshire
If Olympiakos want to sign loan star Matt Derbyshire permanently, they’ll have to pay Blackburn £5m for the striker, instead of the £3m that they’d hoped. (Tribal Football)
Analysis: Given the impact that he had at Olympiakos in his short time there, he’s easily worth the £5m, but we’ll have to see if Olympiakos are willing to fork it out.
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