Latest Transfer Update at 05-05-11

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Latest Transfer Update at 05-05-11


Lippi - claims offers from numerous clubs.
LIPPI OPEN TO OVERSEAS MISSION

Former World Cup-winning Italy boss Marcello Lippi is eager to coach a foreign national team.
The 63-year-old, who lifted the trophy in 2006 but oversaw abject failure in South Africa last summer, claims he has received numerous proposals but no firm offers.
"I hope work abroad," he reportedly told Radio Toscana.
"Up until now I have received many offers, but nothing concrete has evolved. I'd like to take charge of a national side rather than a club, but we will just have to wait and see what happens."

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Taarabt - could leave if Warnock is sacked.
ADEL: STICK WITH WARNOCK

Adel Taarabt has hailed the influence of boss Neil Warnock and hinted he may seek a move away from Loftus Road should QPR part company with the Yorkshireman.
Recent reports have suggested Rangers' board is considering replacing the former Crystal Palace manager with a high-profile foreign coach following their promotion to the Premier League.
But Taarabt, who was signed by Warnock from Tottenham last summer and became talismanic under his nurturing influence, has spoken out in support of a man who claimed his seventh promotion last week.
"I don't know yet [about next season], but I am very happy at QPR," Taarabt told the Kilburn Times. "I will see with the manager what they want to do, and afterwards we will make a decision.
"He [Warnock] has been great. My season is a lot to do with him because he has given me 100 per cent belief and trust. Even if I don't play well for one or two games, he still plays me.
"He has done a lot for me. In football you have to meet somebody who gives you a chance, for me that person is Neil - nobody else. I know that with this manager we can achieve something."

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Norwich celebrate promotion to the Premier League.
CANARIES WON'T 'GAMBLE' FUTURE

Norwich chief executive David McNally insists the club won't start living beyond their means after promotion to the Premier League.
The Canaries are still coming to terms with the fact that they will be a top-flight outfit again, with Paul Lambert having worked the oracle at Carrow Road.
A year after clambering out of League One, Norwich wrapped up back-to-back promotions with a 1-0 victory over Portsmouth on Monday.
Plans are already being put in place for next season, but McNally has warned that there will be no summer transfer splurge, with the club unable to compete on the same financial footing as some of their more illustrious rivals.
"We don't have a wealthy, a seriously wealthy, benefactor and I say that with the greatest respect to Delia [Smith] who has put £12million of her own money into the football club," he told Sky Sports News.
"If it's not there we won't spend it. We have a duty to the supporters of this club to ensure that there is a club here for the next one, five, ten, one hundred years, so we won't gamble with the club's future."
Lambert admits he hopes to bring in one or two fresh faces over the summer, but has made it clear that he will not be spending for the sake of it.
He said: "We need a few, don't get me wrong. If we get the right ones in and they bond together and gel together, we'll see what happens."
The Scot, who arrived at Carrow Road in August 2009, admits even he has been surprised by the club's success during his reign, with the magnitude of what he has achieved yet to sink in.
"I'm pretty sure that if you went around every Norwich fan they wouldn't have wanted me, because I wasn't a name and I probably wasn't big enough in their eyes," he said.
"But when you win something it's a major thing and it doesn't sink in until a few days. It was the same with the Champions League during my playing days [at Borussia Dortmund], it's probably a week or so down the line before it sinks in."

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Jones - ignoring speculation.
JONES FOCUSED ON ROVERS

Rising star Phil Jones insists it is easy to ignore the speculation concerning his future as he focuses on keeping Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League.
Jones has established himself as one of the brightest prospects in the top flight over the past 12 months and is reportedly wanted by Arsenal and Liverpool in the summer.
He signed a contract extension until 2016 with Rovers in February and manager Steve Kean subsequently revealed there had been enquiries for the 19-year-old.
However, with Rovers battling to stay up, the versatile England Under 21 international is not listening to the gossip about his future at Ewood Park.
"I can't afford to think about any of that, I just need to be concentrating on keeping Blackburn up," said Jones in The Independent.
"I tend not to read the papers or listen to what the pundits say about me.
"My mates will tell me they saw me in the newspaper linked to this club and that club, but to be honest it goes in one ear and out the other."
Jones acknowledged he is an admirer of Arsenal's brand of football amid the growing rumours Arsene Wenger is preparing a bid.
He added: "I think Arsenal play the prettiest football in the Premier League.
"Obviously money helps. Having more money allows you to play in a certain way, but that's the beauty of the Premier League - there are so many different styles.
"You know it's not easy for Arsenal to go to Stoke and win a game there anymore.
"It's not knocking anyone's style, it's just the nature of the Premier League and that's why everyone loves it."

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Craig Whyte - looks to be closing in.
WHYTE CLOSE TO RANGERS TAKEOVER

Craig Whyte expects to be confirmed as the new owner of Rangers on Friday, Press Association Sport understands.
The Scottish businessman's takeover bid, reportedly worth around £52.5million, is in its final stages after a positive day of talks in Edinburgh between Whyte's camp, current owner Sir David Murray and members of the Ibrox board.
A spokesman close to the deal told Press Association Sport: "Whyte's full team will be working late in to the night to get the final piece of the jigsaw with the hope that the deal will be concluded on Friday."
Whyte's takeover bid turned in to a protracted saga after he first revealed his plans to the stock exchange in November.
The Motherwell-born tycoon was believed to be on the verge of completing his buy-out last month after agreeing a deal with majority shareholder Murray and main creditor Lloyds Banking Group which would clear the club's debts of around £22million.
However, the bid appeared to hit a stumbling block when Rangers chairman Alastair Johnston, part of an independent committee of Ibrox board members, cast doubts over the offer and revealed plans to explore an alternative deal.
Rangers non-executive director Paul Murray - who proposed the £25million rival plan - this week claimed Whyte's imminent takeover was not the right move for the club.
However, earlier today, Johnston appeared to accept the deal was on the way to completion when he confirmed he will stand down from his post later this month, albeit while revealing he still has some misgivings about Whyte's bid.
He told BBC Scotland: "A great deal of work has been done by the board and I'm very proud of that.
"I'm confident that the efforts of the board have improved the deal significantly for the benefit of the club.
"Our views will come out in the future and I'm comfortable with that, but I don't want to stand in the way of progress.
"I will resign as intended on May 16 but will be working hard until then to make sure Rangers secure the SPL title.
"After that I will go back to being the club's number one fan."
Whyte's bid would see him take over 75% of Murray's shareholding, with London-based property developer Andrew Ellis becoming a 25% partner.
Whyte, also based in London, originally promised to provide £25million over five seasons towards strengthening the Govan club's playing squad.
However, a source last month claimed that Whyte would make available "significantly more" than the average sum of £5million per season to manager-in-waiting Ally McCoist when he succeeds Walter Smith at the end of the season.
Most Rangers fans, though, will simply be glad that the long, drawn-out takeover saga seems to be coming to an end.

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Ian Holloway - won't walk out on his contract.
HOLLOWAY WON'T QUIT BLACKPOOL

Ian Holloway insists he has no intention of walking out on Blackpool to manage another club.
The Seasiders have been on a remarkable journey under Holloway, winning promotion to the Barclays Premier League for the first time via the Championship play-offs last May and then doing enough this season to be above the relegation zone with three games left to play, albeit on goal difference alone.
It has earned the 48-year-old many admirers and reports have suggested he could be a potential summer target for West Ham.
Holloway has vowed never to repeat the mistake he made by leaving Plymouth in 2007 for an ill-fated spell at Leicester, though, and today declared his commitment to Blackpool.
"I had a contract at Plymouth, I walked out on it and I will never do that again," Holloway said.
"I've got a contract here for this year and next year and I'm delighted and very proud to be a very small part of a magnificent football club.
"I saw it again the other evening, the statue we have outside now of Jimmy Armfield - this is an amazing club with an amazing history, and I like to feel that I have added to that."
Holloway insists his future at Bloomfield Road will be determined by Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston.
"I've got a great relationship with my chairman, who will choose when I'm not here anymore," Holloway said.
"I wouldn't have signed my contract for the length that I did if I wasn't totally intent on seeing it through."
Asked what would happen if he were to be headhunted by another club, Holloway said: "It would be nothing to do with me - my chairman would have to say 'these people want you, I don't want you anymore and you can go.'
"If he doesn't want me to go then I would be happy to sit with him and discuss the length of a contract.
"Football isn't how it used to be, but this football club is and that is what I love about it.
"Every day I've been at this football club I've tried to treasure it and polish the badge, and I haven't finished polishing yet.
"I was polishing Plymouth and I decided to leave that. I never explained why and I hate to say it, but I was wrong.
"I'm sorry for that and I'm sorry to Leicester for letting them down.
"I'm certainly never, ever going to bite the hand that feeds me.
"I make mistakes once and learn from them, and that is what I have done."
Oyston has already made it clear he wants to keep Holloway on as manager whether Blackpool stay up or not, and he feels that should the club fail to beat the drop, they will be in a good position to push for promotion again.
"I think we've got a really good, positive manager, who has an eye for talent and can get the best out of people," Oyston told the Blackpool Gazette.
"If the worst happens - which hopefully it won't - I think we'll have as good a chance of coming back up as anyone if we all keep together."

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Gudjohnsen - permanent Fulham deal close.
GUDJOHNSEN SET FOR FULHAM STAY

Fulham boss Mark Hughes has revealed he is close to sealing a permanent deal for loan star Eidur Gudjohnsen.
Gudjohnsen joined Fulham from Stoke in January on loan until the end of the season and he has impressed in recent weeks for the Cottagers.
The former Chelsea and Barcelona forward is available on a free transfer in the summer and Hughes is hopeful of agreeing a deal to keep him.
"We're trying to make that happen," admitted Hughes.
"I've been really pleased with what Eidur's brought to us and I know that he's enjoying his time here.
"Eidur would like to stay, I'm sure, and we would reciprocate that as well.
"We're hopeful it'll get done quite soon."

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Kevin Keegan - former England boss.
KK: ENGLAND JOB MADE FOR FOREIGNER

Former England manager Kevin Keegan believes the job is currently more suited to a foreign manager and that he regrets taking the job on a full-time basis back in 1999.
The two-time European Footballer of the Year insisted he was handicapped by the lack of English players in the Premier League when he held the position from February 1999 to October 2000 - and that the problem remains today.
"It saddens me to say it but it's a much better job for a foreigner at the moment," he told BBC Radio Manchester.
"I was England manager and was sat with Aime Jacquet (France manager at the time) watching an Arsenal match.
"He had 13 players playing and six on the bench, I had one player. But there was not an English player playing abroad and the odds were stacked against the England manager then and still are to a degree."
Keegan, who also had managerial spells at Newcastle, Fulham and Man City, admitted he did not enjoy his time as England boss and regretted leaving his post at Fulham to take the job in the first place.
He continued: "I didn't enjoy it. The fans were horrendous when I was walking off after the Germany game - fair enough. I was disappointed and thought 'they got me the job, it's time to go'."
"I suppose if I had my time again I would refuse it and stay at Fulham because I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, and secondly I would have taken it on my own terms," he added.
Since his acrimonious departure there have been three full-time England managers and in Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello two have been foreign.
However Keegan does not envy them - although he did not completely rule out a return to club management in the future.
The 61-year-old added: "They are not your players, they are loaned from the club. You just wheel them out for a game for England.
"You never say never (about returning to management). You never know do you?"

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Pablo Daniel Osvaldo - linked with Fulham.
HUGHES CONFIRMS ESPANYOL TRIP

Fulham boss Mark Hughes confirmed he had been on a scouting mission to watch Espanyol this week after being strongly linked with a move for striker Pablo Daniel Osvaldo.
Hughes jetted out to Barcelona to take in Espanyol's Primera Division win over Athletic Bilbao, in which the highly-rated Osvaldo scored.
Hughes was reportedly joined at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat by Manchester United's chief European scout - Sir Alex Ferguson's brother Martin - Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp and Everton's David Moyes.
Osvaldo, 25, has also been valued by some at £12million, making Fulham very much underdogs for his signature should a bidding war ensue.
"We're looking at what's available," said Hughes.
"We're looking at a view to next year and if we can add quality to the quality we already have then we'll try to do that.
"But it is price-sensitive, I would suggest, and sometimes you can want to bring a good player in but financially you haven't got the means to do that.
"So we're just making sure that we're out there and we understand what's in the market place."
Hughes has also been linked with the more affordable Young Boys forward Henri Bienvenu Ntsama and Swansea star Scott Sinclair as he looks to bolster his attack this summer.
The loss of Bobby Zamora to a broken leg in September hit the club hard and the Fulham boss appears eager to avoid a repeat next season.
He announced another injury blow on Thursday, revealing winger Damien Duff had finally been forced to concede defeat in his bid to overcome a long-standing Achilles problem.
"Damien Duff has had an operation on his Achilles," Hughes said.
"The view is that he'll be probably a six-week recovery and then he'll be fit and well for next season."
That would rule Duff out of the Republic of Ireland's Carling Nations Cup fixtures against Northern Ireland and Scotland later this month, and the June European Championship qualifier against Macedonia.
The 33-year-old had been named yesterday in Giovanni Trapattoni's provisional 33-man squad.
Hughes added: "We've been managing it through the season in fairness and Damien's been doing really well with it.
"But it just got to the point where one course of treatment was compromising another course of treatment that we had to do to allow the injury to settle down in between games.
"In the end, we made a decision that the best route was to get it sorted now.
"He actually had the operation done by the guy that did Bobby Zamora's last year, so we have every confidence that it's pretty straightforward and he'll be back in the timeframe."
Hughes reported better news regarding top scorer - and Fulham's new record Premier League scorer - Clint Dempsey, who missed Saturday's 3-0 win at Sunderland.
"Clint's trained after the weekend," said the Cottagers boss, whose side host Liverpool on Monday night.
"He was a bit stiff in his hamstrings on the Friday prior to the Sunderland game, so there was no point in risking him.
"I took the view to leave him behind and he's benefited from that and he should be okay.
"He's trained today and he'll train right up to the game so he should be an option for us."
Brede Hangeland will also be available again after missing last weekend's game through illness, but Zoltan Gera and Rafik Halliche remain sidelined.
Hughes also revealed he was "very close" to wrapping up a permanent deal for Eidur Gudjohnsen, who joined Fulham on loan from Stoke in January and whose promotion to the starting line-up has yielded seven points from the last three games.
The 32-year-old former Chelsea and Barcelona striker would be available on a free transfer as his Potters contract expires this summer.
Hughes added: "We're trying to make that happen.
"I've been really pleased with what Eidur's brought to us and I know that he's enjoying his time here.
"Eidur would like to stay, I'm sure, and we would reciprocate that as well.
"We're hopeful it'll get done quite soon."

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Michael Essien - linked with AC Milan switch.
ESSIEN AGENT - NO AC MILAN MOVE

Midfielder Michael Essien has no intention of joining AC Milan and is committed to Chelsea, according to his agent.
The Ghana international, who arrived at Stamford Bridge from Lyon in 2005, has recently been linked with a summer move to the Serie A giants.
But his representative Fabien Piveteau has shrugged off such reports, insisting 28-year-old Essien wants to ply his trade in West London for at least another three years.
"Nothing is true," Piveteau told tuttomercatoweb.
"I have not had any contact either with AC Milan or any other clubs, because everyone knows that Chelsea is happy with the player and Michael is happy at Chelsea.
"He is well in London and intends to stay there for the next three years."
Essien has been a key performer for the Blues this season after seeing last year's campaign disrupted by injury.
The midfielder penned a two-year extension on his existing deal last summer to keep him at Stamford Bridge until 2015.