Latest Transfer Update at 26-03-11

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Latest Transfer Update at 26-03-11


Marco van Basten - Viola reports denied.
VAN BASTEN NOT JOINING FIORENTINA

Fiorentina have vehemently denied reports Marco van Basten will coach the Viola next season.
Sporting Lisbon presidential candidate Pedro Baltazar stated that the Dutch coach would not join the Portuguese giants because he had already agreed to guide the Serie A outfit next season.
A statement from Fiorentina read: "With regards to the comments made by Sporting Lisbon presidential candidate Pedro Baltazar, the Viola club announces that those comments are lacking foundation and do not correspond absolutely to the truth."
Fiorentina intend to keep coach Sinisa Mihajlovic, who joined the club last summer and is under contract with them for a further season.

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Gallas - set for new deal.
WILLIAM GALLAS SET FOR SPURS DEAL

Tottenham defender William Gallas is poised to sign a new contract to extend his stay at White Hart Lane.
The veteran centre-back signed a one-year deal with Spurs in the summer following his release by North London rivals Arsenal.
The former Chelsea player has become an integral member of Harry Redknapp's backline and has helped the club secure a place in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, where they will take on Real Madrid.
France international Gallas admitted after the last-16 victory over AC Milan that he would welcome the opportunity to prolong his association with Spurs.
And now Redknapp has confirmed that chairman Daniel Levy has opened discussions with the 33-year-old, who the experienced manager regards as 'one of the signings of the season'.
"The chairman's doing a deal," Redknapp told the Daily Telegraph.

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CHELSEA STRIKE DEAL WITH BRAZILIAN

Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Brazilian teenager Lucas Piazon from Sao Paulo, but will have to wait nine months for him to arrive at Stamford Bridge.
The 17-year-old Brazil youth international will not join until the next winter transfer window as he is not allowed to make the move until after his 18th birthday.
"The player has signed a pre-contract agreement and is expected to join us in January 2012 on a long-term deal," Chelsea said in a statement on their website.
Piazon is currently at the South American Under-17 Championships, having made his name at the Under-15 tournament in 2009 - played in England - when he finished as top scorer with 10 goals.
No fee was revealed for the player, but recent reports suggested the deal could be worth as much as £8million depending on numerous clauses being activated.

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Diarra - happy at Real Madrid.
DIARRA HAPPY IN MADRID

Lassana Diarra insists he is happy at Real Madrid and not looking to quit the Spanish giants.
The former Arsenal and Chelsea man, who is down manager Jose Mourinho's pecking order, has been linked with moves at the end of the season.
However, the 26-year-old France international is happy at Santiago Bernabeu and is focused on helping the club win silverware this season.
"My situation has not changed since last time," said Diarra. "I'm very content at Real Madrid.
"I don't have any problems with anyone and I'm only focussed on helping the team win the title.
"Will I leave in the summer? At the end of the season I'll analyse things with the club, but I'm happy here."

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Carson Yeung - has injected more money.
PANNU: BLUES ARE 'FINE' FINANCIALLY

Birmingham's acting chairman Peter Pannu insists the club are financially stable and revealed owner-president Carson Yeung has injected another £4 million into the midlands club.
The investment is described as "the first step of a continued planned injection of funds to facilitate the club's operations."
Pannu told Birmingham's official website: "Carson has done so (injected more funds) to show his unfailing support for the club.
"It is also to quell recent media reports raising financial uncertainty against the club which came as a result of journalistic-induced scaremongering.
"We are still in credit with our bankers and this money is for players we have invested in since we came in and is topping in total to some £31 million now.
"We are fine as a club."
Pannu has called for Blues to be united in the battle for the Carling Cup holders to retain their Barclays Premier League status.
He said: "Now we should aim to soldier on for a good spell after the international break and to secure our Barclays Premier League status.
"Having had constructive discussions with the back room staff over the last few days after the Wigan game, I am confident that we will turn it around with our remaining games.
"I call upon all fans to come along for the remaining fixtures and support the club. We all stand together during this testing time."

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Sam Vokes - joins Norwich on loan.
CANARIES SEAL DOUBLE SWOOP

Norwich have confirmed strikers Dani Pacheco and Sam Vokes have joined the club on loan until the end of the season.
Spain Under-21 international Pacheco arrives from Liverpool - where he has made four appearances this season - while Wales forward Vokes joins from Wolves.
The pair are currently away on international duty but will link up with Paul Lambert's squad next week in time to feature against Scunthorpe on April 2.
The Canaries have been keen to add extra firepower to their squad in the final push for promotion to the Premier League and missed out last week on signing Peterborough striker Craig Mackail-Smith.
They have eight games remaining and are nine points behind npower Championship leaders QPR in second place.
Lambert told the club's official website: "The two of them were desperate to come and play and that was very important to me. It will give the whole squad a lift."

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Jake Livermore - Leeds loanee.
LEEDS LAND LIVERMORE

Leeds have completed the signing Tottenham midfielder Jake Livermore on loan until the end of the season.
Livermore, 21, will stay at Elland Road until May 31 and will be available for the play-offs should Leeds finish in the top six.
Leeds manager Simon Grayson said: "Jake is a hungry, young player who has gained good experience at this level with both Derby and Ipswich.
"We're at an important stage of the season and he gives us increased competition for places. He's a good addition to our squad."
Livermore, a product of Tottenham's academy, has had loan spells with Derby, Peterborough, and Ipswich.
He played against Leeds earlier in the season for the Tractor Boys at Portman Road.

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Jones - Derby loan deal.
RAMS SIGN BRAD JONES ON LOAN

Derby have solved their goalkeeping concerns by signing Brad Jones on loan from Liverpool for the rest of the season.
Frank Fielding has returned to Blackburn at the end of his loan at Pride Park and Rams boss Nigel Clough was intending to use Matt Duke between the posts.
However, Duke has been recalled by parent club Hull, forcing Clough to bring in Jones to join Liverpool team-mate Daniel Ayala at Derby.
Jones has made just two appearances for Liverpool since arriving from Middlesbrough last August and Clough is happy to have added the Australia international to his squad.
"Matt was due to play for our reserves on Tuesday, but we got a late call from Hull to say they wished to recall him," Clough told the club's official website.
"They were perfectly entitled to do that as he is their player, so we had to use our contacts pretty quickly to get someone of sufficient quality in the building.
"Brad fits the bill perfectly; he has Premier League experience, Football League experience and - importantly - big-game experience.
"We have some big games coming up between now and May, and he will be our number one in them.
"He hasn't had much first-team football this season, so I'm pretty sure he will be looking forward to the challenge.
"He also knows Daniel Ayala well and he has also played with Shaun Barker in the past which will be good for him when working with the back four going into his first game at Cardiff.
"Liverpool have done us a big favour and I would like to thank Kenny Dalglish and the other officials at Anfield for agreeing to loan another of their players to Derby County."

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Mertesacker - 'not the time' for move talk.
MERTESACKER: PREMIER LEAGUE 'ATTRACTIVE'

Werder Bremen defender Per Mertesacker would be keen on a move to the Barclays Premier League, but insists he is not currently thinking about his future.
Mertesacker will line up at the heart of Germany's defence against Kazakhstan on Saturday, and his role in the national team has never been in doubt despite a difficult season for his club side.
He has received a lot of criticism for his role in Bremen's demise with numerous uncharacteristic mistakes costing his team points, yet he remains a rumoured target of Arsenal and Liverpool.
However, the 26-year-old says he is currently only focused on saving Bremen from the drop this year and improving his own form, and then he will consider his options with a move to England being an "attractive" one.
"England has been an issue for a few years now, but I cannot make a decision yet," he told Die Welt newspaper.
"Of course the Premier League is attractive, but right now there is only one issue for me and that is avoiding the drop."
Mertesacker's contract with Bremen expires in 2012, meaning the Bundesliga club could only demand a substantial fee for him this summer, but he insists "now is not the time" to discuss where he will be playing next year.
Instead, he is trying to work out why his form has dipped this season.
"There are just so many different reasons which all came together," he explained.
"But I believe that it happens now and again that somebody does not play one season at the very highest level.
"You have to go through a dip to improve.
"We are not machines who always work, but that does not detract from the fact that we cannot repeat such a terrible season."
Bremen are 12th in the Bundesliga, just four points above the relegation zone with seven games remaining.

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Heynckes - returning to Bayern.
WE WON'T LOSE PLAYERS - HOLZHAUSER

Bayer Leverkusen's general manager Wolfgang Holzhauser has ruled out any of his side's players following Jupp Heynckes to Bayern Munich when the coach swaps clubs next season.
Arturo Vidal is one man who has been heavily linked with a move to the Bavarians, even more so after Heynckes was officially appointed as their new coach for next season on Friday, but Holzhauser says there is no risk of him or anybody else making the same trip.
"Jupp is far too loyal to take a player with him to his new club," he told the Bild newspaper.
"He would never do that."
Indeed, Heynckes is renowned for his loyalty and correctness having returned his company car with a full tank of petrol on the day that he was sacked as manager of Borussia Monchengladbach in 2007.
And Heynckes insists he will remain committed to Leverkusen until the end of the season, even though he knows that, by leading them into the Champions League, he risks leaving his future club out of the competition.
"I will put all of my efforts into reaching this great aim with Bayer," he told the Rheinische Post newspaper.
"That means direct qualification for the Champions League."
And given the job he did with Monchengladbach in 1987, it can be presumed that he will stick to his word.
Back then, after having announced that he would take over at Bayern for the first time in his career, he set a new club record of 10 consecutive victories to lift the Foals from 11th in the table to finish third.
Such a record in Leverkusen's last seven matches could yet see them win the Bundesliga title.
They currently trail league leaders Borussia Dortmund by seven points while they have the same advantage over Bayern, who lie fourth, two points adrift of third-placed Hannover and a place in the final qualifying round for the Champions League next season - their minimum aim.
Heynckes is one of five people to coach Bayern on more than one occasion.
Udo Lattek, Heynckes' predecessor in 1987, Franz Beckenbauer, Giovanni Trapattoni and Ottmar Hitzfeld have all returned to the Bayern bench for a second spell, although Heynckes will set a new record with next season being his third spell at the club.