Transfer Rumors (20 July 08): Double samba swoop for Chelsea? Inter keen on Alonso, Makelele set for Paris, and more
Since today’s Sunday, there’s not a great deal to report on, as is the case most Sundays. But, there are some intriguing tidbits to go over, starting with Chelsea, who are looking to make the splash of all splashes.
So, there’s no secret that Chelsea want Kaka. AC Milan’s Adriano Galliani says that Chelsea have made a big offer for the reigning top player in the world, but there’s no desire to sell. Kaka’s also said that there are not just one, but two clubs who want him.
Rumor Rating: 1 - Could Kaka actually want to leave? It doesn’t seem that he would want to, but you never know. Who could the other club in for him be? There’s really only one other club at the moment who would dare to put audacious sums on players, and they were the ones who were at it before Chelsea started throwing cash around.
While much of the talk right now is about Kaka and Chelsea, the Blues are also interested in another Brazilian, Real Madrid’s Robinho, and his agent says that they’ve made a £31.75m bid for him.
Rumor Rating: 3 - This would seem a little more realistic than a deal for Kaka, though Real value him a little higher than 40 million euros.
Blackburn have made a deal with Chilean club Audax Italiano to sign midfielder Carlos Villanueva for £4m. The 22-year old Villanueva has 12 caps for Chile, with one goal.
Rumor Rating: 5 - He’ll add a scoring punch to back up Roque Santa Cruz (if he stays), as he averaged nearly a goal every other game in his time with Audax (50 goals in 125 matches).
They could also be closing in on a deal for MK Dons midfielder Keith Andrews, as the star from Paul Ince’s League Two-winning squad from last season could soon be reunited with his old manager. MK Dons have said that the 27-year old will be free to go, and Blackburn have stated their interest in him, so a deal seems to be a formality.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Andrews, last season’s League Two Player of the Year, scored 14 goals last season, and would add yet another scoring/providing punch to the midfield. So, whether or not David Bentley stays, Blackburn will be set in that area.
It appears that Younes Kaboul could stand to take a page from his Spurs backline mate Pascal Chimbonda’s book and give Roy Keane a chance. Chimbonda went for talks with Keane on Saturday, and he was gushing with praise for the Sunderland manager.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Tottenham should be able to swing deals for Chimbonda, Steed Malbranque, and Teemu Tainio, but with Kaboul drawing the attention of Portsmouth and apparently not very into Sunderland, they’ll have to settle for three out of four, which isn’t bad at all.
Levante attacker Riga Mustapha has drawn the interest of Bolton. The 26-year old Riga, born in Ghana but previously a part of Holland’s U-21 setup, has been at Levante since 2005, scoring 28 league goals in three seasons.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Riga is interested in moving to the Premier League, thanks in part to the recommendations of his friend, George Boateng, who just signed on with Hull.
Meanwhile, Bolton are playing hardball with Hull over defender Abdoulaye Meite, as the Trotters want £2m for the Ivorian, but Hull haven’t matched that valuation as of yet.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Hull are pretty persistent, as they showed with their pursuit of Peter Halmosi, so they’ll most likely get their man in the end.
So, what will Inter do if they can’t push Chelsea into selling Frank Lampard? According to multiple reports, they could turn to Liverpool’s Xabi Alonso, who looked to be all set for Juventus not too long ago before Juve backed off.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Considering that Alonso’s sale could be a key to big spending for Liverpool, Rafa Benitez may be faxing in a favor to Peter Kenyon - “Just say no.”
Real Madrid’s young Dutch defender/winger Royston Drenthe could move to either Fiorentina or Juventus on loan for next season. Drenthe signed for €14m from Feyenoord last summer, but he made a limited impact in his first season, and with first-team opportunities likely at a minimum next term, the 21-year old could go elsewhere on loan.
Rumor Rating: 5 - He has also been linked with Benfica and Roma, so he has multiple quality options if he does indeed go elsewhere. But wherever he does go, he’ll need to take an alarm clock and a planner.
Reports in France are saying that Chelsea’s Claude Makelele should complete a switch to PSG very soon, as he is expected to be in the capital city to have a medical this weekend.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Makelele may be 35, but he’s still got plenty left in the tank, as he showed last season for Chelsea. It’ll be a good move for him to finish his career back where it all started, where he first made a name with Nantes and Marseille.
Holland
Ajax are set to sign Barcelona defender Oleguer in a deal worth around five million euros. The 28-year old had an injury-plagued 2007/08 campaign, but he had been a regular in Barca’s starting XI over the previous few seasons.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Ajax could also make another deal with Barca for a defender if they can beat Bayer Leverkusen to getting Henrique on loan once everything is settled with his transfer from Palmeiras.
Well, it was a pretty short day in transfer news, but expect for there to be plenty to talk about on Monday.
What do you think of today’s rumors? Chelsea after both Kaka and Robinho? Could Kaka actually leave AC Milan, or is he untouchable?
Chime in with your thoughts on today’s bits, chip in with rumors that you’ve heard and read, check out the updated summer transfer lists, and I’ll be back tomorrow.








I really doubt Kaká will leave Milan. He’s said he doesn’t want to leave and I am sure that he is not like Lampard. Robinho I would believe and he should go, he’s crap anyway and won’t help Chelski…. oh by the way whats up with the Ronaldo-Madrid saga?? i havn’t heard anything bout that in like a week.
Frank - silence on the Ronaldo-Madrid front is usually a good thing
I think even the press have run of stuff to make up about the whole saga.
Well, sir Fergie said, that Ronaldo will be staying in ManU. We’ll see, what will happen with that. But a move for Kaka is realistic, because Milan hav bought Ronaldinho, and they are low on cash
and Robinho..I don’t think anything about that lil monkeyman.
whats up with you and robinho.. he is a aswome player but he never plays for real and chelsea needs a god attacker if rogba leavs::))
Drogba***
Liverpool would be mad to sign Keane - Spurs complained about Liverpool’s attitude. So screw them. Instead of handing Spurs 20m (about 7 million too much) for Keane for Spurs to buy Ashvarin - just sign Ashvarin! And why does Ferguson want to sign Berbatov and not Keane. Berbatov is better?
Liverpool need to sign Barry sharpish, especially since Arsemal are chasing. Barry wants to play for Liverpool and it is obvious they are going to have to cough up £17 million plus Finnan for him. He is their Team Captain afterall.
I don’t see why Liverpool must wait until they sell £18 million pounds worth of players until they buy him - have they never heard of an Overdraft? Roll on D.I.C!
I hope to God they don’t sign Miliner - even Bentley is iffy. These players are mediocre at best - they should go for Da Silva or Mancini.
If Liverpool really want to compete next season with the massive two (Man U and Chelsea) instead of being in the big 4 (soon to be big 6) they nees to sign a TOP striker, a TOP winger and replace Alonso*. They might also need a Right Back unless Carragher is prepared to play there.
They are not that far away!
In
Barry
DA Silva
Huntlejaarrrrrr
OUT
Voronin
Pennant
Aurelia
Alsonso
And half the reserves - sold or on loan.
And for the love of pete let Yossi play more.
And play 4-4-2 more often in the Premiership.
And what happens if Torres gets injured? Keane by himself? I don’t think so.
Just getting it off my chest…
*Good but Premiership is too fast - better in Italy.
umm….Mancini just signed for Inter?
For 12.5m Euros too - dirt cheap if you ask me, considering that Roma and Inter have been title rivals for two years straight now.