PLAYER TRANSFER THREAD

[rtpgooner]

ARSENAL CHASE SALOMON KALOU

Arsene Wenger's £7m bid for Chelsea striker

By CLIFF HAYES, 25/07/2009

ARSENAL are planning a £7million swoop for Chelsea's Salomon Kalou.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger sees the 23-year-old young African Player of the Year as the ideal replacement for Emmanuel Adebayor, following his £25million move to Manchester City.


Adebayor's sale leaves Arsenal light up front, especially as injury-hit Croatian striker Eduardo is still sidelined and Samir Nasri is also out for six weeks with a broken leg.


New Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti wants Kalou to stay at Stamford Bridge but Chelsea have yet to offer the Ivory Coast front man a new contract. His current deal of around £45,000-a-week runs out next summer and Arsenal would be prepared to up his wages to nearer £70,000-a-week to make him one of the top earners at the Emirates.


A Blues insider declared: "Salomon is flattered by Arsenal's interest, but at the moment he is fully committed to Chelsea."


Kalou, who joined Chelsea in an £8m transfer from Feyenoord in 2006, actually had a two-week trial at Arsenal before joining the Dutch club and Wenger has monitored his career ever since.


Kalou scored 10 goals for Chelsea last season but made just 17 Premier League starts and was behind Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka in the pecking order. But he is desperate for regular first team action and Arsenal could offer him that.


He is friends with Arsenal's fellow Ivory Coast internationals Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue and shares the same agent as Gunners' Dutch striker Robin Van Persie.

Wenger's only signing this summer has been little-known Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax.


The Gunners boss missed out on £15m Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo when Juventus snatched him from Fiorentina, while Wenger's bid for Bordeaux's £6million-rated Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh has stalled.


Chamakh has been linked with a host of Premier League clubs, including the Gunners, London rivals Spurs, Sunderland, Blackburn and Fulham. But the Moroccan admitted: "I don't really believe a move to Arsenal is possible any more. Bordeaux are trying to convince me to stay."

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/4 ... riker.html

[rtpgooner]

Kolo Toure is first in triple City bid

[quote]MANCHESTER CITY have agreed personal terms with Arsenal defender Kolo Toure as the Premier League’s most affluent football club continue their assault on the English transfer market. City expect to sign Toure, Joleon Lescott and John Terry by the end of August for combined fees of around £100m.

Occasional Arsenal captain Toure has been seduced by City’s standard double-your-money offer and following a season in which he was not consistently Arsene Wenger’s first choice should be sold for around £15m. The Arab-financed club have offered Everton £20m plus England under-21 international Nedum Onuoha for Lescott, who has been attracted by the prospect of starting in his preferred central defensive position.

The assault on Terry, however, has proved the most complicated with Chelsea, acting on orders from owner Roman Abramovich, repeatedly stating he is not for sale at any price.

Indeed, Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea coach, made the strongest statement yet on Terry when he promised his captain would remain at Chelsea and ignore the City overtures. “For sure Terry will stay in Chelsea, we have never had a problem,â€

[rtpgooner]

Milan turn to Bendtner

Having failed to capture Luis Fabiano and Emmanuel Adebayor, it’s reported Milan are turning to Arsenal youngster Nicklas Bendtner.

Vice-President Adriano Galliani pledged to bring in a new centre-forward for Leonardo’s 4-3-3 system, but so far this reinforcement has failed to materialise.


Edin Dzeko and David Trezeguet were other options, but newspapers in the peninsula now suggest they are looking back towards the Premier League.


Bendtner would cost around £8m – or potentially be available on loan – from Arsenal and the 21-year-old fits the bill of a new ‘younger’ Milan.


However, he is not a star name and his arrival is unlikely to calm the angry fan protests around the club.

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_ ... ul25p.html

[rtpgooner]

WENG’S EYES ON £17M MIRK

26th July 2009 By Paul Hetherington

[quote]ARSENAL want Roma’s Mirko Vucinic to replace Emmanuel Adebayor.

Talks are under way for £17million rated Vucinic, following the £25m sale of Adebayor to Manchester City.

The Montenegro star, 25, has insisted he is happy in Rome, despite also being linked with Manchester United and Tottenham.

He is under contract for another four years, but Roma are reluctantly prepared to sell.

They aren’t in a position to make any signings themselves unless they make a significant sale.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is keen on Toulouse striker Andre-Pierre Gignac, valued at £18m by his club and also Sunderland target Marouane Chamakh, who has impressed with Bordeaux and Morocco.


He has also been linked with Newcastle’s Obafemi Martins and Demba Ba at German club Hoffenheim, plus another striker based in the Bundesliga – Wolfsburg’s Edin Dzeko.

But Vucinic is emerging as the striker most likely to be added to Wenger’s line-up.

Adebayor’s exit has not concerned Wenger, who believes the Gunners will not miss the man who scored 16 goals last season.

Wenger told the Daily Star Sunday: “It’s a very important season for us and I believe we are in a very strong position.

“Big clubs lose big players. AC Milan have lost Kaka but go on. Arsenal have lost big players before but we go on.â€

[projoe]

BBC gossip column today:

Manchester City have agreed personal terms with Arsenal defender Kolo Toure in a deal worth £15m, while the Eastlands club also expect to sign Chelsea captain John Terry and Everton defender Joleon Lescott by the end of August.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is planning a £7m bid for Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou, 23, whose contract at Stamford Bridge runs out at the end of the season.

And the Arsenal boss is planning to make a £15m move for Real Madrid striker - and Tottenham target - Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and a £10m bid for Wigan midfielder Lee Cattermole

Wenger is also leading the race to sign Brazilian 'wonderkid' Wellington, 17.

[rtpgooner]

WENGER READY TO SPLASH OUT ON HUNTELAAR AND CATTERMOLE

Sunday July 26,2009

By John richardson


[quote]ARSENE WENGER is planning a double dip into the transfer market for Real Madrid striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Wigan’s England under-21 midfielder Lee Cattermole.

The Arsenal manager has come under fire over his lack of spending this summer with some Gunners fans worried that they are falling behind their top four rivals.

Wenger’s only purchase during the close season has been £10million Ajax defender thomas Vermaelen.

But now the Frenchman, armed with £25m from the sale of Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City, is ready to splash out again.

The Emirates Stadium boss believes that Huntelaar, who has had an unhappy time at the Bernabeu since leaving Ajax, can be his ‘fox in the box’ and grab the goals which could help land the club their first trophy since the FA Cup in 2005.

And, with the need to bring in more English talent to comply with UEFA rules governing Champions League squads, Wenger is prepared to test Wigan’s resolve to hang on to tough-tackling Cattermole.

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce, who took Cattermole to Wigan from Middlesbrough during his time as manager, has had two bids rejected by the Latics, the last believed to be around £6m.

Both Wenger and Bruce know that new Wigan boss Roberto Martinez is reluctant to part with one of his key players as he aims to prove himself in the Premier League.

It is understood that Wigan will not consider doing business until the bidding reaches £10m.

Real Madrid are anxious to sell players to help pay for their lavish summer spending spree on new ‘galacticos’ Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema.

the Spanish club wants around £16m for Huntelaar, who has rejected a move to Stuttgart.

Spurs are also interested in Huntelaar but have been put off by his £70,000-a-week wage demands.

Arsenal have just signed off a similar wage deal for Robin van Persie, who is a big Huntelaar fan and fancies linking up with his Dutch international colleague in the Premier League.

Wenger believes the feisty Cattermole will bring the missing bite to the Arsenal midfield to complement the skills of creators like skipper Cesc Fabregas.

Manuel Almunia, meanwhile, is sure Arsenal can cope without Adebayor and feels there is enough quality in the squad to challenge for major silverware.

The Gunners goalkeeper feels the return of tomas Rosicky from injury and the signing of Andrei Arshavin can help Arsenal compete with the big boys and silence the critics.

Almunia said: “I think the squad is good enough. We will have to wait until a few games into pre-season to find out and the Emirates Cup will be a good test for us.

“We have a few lessons to learn from last season but I think that the more mature we are, the more responsible we are, too.

“I hope this season every player is responsible with their attitude and in all circumstances. I hope we will be very professional, not just in the games but every day as well.

“There is a hunger in the squad. the good intentions are always in our mind and, personally, I will try to do my best for the team.

“Sometimes other teams are better than you and this season we will try to be better than them. I think every single player has to realise what club we are playing for.

“At the moment I have the same feelings I have every season. We are working hard, enjoying seeing everybody after their holidays, and putting every effort in to building up the team.â€

[rigsby]

I think Catermole is a pretty decent little player, would be an interesting signing for us. Kolo's not leaving

[donaldo]

The Spuds have signed Peter Crouch so that leaves just us in the running for Huntelaar.He is ours if we really want him.So fucking sign him

[rtpgooner]

I hope we get huntellar and i wouldnt be against getting cattermole although im not sure its a wenger type signing.

[rigsby]

That might be a good thing mate!

[augie]

charlie nic said in one of the papers over here today that he believes that wenger is in the market for 1 and possibly 2 new striking options. He said that without question huntelaar is the man we should sign as he is lethal as a striker in the penalty box but he also suggested that wenger should consider signing horseface Forgetting about the horseface suggestion, charlie is usually fairly much on the ball when it comes to our club and he never hides his feelings for the club either - I really hope he is right on the huntelaar deal

[rtpgooner]

I certainly hope we get huntellar aswell, but for me prioritys go CDM,CB,STRIKER. We have many options in the offensive side our game, but i am still not confident in the defensive side. Holding on to leads in games does not fill me with confidence

[projoe]

Arsenal Make €17.3m Bid For Real Madrid Striker Huntelaar - Report

Reports from the English tabloids suggest that Arsenal have made an offer of €17.3m to Real Madrid for striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, and are looking to secure the player from under the noses of rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

The Sunday Express comments that coach Arsene Wenger has earmarked the Dutchman as a replacement for Emannuel Adebayor, who has recently departed for Manchester City, and the club has cash to spend.

Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini recently stated that Huntelaar "has no place in this team", and the player turned down a move to German Bundesliga outfit Stuttgart last week.

It is thought that the 25-year old craves a move to the English Premier League, and although Tottenham had expressed an interest, the Gunners appear to have moved into the driving seat to clinch the striker’s signature.

Madrid are looking to sell, with sporting director Jorge Valdano admitting that the club need to offload some of their squad before any new additions can be considered, and the money raised from the sale of Huntelaar could be used to up their bid for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso.

Huntelaar moved to the Bernabeu in January from Ajax for €20m and managed 8 La Liga goals in 20 appearances during the second half of the season.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spain/20 ... -huntelaar

please please please be true

[rigsby]

where would that money have come from though? and why isn't it being spent on where we need it.

[mrgnu1958]

flaminis coming home