May
31
2009

Transfer Rumors (31 May 09): Chelsea to go after Atletico Madrid star Aguero, Arsenal in £12m bid for Everton’s Lescott, Tottenham after Sunderland’s Richardson, and more

Written by Eddie Griffin

Transfer Rumors (31 May 09): Chelsea to go after Atletico Madrid star Aguero, Arsenal in £12m bid for Everton’s Lescott, Tottenham after Sunderland’s Richardson, and more

Tomorrow, all hell breaks loose. Well, not quite, but it’s pretty close. The summer transfer window kicks off tomorrow, and though there’s already been a little activity, the start of the window means that a number of signings will become official, and many more will get on their way to being so in short order.

It may be Sunday, so the rumors aren’t running rampant, but since it is Sunday, that means the gossip pages do have a few juicy transfer tidbits for us today.


England

Redknapp to Return to Portsmouth Again?

Portsmouth’s new owner is looking at potential candidates to take over as the club’s new boss, and the man at the top is the list is Harry Redknapp. Redknapp has left Portsmouth for other destinations twice, but that part of his past history obviously isn’t being evaluated by the new ownership.

Analysis: Could he do it? He’s not even made his imprint on Tottenham yet, but with more funds than he ever had before and the chance to really work some magic at Pompey could make the opportunity very, very tempting for him.

Atletico Madrid Star In Chelsea’s Sights

Chelsea could be set to land Carlo Ancelotti any minute now, and one of the first targets he could pursue is Atletico Madrid forward Sergio Aguero. (Daily Mail)

Analysis: Diego Forlan’s been linked with Liverpool and Manchester City, and the odds are high that he could leave in the summer, so if he leaves, then Aguero’s not going anywhere.

Arsenal to Move for Everton Defender

Arsenal could be set to table an £12m offer to Everton defender Joleon Lescott. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: Lescott is one of Everton’s key assets, but £12m could allow David Moyes a nice little bit of cash to land a replacement, sign a striker, and possibly have enough left over to sign a promising prospect or two before getting to the money that is already set aside for summer spending.

Everton Favorites for Leeds Starlet?

Speaking of Everton and summer spending, they could be set to start the summer with a bang by landing Leeds star Fabian Delph. (The Mirror)

Analysis: Whoever lands Delph will have to pay more than you normally do for one of the best players from League One, but he’s not outside of Everton’s price range, and if he continues to develop as he has, he’ll be well worth the fee.

Tottenham Interested in Sunderland’s Richardson

Tottenham are reportedly willing to offer Sunderland £8m for midfielder Kieran Richardson. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: £8m would represent a profit for Sunderland, but they might not be too keen on letting Richardson go, at least until a new manager has come in and run the rule over the squad. He stayed healthy this past season and had a solid campaign after an injury-riddled one in 2007/08, and he could be viewed as a key player under the new regime.

Birmingham City Bid for Ecuadorian Star

Birmingham City have made an official offer for Ecuadorian striker Cristian Benitez. (Sky Sports)

Analysis: With Benitez’s agent saying that he would prefer a move somewhere that European football was a possibility, it’d seem to favor PSV or Villarreal, but with the recent takeover at Portsmouth, he could be sold on a move to Fratton Park.

Spain

Barcelona to Move for Arsenal’s Fabregas

Barcelona could be finally be set to bring Cesc Fabregas back home, as they’re planning a £40m bid for the Arsenal star. (The Mirror)

Analysis: Well, from a financial standpoint, considering what Barcelona sold him for initially and what they’re offering to get him back, the joke’s on them, har har har. Seriously though, Arsenal could considering cashing in on Fabregas if it means being able to make moves that benefit the team and its future prospects.

Could Hleb Leave Barcelona?

Barcelona midfielder Alexander Hleb could be set to leave after only a season after not even being on the bench for the Champions League final. (Sky Sports)

Analysis: Remember how he was so eager to leave London behind for Barcelona? Funny how things work out, eh? He was Bayern Munich’s backup option if they didn’t get Diego, and since they didn’t get Diego, the chances are high that he’ll land a return to the Bundesliga, where he starred with VfB Stuttgart before his move to Arsenal.

Italy

Napoli to Seal Double Deal?

Napoli are reportedly set to pull off deals for Udinese star Fabio Quagliarella and Atalanta midfielder Luca Cigarini. Naples native Quagliarella is being signed for €16m, while Cigarini is coming for €4.5m. (Goal.com)

Analysis: It could be looked at as a lateral move for Quagliarella, considering that Napoli finished below Udinese in the table, and also considering that Juventus have been heavily linked with him. But, despite the disappointing finish, Napoli have a lot of promise, and his addition would give them a goal-getter that they lacked this season. The addition of Cigarini would also be big, as he’s one of the country’s top young prospects.

France

Bordeaux Lead for Le Mans Keeper

Bordeaux are favorites to sign highly-rated Le Mans keeper Yohann Pele. The 26-year-old is out of contract in June, and he’s been linked with the likes of Arsenal, Roma, and Valencia, but the newly-crowned French champions are thought to be in front to land him. (Sky Sports)

Analysis: Ulrich Rame is turning 37 in September, and Bordeaux need to start looking to the future in goal. They have a couple of talented keepers behind Rame, but the chance to land one of Ligue 1’s best keepers as his replacement is a can’t-miss opportunity.




Discussion - 11 Responses

  1. Technically it kicks off in July, but on Soccerlens it really kicks off on 1st June :)

  2. Am an arsenal fan but i think if barca want to pay that much for cesc and if arsenal can squeeze a little more out of them we should let him go if he is willing.this could enable us land 4 or 5 quality wenger signings.a major clear out is what we need at arsenal.then we should sign barry and give him the captains band.thats what we need.an english captain.all other top 4 teams have it and they are winning things.that may just be the secret.we also need an english centre back live e other top 4.so lets get lescott

  3. Richarson to play for spurs?, Thats A JOKE we don’t want such midiocres. Please don’t, No thanks £8M such a player, even at £ 2m i won’t buy him. Harry don’t.

  4. 31/05/2009 emiratesstroller

    Ref;Fabregas

    The story is the usual newspaper rubbish with no substance whatsoever.

    1. Barcelona do not pay £40 million for any player. Henry
    and Hleb cost 12 million each.

    2. They have already the strongest central midfield pairing
    in Xavi and Iniesta. This means that Fabregas would have
    to play wide or be a standby squad player.

    3. Arsenal are not going to sell a key player who has
    several unexpired years on contract particularly after
    criticisms of transfer policy in last two years.

    4. Fabregas may leave in a couple of years when Arsenal
    could have an adequate replacement in Wilshire.

  5. 01/06/2009 regevans09

    Lol at Cyril

    Since when is skill based on nationality?

    Arsenals un-defeated streak featured who? Sol Cambell? Maybe the odd Englishmen off the bench.

    What ludacris.

  6. shut up arsenal r piece of shit wenger sucks all u got at the moment is fabregas,arshavin,walcott,nasri. u expect to win a title with people in their twenties.if they want titles they need experience and strength not just flair.wenger should stop acting like an idiot and buy some players probably swap shit players like van persie and adebayor so the midfields passes dont go in vein

  7. lol at max. sell van persie? if it wasnt for him arsenal wouldnt be playing champions league football next season.

  8. actually Ahmed Bilal the transfer window does open in june

  9. a few players that arsenal should sell are the likes of rosicky(always injured) and bendtner (he simply sucks) and spend the money on a striker that will score them 20-30 goals a season

  10. @ max
    you’re an idiot. you can’t win a title with people in their twenties? would you prefer a squad all in their teens or all in their thirties – either way, what you say is just rubbish

  11. 04/06/2009 Steven Lim

    Its all well and good trying to run Arsenal and Football Manager 2009 from your PCs but have some realism.

    1) Van Persie single-handedly kept Arsenal up from December to February, he deserves the £80k he’s requesting.

    2) Barca aren’t Madrid, they never EVER go above £30mil and Fabregas will be bit part in their midfield although it can actually work if they didn’t use Toure/Busquets.

    3) Wengers job as a manager also consists of managing the finances, with £300mil debt, IF Fabregas was sold for £40mil, its guarantee’d a chunk of that will be for paying debt.

    4) For a bit part player to score nearly as many as the first choice striker, Bendtner does not suck. He’s only 20 and is improving every season. Just cos he doesn’t score with every shot doesn’t mean he sucks.

    5) On a fully fit knee and his peak, Rosicky is up there with the likes of Ribery and Iniesta. This isn’t a joke either

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