Latest Transfer Update at 13-03-2012

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Latest Transfer Update at 13-03-2012

Vertonghen: Linked with moves to Arsenal and Spurs

VERTONGHEN OPEN TO ARSENAL MOVE

Tottenham could face competition from neighbours Arsenal to sign Jan Vertonghen in the summer after the Ajax defender revealed he is keen on a move to Emirates Stadium.
Spurs were thought to be leading the race for the Belgium international's signature, who has previously stated his admiration for Harry Redknapp's side.


But the 24-year-old is also a fan of the Gunners and attended their recent UEFA Champions League triumph over AC Milan at Emirates Stadium at the request of former Ajax team-mate Thomas Vermaelen.
Vertonghen's contract in Amsterdam expires next June and the defender looks likely to leave in the summer after making it clear he will not sign a new deal, with Ajax already eyeing FC Twente centre-back Douglas as a potential replacement.
He said in the Daily Express: "My agent knows what clubs I'm willing to go to. Arsenal are obviously one of them. Ajax are busy trying to find solutions to replace me."


The Belgian, who came through the youth ranks at Ajax, has made no secret of his desire to join a Premier League side.
However, the Dutch club have emerged as late contenders for the Eredivisie title and Vertonghen is focused on their campaign for the time being.
"Who wouldn't want to play football at a top club in England?" the defender told NU Sport. "If a nice club (is interested) I will hear about it from my agent.
"But first I want to concentrate fully on the title race."

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Holman: Agrees move to Aston Villa

BRETT HOLMAN AGREES VILLA SWITCH

Australia midfielder Brett Holman has agreed to join Aston Villa at the end of his contract with AZ Alkmaar this summer.
The 27-year-old winger, who joined the current Eredivisie leaders in 2008, will head to England after a decade in Holland, having initially signed for Feyenoord.
Spells with Excelsior and NEC Nijmegen followed before he joined AZ, with whom he won the title in his first season.
He is ready to head to the Premier League, though, and said: "I am delighted to have agreed terms with Aston Villa and I am looking forward to joining up with the team in the summer.


"Villa have a long and prestigious history in English football and a fantastic set of fans."
Holman has won 53 caps for Australia and was named by the country's football writers as player of the year for 2011.
"Brett is a very intelligent player, a great team player and a man who is recognised in the game as a non-stop, committed wide midfielder player," Villa boss Alex McLeish said.
"He has international experience and has played in the Champions League. He will add significantly to the experience in the Villa squad."

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Pogrebnyak: A long-term target for Alex McLeish

McLEISH A POGREBNYAK FAN

Alex McLeish admits he has previously considered signing Pavel Pogrebnyak amid reports the Aston Villa manager is planning a summer swoop for the Fulham striker.
Pogrebnyak joined Fulham from Stuttgart in the January transfer window and has made an immediate impact in the Premier League, scoring five goals in four appearances.
The Cottagers are keen to hang on to the Russian beyond this season, but he has also been linked with a move to Villa Park.
McLeish concedes the timing was not right during his attempts to sign the 28-year-old in the past and is wary about saying too much about any interest in Pogrebnyak.


"Fulham did well in January and brought Pavel Pogrebnyak into the set-up," said the Villa boss in the Birmingham Mail.
"He is a player who I've seen and have been in touch with his agent over the past few years trying to sign him but the timing was just not quite right.
"Will the timing be right in the summer?


"I don't want to be in the bad books with Fulham talking about their player. He's a player I flirted with in the past but I shouldn't really be talking about someone else's player.
"I need to be careful what I'm saying here because my players will be reading this. We are lacking a bit of experience and hopefully that is something we can put right."

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Vicente: Netted twice against Portsmouth on Saturday

POYET HOPING TO KEEP VICENTE

Gus Poyet believes there is a '50-50' chance of Brighton & Hove Albion being able to keep hold of Spanish winger Vicente for next season.
Vicente joined the Seagulls during the early weeks of the campaign following his departure from Valencia, but his time with the Championship club has been hampered by injury.

The 30-year-old has been restricted to just nine appearances for Brighton, but came off the bench to score both goals in Saturday's 2-0 win over Portsmouth.
Prior to joining Brighton, the likes of Everton and Sunderland were linked with an interest and Poyet believes Vicente is still capable of playing in the Premier League.
However, Poyet hopes to keep the wide-man and is keen to ensure Vicente plays a full part in the rest of the season as Brighton push for a play-off spot.
"I feel Vicente has the quality to do it in the Premier League," said Poyet.


"He has a one-year option on his contract and at the moment there is a 50-50 chance of him being here next season.
"It has been frustrating for him. He came here to play football. He had options to go to bigger clubs and earn more money but he chose us because he was convinced it was the right place to play football.
"Let's hope we have him now from the next game to the end of the season."

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Dorin Goian: Snubbed a move to China, says his agent

RANGERS' GOIAN SNUBS CHINA OFFER

Rangers defender Dorin Goian has turned down a big-money move to China despite seeing his wages cut at Ibrox, according to his agent.
Gers' players recently accepted pay cuts of up to 75 per cent for the rest of the season to prevent mass redundancies at the financially-stricken club, who entered administration last month.
Romania international Goian was among them having arrived at Ibrox from Palermo last summer.


The 31-year-old's brother, Lucian Goian, signed a lucrative deal at Chinese club Tianjin Teda in January.
But Goian's agent, Florin Manea, claims the Rangers stopper has spurned a similar offer which would have seen his wages doubled.
Manea told the Daily Record: "Dorin received an offer from a club in China that would have doubled the wages he received at Rangers.
"They would have paid him £1.5million a year but he decided not to go because he likes it at Ibrox."

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Hazard: Excited by Man United speculation

MAN UNITED 'EXCITE' EDEN HAZARD

Eden Hazard has hinted at a summer move to Manchester United after lavishing praise on manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Red Devils boss made the trip to Lyon at the weekend to watch the highly-rated midfielder in action as his Lille side went down 2-1.
The Belgium international has long been linked with a move to Arsenal while Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has made no secret of his admiration for the 21-year-old.


But United are emerging as favourites to secure Hazard's signature following comments he made to the French press.
When asked if a move to Old Trafford would interest him, Hazard told La Voix du Nord: "Of course, this a club that excites anyone.
"For now my focus is on Lille but yes, it is a pleasure to be watched by one of the best coaches in the world, if not the best."

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Claudio Ranieri: Under pressure at Inter

RANIERI BULLISH ON INTER MILAN FUTURE

Claudio Ranieri insists his future at Inter Milan does not rest on Tuesday night's clash with Marseille but is confident his side can advance to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
Ranieri is reportedly fighting for his job at the San Siro after a recent run of nine games without a win heaped pressure on the Italian coach.
The Nerazzurri ended that woeful streak with a 2-0 victory over Chievo in Serie A on Friday evening and the manager hopes they can carry momentum from that win into the second leg of their last-16 tie with Marseille as they look to overturn the French side's 1-0 advantage.
But the 60-year-old boss insists, regardless of the result on Tuesday, his job is safe.
"I'm a part of Inter this year and the next one too," said Ranieri. "I don't see why my future will have to count on tomorrow."
Marseille suffered their fourth consecutive defeat to Ajaccio on Friday and Ranieri believes their poor run combined with Inter's home advantage could give his side the upper hand.
"Before the first leg it was us who had suffered a few defeats while Marseille were coming off something of a positive streak, so the situation has been turned on its head," said the Italian.



"But with a full stadium, which will give us a boost, we are determined this team won't fail.

"We know everything about Marseille, that they are dangerous and quick on the counter-attack... we also know their strengths and their weaknesses."

Ranieri believes the kind of dogged determination Inter displayed against Chievo will prove crucial against Marseille.

"Whatever we did, we were losing matches even when we had chances to win them," added Ranieri, referring to their recent poor run.

"But the fact we kept chipping away against Chievo until the very last minute is going to help us tomorrow (Tuesday)."

An away goal for Marseille would give Inter a mountain to climb, however, and the Italian admitted: "We can't afford to concede any goals, so we need to keep fully focused throughout."

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Villas-Boas: Tried to impose his own style at Chelsea

SWIFT CHANGES COST AVB - MATA

Juan Mata has claimed Andre Villas-Boas may have paid the price for trying to change the way Chelsea played too quickly - but denied the players forced him out of the club.
Villas-Boas' sacking as manager followed widespread reports of dressing-room unrest at Stamford Bridge.
There were also suggestions billionaire owner Roman Abramovich read the riot act to the squad immediately after dispensing with the 34-year-old.
But winger Mata, who was signed from Valencia last summer, told Spanish radio station Cope: "He did not come to tell us off. He talked to us last week after the change of manager. He had also come to one or two training sessions.
"No player in the squad has done anything or thought about a change in the coach.
"He was the manager and we all put our faith in him. He had good ideas and he wanted to change things in the club but, in the end, it is the results that matter. Nobody got rid of him.


"He came with the idea of how he played at Porto - the pressure high up the pitch, robbing the ball and always being very close to the opponents' goal with a very offensive football.
"Perhaps Chelsea were used to a different style, perhaps a more physical one with a lot of chances in a small space of time, not such a fluid style but still a very attacking one.
"It was maybe imposing a style when the team were not used it."
Mata also backed team-mate and compatriot Fernando Torres to turn his Chelsea career around and force his way back into the Spain squad for this summer's European Championship.
Torres has now gone almost 24 hours of playing time, dating back to October, without scoring for the Blues and has been dropped by his country but Mata said: "Fernando still has time. He has lived through a lot of good and bad. He is working extremely hard in training.


"You can't forget so soon his 80 goals in Liverpool. He'll be a very important player for Chelsea and for Spain.
"People talk about the fact that Fernando has not scored but he is constantly creating space. I've scored goals thanks to him. He has given me a lot of assists.
"There have been other games when the keeper has made a fantastic save or he has hit the bar."
Meanwhile, Chelsea have offered a trial to Mexico's Under-17 World Cup winner Richard Sanchez, according to the 16-year-old goalkeeper's agent.

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Jose Mourinho: Ready for CSKA test

MOURINHO DOES NOT FEAR THE AXE

Jose Mourinho does not fear he will be sacked by Real Madrid even if they fail to qualify for the last eight of the Champions League.
The Spanish leaders take on CSKA Moscow on Wednesday with the tie delicately poised following a 1-1 first leg draw at Luzhniki Stadium in Russia.
The pressure is on Mourinho to deliver European success having won the prestigious trophy with Inter Milan in 2010 following a 2-0 success over Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu.


Real are currently ten points clear of Barcelona in the race for the Liga title and Mourinho, who has been linked with a summer return to Chelsea, does not think failure against CSKA will affect his position.
"My future won't be decided by Wednesday's result, unless the club fire me if we don't qualify," said Mourinho. "But from my point of view it (result) won't change a thing.


"The first leg was a complicated result which leaves things quite open. Looking to tomorrow I'm more afraid of the game, which can produce all sorts of surprises."
However, Mourinho is confident his team will get the job done on Wednesday night and says they "fear nothing and no one" in their bid to bring the Champions League trophy back to the Bernabeu for the first time in a decade.
He said: "Our confidence is high and we fear nothing and no one. It's always difficult in the Champions League because you face the best of each country, but we're not obsessed about anything and have no inferiority complexes of any sort."


Should Mourinho's troops have needed any reminding that there is no room for complacency in football, it arrived in the third minute of stoppage time in the first leg when Pontus Wernbloom made them pay for their profligacy by netting an improbable equaliser.
"Football is treacherous in its nature and always has room for surprises," Mourinho continued.
"The best team doesn't always win and the 1-1 score of the first leg gives us every reason to think the match will be difficult.
"Russian teams are always strong and know how to defend. I have experience against them and am perfectly aware of the difficulties we'll face, so I try to make my men aware of them also.


"There are no miracles in football, but there are surprises. If CSKA win it will be because they played a very good game or because we played badly."
Cristiano Ronaldo's first-half strike handed Madrid the lead in the first leg and the Portugal winger has called on the Bernabeu faithful to play their part on Wednesday night.
Despite his 40 goals in all competitions for the club this season, Ronaldo's lack of popularity with some sections of the Madrid fans remains a problem.
However, the former Manchester United player has reported an improvement in his treatment in recent weeks, and knows the backing of the supporters will be key as Madrid chase both domestic and European glory in the final weeks of the season.
"I've heard the crowd sing my name in the last few months and I'm happy for their affection," Ronaldo said.
"We notice when the atmosphere is good during a match. I would like to ask fans to keep supporting us so that we win something this year all together."
Ronaldo also played down speculation over the future of Mourinho.
"He is going to continue," Ronaldo said. "He is going to continue with us."


Madrid will be without the injured Angel di Maria and Fabio Coentrao, while there was no place in the matchday squad for Hamit Altintop, Ricardo Carvalho and Jose Callejon.
CSKA have been boosted by the return of talismanic goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev ahead of the match.
Akinfeev has been sidelined by a knee problem since August, and although the match is likely to come too soon for the 25-year-old, Russian media report that his return has come as a lift to the whole squad.
Back-up goalkeeper Sergey Chepchugov is likely to retain his place on Wednesday night, and he admits to being relaxed about the task ahead, telling Sport-Express: "I am in a good mood and we are working hard."


CSKA coach Leonid Slutsky, who is sweating on the fitness of Japan international Keisuke Honda (thigh), admits that he side are huge underdogs ahead of the return.
"There's a low probability [of victory]," he told Sport-Express. "But sometimes miracles happen, and we hope that we will be able to produce a miracle like that."

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Mullins: On the verge of a move
MULLINS SET FOR READING SWITCH

Hayden Mullins looks set to leave crisis-club Portsmouth and join Reading.
The 32-year-old midfielder was left out of Saturday's 2-0 Championship defeat at Brighton ahead of a possible move to the promotion-chasing Royals.
"Hayden has had the opportunity to speak to a club over the weekend and maybe this week," said manager Michael Appleton.


"I didn't want him too mixed up in what was going on. So he had a breather and took time out."
Pompey need to slash their wage bill after going into administration last month.
Top scorer Erik Huseklepp has already joined Birmingham, captain Liam Lawrence moved to Cardiff and goalkeeper Stephen Henderson is expected to sign for West Ham.