Transfer Rumors (30 Jan 09): Ronaldo in 91m Real deal, Arsenal and Manchester City talk Toure, Tottenham offer Bent to Blackburn for Santa Cruz, and more
We’re into the final stretch of the January transfer window, and while signings have been relatively light up to this point, we’ll be seeing a lot more confirmed deals (and probably just as much speculation) over the next few days.
England
You can’t go that long in any transfer window these days without a Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid rumor, and today’s goodie is that Ronaldo has signed a long-term, £91m deal with Real. (The Times)
Analysis: No coincidence that such things come up after Ronaldo starts scoring again. Moving on…
Chelsea and Manchester City may enter the race for Carlos Tevez, if he doesn’t wind up agreeing a permanent deal with Manchester United. (The Times)
Analysis: All Carlos has to do is keep finding the net during and after Wayne Rooney’s absence, and Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester City, Inter, and everyone else can forget about signing him.
Andrei Arshavin is almost, almost, almost a Gunner finally, as he’s been granted a work permit for his move to Arsenal, and he’s agreed to pay part of the £15m transfer fee. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: Ah, but Or is he…
Arsene Wenger could have a little extra spending money by selling Kolo Toure to Manchester City, but he may want Micah Richards to be included in a swap deal (The Mirror). But, as it happens, he may be set to settle for a £15m deal that includes Richard Dunne (Daily Mail).
Analysis: City really fancy Toure, but do they fancy him enough to let Richards go? I’m sure Micah wouldn’t have any complaints if they did, but we’ll see.
Manchester City have had an improved, £18.5m offer for Blackburn star Roque Santa Cruz rejected. (The Times)
Analysis: If Blackburn weren’t striking out with finding a replacement, then this deal would likely still be on. I don’t know how keen Sam Allardyce would be on doing a cash + Darren Bent swap with Tottenham, but I just thought I’d throw that out there.
And apparently, so would Tottenham, because they have put forth exactly that offer. (Tribalfootball)
Analysis: The big question for Blackburn is this: Sell him for cash and a player who , or keep him until the summer, have someone pay his release fee, and have plenty of time and money to find a replacement?
Santa Cruz looks like option #1 for Harry Redknapp, since Liverpool have told Tottenham that if they want Robbie Keane back, they’ll have to stump up a refund to the tune of £20.3m, the fee that was agreed on when Keane moved from White Hart Lane to Anfield in the summer. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: The amusing thing for me here is that they haven’t even paid Tottenham all of the money that they owe them for Keane. I guess the other half would be hush money, eh?
Even though they haven’t agreed to sell Santa Cruz yet, Blackburn are going about as if their plans are to do so. They’ve struck out on a few targets from abroad, but now a bid for Portsmouth’s Peter Crouch could be in the works. (The Mirror)
Analysis: This one doesn’t seem likely, but it may be considered for financial reasons.
In the meantime though, Blackburn have completed a £2m deal to bring El-Hadji Diouf from Sunderland. (The Times)
Analysis: Diouf had a lot of success during his time at Bolton when Allardyce was at the helm, so maybe a reunion will help him rediscover his old form after a forgettable half season at Sunderland.
Newcastle have pulled off the surprise signing of Bolton captain Kevin Nolan for £4.5m. And before anymore Bolton fans get on Gary Megson, he seems to be as knowledgeable about it as most of the rest of us. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: Considering that Bolton are in the same battle for survival that Newcastle are, I really question this one.
Fulham are closing in on a loan deal for Derby midfielder Giles Barnes. (BBC Sport)
Analysis: Barnes got a lot of attention with some impressive displays in last season’s disastrous Premier League campaign before sustaining a knee injury last February that kept him out for much of this season. But, he’s a promising young player with Premier League experience, and if he can remain healthy through this loan spell, this could be a low-risk, high-reward move for Fulham.
Spain
Atletico Madrid are lining up a rather audacious bid for Liverpool’s Xabi Alonso. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: Nice try, but no.
Italy
Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic has agreed a five-year contract with Fiorentina, but the deal isn’t a certainty yet, as Chelsea may decide not to proceed with the deal. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: With Ricardo Carvalho out and John Terry’s propensity for getting injured as well, Big Phil could see Ivanovic as an important squad member for the remainder of the season.
France
Monaco are interested in Manchester City midfielder Gelson Fernandes. (Tribalfootball)
Analysis: Fernandes wants regular first-team football, and he’ll have a better chance of getting it at Monaco for the short and long term than he would at City.
If you’ve spotted a juicy rumor that we’ve missed, post it in the comments along with a link to the source.
And if you want to keep up with all of the latest confirmed transfers from several of Europe’s top leagues, check out our updated January 2009 transfer lists.
Topics: AC Milan, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea, Derby County, English Championship, English Premier League, Fiorentina, Football Transfers, Fulham, La Liga, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Portsmouth, Real Madrid, Serie A, Sunderland, Tottenham
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If we don’t sell Ashavin or anyone then its back to another season without silverware, if we do; probably the same. We need more than Arshavin, we need someone like Veloso as well. 14m would get him.
January 30th, 2009 @ 23:09Who should we sign alongside Arshavin to get the glory we’re after? Anyone got any ideas?
January 30th, 2009 @ 23:11We aren’t selling Arshavin, we are buying him ! Why would one player make such a difference….I agree a CDM would be great. Have faith in Arsene…..believe it or not he does know what he’s doing. We have been unlucky in the 1st half of the season with injuries, with Eduardo, Rosicky and Walcott back it will be a different story in the 2nd half of the season. “Supporters” like Morgan are just fickle !!! Veloso is not the answer.
January 31st, 2009 @ 01:48with all the injuries to major players I think that the youngsters hav done a great job, but I would like too see more of eboue n sagna linking up on the pitch, was a bit dissapointed when wenger subbed sagna the other nite, tink that they defenitly need a solid central midfielder, that have da skill to give that vital troughball to van persie n adebayor, I must say that abou diaby hv not impressed me as yet, he has the skill, but not playing wer i’d like to see him, he is a winger, bt wit da likes of clichy n nasri on the one side n sagna n eboue on the other he is forced to go in the middle n dats where he looses possession , defensively, they doing a great job, n that’s why I don’t want too see toure leave, himself n gallas keep the strikers honest, not takin anything away from djourou, he is a terrific player. think wenger should give gibbs a chance to run in the midfield, he did pretty good the other nite in the fa cup… so gunner fans lets stay behind wenger n support the youngsters…
January 31st, 2009 @ 07:42We’ve been hangin in en supporting d gunners 4 3seasons wit no rewarD. we will cont cause arsenal 4 lyf. Bt seriously wit d performance of song, diaby en adebayor on wed dey played shit….we need changes now!!!
January 31st, 2009 @ 08:23For me I don’t want Arsane to sell any one in Arsenal, only what he can do is to buy other more, like Samuel Eto, if arsenal want trophs. If you see Adebayor nothing can add on Arsenal. Some body who can’t even score any gol and his the one who truested in whole team, and the man Arsen he doesn’t seen the problem. for me I am not happy with Arsene wenger
January 31st, 2009 @ 08:45Money coming into weak clubs like man city is clearly causing an imbalance between European leagues. Platini should seriously consider bringing the ‘debt’ rule. If a good player like Kaka’ or Villa moves to man city, then it will be better for people to stop watching football. Cuz that is not what football is supposed to be!
January 31st, 2009 @ 09:04I agree, no one must be sold of da arsenal team, they workin well together , but we defenitly need central midfielders, I dnt think buying eto’ will solve their problems , we need creativ midfielders,we must rather invest in players like jermaine jenas, more rosicky n eduardo type players,nasri is good, bt he jis lacks a bit in the striking department , when u get a chance too shoot the ball, do it, dats what van persie is doing, I know dats not arsenal’s style, bt come on really, we need players to take that chance…
January 31st, 2009 @ 10:06Sorry for saying sell Arshavin, I made one of those very rare and nonhuman things called a mistake. What I was trying to say, though, was that Arshavin is not the only player we need. I also said that someone like Veloso would be good. Ideally keeping Flamini and Lassana Diarra, but an experienced DCM would solve much of our long term problems. Denilson has, by no means, been bad but he has a too attacking role. The primary reason why we should get a strong experienced DCM, not Veloso as he is only 22, is to have him cover while Fabregas sprints forward creating chances. Someone like Xabi Alonso would be good as he can supply great balls to anywhere. We a player who can do the kind of ball that Diaby did to RVP against Everton, and also potentially be a vice captain. Obviously these players would be model examples: Xavi, Pirlo, De Rossi, Alonso and Cambiasso.
January 31st, 2009 @ 11:57We should’nt sell any more players cause we playing well together?? Hav u guys been watchin arsenal l8tly we winner cause of rvp… We still awfull to watch…we not free flowing lyk d days wit henry….its really hard to watch….DCM yes urgently….
January 31st, 2009 @ 12:27dnt compare our football at this stage with that of when henry was here, he played with a top squad, like pires, vierra ,ljungberg, bergkamp . we a great team to wotch, just frustrating in the last third, coz nobody wants to take responsibility of takin a shot… we need a midfielder that can hold tne ball up n release it at the rite moment.
January 31st, 2009 @ 13:01I am glad every one of us agrees we need some sort of CM or DCM that can pass and defend well.
January 31st, 2009 @ 13:06look there again, the same thing as evry weekend , play all ova the park but nothing in the final third. they r overplaying too much, much better display from denilson and diaby, I liked the position that eboue played, looks like wenger gave him the free role. they played well, bt yet again a draw, at least we going 10 games unbeaten, and more injuries guys, wots going on ?
January 31st, 2009 @ 18:00Adebayor needs to go….his killing us. Cant wait 4 eduardo to come back….vela should hav started in adebayor place….!
January 31st, 2009 @ 19:15adebayor don’t hav to go, I think wenger must bench him for a while, n bring him on as a late sub, that way he will start being hungry for goals n lift his game.
February 1st, 2009 @ 07:29seriously we need to sack the stubborn wenger. indeed he had contributed alot to arsenal but we need someone else to bring arsenal to the next level. his stubborn and naive attitude is leading the team to the mid table. we really need a ‘realistic’ manager to keep up with other big teams like man utd and chealsea. we need to spend and live in the same horizon with other teams. thank you wenger for all your 12 years hard work. but we no longer need you unless we see a dramatic change from u.
February 1st, 2009 @ 15:52arsenal should buy a player that can take throw ins and score from it.if arsenal can sign delap it would be best.fed this players with protein booster or what so ever and made them more muscular and much of a body builder.they also can participate in local bodybuilding contest as side income..nice,right??
February 1st, 2009 @ 16:28I don’t think Wenger should be sacked. Get this, the Man U team that was beaten 2 : 1 by Arsenal cost £154m, whereas, the Arsenal team cost £26m. Wenger is AMAZING. He just needs to make the Arsenal squad slightly better. Then we can realistically compete for every competition. In Arsene we trust.
February 2nd, 2009 @ 19:06