Latest Transfer Update at 06-03-11

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Latest Transfer Update at 06-03-11


Louis van Gaal looks down on Saturday.
BAYERN LOSS LEAVES RUMMENIGGE 'GROGGY'

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge insisted he would not make a knee-jerk decision over the future of coach Louis van Gaal following the 3-1 Bundesliga defeat by Hannover.
The Dutchman's position is hanging by a thread following a third straight defeat which Rummenigge described as the "lowest point" of the club's season.
The loss followed last weekend's league defeat to Dortmund and came just days after they were knocked out of the DFB-Pokal by Schalke.
"We have had a catastrophic eight days," Rummenigge, who admitted on Sky after the game he felt "groggy", told the club website.
"Against Dortmund our football was in parts okay, against Schalke you could at least see a reaction for one half, but how we played was absolutely the lowest point of the season. I have to say that clearly and plainly.
"We came here in order to win, but this defeat and above all the manner of it hurts. We are all disappointed about the game and the result, but we have all been around long enough to know that after such a game we first have to spend the night mulling it over.
"No one will probably be able to sleep, but at least we have to analyse calmly what we now can and have to do to stop the rot.
"Bayern are at the moment in a situation which causes us a lot of concern."
The defeat leaves the defending champions 19 points behind leaders Dortmund and with their work cut out even to qualify for the Champions League.
Van Gaal said he was not about to resign.
"I have always felt the backing of my board and it is up to them to decide whether I still have this backing," he said.
"Of course everybody here is disappointed. The last time I had such a difficult phase was when I was coach in Barcelona.
"In the space of 10 days, we have thrown a lot away and of course the pressure increases."

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Cahill - received high praise from boss Coyle.
COYLE TIPS CAHILL FOR THE TOP

Bolton boss Owen Coyle insisted Gary Cahill "could play for any top team in world football" after the defender scored twice in a dramatic 3-2 win over Aston Villa.
Cahill twice hauled his side level and Ashley Young missed a penalty before substitute Ivan Klasnic struck four minutes from time to claim the points for the home side.
Coyle said: "With his age, Gary is only going to get better. I believe he could play for any top team in world football. Gary could stand toe to toe with anyone."
Coyle is resigned to losing Cahill at some stage - possibly this summer - but claims he will not stand in the way of his departure at the right price.
"There will be a time when Gary has outgrown this football club and when that time comes it wil take good money but he will go with my blessing," added Coyle.
"I will never stand in the way of anyone progressing. What Gary has to do between now and the end of the season is keep showing these top clubs what an unbelievable talent he is."

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Welbeck - has impressed at Sunderland.
BRUCE HOPING WELBECK STAYS

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is keen to land Manchester United youngster Danny Welbeck on loan for another season.
The 20-year-old forward, an England Under-21 international, has impressed for the Black Cats after arriving on loan for the season last August.
And while Bruce does not expect United boss Sir Alex Ferguson to let the talented youngster leave Old Trafford permanently, he is hopeful of negotiating a new deal which secures his services for a further 12 months.
"I will keep at Sir Alex and maybe try to get him drunk on a bottle of wine," said Bruce.
"But if we could get him back here for another year, that may be a compromise."

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Bywater - joined Cardiff until end of the season.
BLUEBIRDS BRING IN BYWATER

Cardiff City have further boosted their goalkeeping options by signing Derby's Stephen Bywater on loan for the rest of the season.
The Bluebirds, who also took Blackburn keeper Jason Brown on loan in midweek, have been keen to bring in cover for Tom Heaton following an injury to first choice David Marshall.
Bywater has lost his first team place at Pride Park to Frank Fielding in recent weeks and Rams boss was happy for the former West Ham man to go out on loan.
"This deal makes sense for us and Stephen, and we have protected ourselves with the 24-hour recall clause," Clough said.
"Frank has the shirt at the moment and it's better for Stephen to go and play games, rather than sit on our bench.
"Obviously our interests are paramount and we wouldn't have agreed to this if we didn't feel it benefited ourselves, as well as the player."

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Alan Pardew - will look to boost Newcastle's squad.
PARDEW PREPARING FOR SUMMER SPENDING

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew and his scouting team have started to identify potential targets for a summer recruitment drive.
Pardew is keen to be fully prepared for a crucial transfer window during which he hopes to be presented with the proceeds of Andy Carroll's £35million departure for Liverpool.
The manager's spending power will, of course, depend on his current crop of players finishing the job of securing the club's Barclays Premier League status during the remaining 10 games of the campaign.
Uncertainty remains over the futures of Jose Enrique and Joey Barton with talks over new contracts having been put on hold, but a list of prospective signings is being drawn up with the Magpies having already been linked with the likes of Cheick Tiote's Ivory Coast international team-mate Gervinho and PSV Eindhoven winger Jeremain Lens.
Pardew said: "We have sat down and discussed briefly what the plans are, of course. It's very important to have a strategic plan of what you are doing.
"We don't want to be doing everything at the last minute - although like all transfer windows, you have to be patient because sometimes there are six or seven teams involved around one player who is available, and then they fall away.
"It might happen right at the last minute, but there has been three or four months' work gone into that particular player.
"We might not be signing players as soon as the window opens, but believe you me, we are very much on the case of players we feel might take us forward."
Carroll's exit at the very end of the January transfer window gave Newcastle little time in which to replace him, and they decided not to spend in haste.
Some fans remain sceptical over Pardew's claim at the time that he has been assured he will get the cash - a view voiced publicly by former boss Kevin Keegan last week - and the club's summer transfer activity could provide a clearer indication of owner Mike Ashley's plans for the future.
In the meantime, the manager and his existing squad will continue the fight for points at home to Everton on Saturday knowing victory would all but assure them of their place in next season's top flight.
Barton and loan signing Stephen Ireland are doubts with thigh problems, but striker Shola Ameobi will return to the mix wearing a special mask to protect his fractured cheekbone.
The 29-year-old has been sidelined since suffering the injury at Fulham on February 2, and it is a measure of how well Leon Best, the man who partnered him that night, and Peter Lovenkrands have performed in his absence that he is by no means guaranteed an instant return to the team.
Pardew said: "No, that's absolutely right. Peter and Leon have done really well.
"They go into this game with the shirts and it is down to their performance to keep them.
"But Shola is in and around it now, so they need to make sure they stay on their game.
"He is a very good player. He has been stuck behind very, very good strikers here for a lot of his career and perhaps has not had as many games as he would have liked.
"But he is certainly right up there with Leon and Peter and looking for a starting place, and that's the competition you want."
The Magpies have lost just one of their last nine league games, while Everton have endured mixed fortunes in recent weeks, dumping holders Chelsea out of the FA Cup before themselves falling to npower Championship Reading either side of last Saturday's 2-0 victory over Sunderland.
Pardew said: "They are a team that will be wounded after the FA Cup defeat and will come to put it right.
"Knowing David Moyes as I do, he will be very, very determined to get a positive result at our place."

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Eden Hazard - staying at Lille until 2015.
NEW DEAL FOR LILLE STAR HAZARD

Lille's highly-rated midfield Eden Hazard has signed a one-year contract extension to keep him with the Ligue 1 leaders until 2015.
The 20-year-old Belgium international is regarded as one of the brightest prospects in Europe and had been linked with a move to Arsenal.
A statement on Lille's official website said Hazard "perfectly embodies Lille's style of football".
Hazard, who has 18 caps for Belgium, has already made close to 100 league appearances for Lille, having made his debut as a 16-year-old.
The Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year for the last two years running, Hazard has helped put Lille in pole position to win their first league title since 1954 this season.
Lille lead the standings from Rennes on goal difference.
The club website added that Hazard puts in "spectacular performances with a consistency and calmness that is rare for his age".
It also praised his "technical ability, his explosiveness on the ball, his calmness in front of goal and his battling qualities".

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Malky Mackay - new Watford deal.
MACKAY SIGNS NEW WATFORD DEAL

Watford manager Malky Mackay has agreed a new three-and-a-half-year contract to stay in charge of the Championship club.
Mackay has been at the helm of the Hornets since the summer of 2009 after Brendan Rodgers' departure and was under contract until 2012.
The Scot, along with his assistant Sean Dyche, has now been rewarded with a new deal through to 2014 following his stabilising job at Vicarage Road.
"I'd like to remind all of our fans that when we first appointed Malky, we, as a board, made it very clear that we felt it important we should stand firmly behind our manager at all times and, as such, gave him a three-year contract," chairman Graham Taylor told the club's official website.
"Malky's willingness to accept the challenges that face him and buy into the philosophy we have for Watford Football Club has been admirable.
"I think supporters have seen a man at work who genuinely cares for the well-being at Watford, having first established ties with us in 2005.
"Alongside him, Sean's association with this club dates back to 2002, when he first joined as a player under Ray Lewington.
"So we have secured the services of two men who want to put the future of Watford first in everything they do. That has to be a positive at a time when many other things in football are changing."
Mackay led Watford to 17th during his first season in charge and the club are currently 13th in the table this term following a run of eight games without a win.

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Nacho Monreal (l) - staying at Osasuna until 2014.
OSASUNA STAR MONREAL AGREES EXTENSION

Nacho Monreal has signed a new contract with Osasuna that keeps him with the club until 2014.
The 25-year-old has spent his entire career with the Pamplona club and has a minimum release clause of 12 million euros.
"I'm happy. Negotiations began months ago, but we were all very quiet as we knew it would end this way," said the full-back. "I am pleased to renew, and that the club have agreed.
"I have just renewed and I'm not thinking about leaving."