Sunday, June 21, 2015

Chelsea 'wouldn't sell Oscar for £715m'

Max Allegri claims Juventus cannot force Chelsea to sell Oscar this summer.

The Brazilian midfielder is reportedly high up on Juve's list of summer targets.

And despite sealing a deal for Mario Mandzukic, Allegri admits he is still looking for a player who can play wide in a 4-3-3 formation.

He told Sky Sports Italia: "We are completing the squad. You can have money to spend, but if the parent clubs don't want to sell, then you can have €1bn (£715m) and not get anywhere.

"Will we sign a winger who can play 4-3-3? The last pick could well have those characteristics, yes."

Jose Mourinho has repeatedly insisted that Oscar would not be sold this summer having only recently signed a contract extension at the club.

Chelsea consider bid for Everton defender John Stones

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is considering making a bid for Everton’s England international defender John Stones.

The former Barnsley player currently with the England Under 21s in the Czech Republic is amongst a short list of potential summer signings as Mourinho looks to strengthen his title winning defence.

Chelsea are also keen on Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane but the Spaniards insist the Frenchman is staying put.

They have been in negotiations over Atletico Madrid’s Toby Alderweireld who spent last season on loan at Southampton.

But Stones is highly regarded within Chelsea and would also help Mourinho’s side meet the required Premier League quota of home reared players.

Stones has matured since his bargain £3 million move from Barnsley in January 2013 into a ball playing central defender with bags of potential.

Everton would be loathe to part with a player they rate at around £15 million but manager Roberto Martinez could use the money to strengthen his own squad.

He is trying to sign Crystal Palace’s central defender Scott Dann and Barcelona winger Gerard Deulofeu who spent a season on loan at Goodison Park.

Southampton boss Ronald Koeman blasts foul-mouthed Memphis Depay

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has criticised new Manchester United signing Memphis Depay for his foul language and inconsistency.

The Dutch youngster has joined Manchester United in a £25million move from PSV Eindhoven, however, Koeman believes they have overpaid for the unpredictable 21-year-old.

“I think they paid a lot of money," he told the Sunday Mirror.

“Because it is United, where they already spent £200m on players like Angel Di Maria, such a big figure is put in perspective.

“He won’t play every game. I have learnt, while I am here in England, that Dutch players can’t make the jump to the top of the Premier League easily. And young players can’t play 38 games anyway.

“And I see another lack of quality with the Dutch kids, that I have also noticed with other young stars in the Premier League: they don’t communicate! They behave like individuals. Stuck to their smartphones."

The Saints boss has been tracking Depay for the last five years but was unimpressed by his attitude on and off the pitch.

Ronald Koeman has criticised Memphis Depay for his attitude on and off the pitch

He said: “I watched the young Memphis Depay often enough. I was doing scouting work on him when he was playing in the Under-16 side for PSV Eindhoven, and there was this game against FC Twente.

“I always work with a list of five specific qualities: skills, tactics, physique, attitude, personality. I did not get any higher with my average ratings than 5.6 out of 10.

“And you know what brought the rating down most of all? The rating for his personality.

“It is only because of the fact that I could not go any lower than zero out of 10, otherwise I would have rated him well below that.

“It was absolutely disgusting, the foul language that boy used towards his fellow players and towards people in the crowd."

Koeman has admitted that Southampton did try to sign Depay last year, however he knew that once United came knocking, the south-coast side had no chance.

Manchester United close in Schweinsteiger deal

Manchester United are closing in on a deal for Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, according to reports.

United are confident they can tempt Schweinsteiger away from Germany.

And according to the Sunday Mirror, the Red Devils are nearing a £7.5million deal to land the midfield star.

The Germany international has one year left on his contract and Louis van Gaal has tasked transfer negotiator Ed Woodward to make the move happen.

It is thought that Schweinsteiger is tempted by the prospect of reuniting with Van Gaal, whom he played under at Bayern from 2009-2011.

Germany legend Lothar Matthaus said: “Schweinsteiger needs a coach who will play him according to his strengths, and Van Gaal will do that."

Rio Ferdinand: Liverpool and Tottenham must be joking over Sterling and Kane valuations

Rio Ferdinand has branded Liverpool's £50million valuation of Raheem Sterling "a joke".

The former Manchester United and England defender also laid into Tottenham striker Harry Kane, claiming English players are "overpriced".

Liverpool have already rejected two bids from Mancehster City for Sterling, 20, and are holding out on their valuation of the wiger.

United, meanwhile, are keen to secure Harry Kane's signature during the off-season but Spurs are resolved to keep their man, who says he is happy in north London.

English players are soooo overpriced right now it's a joke! Kane & sterling have huge potential but 40m & 50m...aguero 38m & sanchez 32m!!!

— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) June 20, 2015

Look at the amount of PL & CL games I had played in before the @manutd move...oh and a world cup! Don't compare me please! There are others

— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) June 20, 2015

And Ferdinand said on Twitter that the pair were not worth their valuations, especially considering the price City and Arsenal respectively paid for South American stars Sergio Aguero and Alexis Sanchez.

He wrote: "English players are soooo overpriced right now it's a joke! Kane & Sterling have huge potential but 40m & 50m…Aguero 38m & Sanchez 32m!!!"

Harry Kane playing for EnglandGETTY

Rio Ferdinand has ridiculed Harry Kane's (left) and Raheem Sterling's valuations

Ferdinand then came under criticism from some followers, who pointed out he transferred from Leeds United to the Old Trafford club for around £29m back in 2002.

But the 36-year-old had an answer for his detractors.

"Look at the amount of PL & CL games I had played in before the @manutd move...oh and a World Cup! Don't compare me please! There are others," he wrote.

De Gea 'tells teammates he wants to leave Manchester United'

David de Gea has reportedly told his Manchester United teammates that he wants to leave for Real Madrid.

The Spanish goalkeeper is widely expected to join the La Liga giants this summer, having been at Old Trafford since 2011.

Having talked with United teammates, reports the Daily Mail, many at the club believe that a return to Spain is imminent for the 24-year-old.

United have been linked with a host of goalkeepers to fill his potential vacancy, including Ajax's Jasper Cillessen and Tottenham Hotspur's Hugo Lloris.

However, United boss Louis van Gaal may choose to stick with Victor Valdes, who is currently second choice behind De Gea.

Joe Gomez: Why I SNUBBED Arsenal and Man City to join Liverpool

Joe Gomez admits Liverpool's history and playing style were a key factor in making the move to Anfield.

Joe Gomez has joined Liverpool on a five-year deal

The 18-year-old has agreed a five-year deal with Liverpool after completing a medical yesterday.

And the former Charlton ace admits it was an easy decision to join the Reds.

"The club has got great history and it's a great club, and one that I've always been following from when I was young," he said.

#LFC are delighted to announce the signing of England U19 international Joe Gomez from Charlton Athletic. pic.twitter.com/h9xZcVEguG

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) June 20, 2015

"The style of football and the top players here was somewhere that I wanted to go and get better and learn, and play good football. It was an easy decision.

"It's flattering to know that a massive club like this were interested in me.

"That was one of the main things - I knew how great the club is. That's why it was an easy decision to come here. To know that a place like this was interested and knew about me was great."

Tottenham Hotspur to offer Andros Townsend, Aaron Lennon for Saido Berahino

Tottenham Hotspur are ready to offer Andros Townsend and Aaron Lennon to attempt to secure a deal for West Bromwich Albion forward Saido Berahino, according to a report.

The 21-year-old has been linked with a move away from The Hawthorns this summer, with Spurs and Newcastle United among the teams interested in the striker's signature.

However, Tottenham are said to believe that offering Townsend and Lennon along with cash will push them ahead of the Magpies in their attempts to strike a deal with the Baggies, according to The Mirror.

Berahino scored 14 goals in the Premier League last season for Tony Pulis's men.

Edin Dzeko's agent: 'No contact with Chelsea'

Edin Dzeko's agent has rubbished rumours that Chelsea have made a move for the Manchester City striker.

The Bosnian has been linked with a move to Roma in recent weeks, and now Chelsea are reportedly interested.

Dzeko's agent, Irfan Redzepagic, told Nezavisne: "Every day he's linked with another club. First Atletico Madrid, then Roma and now Chelsea."

"I'm bored of repeating that these stories are not true. He hasn't rejected any offers because there hasn't been any offers. The chances of him leaving are zero."

Chelsea are looking to strengthen up top after Didier Drogba announced that he was leaving the club.

Newcastle United weigh up Ashley Cole move

Newcastle United boss Steve McClaren is reportedly weighing up a season-long loan move for ex-Chelsea and Arsenal defender Ashley Cole.

The 34-year-old left the Blues on a Bosman last summer to join Roma but his spell in the Italian capital has not gone to plan after making just 11 Serie A appearances.

Furthermore, Cole is poised to become coach Rudi Garcia's third-choice left-back next season behind Vasilis Torosidis and Jose Holebas.

Consequently, the former England veteran - who has 108 caps - is said to be considering his future and, according to the Daily Star, McClaren will offer him an escape route.

His contract at the Stadio Olimpico expires next summer.

A new study analysing which 2014/15 Premier League teams had the highest and lowest proportion of vocal supporters on Twitter, has implicated Chelsea and Stoke as possessing the least passionate fans.

The research crowned fans of relegated Burnley the most passionate, and in a separate study crowned Swansea's supporters as the most positive, with QPR's suffering fans the least.

The results of this Twitter study, carried out by creative communications agency Shine Communications, has tipped last season’s Premier League table on its head with some surprising results as the table indicates.

Chelsea fans are the Premier League's least passionate on Twitter, according to Shine Communications' study

Blues supporters may well be passionate at Stamford Bridge but fail to impress on social media


2014/15 Premier League table for most passionate fans on Twitter	Most Passionate Fans (Twitter noise per fan)	2014/15 Premier League table based on happiest fans on Twitter	Happiest Fans (% of positive sentiment from fan posts on Twitter)
1. Burnley	0.47	1. Swansea City	98%
2. Everton	0.37	2. Burnley	96%
3. Leicester City	0.36	3. Aston Villa	95%
4. QPR	0.33	3. Stoke City	95%
4. Crystal Palace	0.33	3. Chelsea	95%
6. Aston Villa	0.31	6. Crystal Palace	94%
7. Newcastle	0.28	6. Manchester City	94%
8. West Brom	0.27	8. Hull City	93%
9. West Ham	0.26	9. Newcastle	92%
10. Man Utd	0.24	9. West Ham	92%
11. Southampton	0.23	9. Spurs	92%
11. Spurs	0.23	9. Liverpool	92%
13. Hull City	0.22	13. Leicester City	90%
14. Sunderland	0.19	14. Southampton	87%
15. Swansea	0.16	15. Everton	84%
15. Liverpool	0.16	15. Arsenal	84%
17. Arsenal	0.15	17. West Brom	83%
18. Manchester City	0.13	17. Man Utd	83%
20. Stoke City	0.12	20. Sunderland	82%
20. Chelsea	0.12	20. QPR	82%

Passionate Chelsea fans talk up Blues title winning season

The research looked at the number of followers each team has and the amount of mentions each team received in order to calculate how passionate each individual fan is.

Behind Sean Dyche’s Burnley, and despite watching their teams fight relegation for much of last season, came the fans of Leicester City (3rd), QPR (4th) and Aston Villa (6th).

Despite watching their heroes win trophies and secure European football in the Champions League and Europa League, the proportion of Twitter fan support for some of the country’s so called 'big' clubs like big-spending Manchester City (18th), FA Cup winners Arsenal (17th) and Liverpool (15th) saw their supporters firmly in the bottom half of the table.

Fans of Jose Mourinho's title winning Chelsea (20th) are rooted firmly at the foot of the standings for displaying digital passion.

Burnley fans scored highly regarding being both most passionate and happiest on Twitter

Danny Ings' goals for Burnley last season may have contributed to Burnley fans' happy presence on Twitter

Supporters of Manchester United were seen to be the joint second most unhappy fans

In the battle to see which of last season’s Premier League fans were the most positive, roaring support from the digital terraces, Garry Monk’s Swansea topped the charts ahead of Burnley (2nd) and Aston Villa (3rd).

Given that there team was in League Two ten years ago it seems as if Swans fans are delighted by the club's ever-growing status in the Premier League and are expressing their content on social media.

The study therefore indicates that it’s not the biggest and most successful clubs with the most content supporters on Twitter - supporters of Manchester United were seen to be the joint second most unhappy fans.

David Wiles, Director at Shine Communications commented: 'In a world where all top flight clubs and most of their players have a social media presence, the support of fans online is becoming as important as their support at matches.

Garry Monk’s Welsh side Swansea topped the Twitter positivity charts

'Tellingly, the results highlight that winning games and trophy success doesn’t equate to social media contentment or engagement amongst fans, as in both cases some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs perform poorly.

'It's the smaller, sometimes less successful clubs, whose fans have the strongest support, the most positivity and arguably the most realistic expectations.'

Shine's study calculated the total number of fans each club has on Twitter, along with the total amount of posts and mentions each club received on the social network.

This allowed them to calculate the level of social media buzz and activity for each club, per fan, along with the percentage of positive sentiment fans were displaying about their team.

A Swansea fan poses for a photograph before his team's Premier League match against Cardiff in 2014

Arsenal to double Jack Wilshere salary

Arsenal are reportedly poised to double Jack Wilshere's salary in order to stave off interest from Manchester City.

The 23-year-old midfielder has emerged as a reported target for the Citizens, who need to bolster their amount of homegrown players and the England ace fits the bill.

Speculation is rife that Manuel Pellegrini is planning a £40m bid, but the Gunners will thwart their overtures by giving him a bumper new five-year deal, according to The Mirror.

The report goes on to claim that Wilshere would earn twice as much as he currently does in North London if he signs it.

He has three years left to run on his existing deal.

Boca confident of signing Carlos Tevez

Boca Juniors president Daniel Angelici has suggested that it is only a matter of time before reported Liverpool target and Juventus striker Carlos Tevez rejoins the club.

The Argentine, currently at Copa America, has been linked with a move to Anfield, with reports on Monday stating a Premier League side had lodged a bid.

Tevez, 31, is said to be keen on leaving the Bianconeri this summer and was recently told by Juve chief Giuseppe Marotta to make a decision on his future by the end of this week.

"I want to be cautious with the arrival of Carlitos at Boca," Angelici told TyCSports.

"You have to respect Juventus, the club where he still has a contract, but I'm sure Tevez will stay at Juve or return to Boca.

"We spoke to Carlitos about his future, but at the moment we're leaving him in piece to concentrate on the Copa America. Afterwards, he'll decide with his club where his future lies, but I'm sure, if not now, it'll be next year [that he returns]."

Tevez, who began his career with Boca, joined the Italian champions in 2013 from Manchester City.

West Ham United close in on Alex Song deal

West Ham United are reportedly close to tieing up a permanent deal for Barcelona midfielder Alex Song.

The Cameroon international was brought to Upton Park for a season-long loan by former Hammers boss Sam Allardyce last term.

Despite impressing in East London, the 27-year-old is still deemed surplus to requirements in Catalunya, prompting speculation that a permanent switch is possible.

According to Goal.com, West Ham, under new manager Slaven Bilic, are ready to offer Song a three-year deal, with £5m the transfer fee in question.

His contract at Camp Nou expires in 2018.

Didier Drogba snub Orlando City

Chelsea legend Didier Drogba has rejected a two-year contract with MLS side Orlando City, according to reports.

The 37-year-old had been linked with a move to the Florida-based side in recent weeks as the club's hierarchy dreamt of pairing him with Brazilian star Kaka.

However, Drogba, who was released by the Blues following a second spell in West London, has turned down the chance to join Orlando, according to Sky Sports News.

The Ivorian, who was Jose Mourinho's third-choice striker last season behind Diego Costa and Loic Remy, netted seven times from 14 starts in all competitions.