SUMMER TRANSFERS - Your thoughts on who did and did not sign

[Top Londoner]

I still believe we will sign a couple of proven quality players and a goal keeper.

Tim Krul is getting a mention, but then again, who isn't?

[manninger]

Just out of curiousity does anybody still believe that we will be signing a keeper this summer ?

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news ... -to-Napoli

Personally I am not surprised that we wont be signing higuain/suarez/shrek/jovetic etc cos they are top quality with a top quality price tag but I am surprised that we wont be signing cesar One of the best keepers in the world available at a knockdown price and sending out signals that he wants to stay in London and yet we sit on our thumbs doing fcuk all ? Another example of the c.unt in charge being unable to see the wood from the tree's

Cesar is full of lies..want to stay in London.. bull.... .problely he is garantied a starting place in Napoli....my opinion he is overrated and not much better than the pole..if we buy a new keeper, then a keeper has to must better than we already have...

my favorite is muselera....

[SteveO 35]

People must somehow forget about all of these things or just live in blind hope that Wenger will someday wake up. The same has true of the centre forward position and the CDM role. Everyone knows these positions are massive weaknesses in the current squad but just watch Shitforbrains Wenker go and sign another wide / attacking midfielder before end of August and leave our business done then

That's what I go with... what else is there? I'm an optimist at heart, and as Wenger is here to stay, I'm left with nothing but hope. Blind hope that flies in the face of all evidence.

And with that hope, I must admit I do still believe we'll sign 1 quality (£20m+) player and 1 or 2 decent players. That won't include Suarez or Rooney though.

Its the hope that kills you my friend !

Wenger's sole interest is in trousering another £21m over the next 3 years and keeping Ivan and Stan happy. He couldn't give a flying fuck about investing in the first team squad

[g88ner]

Cesar is full of lies..want to stay in London.. bull.... .problely he is garantied a starting place in Napoli....my opinion he is overrated and not much better than the pole..if we buy a new keeper, then a keeper has to must better than we already have...

my favorite is muselera....

That's the other side of it.

How good is Cesar? - and if he is that good, why - when in his prime - is he playing at QPR and possibly Napoli?

I must admit I've been underwhelmed on the very few occasions I've watched him, but others rate him very highly, so who knows? - still surprised and I'll be a little disappointed if we don't sign him and don't bring anyone else in.

[SteveO 35]

Cesar is full of lies..want to stay in London.. bull.... .problely he is garantied a starting place in Napoli....my opinion he is overrated and not much better than the pole..if we buy a new keeper, then a keeper has to must better than we already have...

my favorite is muselera....

That's the other side of it.

How good is Cesar? - and if he is that good, why - when in his prime - is he playing at QPR and possibly Napoli?

I must admit I've been underwhelmed on the very few occasions I've watched him, but others rate him very highly, so who knows? - still surprised and I'll be a little disappointed if we don't sign him and don't bring anyone else in.

He's got to be far better than Fabianski and we've sold Mannone, so he must at least provide better competition for Chesney which is what we need

[afcforever]

I still believe we will sign a couple of proven quality players and a goal keeper.

Tim Krul is getting a mention, but then again, who isn't?

Tim Krul would be a good signing.

[SteveO 35]

I still believe we will sign a couple of proven quality players and a goal keeper.

Tim Krul is getting a mention, but then again, who isn't?

Tim Krul would be a good signing.

£15m is being quoted. If we waste that sort of money on him then god knows how There's Only One Arsehole Wenker would intend on wasting the other £55m of his fabled warchest

[afcforever]

I still believe we will sign a couple of proven quality players and a goal keeper.

Tim Krul is getting a mention, but then again, who isn't?

Tim Krul would be a good signing.

£15m is being quoted. If we waste that sort of money on him then god knows how There's Only One Arsehole Wenker would intend on wasting the other £55m of his fabled warchest

I'm like you to be honest, not sure I trust Wenger with the money.

[augie]

Cesar is full of lies..want to stay in London.. bull.... .problely he is garantied a starting place in Napoli....my opinion he is overrated and not much better than the pole..if we buy a new keeper, then a keeper has to must better than we already have...

my favorite is muselera....

That's the other side of it.

How good is Cesar? - and if he is that good, why - when in his prime - is he playing at QPR and possibly Napoli?

I must admit I've been underwhelmed on the very few occasions I've watched him, but others rate him very highly, so who knows? - still surprised and I'll be a little disappointed if we don't sign him and don't bring anyone else in.

He's got to be far better than Fabianski and we've sold Mannone, so he must at least provide better competition for Chesney which is what we need

I'm not saying that he is world class but what I am saying is that (a) he is better than flaps and Martinez and (b) he will bring experience and competition to a position in which we have none Signing krul, especially at 15m, would make no sense to me - if you are signing a keeper at that age and at that price then it tell's me that wenker thinks Chesney is done as regards being our first choice going forward and if that is the case why not spend a small bit more and buy a real top quality keeper ?

Steve O, the reason why I actually did believe that we would be signing a keeper is that we finally got rid of square head mannone who will in time prove himself to be an absolute clueless keeper of record proportions Surely nobody is stupid enough,not even wenger, to believe that Chesney,flaps and Martinez is the way to go ?

[Red Gunner]

Napoli set to beat Arsenal to loan signing of QPR's Julio Cesar

Napoli are set to beat Arsenal to a loan deal for the Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper Júlio César.

According to reports in the Italian press, the new Napoli manager, Rafa Benítez, has convinced the Brazilian to return to Serie A where he played for Internazionale between 2005 and 2012.

Arsenal were reportedly close to a £1.5m deal but César is believed to have chosen a season-long loan with the Naples club, who finished runners-up last term to qualify for the Champions League.

César was in impressive form during the recent Confederations Cup and is looking to secure his position as Brazil's No1 ahead of a home World Cup next summer.

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Manchester United happy to let Wayne Rooney's contract run down

Manchester United are unconcerned about the prospect of Wayne Rooney's contract running down, suggesting they will not offer him a new deal this year.

While David Moyes has been repeating his mantra about wanting Rooney to stay, albeit pointing out he will not let any single player become bigger than the club, United's new chief executive Ed Woodward has been spelling out their policy on contracts.

With two years to run on Rooney's, the perceived wisdom has been if the striker is to remain at Old Trafford then an extension will have to be negotiated, otherwise United risk either a collapse in the 27-year-old's value or him leaving for nothing should he remain for a further two seasons. Given their aggressive approach to the financial side of their club, it seemed impossible the Glazer family would allow that to happen.

However, speaking to reporters in Thailand before Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Singha All Stars, Woodward said that is not the case.

"There are no contract renewals that are being discussed. I am not sitting down with any player on an extension and there is no trigger date in the diary," Woodward said. "Would we be afraid to run a contract down? Of course not."

On Friday, Moyes showed the first signs of becoming exasperated by the Rooney saga, stating: "Unless I was speaking double Dutch last week, we said Wayne Rooney is not for sale."

Yet, with José Mourinho managing to keep the forward's name at the forefront of people's minds and no confirmation from the player that he wishes to extend his nine years at United, Moyes is aware it will not go away, even though the player himself is sidelined for three weeks with a hamstring injury.

"Wayne has got a major role to play, we need to get him as many goals as we can," the United manager said. "Wayne can play up on his own, he can play dropped in. Overall my thought on Wayne is, if for any reason we had an injury to Robin van Persie, we'll need him.

"But I've also got to make sure we don't just concentrate on him. Manchester United aren't about Wayne Rooney. Manchester United are about the team, the club. We are talking about him now, and rightly so, but what I won't allow is Wayne to become more important than the club and the team."

Moyes confirmed he has already given his players strong words during a training session, although overall he is delighted at the intensity his new charges have been working with. However he admitted he is still finding his feet too.

"I feel comfortable in the job but I still think there are bits of it that are strange," he said. "These players are so used to seeing Sir Alex and I've been used to seeing the Everton players, so there are bits of it that I've got to say that I can't turn round and say, 'I'm cool with this, everything's fine' because there is a little bit of unease."

That first major signing would help, although it seems Thiago Alcantara will opt for Bayern Munich rather than accept a switch from Barcelona to Old Trafford as seemed certain a fortnight ago.

"We are not looking to change the way we do things – it's been a successful formula," Woodward said. "We want the manager to be investing. We are not in the business of delivering him players. That structure works for some but not here at United."

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Thomas Vermaelen will still be Arsenal captain, says Arsene Wenger

Arsène Wenger says that Thomas Vermaelen will remain as Arsenal's club captain, even though there are doubts over whether he will be fit for the beginning of the season and his ability to force himself into the starting XI.

The central defender was dropped for the Champions League win at Bayern Munich in March and he found himself on the fringes for the final 10 Premier League matches, as the manager preferred to partner Per Mertesacker with Laurent Koscielny. Only once, when Mertesacker was suspended for the home win over Norwich City, did Vermaelen start.

Vermaelen also struggled with a stress fracture to his back towards the end of last season and he has aggravated the problem, meaning that Wenger has not taken him to Asia for the club's pre-season tour.

Wenger admits that he thinks Vermaelen will miss the start of the new season and there have even been questions over the 27-year-old's future at the club. The Belgium international knows that, in World Cup year, he needs to be playing regularly. Wenger, who has loaned the back-up centre-half Johan Djourou to Hamburg for the season, has an interest in Swansea City's Ashley Williams.

But Wenger has said that nothing ought to be read into Vermaelen's absence from the tour beyond the unfortunate timing of the injury, which will derail the player's pre-season and he had reassurance for the defender when asked about whether he would keep him as the captain.

"It depends," Wenger said. "I cannot stick with him now because I think he will miss the start of the season. But certainly, he will still be the club captain. He had a back problem. He came in with it and he couldn't practice until now. He's out for how long we don't know. There is nothing behind that at all. There is no bad feeling because he didn't play at the end of the season. It's just an unfortunate injury."

[northbank123]

£15m for Krul is miles too steep - for that price you can legitimately expect a long-term top-class option (bearing in mind that Spurs bagged Lloris - a keeper who has been consistently quality domestically, continentally and internationally - for less than that). Imo Krul is nowhere near being that sort of keeper. As much as I'm desperate for us to actually spend money throwing £15m on a keeper who isn't even guaranteed to be your number 1 is lunacy.

As for Cesar he might not be the world class keeper he was 3 years ago but at any rate it's been pointed out correctly that he is a country mile better than Fabianski and the other clown school graduates, and capable without doubt of providing a genuine option to replace Szczesny if he's playing poorly. I would go further and say he's definitely a better keeper than Szczesny, and bringing him in with a view to starting the season would give Szczesny the kick up the arse the arrogant little prick so desperately needs.

[g88ner]

Cieth have apparently agreed to pay £27m for Jovetic... guess we won't be signing him either then - Higuain does appear to be the only realistic signing, and even then I've always wondered why on earth he'd leave Real Madrid for Arsenal when Ancelotti has just arrived... plus signing for us means he'll never win the CL either

Still, we'll see - hopefully he's a footballer not driven by on field success and still wants to join us

[I Hate Hleb]

Don't want to come across like Wenger but if they do sign Jovetic for £27m, City have well over-paid for him.

[manninger]

http://www.caughtoffside.com/2013/07/14 ... ik-lamela/

Is he the answer?

Fed up of waiting for an answer fra Higgy..arogant is he

[Dan_85]

Calm down dears, it will be Sanogo and Kondogbia for us this summer.