Latest Transfer Update at 16-03-11

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Latest Transfer Update at 16-03-11


Nani in action as Man United beat Marseille.
NANI REJECTS MAN UNITED EXIT TALK

Nani has rejected rumours linking him with a move away from Manchester United.
The winger played as United reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 2-1 victory over Marseille on Tuesday night as he returned to action after suffering a gashed leg against Liverpool earlier this month.
Newspaper reports on Tuesday had speculated that the Portuguese could be on the way out of Old Trafford in the summer but he has now used his Twitter account to refute the rumours.
He posted: "I've seen some false reports on the press. I want you to know that you will hear the truth from me. Love MU"

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Andy Carroll - joined Liverpool for £35million.
BRUCE ADMITS ANDY CARROLL MISS

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce says he lost out on the chance to sign Andy Carroll for £4.5million while managing at Wigan, because it was beyond his budget.
Carroll, who broke the British transfer record when he arrived at Liverpool from Newcastle for £35million on transfer deadline day, caught Bruce's eye while playing for the Magpies just over three years ago.
Bruce claims then Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear offered him the striking ace for £4.5m, but the Latics could only stretch to £2.5m and the deal fell through.
He said: "Andy Carroll could quite easily have ended up being my player.
"When I was Wigan manager, we were hammering Newcastle 2-0 but they brought him on and he played well - really well. He made a hell of a difference.
"On the Monday morning I rang up Joe Kinnear and asked him if he would sell Andy. They quoted me £4.5m and I seriously thought about it, but in the end we could only go to £2.5m.
"I had Emile Heskey at the time as well and I did wonder if he and Carroll would work together up front."
Injury has hampered Carroll's start to life at Anfield, with the 22-year-old making just two appearances for the Reds so far, both of which were off the bench.
But the striker is in line to make his full Premier League debut against Sunderland on Sunday, and Bruce is aware of the threat he will pose to the Black Cats' backline.
"I'm sure Andy will make his full Premier League debut against us although I hope the niggle he has lasts for a bit longer!" said Bruce.
"That will present a challenge both to him and to us. I honestly wish him the best of luck."
He added: "He is the old-fashioned British No 9 and it will be interesting to see how he does and how he manages for Liverpool.
"He has got a wonderful opportunity and I am sure he has a fantastic future because he is so different."

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Baraclough - sacked.
BARACLOUGH SACKED BY SCUNTHORPE

Scunthorpe have sacked manager Ian Baraclough following Tuesday night's 3-0 defeat at home to Preston.
The result left the Iron in the bottom three of the npower Championship, four points from safety.
A statement on the club's website read: "Scunthorpe United Football Club has today relieved Ian Baraclough of his first team duties with immediate effect.
"The difficult decision was reached in light of the team's disappointing performances.
"The club would like to thank Ian for his hard work and dedication over a six-year period as a player, first team coach and latterly as manager."
Assistant manager Kevin Pressman and first team coach Steve Parkin have also left the club.
Speaking after the loss to bottom side Preston, when the players were booed off at the half-time and the final whistle, Baraclough admitted: "We got beaten up tonight, plain and simple.
"I can fully understand that people are frustrated, of course I can. I've been in the game long enough to realise that if you're not getting results then people aren't happy, but I feel I can do the job.
"Tonight we just didn't perform and we were shellshocked to be 3-0 down at half-time.
"Can we stay up? While there are still points to play for I'm confident we've got the right group."

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Felix Magath - leaves Schalke.
SCHALKE SACK FELIX MAGATH

Schalke have sacked manager Felix Magath after just 20 months in charge.
The Royal Blues announced the decision was taken by the club's supervisory board at an extraordinary session on Wednesday morning.
Chairman Clemens Tonnies told the club's official website there were "very good reasons" for the move, but did not specify what they were.
Magath, who agreed a four-year contract at the Veltins-Arena in 2009 after guiding Wolfsburg to the Bundesliga title, will leave the club with immediate effect.
He guided the team to second place in the table last term and qualification to the Champions League, and further boosted their profile in the summer with the marquee signing of Raul from Real Madrid.
This season they have been inconsistent. They sit only 10th in the table, but are through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and the final of the DFB-Pokal.
"For Schalke's point of view there are very good reasons for this separation," Tonnies told schalke04.de.
"We will not make these public as a legal battle is now ahead of us.
"But we very relaxed about this process.
"What we have decided is a good result for Schalke."
Magath chose not to attend Wednesday's board meeting as, according to a statement from his lawyer reported in Kicker magazine, he felt he had not been sufficiently informed about he topics up for discussion.
The statement from Ralf Hocker read: "Mister Magath won't attend Wednesday's board meeting as he feels participating doesn't make any sense. The club yesterday sent Mr Magath only a minimal and incomplete agenda of the meeting.
"If Mr Magath is to get the opportunity to speak, he has to know what the session is essentially about. We therefore asked the club to finally let us know what the concrete accusations are and provide us with the appropriate documentation."
Former Bayern Munich boss Magath was both coach and general manager at Schalke. He worked alongside Horst Heldt in the second role.
In a board reshuffle, Schalke announced Heldt would now have sole responsibility for the role.
According to reports in Germany, former Hoffenheim boss Ralf Rangnick is set to be named as Magath's successor as coach.

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Neil Lennon - Celtic boss.
HOOPER: LENNON GOING NOWHERE

Gary Hooper believes Celtic boss Neil Lennon would never walk out on the Parkhead club.
The Irishman's future has been subject to speculation since he was given 24-hour protection in the wake of the explosive Scottish Cup replay win over Rangers on March 2, when a suspicious package addressed to him was intercepted.
Bullets had been sent in the post to Lennon earlier in the season and Hoops first-team coach Alan Thompson suggested his former Celtic team-mate could quit in the summer.
However, Hooper, one of Lennon's key signings in the summer, believes the club means too much to the 39-year-old for him to resign just a year after replacing Tony Mowbray.
The 23-year-old striker claims his gaffer is one of the strongest individuals he has met in the game.
Asked whether Lennon could quit Celtic at the end of the current campaign, Hooper said: "No chance. He's such a strong character who just gets on with it.
"He doesn't let any of this stuff affect him.
"Everyone here hates hearing about possibly quitting, no-one wants to hear it but I don't think it will happen.
"This club means too much to him. He's as strong a person as anyone I've met and he's got to be as manager of Celtic.
"I'm surprised by the stuff he has to put up with but it doesn't get to him.
"The players don't talk about it either and that's the way it should be."
The former Scunthorpe player, who celebrated this week his first call-up to the England under-21 squad, insists Lennon's main quality is getting his players to give their all in the quest for the domestic treble.
Ahead of tonight's rearranged Scottish Cup quarter-final tie against Inverness at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, Hooper said: "He just gets the best out of everyone here, he doesn't accept second best.
"He wants us to win in every game we play and he drums that into us.
"I think he's building something for this season, first and foremost.
"We've got to go for it, really, there is no point in us sitting back and worrying about next year.
"But we've got a young team, with a low average age, so he'll be thinking about the future.
"I'm sure the gaffer will want to win things every year."

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Bradley Johnson - could stay at Leeds.
JOHNSON HINTS AT LEEDS STAY

Leeds midfielder Bradley Johnson has hinted he could remain with the Elland Road outfit beyond the summer.
The 23-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and as things stand he is able to leave the Whites on a free transfer.
Johnson has been a key member of Simon Grayson's squad and when he was suspended for the club's trip to rivals Swansea they suffered a 3-0 defeat.
It remains to be seen whether fresh talks are held between the parties, although for now Johnson and Leeds are focused on finishing the season on a high.
"All the lads want to play in the Premier League," he told the club's official website.
"I've played in every league and my dream is to play in the Premiership and to do it with Leeds would be a dream."

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Ferrie Bodde - set to stay at Swansea.
BODDE EXPECTS TO STAY AT SWANSEA

Ferrie Bodde expects to sign a new contract at Swansea as he steps up his recovery from his latest knee injury.
The Dutch midfielder has been restricted to just four appearances for the Swans since November 2008 after suffering three serious knee ligament injuries.
He is out of contract at the Liberty Stadium at the end of the season, but the 28-year-old is confident he will still be at the club beyond the summer.
"That won't be a problem," said Bodde. "The club made me an offer in November, but I did not put pen to paper then.
"The main challenge for me was to have fully recovered from the knee injury before I started to think of where to spend the rest of my career.
"I am very honest with myself - if my knee had not felt good, I would have quit the game. Swansea are keen to offer me a contract extension and I am keen to sign it.
"It shouldn't be hard to predict the outcome. But first the club is targeting automatic promotion."

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Piazon is set for a move to Chelsea.
BLUES TO SIGN BRAZILIAN STARLET

Chelsea are close to agreeing a deal to sign Sao Paulo starlet Lucas Piazon when he turns 18.
Press Association Sport understands the Blues are poised to beat off competition from Juventus for the 17-year-old, who is currently playing for Brazil in the South American Under-17 Championship.
Dubbed 'the new Kaka' by some commentators, Piazon was first linked with a move to Chelsea two years ago.
He was also courted by Juve, who appeared to have won the race for the teenager two months ago after he spent a week training with the Italian giants.
That sparked erroneous reports he would join them in January next year.
Instead, he is set to move to Stamford Bridge in line with FIFA laws after Sao Paulo agreed to sell him to the Barclays Premier League champions.
The fee is unclear but reports suggest it could be anywhere from £5million to £8million.
Piazon's signing would reaffirm Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's commitment to bringing more young players to the club in addition to splashing out on the likes of Fernando Torres and David Luiz when necessary.

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De Gea - has long been linked with United.
DE GEA 'WORTH MORE THAN £18M'

Manchester United will have to stump up more than £18million if they want to sign David de Gea, according to Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo.
Sir Alex Ferguson has long been linked with the 20-year-old goalkeeper as a replacement for Edwin van der Sar, who will retire at the end of the season.
Reports in England and Spain suggested that Premier League leaders United have already bid for the Spain under-21 international.
But Cerezo has said that he has not heard anything from the Old Trafford club and insists that any offer would have to be in excess of £18million.
"No-one has asked me about him (De Gea) this morning," said Atletico president Cerezo.
"Ask Manchester about it, but £18million doesn't seem much to me."
The shot-stopper came through the youth ranks at Atletico and has quickly established himself as one of the best in the Primera Liga.
De Gea has pledged his future to Atletico, but the club are struggling to qualify for Europe this season and face a battle to hang on to their stars.

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Lehmann - closing on shock Arsenal return.
LEHMANN CONFIDENT OVER TITLE CHANCES

Jens Lehmann is confident he can help Arsenal win the title as he edges closer to a surprise return to the north London club.
The former Germany goalkeeper, 41, left Arsenal in 2008 but is in talks over a short-term deal to help the club through an injury crisis which has seen Lukasz Fabianski ruled out until the end of the season because of a shoulder problem and Wojciech Szczesny sidelined with an injured finger.
Manuel Almunia is the only fit keeper in the squad currently meaning Lehmann, providing the talks go smoothly, could be on the bench when Arsene Wenger's men go to West Brom at the weekend.
And the former Borussia Dortmund stopper believes he can claim a second Premier League crown after being a part of the 'Invincibles' team which went through the 2003/2004 campaign unbeaten.
He told German newspaper Bild: "This time I'm looking forward to being in a back-up role and will look to support Almunia.
"We can still win the title."
Arsenal are currently three points adrift of league leaders Manchester United but have suffered three disappointments in the past three weeks with a Carling Cup final loss to Birmingham and exits from the Champions League and FA Cup to Barcelona and United respectively.
Lehmann witnessed the European setback at the Nou Camp while working for the German media and admitted he did not think things would turn out the way they have when Szczesny was forced off in the first half.
"Arsenal currently have a goalkeeping crisis and I would like to help out," he added.
"I was a Sky analyst in Barcelona and was present when Szczesny injured his finger.
"I did not even dream that Arsenal would then come and get me."