Latest Transfer Update at 19-04-11

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Latest Transfer Update at 19-04-11


Harry Redknapp - rejects Chelsea talk.
REDKNAPP REJECTS CHELSEA TALK

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has been quick to deny talk he could be Chelsea's new boss.
Weekend reports claimed that the Spurs chief was emerging as a shock candidate to replace under-fire Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti in the summer.
But Redknapp, who is odds-on favourite to become the new England coach with Fabio Capello due to step down next year, insists he does not even listen to the speculation.
"I don't take a lot of notice. I just get on with it. It's speculation," he told the Daily Mirror.
"I've never spoken to anyone from Chelsea. No-one's come to me and said that Chelsea are interested in me or anything else.
"I've got a job to do here. I love it here. I'm happy here."
Redknapp insists that he can still turn Spurs into title contenders with a little more work on his squad.
"I keep saying, this club isn't that far away - if they want to push on - from winning the championship," he said.
"You can't stand still. It means improving. Better players make you a better team. With one or two additions, I think we can go on and push for the title.
"Everyone will go at it in the summer. Arsenal will. Liverpool will - Liverpool are going to be a team to be reckoned with next year.
"They've been out of the Champions League, but I don't see that happening again after next season. With Kenny Dalglish there, I think they'll have a real go for it.
"If you want to be a top club, you need top players. There's no other way of doing it. There's no magic formula."

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Young - future on hold.
ASHLEY YOUNG IGNORING CONTRACT ISSUE

Aston Villa winger Ashley Young has re-iterated any talks over his future will not take place until the summer.
Young will have only 12 months left of his contract this summer and is being strongly linked with a move to Manchester United.
Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City are also believed to be interested in the 25-year-old.
But Young has been at pains to insist he will make no decision until the end of the campaign and he has maintained his impressive form despite the speculation.
Young said: "I've always said that I'm going to speak to the manager (Gerard Houllier) and the chairman (Randy Lerner) in the summer.
"I'm fully committed to the club and you can see that by the performance I put in against West Ham on Saturday.
"I'm just concentrating 100% on my football and we will speak at the end of the season."
Villa have moved into the top half of the Barclays Premier League after seven points from the last three games have lifted them away from the relegation zone.
But Young said: "I think it's more people outside the club who have been concentrating on what's happening at the bottom half of the table than us.
"We decided after the disappointing home result against Wolves a few weeks back to start looking up.
"We had a good point at Everton and now have had back to back wins against Newcastle and West Ham."

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Larsson - out of contract in June.
RIDGEWELL WANTS LARSSON TO STAY

Defender Liam Ridgewell has warned Birmingham it could cost them up to £15million to replace winger Sebastian Larsson if he quits the club in the summer.
The 25-year-old Sweden international, who is out of contract in June and could leave on a Bosman transfer after five years at St Andrew's, has told Blues manager Alex McLeish he has not made his mind up regarding the future.
Ridgewell is in no doubt that Larsson, who scored the opening goal in Saturday's 2-0 Premier League win over Sunderland, would be difficult to replace.
He said: "I hope he stays, of course. He is a great player.
"Hopefully we can keep hold of these great players if we want to try to build on this team and this great club.
"We've won the Carling Cup and hopefully we'll stay in the league. If we want to build on this club, we've got to keep good players like that.
"Hopefully they can sort out with Seb to keep him here.
"His delivery from dead balls is deadly. You are going to have pay £10-15million for a player like that so hopefully we can keep him."
Ridgewell has been full of praise for the way Larsson has continued to perform at his best amid the uncertainty over his future.
He received a standing ovation from Blues fans when substituted late on against the Black Cats.
Ridgewell said: "The fans have always been behind him. It's just a sticky situation with Seb at the minute.
"Everyone is glad to see it doesn't affect him.
"Everyone knows there are things off the field that can't be helped but he has been fantastic."

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Eremenko - has impressed at Kilmarnock.
SHIELS BACKS EREMENKO FOR BIG MOVE

Kilmarnock caretaker boss Kenny Shiels insists Alexei Eremenko is good enough to play for Celtic and believes a move to Parkhead would be ideal for him.
The Finnish playmaker has impressed while on loan at Rugby Park from Metalist Kharkiv this season but has no plans to extend his stay at the Ayrshire club.
Eremenko, short-listed for the PFA Scotland player of the year award, has already expressed an interest in joining one of the Old Firm and Celtic boss Neil Lennon spoke of his admiration for the player at the weekend.
Shiels said: "He is up there with the Celtic players. They have got quality there and he certainly fits into that.
"It would be an ideal club for him, as would Rangers and a few clubs in the English Premier League that he would certainly do well for.
"We are resigned to losing him and it will be a big loss but what can we do?
"It's good because Kilmarnock has been a good stepping stone for him and has helped his career and we have benefited from him being here."
Shiels stepped into the helm when Mixu Paatelainen quit to take over the Finland hotseat and he already has plans for next season, as he waits to learn whether his role will become permanent.
He added: "I'm working in anticipation of getting the job, therefore, if I do get the job, the short-term plan is in place.
"If I don't get the job, then there is something in place for whoever gets the appointment.
"We will lose players. There are five or six players whose contracts are expiring at the end of the season.
"Because we have done so well this season, they are more marketable, their value has gone up in terms of potential suitors.
"People have formed different opinions of the same players who were there before and these guys are having good offers. It's going to be difficult to hold onto them.
"We look at our budget and, if it's manageable to keep them, we keep them.
"If not, we look to recruiting new players and I have contingency plans. I've got people who could possibly come in and serve the club well. Certainly, I'm planning for next season."

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Arturo Vidal - wants to join Bayern.
VIDAL EXCITED BY BAYERN IDEA

Bayer Leverkusen defender Arturo Vidal has revealed he would like to follow coach Jupp Heynckes to Bayern Munich next season.
Chile international Vidal is the one player Heynckes would like to take with him when he moves south in the summer and the 23-year-old has now commented on the speculation by revealing his preference.
"It would be spectacular to play in Munich under Jupp Heynckes," he told the Bild newspaper.
"I really want to play for Bayern."
However, Leverkusen are not keen on selling him and have this week offered him a new contract.
His current deal expires in 2012, but the club do not want to risk losing him on a free transfer in 12 months and have therefore made him an offer they believe he cannot refuse.
"We have gone through our pain barrier for him," said Leverkusen's general manager Wolfgang Holzhauser.
"It is really starting to hurt us, but at the end of the day, we want to keep the player."
Leverkusen's director of sport Rudi Voller, who has constantly ruled out any player following Heynckes to Bavaria, is not worried either way.
"The situation is quite simple - he has a contract until 2012 and the club decides."

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Walter Smith - open to offers.
WALTER SMITH OPEN TO OFFERS

Walter Smith has revealed he turned down the chance to return to the English top flight over the past 12 months as he declared himself open to offers when he leaves Rangers next month.
Smith will make way for assistant Ally McCoist at the end of the season after going back on his initial decision to leave his position as Rangers manager for a second time last summer.
But the former Everton boss has reiterated that he could continue working in football.
In an interview in the League Managers Association's The Manager magazine, Smith said: "When you leave a job at 63 everyone assumes that it's because of your age. It doesn't necessarily mean that I am going to retire.
"If the right opportunity arose elsewhere, then of course I would consider it.
"I've had opportunities to go back to England on a couple of occasions, the most recent being at the start of the season.
"It was a good Barclays Premier League club, but I didn't think that it was right to leave Rangers when I had just agreed to stay for one more season."

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Fabregas - would not play for Manchester United.
ONLY ARSENAL IN ENGLAND FOR FABREGAS

Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas says he will never play for any other English side.
The Gunners skipper has repeatedly been linked with a move to Barcelona and after what is set to be another season without silverware, Arsenal will be bracing themselves for more speculation about the midfielder's future this summer.
In an interview with Spanish magazine Don Balon, Fabregas stressed he would not leave to join one of the club's domestic rivals.
"If some day I leave Arsenal it will never be to sign for another English team," he said, while taking about his future.
Fabregas, who joined Arsenal from Barcelona in 2003, has previously admitted his ambition to one day return to the Nou Camp and last summer the Catalan giants had a £35million offer turned down for the playmaker.
The 23-year-old added: "You have to have patience with things and wait for the right moment.
"The day that I leave Arsenal I will do it with my head, not just because.
"As well as that, who can be sure that you are going to play in a new team? Here I have the great fortune that at a personal level, despite not having won much, I'm doing very well.
"I spoke with (Barcelona captain Carles) Puyol and he told me that at 26 he hadn't won anything. Puyol, who has won everything in the football world! Patience and hard work are the most important things in life."

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Mark Gonzalez - linked with Manchester United.
GONZALEZ WELCOMES MAN UTD LINK

Former Liverpool winger Mark Gonzalez has admitted he would love the chance to play in the Premier League again after being linked with Manchester United.
The Chilean was signed by Rafa Benitez in 2005, but he had to wait over 12 months before he could get a work permit.
However, his time with Liverpool lasted just one season before he was sold on with Real Betis snapping him up.
After doing well in Spain he joined Russian giants CSKA Moscow, where he has continued to impress.
Now his form is reportedly attracting interest and a number of clubs from throughout Europe are said to be casting their eyes over the 26-year-old left winger.
One of those clubs is reported to be United - and Gonzalez has admitted he would love the chance to ply his trade at Old Trafford.
"It would be a dream to have the chance to join Manchester United," Gonzalez told ADN Radio.
"We all know the quality that the team has and of course I would like to play in England again, even more at a team like Manchester United.

"But while I am at CSKA I will only have my mind focused on my current team, trying to play and showing what I am doing."

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Lippi - reported Premier League interest.
LIPPI AGENT CLAIMS PREM INTEREST

Marcello Lippi has offers to coach in the Barclays Premier League, according to his agent.
The former Italy boss, who steered the Azzurri to World Cup glory in 2006, is currently out of work.
The 63-year-old has been linked with several clubs in recent months.
Davide Lippi, his son and agent, told calciomercato.it: "The will to return to coach is there.
"But it needs to be an important project, a serious club.
"There are many proposals coming from the Premier League and from La Liga (Spain)."
As a club coach Lippi has won five Serie A titles, four Italian Super Cups, one Champions League title, one European Super Cup and one world club title.

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Moyes - 'we need new money'.
DAVID MOYES: EVERTON ARE CLOSE

Everton manager David Moyes insists it would not take a great deal of money to turn the club into genuine contenders.
While rivals have spent fortunes in the quest for silverware, the Scottish tactician think the Toffees would only require a small influx to challenge.
Everton are one of the Premier League's founder members since its inception in 1992, although they only have the 1995 FA Cup success to show for nearly two decades of top-flight football.
The club have survived a couple of relegation scares, but in the main the Goodison Park outfit have been challenging for European places without threatening for top spot.
Moyes knows the club need new funds to keep growing and progressing, although he does not believe it requires the level of investment seen elsewhere around the league.
"New ownership isn't always the solution," explained Moyes. "We don't need new owners, we need new money.
"Everton could be very close to being very good for not an awful lot of outlay.
"It might not be one of those clubs that needs £300-£400million to turn it around.
"Maybe the team doesn't need £100m. Maybe the team needs an amount that would give it a chance to breathe again and give a little more.
"That's maybe why we don't need a zillionaire."