Latest Transfer Update at 11-04-2012

[<<ELVIS>>]

Latest Transfer Update at 11-04-2012

Michael Ballack: Looks set to leave Leverkusen

BALLACK YET TO DECIDE ON FUTURE

Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Michael Ballack is keeping his options open ahead of the summer.
The former Germany international will be a free agent at the end of the season and appears highly unlikely to earn a new contract at BayArena.
Ballack has struggled with injuries and was consequently unable to secure a regular place in the plans of former managers Jupp Heynckes and Robin Dutt.
But caretaker manager Sami Hyypia has said he will use the former Chelsea star until the end of the season, although that will not influence the player's career options.


Ballack told Bild: "Most important is that we now have a personality in charge of the team who has an idea of how to do things.
"That Sami Hyypia handed me a starting chance is no matter, of course. I am yet unaware what the future will be.
"There are many links. Some are even coming right from my agent. It is not the best thing to be in the media with these things every now and then.
"If there is anything to conclude, I will decide. I am the player."

[<<ELVIS>>]

Gianfranco Zola: Former West Ham boss

ZOLA ADMITS CHELSEA INTEREST

Former Chelsea favourite Gianfranco Zola has admitted he would like to manage the club in the future.
The Italian enjoyed a fruitful spell at Chelsea during a seven-year stay at Stamford Bridge and later went on to manage West Ham, who he left in May 2010.
The 45-year-old has not managed since, although he was linked with the Lazio job earlier this term, and is keen to find a new job.
Zola told the Gazzetta dello Sport: "I do miss the field of play and the games. But I don't know what will happen.
"When you are out of a job, you are contacted and made offers. But there is still a gap between that and a contract. It also depends on the quality of the project being offered."


Chelsea are still close to his heart and it remains unclear whether interim boss Roberto Di Matteo will be given the job on a permanent basis next season.
On the possibility of managing the Blues, he added: "Chelsea? I'd be a hypocrite if I said that I wouldn't want the job, but I don't think there are the right conditions in place for that.
"As a Chelsea fan I always want the team to be in the best possible hands, as they are right now with Roberto Di Matteo."

[<<ELVIS>>]

Marouane Chamakh: Tough season at Arsenal

BORDEAUX EYE CHAMAKH MOVE

Bordeaux president Jean Louis Triaud would welcome the opportunity to re-sign Marouane Chamakh, but the striker is determined to make his mark at Arsenal.
The Morocco international has struggled to make the grade in England since linking up with the Gunners in 2010.
He arrived at Emirates Stadium on a free transfer after ending a 10-year association with Bordeaux.
It has been suggested that he could return to French football this summer, with Arsenal prepared to move players out and make room in their squad.


Triaud admits Chamakh will always be welcome at Stade Chaban Delmas, but concedes that it would be difficult to put a suitable financial package in place.
"I have spoken with Marouane and told him that he is welcome at Bordeaux and that we still have room for him," Triaud told RMC.
"The main problem will be financial because he has tasted the salaries in England and Arsenal will ask for a fee.
"Chamakh has told me that if he was to return to France, it would be at Bordeaux."


Chamakh is in no rush to turn his back on Arsenal, though, with it his intention to prove himself in the Premier League.
"I want to improve my football in England and be a success here," he said.
"Unless the club tell me otherwise, I will fight to establish myself. I have the ability to be a top player in this league.
"I love Bordeaux but Arsenal are my club at the moment."

[<<ELVIS>>]

Pavel Pogrebnyak: Fulham talks

POGREBNYAK STARTS FULHAM TALKS

Pavel Pogrebnyak has confirmed talks have started with Fulham over a deal to stay at the club.
The Russian striker has created a favourable impression at Craven Cottage since joining from Stuttgart in January on a deal until the end of the season.
He scored five goals in his first three appearances for Fulham, but has missed the last two games due to an ankle injury.
Cottagers boss Martin Jol has already expressed his eagerness to keep the 28-year-old, while Aston Villa have been linked with an offer.
Pogrebnyak is keen to remain in England and is pleased with the early progression regarding negotiations for an extension.


"Yes, the negotiations about my contract with Fulham have already begun," Pogrebnyak is quoted by sport.mail.ru.
"My agent has already talked to the management of the club. I think there's a big chance that I will stay in England.
"Me, the coach and the management, we are all solid on the question regarding my future."

[<<ELVIS>>]

Jermaine Pennant: Not looking to leave Stoke

PENNANT WANTS TO STAY AT STOKE

Jermaine Pennant has moved to play down fears over his future by claiming he would like to stay at Stoke for another two years.
Pennant, 29, was believed to have been dropped from the team earlier this season for breaching club rules which triggered doubts over his time at the Britannia Stadium.
But the former Arsenal and Liverpool winger still has a year left on his deal, and revealed it could be extended by another year, if he plays a certain amount of games next term.


"I am still here, no-one has said anything about leaving and I am not going to leave," he told The Sentinel.
"I'm going to return in July for pre-season training - although I'm not looking forward to that!
"I've still got another year on my contract and then another year kicks in after appearances, so I could eventually have two years left."
Pennant used Twitter to voice his concern after he was played as a wing-back against Wigan recently.

However, he insisted he was not criticising manager Tony Pulis and that their relationship is as strong as ever.


He added: "In the Wigan game we didn't push on as much, the team were doing a lot of defending and so was I.
"My best position is pushing forward and getting crosses in, but we were on the back foot a lot and we didn't play the greatest football.
"When I said what I did, I meant I spent most of the game defending and playing as a wing-back.
"Someone wanted to make a story from it, but the gaffer understood what I was trying to say.
"He quashed any story about that. He didn't speak to me about it, he was fine with it."

[<<ELVIS>>]

Roy Hodgson: His side face Man City tonight

HODGSON: MANAGERS MUST HAVE POWER

West Brom boss Roy Hodgson insists "no player should be bigger than his club" and that the manager should be the most powerful figure ahead of the clash with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Hodgson stressed his comment was not aimed at City striker Mario Balotelli, who has been involved in a series of spats with Roberto Mancini and was sent off for a third time this season against Arsenal.
But Hodgson made it clear that the kind of control enjoyed by Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United is crucial for a club to enjoy success.
When asked how to manage troublesome players, Hodgson said: "It's very difficult because, to use a Swedish expression, you always want the church in the centre of the village.


"In football terms, the church is the club itself which is often embodied in the manager, with Sir Alex Ferguson being the classic example.
"Once you get difficult players, backed up often by a sympathetic media who are happy to see the church get moved around, then it becomes very difficult.
"It should be that no player is bigger than his club. No player should really be a stronger person than the manager at the club.
"Once that happens you're taking the power from where it should be, in the hands of someone who represents the club, the fans, the owners and the team.
"You're giving it to someone who may have very personal, egotistical reasons for wanting to change things."
Hodgson added: "I'm talking very globally here. What you must not do is in any way refer this to Balotelli. I'm not referring to Balotelli.
"I don't know the man from Adam. He might be the nicest fellow in the world, he might be a great pro.
"But, if you talk about Manchester United's strength for many years, the fact that Alex is so good at his job is because he is so obviously above any of the players there.


"That is the case no matter how good they might become - or however problematic they may be at certain times.
"He's got the power to say: 'you're not doing the job as I want it done, or the club want it done, or the team want it done so there is the door, I'm quite prepared to jettison you'.
"Once you take the power away and say 'he's got to play because the fans love him, the press love him' what you're doing is weakening the club. That's the simple fact of the matter."
Hodgson does accept that the financial worth of a player can cloud the issue when it comes to deciding whether to retain his services.
He said: "There's a further element - the financial element. We've seen it with Tevez.
"It's pretty obvious to everyone the main reason Carlos Tevez comes back and plays again for Manchester City is because, if he doesn't, that's an awful lot of money out of the window."


Hodgson admits allowing a player like Balotelli to leave City is a far cry from when he allowed players to depart who did not conform with his methods during his early days as a manager in Sweden.
He said: "I've been pretty fortunate in terms of disruptive players. I don't think I've been hit by that.
"Don't forget in Sweden, you just threw the disruptive players back on the street! They weren't earning bundles of money and no-one cared about the money.
"This is different. Balotelli is a player who has been brought into the country for an awful lot of money and there's been a lot of pomp and ceremony.
"It would be stupid of me to try and compare that to Sweden where you had difficult players but they all had other jobs to go with their football. It's not fair to make that comparison.


"I've never had it at Fulham, Liverpool or here.
"Mind you, in my second spell at Inter Milan, there was a dressing room feud going on between an Argentinian group and a Brazilian group of players.
"Then there was a further group of Italians in the middle who didn't like either group! I suppose that was a slight problem."

[<<ELVIS>>]

Ki Sung-yueng: Wait for contract talks

KI TO WAIT FOR CONTRACT TALKS

Celtic's Ki Sung-yueng will wait until the end of the season before negotiating a new deal to extend his stay at Parkhead.
The 23-year-old played a key role in helping the Hoops clinch the Scottish Premier League title this term and has been the subject of interest from English clubs and abroad.
However, the talented midfielder has put talks about a new contract on hold so he can concentrate on the remainder of the current campaign.
"I will wait until the end of the season before I talk about my contract," he told the Daily Record.
"Now does not seem the right time - it's important to end the campaign first."


The South Korea international rates the league title as the best moment of his career and is determined to make a mark in his first Champions League campaign next season.
"Winning the league with Celtic has been the best moment of my career. Our passion and determination was greater than Rangers' this season," he added.
"Next season is huge and our challenge is to make an impact in the Champions League. We've been watching it on TV and now we want to take part."