Latest Transfer Update at 25-01-2012

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Latest Transfer Update at 25-01-2012

Eastlands: New home for Nir Biton?

MAN CITY BID FOR ISRAELI ACE BITON

Israeli club MS Ashdod have confirmed that Manchester City have lodged a bid for their midfield starlet Nir Biton.
Biton has spent the last week at City's Carrington training HQ and is understood to have made a positive impression.
Now Ashdod have confirmed that City have made a bid to take him initially on-loan with a view to a permanent deal in the summer.
Club owner Jacky Ben Zaken told the Jewish Chronicle: "They want to take him on loan immediately and want an option to buy him in the future."
20-year-old Biton is highly-rated in his homeland and is already a full Israel international with two caps to his name.

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Henrique: Talks ongoing with QPR


Sao Paulo insist that their striker Henrique could still sign for Queens Park Rangers and deny he has been refused a work-permit.
Reports earlier this week claimed that Rangers' bid for the highly-rated 20-year-old had fallen through after he was unable to win a work-permit to play in England.
However, the Brazilian club now claim that the issue was over the deal being a loan and that the Football Association would only ratify the move if it was on a permanent basis.
QPR have agreed an initial 18-month loan for the Brazilian youth international, with a view to making it permanent in 2013 - but now it seems they cannot sign him on a temporary deal.
"It was said that he was denied [a transfer] but this is not true, the FA would only authorise the deal if it was permanent," Sao Paulo vice-president Joao Lopes told Globoesporte.
"The FA did not agree with the deal that was going on, so we will now meet again [wtih QPR] and try to come to an agreement."
It now remains to be seen whether Rangers will make a permanent bid for Henrique who is valued around £6million.

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Sean Dyche: Has told Newcastle to make new bid

WATFORD SNUB TOON'S MARIAPPA BID

Watford boss Sean Dyche has confirmed the club have rejected Newcastle United's offer for Adrian Mariappa - and has warned any clubs wanting his stars will have to pay the appropriate price.
The bid, which is understood to be £750,000 with add-ons taking the deal to £2million, was well-short of Watford's valuation of Mariappa - who has come through the youth ranks at Vicarage Road.
"Big clubs should go about their business in an appropriate manner," Dyche said.
"Unfortunately, as is often the case these days, their offer is nowhere near our valuation. That's the awkward side of the game now, and they do it for their own reasons.
"I couldn't begin to tell you how far away it was - my son's got more in his money box.
"If clubs at our level are helping to develop players, I think it's fair to say that big clubs with money should respect that and go about it in an appropriate manner.
"Rather than tickling us with offers which are nowhere near the player's worth, to try to provoke a reaction from us, we do not need to accept the first bid that comes along.
"When you think about Conor Wickham being sold for £7.5m, and Matt Mills going to Leicester for £5.5m, that's the going rate for players moving in and around our division, and we have to pitch in accordingly."
As well as Mariappa, Dyche also warned suitors of Marvin Sordell that they would be wasting their times with inferior offers.
"Again, the loose talk we've heard about Marvin has been so far short of his value it's not even worth considering," he said.
West Ham, Southampton, Blackburn and Fulham have all been linked with the England Under-21 striker in recent weeks.

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Tomas Prikryl: Declined interest from Man City

CZECH TEEN SNUBBED CITY INTEREST

Teenage midfielder Tomas Prikryl turned down interest from Manchester City in favour of joining Sparta Prague, according to his agent.
The 19-year-old's representative, Viktor Kolar, claims City were among several top English clubs chasing the youngster, while high-profile sides in Germany were also interested.
However, Kolar says the Czech Republic U19 international chose Sparta because he wanted to be playing regularly.
The agent told isport.blesk.cz: "Top clubs from England and Germany wanted him. Among them was Manchester City.
"Tomas' age means he needs to be at a club where he will be playing in a top league. That's why we opted for Sparta."
Prikyl added: "I have always made small and gradual steps and I believe I have chosen the right path by joining Sparta."
The teenager, who joined Sparta from native club Sigma Olomouc for £500,000, caught the eye of Europe's top clubs on duty for Czech Republic at last summer's U19 European Championship.
Sigma rate Prikyl as highly as young Chelsea defender Tomas Kalas, currently on loan at Vitesse, according to Sparta board member Jakub Otava.
He revealed negotiations with the club were lengthy, saying: "It's because Sigma consider Tomas, along with Tomas Kalas, their greatest talent of recent times."

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Zlatan Muslimovic: Looking for new club

MUSLIMOVIC IN SUNDERLAND TRIAL

Zlatan Muslimovic has been training with Sunderland, according to his agent.
The Bosnia & Herzegovina striker trained with Rangers on Monday but agent Jan Bezemer reported that he has spent Tuesday with the Black Cats as he seeks a new club, following his summer departure from PAOK Salonika.
"Zlatan trained at Rangers yesterday," said Bezemer, in remarks reported by STV. "Everything was nice and we were interested.
"But now another offer has come in to train at another club. Zlatan trained at Sunderland today and we will now see how that works out.
"Zlatan had a very good feeling about Rangers. They are a very nice club, the trainer was a good man and he spoke very well.
"Rangers want him but we have lots of interest in the player. He would like to play in a good league. The leagues in Scotland and England fall into that category."
Muslimovic, 30, has scored 12 goals in 33 caps for his country, who missed out on both the 2010 World Cup and this summer's European Championship after play-off defeats to Portugal.
Before joining PAOK he had a spell in Italy, first with Udinese - where he failed to make an impression and was loaned out to seven clubs, enjoying his most prolific spell at Rimini - and then Atalanta.

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Michael Tonge: Joined Barnsely on loan

TONGE HEADS TO TYKES

Stoke midfielder Michael Tonge has joined Barnsley on a loan deal until the end of the season.
It is Tonge's fourth loan spell away from City in his three and a half years with the club having previously played for Preston - on two separate occasions - and Derby.
The 28-year-old has managed just five starts and 13 substitute appearances for Stoke since a £2million move from Sheffield United in September 2008.
Tonge is now the second player to leave Stoke on loan this week, with fellow midfielder Tom Soares yesterday joining Scottish Clydesdale Bank Premier League side Hibernian.

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Kevin de Bruyne: Chelsea closing in on Belgian ace

CHELSEA CLOSE IN ON GENK ACE DE BRUYNE

Chelsea are in talks with Genk over the signing of Kevin de Bruyne, the Belgian club have confirmed.
De Bruyne, 20, has been on Chelsea's radar for some time and could be a Blues player by the end of the week after Genk director Dirk Degraen flew in to London for talks.
If a deal is completed, it is anticipated the midfielder will be loaned back to the Belgian champions for the rest of the season.
"Dirk Degraen is in London and the expectation is that it (the transfer of De Bruyne) will be finished this week," a Genk spokesman said.
"The assumption is that Kevin de Bruyne will be transferred to Chelsea and then will finish the season (on loan) at Genk."
De Bruyne, predominantly a left-sided player, joined Genk at 14 and went on to make his full debut three years later.
He forced his way in the club's first team two years ago and helped the Belgian side win the domestic title last term.
De Bruyne made his international debut in 2010 and is seen as one of the brightest young prospects in the country.
He has already played twice against Chelsea for Genk in this season's Champions League group stage.
Should De Bruyne move to Stamford Bridge, he will become the third Belgian player signed by Andre Villas-Boas following the arrivals of Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois.
The Blues boss has looked to sign young players to lower the average age of his squad since taking over last summer.
The Portuguese, 34, has made just one major signing so far this transfer window - the capture of England centre-half Gary Cahill from Bolton.
The west Londoners, who sit fourth in the Barclays Premier League, have recently been strongly linked with Shakhtar Donetsk star Willian.
The Ukrainian champions claimed earlier this week that they had rejected a £16.7million bid from Chelsea for the Brazilian.

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Carlos Tevez: Inter say they're out of the race

INTER CLAIM THEY ARE OUT OF TEVEZ RACE

Inter Milan claim they are no longer interested in signing Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez having previously held negotiations with the Argentine.
AC Milan and Paris Saint Germain have also held talks with the 27-year-old, but no club has been able to meet City's £30million-plus valuation.
With less than a week remaining of the transfer window, Tevez is presently in Argentina, having returned to South America in November, and City have stopped paying his wages.
Both the striker and his club are keen to see an end to what has become an arduous saga, which began in September after he refused to resume his warm-up in the UEFA Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich.
But on Tuesday evening City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak outlined the club would not allow Tevez to leave in any undervalue deal and if any suitable arrangement cannot be found then they would expect the forward to honour the remaining two-and-half-years of his contract.
AC Milan have been Tevez's preferred destination, but, with PSG having pulled out of a deal because they believe it is too expensive, they now also appear to be his only option after Inter ruled out a move due to the return of other players from injury.
Inter Milan board member Marco Tronchetti Provera told Ansa: "Now we're no longer interested in Tevez. He is following a different path.
"Inter have recovered their champions and there is no need to have him or another, even if Tevez remains a great champion."
Inter, meanwhile, remain unsure over the future of Thiago Motta, who has been regularly linked with PSG.
Asked whether the midfielder will stay at the Giuseppe Meazza, Provera said: "It's a question that for now has no answer. These are choices which the club will do with the player."

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Carvalho Amauri: Signed for Fiorentina

AMAURI LEAVES JUVE FOR FIORENTINA

Striker Carvalho Amauri has ended his four-year association with Juventus after signing for Serie A rivals Fiorentina.
The Italian has not made an appearance for Juventus this season after falling out of favour with current coach Antonio Conte.
The 31-year-old's last appearance was in April 2011, when he scored twice whilst on loan at Parma.
He had a successful spell with Parma, notching seven goals in just 11 appearances.
Fiorentina have struggled for goals this season, with only five clubs in the division having scored fewer.
Juventus striker Luca Toni is also set to leave the club in the final week of the transfer window, with a number of Serie A sides interested in the veteran.
Bottom-club Cesena, along with Cagliari and Siena are preparing to lodge a bid for the 34-year-old.
But he has also revealed that he is considering a move to the MLS as he enters the twilight years of his career.
He has failed to settle at a club since leaving Bayern Munich in 2010 and told Bild: "Maybe I'll go in for a year in the United States."
He also joked: "If I could come back to Bayern, I would play for free."

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Martin Caceres: On the verge of joining Juventus

MARTIN CACERES SET FOR JUVE SWITCH

Uruguay defender Martin Caceres is on the verge of joining Juventus on loan from Sevilla.
The 24-year-old is expected to move to Juve until the end of the season with an option to make his stay permanent for a reported 10 million euros.
"It would be a great transfer," Sevilla technical secretary Victor Orta said on www.sevillafc.es.
"It would multiply by 250% the buy-out option that he (Caceres) had six months ago.
"The offer (by Juventus) is irresistible."
Caceres spent the 2009/10 campaign on loan at Juventus from Barcelona, but the Italian side opted not to purchase the player after an injury-plagued season.
However, the Serie A leaders revived their interest after Caceres' solid performances for Sevilla this term.