Latest Transfer Stories 12-09-10.

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Real link flatters Adebayor

Striker focused on fighting for City place


Emmanuel Adebayor has admitted he is aware of reported interest from Real Madrid, but is staying focused on fighting for his place at Manchester City.
The former Togo striker was linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu during the recent transfer window as Real boss Jose Mourinho is thought to be a keen admirer.
Adebayor also revealed that he would consider his future at Eastlands if he was not playing regular football, but the deadline passed without a switch materialising.
The former Arsenal man concedes that it is flattering to be connected with a team such as Real but he is now concentrating on the task at hand with City.
Having fallen down the pecking order at the start of the new season, Adebayor is desperate to impress manager Roberto Mancini and feature as frequently as possible.
"I heard about the rumours, but I am relaxed and I am fighting in training to get my place back," he explained.
"Until the next window you never know, and Real and Mourhino are big things in football so you take notice of them, but I want to score goals for City, so let's wait and see.
"I am a big player so I want first-team football like everyone, not just to take my salary."

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Jarvis commits to Wolves

Winger signs new five-year contract at Molineux



Wolves have received a boost with the news that winger Matt Jarvis has signed a new five-year deal with the club.
The 24-year-old has committed himself to the Molineux outfit until 2015 after long-term talks with the club.
The winger, who joined Wolves from Gillingham in 2007 and had less than two years left on his previous deal, is a key member of Mick McCarthy's side, making 34 top flight appearances last term.
The new contract is just reward for the winger, who was linked to a possible England call-up for the recent Euro 2012 qualifiers, and Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey believes there is more to come.
Moxey told the club's official website: "We've been talking to Matt and his representative for a long period of time.
"He was very keen to commit to us and we were very keen to commit to him.
Highly talented

"Matt is a highly talented player who fits in with our policy of developing good young players and aiming to keep them at Molineux.
"He started 30 games in the Premier League last season and did very well.
"He had less than two years remaining on his contract, and it was the right time to do something.
"There was a lot of speculation linking him to a possible call-up for the recent qualifiers which shows the progress he has been making.

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Mainz - Schurrle going nowhere

Bundesliga club confident of keeping hold of young hotshot

Mainz insist that young teenage striker Andre Schurrle will be staying at the club for the foreseeable future.
The 19-year-old hotshot was been linked with Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and English giants Manchester United, while Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen failed to land the youngster this summer, with BILD reporting that Hoffenheim were unsuccessful with a £8.2million bid.
But Mainz's general manager Christian Heidel has reminded Schurrle's suitors that he is under contract beyond the end of this season.
Schurrle is contracted to Mainz until June 2013 so Heidel claims the Bundesliga club do not fear their prize asset being poached any time soon.
"The transfer window is shut - that's a fact and no Bayern Munich or Manchester United can change that," he told BILD.
Relaxed

"We have not had any enquiries from those clubs and we have a contract (with Schurrle) so we are extremely relaxed about this."
Schurrle started out at hometown club Ludwigshafen before signing a four-year deal with Mainz last summer.
He made his Bundesliga debut as Mainz finished ninth last season and went on to establish himself as a first-team regular, scoring five goals in 33 league matches, which included 25 starts.
The Germany U21 international has scored one goal from one substitute appearance so far this term - the equaliser as Mainz came from 3-0 down to beat Wolfsburg 4-3 two weeks ago.

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Ancelotti - No bid for Drogba

Blues boss insists Marseille have made no move for strike ace

Carlo Ancelotti has refuted claims from Marseille that they failed in a bid to re-sign Didier Drogba this summer.
Club president Jean-Claude Dassier announced on Thursday that the French champions had attempted to bring the Ivorian striker back to Stade Velodrome before the transfer window slammed shut.
He claimed their advances were knocked back by Chelsea, who acquired Drogba for £24million from Marseille in 2004.
Since then he has gone on to become one of the most fearsome frontmen in world football, collecting an enviable collection of honours along the way.
Drogba is, however, now 32 years old and there had been talk over the summer that Chelsea may choose to cash in on him.
Those reports were quickly played down by the Blues, who insist the African ace remains an integral part of their plans.
Bemused

That means they are unwilling to entertain any offers for a player who has scored over 135 goals during his six years at Stamford Bridge.
Ancelotti has been left bemused by Marseille's suggestion that they recently lodged a bid for Drogba and is adamant that his talismanic hit-man is going nowhere.
"This is not true," said Ancelotti.
"They did not make an offer. They didn't ask the club if they could buy Drogba. If they come to us in January, they already know the answer."

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Howard waits on new deal

Striker unsure of reason for delay in reaching agreement

Leicester City striker Steve Howard admits he is unsure why talks over a new contract have progressed so slowly.
Howard revealed before the close of the transfer window that he had started negotiating a new deal and expected an agreement within a fortnight.
However, the 34-year-old is still waiting to put pen to paper and remains anxious to resolve his future at the Walkers Stadium.
"They have gone slow and not as quick as I would have liked them to go," Howard told the Leicester Mercury.
"I think they are being thrashed out at the minute so I am hoping that it will be soon, but I don't know. I am a bit in the dark at the moment.
"I don't know what the problem is. The transfer window is shut and I want it sorted straight away because I want to settle and put my mind at ease. Hopefully that will be in the next couple of weeks."
Howard has appeared in all four of Leicester's Championship games so far this season after being a target for Huddersfield Town during the summer.

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Hammers offer Upson deal

Grant says it is a 'matter of money

Avram Grant is hoping Matthew Upson will follow the lead of West Ham United team-mate Scott Parker by signing a new contract.
Influential midfielder Parker tied up a new four-year deal at Upton Park on Thursday and the Hammers now want Upson to commit his future to the club.
The England defender's current deal expires at the end of the season and talks have taken place regarding an extension.
Hammers boss Grant wants the 31-year-old to stay at the club and says finances will dictate whether Upson accepts a new contract.
"The club have given him an offer, they are in negotiations," Grant confirmed.
"The club want him to stay, but it's a matter of money."
Sullivan relationship

Meanwhile, the build-up to Saturday's match against Chelsea has been overshadowed by comments attributed to club co-chairman Sullivan, who was reported to have said a number of the squad's foreign players "couldn't be bothered" to play for the club.
Previous manager Gianfranco Zola came into conflict with Sullivan for his public criticism of the players last season, but Grant insists he has no problem with the 61-year-old.
Grant said: "First, the owner didn't say that. Second, for me there is no foreign players or English players. For me there is a team, everybody is a football player for me.
"He is the chairman and if he wants to do something he can do it as long as it doesn't hurt the team and I don't think it hurts the team.
"We have a good relationship and I need to do my job, not to look at what people said."

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Hleb regrets Arsenal exit

Schemer concedes he made mistake in moving to Barca

Alexander Hleb has admitted he made a mistake in leaving Arsenal for Barcelona in 2008.
The Belarus playmaker transferred from the Gunners to the Barca two years ago, but struggled to make an impact at the Spanish giants.
He was loaned out to Stuttgart last season, and this summer Hleb sealed another temporary move, this time to Birmingham City.
Of his decision to part ways with Arsenal, Hleb said: "Of course it is my fault I left Arsenal but this has happened.
"Not a lot of players say no to Barcelona but if I had known before what would happen of course I wouldn't have gone.
"I won the UEFA Champions League with Barcelona in 2009 but I didn't play a lot. I lost a bit of my form and confidence."
Fabregas

Meanwhile, Hleb opted against adding fuel to speculation over a possible future move for former Arsenal team-mate Cesc Fabregas to Barca.
He added: "Cesc plays fantastically at Arsenal and is a leader and an important player.
"It is his decision if he wants to stay or leave."
Hleb reportedly turned down offers from Tottenham and Liverpool to move to St Andrews, and the 29-year-old is confident he made the right decision.
He said: "I made a decision to come to Birmingham.
"I decided for one year to come back to the Premier League where I am very happy and want to take this chance."

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Clough tracking Fryatt

Foxes striker wanted by Rams boss

Derby County manager Nigel Clough has revealed he is keeping tabs on Leicester striker Matty Fryatt.
The 24-year-old Foxes frontman has only started two games so far this season and is currently battling for his place in the starting XI, but Derby have reportedly had a loan offer turned down.
Fryatt has scored 49 goals in 158 league games since arriving at the Walkers Stadium in 2006, and he was especially prolific in League One.
However, with his place in the team at risk, Rams boss Clough has targeted him as well as a number of other players.
When asked about Fryatt, Clough told the Derby Evening Telegraph: "Yes, he is a player we rate highly, in the James Vaughan, Chris Wood mould. Ben Davies is another one - they are all players we are looking at and monitoring.
"We have not made an approach for Matty Fryatt. He is in Leicester's squad at the moment.
"There might have been a phone call in terms of asking if anything happens to keep us informed but we don't class that as an offer on the table.
"If he does become available, then we would like to be in there."
Derby have only picked up one point since their opening-day victory at Leeds but Clough insists he will not bring new players into the club merely for the sake of it.
"We have highlighted three or four players we feel would improve us and it is a case of waiting for them," he added.
"We are not going to go down the road of last season where we brought people in too readily almost for the sake of just bolstering the squad.
"We will have a 17-man squad today against Sheffield United. We won't be able to fill the bench, but we feel the quality that is within that 17 at the moment is enough."

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Whites bring in Brown

Rovers keeper joins as cover

Leeds United have bolstered their goalkeeping options with the addition of Blackburn's Jason Brown on a month-long loan.
With No.1 Kasper Schmeichel picking up a foot injury, manager Simon Grayson has opted to bring in some cover.
Shane Higgs has now started two of Leeds' last three outings, including Saturday's 2-1 success over Swansea City at Elland Road.
With Schmeichel set to miss their upcoming games with Barnsley and Doncaster, Grayson has brought in Brown.
Brown was on the bench for the visit of Swansea and is likely to stay there until Schmeichel recovers from his foot injury.
"Kasper picked up a foot injury a couple of weeks ago and we are assessing him as we go," he told the club's official website.
"We have a lot of games coming up and I am delighted Jason has agreed to come in."