Latest Transfer Update at 12-01-2012

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Latest Transfer Update at 12-01-2012

Maxwell: In Paris PSG CLOSE IN ON MAXWELL Brazilian left-back Maxwell is looking to wrap up a move to Paris St-Germain from Barcelona after travelling to the French capital on Tuesday night. Spanish champions Barcelona confirmed in a statement they have reached a preliminary agreement with big-spending PSG to sell the 30-year-old, who must now agree a contract and pass a medical before completing the transfer. No fee has been disclosed. Maxwell joined Barca in 2009 from Inter Milan, and won 10 competitions in all during his time with the club, collecting medals from two league titles, one Champions League crown, two Club World Cups, two European Super Cups and three Spanish Super Cups. He made 89 appearances for Barca, scoring two goals.

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Andy Carroll: Going nowhere

DALGLISH DISMISSES CARROLL EXIT TALK

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has dismissed rumours of Andy Carroll's potential exit as having "absolutely no foundation whatsoever".
Reports suggested the £35million club record signing's former club Newcastle were preparing a cheeky cut-price bid to take the England international back to his native north east.
The Magpies have played down the speculation and it's believed there has been no contact between the two clubs.
Caroll's representatives have also insisted they have neither been told to look for, nor are seeking, a move for their player.
Dalglish was dismissive when asked about whether the rumours could unsettle the striker, who has scored four goals this season but has yet to find his best form since his transfer to Merseyside almost 12 months ago.
"I am worried about the people that invent them," he said.
"You have absolutely no foundation whatsoever (for the stories).
"I don't need to justify what is in the paper. I have stood up - and always will stand up - for the players."
Turning the argument around on journalists at his post-match press conference after the 1-0 Carling Cup semi-final first leg win over Manchester City Dalglish added: "You justify your profession and you justify the story."

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Ally McCoist: Eyeing Javi Guerra

GUERRA FLATTERED BY RANGERS LINK

Real Valladolid striker Javi Guerra has welcomed talk of a move to Rangers.
Gers boss Ally McCoist has confirmed the 29-year-old is one of his prime January targets.
And Guerra, who has bagged eight goals so far this season, has returned the compliment.
"I am flattered by Rangers' interest because they are one of the big European clubs," Guerra was quoted as saying in the Daily Record.
"My agent has told me I am one of their options - but not the only one. I know I'm on the list but Valladolid haven't received an offer.
"Scotland and British football in general is wonderful for players. It is very seductive for me as a striker - especially while I'm still playing on Spain's second division.

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Tadanari Lee: Set to complete Southampton move

SOUTHAMPTON CLOSE ON LEE DEAL

Tadanari Lee is set to complete his switch to Southampton after being granted a work permit to play in England.
The Japan international had failed to meet the initial criteria set by the British Embassy, but the Saints have confirmed they have successfully appealed the decision and the 26 year-old is now cleared to join the Championship side.
According to the club's official website, the football authorities agreed that the striker should be classed an exceptional talent and that his arrival will benefit the game in England.
Lee, who scored 15 goals in 32 league games for J-League's Sanfrecce Hiroshima last season, will fly out of Japan once he obtains his entry clearance papers to officially sign a contract with Southampton.
The highly-rated forward is expected to sign a two-and-a-half-year contract at St Mary's.

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Hughes: New QPR boss

HUGHES SEEKS 'LEGACY' AT QPR

Mark Hughes revealed the chance to forever stamp his identity on a club in a similar manner to Sir Alex Ferguson convinced him to take charge of QPR.
Hughes claimed he had finally found a job in which he could make changes from top to bottom like Ferguson was allowed to when he first arrived at Manchester United.
Insisting he had no intention of using Rangers as a stepping stone, Hughes pledged his long-term future to his new employers, declaring he was looking for "longevity" after his controversial decision to quit Fulham last summer.
And while it would be unrealistic to expect Hughes to stick around for the 25 years Ferguson has been in place at Old Trafford, it was the chance to create a similar legacy of his own that lured him to Loftus Road.
"That's the attraction for me," said Hughes, who is expected to have an input into the club's proposed new training ground and stadium.
"When I talk about their ambition, I am talking about their plans for the future, their plans for a training ground and a new stadium and all those things.
"To be at the beginning of that you can have a real influence on that and how they are shaped and that's some kind of legacy.
"As a player, as a manager, you want to make a mark on the game, and in my view this is a fantastic opportunity to be able to do that.
"Other situations and other opportunities I have had in the past prior to this role haven't matched that.
"That is the frustration for me. I have put things in place that I don't get the benefit of, so I would love to have a period of time at a club that wants to do great things, and I would like to drive that."
Hughes arguably had that at Manchester City, whose owners proved even more ambitious than he did and certainly wealthier than QPR supremo Tony Fernandes.
Hughes admitted he "made mistakes" in dealing with City's mega-rich benefactors.
"I can learn from that and I am a better manager now than when I first went through that," he said.
"The lines of communication and the different ways of management, that was a little bit difficult to navigate, but I'm happy with the structure here and I think that it will be more beneficial to me."
It was not lost on Hughes that he is QPR's 13th different manager of the last six years.
"I've noticed," he said. "Perhaps there's a will just to calm things down and back somebody and give someone a chance to actually show what they can do."
Hughes' first priority is to lift Rangers away from the relegation zone, with only a point separating them from the bottom three, and he insisted he would not walk away even if they were relegated.
He was also delighted to be back in the game after seven months away, the same length of time he spent out after leaving City two years ago.
"People talk about a seven-year itch, in football it is seven months," he said.
"First couple of months you can go on your holidays and enjoy it, but very, very quickly you want to get back in and that has certainly been the case with me."
He added of his sabbatical: "I went on a Spanish course. Eight hours a day in a room for five days is agony, but you have to do that kind of thing.
"That will help in talking to players, it is multinational now the Premier League in terms of players. Another string to the bow."
Hughes was linked with plenty of jobs before ending up at QPR, including the vacancies at Aston Villa and Sunderland.
"I don't think the Aston Villa job was ever there anyway," he said. "There were tentative enquiries about a number of positions. But this was the one."
Hughes will not be short of funds to overhaul his squad, but played down talk of £30million to spend in January.
He all but confirmed his interest in Chelsea defender Alex, who Rangers have reportedly made a bid for, but would not be drawn on links with Blackburn's Christopher Samba or Manchester City's Nedum Onuoha.

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Jamie Vardy: Fleetwood striker was watched by Rangers

MELLON: NO RANGERS BID FOR VARDY

Fleetwood Town manager Micky Mellon says there has been no contact from Rangers regarding Jamie Vardy after rejecting Blackpool's offer for the striker.
In-form Vardy is attracting interest from a host of clubs and was the subject of a £750,000 offer from Blackpool after scoring against the Seasiders in the FA Cup last weekend.
Sky Sports News sources understand Fulham and West Ham United are also keen on the forward, while Rangers scout John Brown watched Vardy score twice in Fleetwood's Blue Square Premier win over Barrow on Tuesday night.
However, Mellon has not fielded an approach from the SPL champions and insists Fleetwood are under no pressure to sell as the club target promotion to the Football League.
"I've heard John Brown was watching our game on Tuesday but there's been no contact," Mellon told the Scottish Sun. "Blackpool put a bid in which we turned down because it wasn't enough.
"Of course everyone has got their price but it would have to be something that was barnstorming for my chairman to accept it.
"We're trying to get promotion and we don't want to start bringing guys in then they see us selling our players off. We don't need to sell, we're a progressive club with a fantastic chairman so it would have to be something outrageous for us to listen.
"Without a shadow of a doubt he can play at a higher level because he's got everything you need to do that. But I hope it's with us.
"People ask if he can handle all the speculation. Well you only have to look at Tuesday night when every man and his dog was at the game to watch him and he scored twice.
"That doesn't seem like someone who's going to be affected by it all. He has the right temperament and just gets on with his football."

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Keane: Expected to join on Thursday

VILLA SET TO COMPLETE KEANE MOVE

Robbie Keane's loan move to Aston Villa looks set to be completed on Thursday.
The Republic of Ireland international is expected to join the Barclays Premier League side on a two-month loan deal from Los Angeles Galaxy.
The 31-year-old was on the verge of joining Villa from Wolves in 1999, only for a late hitch over the transfer to result in a move to Coventry instead.
Keane could face an instant reunion with Galaxy team-mate Landon Donovan in Saturday's home game with Everton.
Donovan has linked up with the Toffees for a second loan period and Keane's capture would also be a case of second time lucky for Villa boss Alex McLeish.
McLeish was confident of signing Keane 12 months ago when in charge of Birmingham, who agreed a £6million fee with Tottenham, but Keane went on loan to West Ham instead.

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Alex: Subject of bid

CHELSEA RECEIVE ALEX OFFER

Andre Villas-Boas has confirmed Chelsea have received an offer from a rival Barclays Premier League club for defender Alex.
Reports have claimed the bidders are west London rivals QPR, whose new manager Mark Hughes has indicated his interest in the Brazilian.
Villas-Boas said: "From what I know from my chief executive, there has been an approach from a Premier League club.
"It is a player who we have accepted a transfer request for, so we have to listen to offers."
Chelsea are planning to replace Alex with Bolton's Gary Cahill, who they have struggled to agree personal terms with.
Villas-Boas insisted he had set no deadline for a deal to be concluded and but was hopeful that would happen before the end of the week.
"Still an ongoing negotiation, not that we don't want it resolved as soon as possible," said Villas-Boas, who refused to criticise Cahill or his representatives over the player's wage demands.
"I'm sure that all of the parties are protecting their interests."
Villas-Boas denied that Chelsea had made a reported £25million bid for Lille star Eden Hazard but admitted he was a fan of the player.
The Blues boss confirmed Josh McEachran would go out on loan for the rest of the season - ostensibly to Swansea - after Saturday's game with Sunderland.
He also said Gael Kakuta's loan move to Dijon had not been concluded yet but expected it to happen "soon".
The French club have announced the move on their website, but it is not yet finalised.
Meanwhile, Florent Malouda is a doubt for the Sunderland game after failing to train for the last two days.

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Christopher Samba: Heavily linked with a move

SAMBA 'RESIGNED' TO A CHANGE

Christopher Samba has admitted he wants to quit Blackburn, saying: "It's time for a change."
Rovers skipper Samba has been heavily linked with moves to Tottenham and QPR, who have both reportedly lodged bids in the region of £7million for the 27-year-old, while interest from nouveau riche Paris St Germain has also been mooted.
French-born Congo defender Samba has been at Ewood Park for almost five years and insisted he had always put the club's interests before his own in that time.
But he suggested the Venky's regime had failed to take them forward, with Blackburn mired at the foot of the Barclays Premier League.
"Lately, mentally, it has been difficult," Samba told L'Equipe.
"I tried to maintain my level of performance but I sense that it is time for a change. The club doesn't evolve at all. I'm resigned.
"I've always put the interests of the club before my own.
"I've invested a lot, always tried to lead by example, but things have not gone as I was told. I hope people will understand me."
PSG have already poached coach Paul Clement from Blackburn to become Carlo Ancelotti's assistant and are now being linked with Samba.
Insisting he was unaware of any offer from the capital club, Samba added: "In any case, it's flattering. The club has reached another level - it's not the PSG of a few years ago.
"There is Leonardo, Ancelotti... I'm sure they will bring in great players.
"We shall see if the interest is confirmed or not, but it would be good for me to return home.
"The most important thing is to find an ambitious club. I would love to experience something different."

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Andrew Johnson: Blackburn target

BLACKBURN JOHNSON OFFER TOO LOW


Blackburn have made a bid for Fulham striker Andrew Johnson, but the Cottagers consider the offer is too low for the former England player, Press Association Sport understands.
The 30-year-old's contract expires at the end of the season and he has been linked with a move away from Craven Cottage during the January transfer window.
Fulham rejected an offer from QPR for Johnson last week but Rovers are now apparently looking to add Johnson to their forward line as they bid to move off the bottom of the Barclays Premier League.
Fulham manager Martin Jol reiterated his desire to keep the striker.
"There is always speculation in the paper and that will come back every day or every week," he said. "That is not my problem.
"I feel if people want to speculate about that maybe there is not a lot to write about. But there is not a lot of movement, I will tell you that. There is nothing going on at the moment."
Asked whether he wants Johnson or fellow striker Bobby Zamora to move on during the January transfer window, he added: "No, otherwise I will have to play up front. I need my strikers.
"I would love them both to stay here and of course if you could get Pele in his heyday or his young brother it would probably be different.
"I am happy with them and they work hard. Andrew Johnson is back from injury so it is only speculation.
"Of course there has been contact from other clubs about one or two of my players, but I don't even want to talk about that.
"We will make approaches and other clubs will too, but there is not a lot of movement at the moment."