Manchester City have signed Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong from German side Hamburg for an undisclosed fee, the English Premier League side announced on Wednesday
The 24-year-old, capped 29 times by his country, has signed a four-and-a-half year contract with City, now transformed into one of the world's wealthiest sports clubs under the ownership of Abu Dhabi-based Sheikh Mansour.
City, rebuffed on Monday in their bid to sign Brazil's Kaka from AC Milan for a reported 108 million pounds (100 million euros) - a world record deal if it had gone through - have seen two players join this week with de Jong following former West Ham striker Craig Bellamy to Eastlands.
De Jong missed much of the first half of the Bundesliga campaign with a knee injury but recently returned to training. He had been with Hamburg for three years after joining from Ajax.
Tottenham have finally won their battle to wrest highly-rated Honduran midfielder Wilson Palacios away from Wigan after the two clubs agreed a fee believed to be around £14.
Wigan had turned down a £10 million offer earlier this month but manager Steve Bruce had been resigned to losing the 24-year-old in the event of Spurs coming back with a higher bid. Palacios followed Bruce from Birmingham to Wigan last year and has since enhanced his reputation with the Lancashire club establishing itself firmly in the top half of the Premier League table.
A statement on Tottenham's website confirmed: "We are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement for the transfer of Wilson Palacios from Wigan Athletic.
"Personal terms have been agreed and a medical completed, we now await the Honduran international receiving his work permit before completing his registration."
West Ham United have accepted a bid of about £14m from Manchester City for their Wales international striker Craig Bellamy who is believed to be travelling to Eastlands for a medical.
The former Liverpool and Newcastle forward has been given permission to speak to the City manager, Mark Hughes, after the club's bid was accepted. A matching offer from Tottenham had been rejected. Bellamy, 29, asked for a transfer to Spurs on Friday but West Ham were unwilling to sell to local rivals and have been angered about the publicity that preceded Tottenham's formal approach.
Bellamy was left out of the West Ham squad that defeated Fulham yesterday when, Gianfranco Zola said, the player was "not in the right frame of mind" to play.
Manucho (Manchester United to Hull City)
Hull on Friday agreed to take Manchester United's Angolan striker Manucho on loan until the end of the season.
Manucho has made one Barclays Premier League appearance to date for United, who last season loaned him out to Greek side Panathinaikos. Hull still have to secure a work permit for the 25-year-old. The Tigers are also chasing former Liverpool right-back Steve Finnan from Espanyol.
Gael Givet (Marseille to Blackburn Rovers)
France defender Gael Givet has joined Blackburn Rovers on loan from Marseille for the rest of the season, the Premier League side have announced.
Rovers added they had an option to purchase the defender on a full-time basis at the end of the season. Givet, who can play at left-back or in central defence, has been capped 13 times by France but has not played for Marseille this season after falling out of favour with manager Eric Gerets.
Aziza Makukula (Benfica to Bolton Wanderers)
Portugal international Aziza Makukula of Benfica has been loaned to Bolton till the end of the season, Benfica said on Friday, after a move to West Bromwich Albion fell through.
The Portuguese club added, in a statement on Portuguese financial site CMVM, that there would also be an option to buy the 27-year-old striker for five million euros. The West Brom deal did not succeed because Makukula did not want to join a club which was bottom of the Premier League
Manchester City have opened talks with AC Milan over signing Brazil's playmaker Kaka for a fee that could rise as high as £100 million.
The Eastlands club have sent a delegation, thought to include chief executive Garry Cook and chief operating officer Paul Aldridge, to discuss a possible move with both the Italian side and the player, who could stand to earn a staggering £15 million a year net or £500,000 a week gross.
While City's Arab owners harbour hopes of completing any possible deal before the transfer window closes at the end of this month, sources inside the club believe the move is more likely to go through in the summer.
That view was reinforced on Tuesday when Milan's owner, the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said he knew nothing of the transfer and revealed that he regards the Brazilian to be untransferable.
He said: "I know nothing about a Manchester City offer for Kaka. I think he's not transferable and given that is the case, he will stay at Milan."The Italian club's director Adriano Galliani has already indicated that his side, for whom David Beckham made his league debut on Monday against Roma, have finished their activity in the January transfer window, but the Eastlands negotiators will be hoping to open up the possibility of a summer move instead.
If City's mission proves fruitless, either in the short or long term, it will lend the transfer window an even deeper air of anticlimax for the club. telegraph
Bayern Munich striker Lukas Podolski is close to joining former club FC Cologne, according to the club's general manager Uli Hoeness.
Podolski has become frustrated with his lack of first team football this season after featuring just 11 times in the Bundesliga, seven off those appearances coming from the bench, scoring three goals. Despite a lack of playing time the Germany international has still managed to represent his country on a regular basis, scoring three goals from four appearances.
The 23-year-old signed from FC Cologne in 2006 for 10million Euros (£8.9million) and now Hoeness admits that the striker is close to agreeing a deal which will take him back to the club where he made his name.
"I'm negotiating with Cologne," Hoeness told TV channel DSF at the team's winter training camp in Dubai. "Next week I'll resume discussions and I think we'll come to some kind of agreement before the end of the month."Cologne have had a bid of 7.5million Euros (£6.7million) rejected, with Bayern holding out for a figure close to what they paid for his services.
Jermain Defoe has been cleared to play against Wigan Athletic on Sunday after completing his move back to Tottenham Hotspur from Portsmouth.
Defoe agreed terms to rejoin the club he left just over a year ago earlier in the week and was paraded to fans ahead of the Carling Cup semi-final first leg victory over Burnley but the paperwork was not filed immediately. Defoe has credited Harry Redknapp and the club's fans as the key reasons for his return to White Hart Lane.
"It feels crazy," he said. "Since I left I've been getting texts and everywhere I go I bump into Spurs fans, it's just great to be back. The fans were probably the main factor. I spoke to my cousin and he said 'the fans love you there'. For me it is a strange feeling. When you get that many fans who appreciate what you do, it's hard to find words how I feel about it. I want to start afresh, like it's the first time, and hopefully score a lot of goals."It is the third club at which manager Redknapp will work with Defoe, after overseeing his development at West Ham and then signing him for Portsmouth. The deal is valued at around £15million, with the delay occurring as Spurs were entitled to an sell-on fee, even though they were also the club buying the player. It is thought that he has agreed a five-year contract.
Alan Smith hit out as Newcastle agreed to swap him for Middlesbrough striker Mido.
A source said: “Alan’s really angry about this. He has been working hard to regain his fitness and wants to do well at Newcastle.”Smith, a £6million signing from Manchester United 18 months ago, was never informed the clubs were in talks and found out only last night but he has no intention of quitting St James’ Park.
Newcastle are now threatening that Smith will never play for the club again if he does not accept the move. Smith, 28, sees the attempt to flog him behind his back as a massive slap in the face after spending three months working furiously to get fit following an ankle ligament operation.
The source added: “He is back in training and should be ready for selection by the end of the month. He does not want to go anywhere else.”Gareth Southgate tried to sign Smith, who can play in midfield or up front, from Manchester United last season but Newcastle, managed by Sam Allardyce, beat him to it when they paid £6m for a player yet to win over the fans.
Manchester United are set to kick out Carlos Tevez after the hitman admitted: I’d love to play for Real Madrid.
United boss Alex Ferguson is running out of patience with the 24-year-old Argentinian striker, who made it clear yesterday that clubs are lining up to sign him. Tevez’s owner and advisor, Kia Joorabchian, said:
“I don’t know if ‘Carlitos’ will go. It’s difficult to say. Anything can happen. Madrid want him and have showed concrete interest. They’re not the only club. There are many.”Tevez, still on loan at Old Trafford, is unhappy that United have not opened talks about a new contract, or the possibility of buying him off Joorabchian for £32million. Tevez insisted in yesterday’s Sun that he wants to stay.
But admitting he would relish a move to Madrid is a red rag to United boss Ferguson, who cannot forgive the Spaniards for trying to lure away Cristiano Ronaldo last year. Tevez has just returned from a break and was expected to start in tonight’s Carling Cup semi-final clash at Derby. But Ferguson is now considering playing Danny Welbeck as the lone striker, ahead of a five-man midfield. Fergie has said the club are trying to sort a deal for Tevez but blamed his agent for the delay. TheSun
England international striker Jermain Defoe is leaving Portsmouth and rejoin Harry Redknapp at Tottenham, the London club said on Tuesday.
Spurs confirmed Defoe, who only left the club last January, will be paraded in front of fans at White Hart Lane before Tuesday evening's Carling Cup semi-final first-leg clash with Championship side Burnley. A fee has been agreed on what is thought to be a five-year contract and the 26-year-old Defoe only needs to clear a medical to clinch the deal. Personal terms have been agreed and the striker will undergo a medical
Jermain Defoe is set to complete his transfer to White Hart Lane a year after leaving the London club. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie had been in talks over the weekend to negotiate a transfer fee in the region of £15 million.
"Personal terms have been agreed and the striker will undergo a medical," a statement from Spurs said.Tottenham boss Redknapp bought Defoe for Pompey in the 2008 January window and his return had been suggested since the change of manager at White Hart Lane two months ago. He went on a run of eight goals in his first seven games for Portsmouth and has added nine goals this season so far.
Redknapp has prioritised a striker and a left-sided midfielder in the current transfer window, with Middlesbrough's Stewart Downing also subject of a bid from Spurs. Ghana international midfielder Stephen Appiah is on trial at White Hart Lane this week and could sign until the end of the season.
Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez has risked the wrath of Sir Alex Ferguson by reacting to the manager's comments regarding his contract situation.
Tevez has spent a lot of time on the bench. Tevez, 24, has revealed his disappointment at speculation that he had rejected a new offer from the Premier League champions, and reiterated his desire for his future to be sorted.
''I didn't like him (Ferguson) saying I didn't like the offer I was made because neither my agent nor me were given one." the Argentina international, whose deal runs out in the summer, told Radio del Plata. ''I don't know anything on my future. United know what they must pay if they want me to stay. I want to stay but the club have not made any offer. I've been waiting for them for a year and a half."Tevez also was on collision course with Alex Ferguson after insisting: I’d love to play for Real Madrid. The striker dropped his bombshell by revealing a desire to join the club that Manchester United boss Fergie despises the most. Tevez admitted in a Spanish magazine:
“Who wouldn’t want to play for Real Madrid? Like Manchester, they are one of the best clubs in the world and it would be a pleasure to play for them.”New Real boss Juande Ramos is keen on Tevez and the player says he would love to face Barcelona ace and pal Lionel Messi.
Marseille coach Eric Gerets has said he is confident of landing Swedish veteran Henrik Larsson on loan in the transfer window.
Gerets, who would also like to snap up Shakhtar Donetsk's Brazilian star Brandao as he seeks to bolster his forward line in the second half of the season, last week identified Larsson, even at the age of 37, as a "true pro" who could spark his side in the second half of the season.
"I hope things will come to fruition in the hours or the days ahead - yes, with Larsson it's possible," Gerets told reporters.The Swedish international veteran has just finished the season with Helsingborg and Marseille are interested in a six-month loan, rather along the lines of the Swede's arrangement two seasons ago when the former Celtic and Barcelona star had a brief spell with Manchester United.
The French club, fifth in the table six points off leaders Lyon, need a forward badly with Mamadou Niang having fractured his foot. Asked to respond to reports in Turkey linking his side with Galatasaray striker Umit Karan, Gerets said the player would like to join but added he was unsure as to his form.
Middlesbrough's England winger Stewart Downing has taken a step closer to joining Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur by handing in a transfer request.
Downing's move came just hours after Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson insisted the 24-year-old would not be leaving the north-east club during January's transfer window. Although he signed a new five-year contract with Middlesbrough in February last year, Downing has grown increasingly frustrated with what he regards as his home town club's lack of ambition.
"Stewart's been frustrated since the summer, really. When he signed his new contract he was assured that there would be significant investment in the squad. He feels that the club haven't matched those expectations. He feels that the club haven't matched those expectations. He's also frustrated that the team is once again struggling in the Premier League. Obviously as a Middlesbrough lad, he's thought long and hard about the decision to hand in a transfer request, and he also hopes the fans will understand his reasons for doing so." Downing's father, Stewart senior, told Middlesbrough's Evening Gazette on Monday:Boro are understood to want £15 million (16.5 million euros) for Downing with Spurs opening their bidding at only £11 million. Tottenham's initial offer was branded "derisory" by Boro chief executive Keith Lamb, who also told the News of the World on Sunday that Spurs were guilty of hypocrisy when it came to prising players away from their clubs.
"Who on earth do they think they are? They bleated away when Dimitar Berbatov left for Manchester United in the summer but they sold at top dollar. Then they want to snatch other players for derisory offers and try to unsettle players. That is what has happened here. Their offer is a joke. Why would we sell our best players to our nearest rivals? Stewart is going nowhere," said Lamb.
Highlights : The best of Steward Downing - s0 far
NEWS 1: Premier League champions Manchester United have completed the signings of Serbian footballers Zoran Tosic and Adem Ljajic from Partizan Belgrade. Tosic and Ljajic both attacking midfielders are United's first signings of the January transfer window.
Tosic, 21, will sign with immediate effect and wear the No 14 shirt, while an agreement is in place for 17-year-old Ljajic to remain with Partizan for the rest of 2009. Having personally pleaded for the 21-year-old Tosic's work permit at a hearing in November, manager Sir Alex Ferguson had been frustrated that the move was being held up by the Serbia winger's pay demands and number of agents involved in the deal.
There had been fears that Premier League rivals could hijack the move, but the acquisition was completed within 24 hours of the transfer window opening Thursday. Tosic, who has made 12 international appearances since his debut against Finland in 2007, including at the Beijing Olympics, will join immediately as United looks to close the seven-point gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool with two games in hand.
Ljajic has made just 10 league appearances for Partizan Belgrade since his debut in July, although he underwent a trial at Old Trafford in October when the Serbian club's general manager confirmed Manchester United had been in contact "for some time now". The 17-year-old right-sided midfielder has been nicknamed "Little Kaka" after impressing in Champions League qualifiers for Partizan Belgrade.
It has been suggested United could end up paying around £17 million for the duo, although that figure is likely to be based heavily on future success and the club have refused to comment on the size of an initial payment.
NEWS 2 : Cristiano Ronaldo has treated Alex Ferguson to some New Year cheer by resolving to stay at Manchester United. The moody Portugal winger, 23, said:
“I want to stay here. I feel at home here. I feel very happy here.”But before boss Fergie starts popping the champagne he should be warned that only one in four people actually stick to their New Year resolutions. And Ronaldo is still very much a target for Real Madrid. There have even been claims that the Spaniards already have a deal to sign him in the summer.
Ron tried to engineer a move to Real last year and accused United of treating him like a ‘slave’. But he insists the disruption was down to the media. He said:
“There’s always speculation, not just about me but about the future of players all around the world. People were speaking about me this summer and what people are saying now is not true. Who says that is a liar. I want to stay here.”
NEWS 3 : Alex Ferguson has offered Leeds a package worth up to £10million for teenage midfield star Fabian Delph.Manchester United boss Fergie made his move after Fulham steamed in with a £6m bid for the 19-year-old sensation, who is being tipped as the new Paul Scholes. Delph is a combative midfielder with an eye for goal like Scholes.
He has been a regular in the Leeds side this term after captaining the reserves. Fergie has matched the Fulham offer of £6m up front but has added extra incentives related to appearances and trophies that would push the deal close to £10m.
And the Old Trafford boss has also told Leeds they can take two of his own promising youngsters on loan as they bid to get their League One promotion train rolling again. He is prepared to let midfielders Darron Gibson and Rodrigo Possebon switch temporarily to Elland Road.
NEWS 4 : Manchester United forward Carlos Tevez has insisted he is determined to stay at Old Trafford on a permanent basis. The Argentinian is in the second year of a loan deal with the Premier League champions, but that agreement expires at the end of the season and United are yet to offer him a full-time contract.The 24-year-old has been reduced to a bit-part role this season following the close-season arrival of Dimitar Berbatov, fuelling reports that he is ready to leave England. But the former West Ham United player is confident he will remain with Sir Alex Ferguson's side.
"I am not preoccupied about my future," Tevez told the Daily Mail. "My instincts are to stay with the club and in the next week or so I think there will be more contact with regards to sorting out my contract. That is what we've been told. It is up to the club. Other clubs have asked about me but I see my future at United"With Real Madrid believed to be ready to pay the £32m transfer fee required to sign Tevez, it would be easy for him to quit, but the forward is determined to fight for his place.
"It has been a complicated season for me, there is no point denying that. I have not been able to get as many minutes on the field as I would like because the quality of the forwards at the club is incredible. It is not easy for forwards to get into this team and I have suffered. But that does not make me want to leave. I have no urge to run away."
Highly-rated Russian forward Andrei Arshavin could finally be on his way to Europe after his agent said the Zenit St Petersburg player was almost certain to be sold in the transfer window.
Arshavin has been linked to Arsenal, Tottenham and Real Madrid and, according to a BBC website report on Tuesday his agent, Dennis Lachter, said Arshavin and Zenit had agreed that he should find a new club in January.
"He will definitely move in January or the player and club will lose money. Zenit and Andrei understand that it is time for them to part from each other." Lachter said.Arshavin, 27, was linked with Tottenham last summer following his impressive performances at Euro 2008, and this week Zenit general director Maxim Mitrofanov was quoted as saying his price tag was STG20 million (RM102 million) and they hoped Arsenal would make an offer. But Lachter denied reports that the player had visited both teams' training grounds on a recent trip to London.
"That is not true," he said. "I was in London and he was there too, but the only reason he was there was to shoot an advert for a company he has a contract with. "I was at the Tottenham training ground, but it looks like someone saw me there and made the connection -- he's never been there, either to Arsenal or Tottenham."Lachter also denied reports that the player had said he was only interested in playing for Barcelona and was uninterested in England. -- AFP
David Beckham impressed the locals from the start when he was unveiled as an AC Milan player last night, by speaking Italian at his first press conference.
Dressed in a blue jumper, jeans, mirrored sunglasses and a scarf against the chill he smiled and waved at the small group of fans who had gathered to welcome him. After landing at Milan's Malpensa airport he headed off to a private clinic for a medical, which he reportedly passed with flying colours.
As he left the airport he said:
"I am honoured to be here and to play for one of the most successful clubs in the world. I have played for the biggest club in England, the biggest club in Spain and now I want to play for the biggest club in Italy."Beckham also was keen to emphasise that his stay in Milan would be strictly football.
"Fashion had nothing to do with coming to Milan," he said. "The red and black shirt and the history of the club took me here."
You can see the press conference here;
Ronaldo was today officially unveiled by his new club Corinthians, but reminded fans that he still faced "a major challenge" to return to full fitness.
The 32-year-old 1994 and 2002 FIFA World Cup™ winner and two-time European footballer of the year has not played this season following a career-threatening left knee injury on which he was operated in February. Months later, his contract with Italian side AC Milan was not renewed.
Having spent months training with top Brazilian side Flamengo in a bid to get back to form, Ronaldo stunned observers by signing for Corinthians. Ronaldo, aware of the challenge ahead, said he expects no special treatment.
"I have a major challenge in front of me and I'll do everything I can to meet it head on," said the Brazilian. "I'm just a player like all the rest here and I have the same rights, and the same obligations, as everyone else. I won't have any privileges."Reports said Ronaldo will earn a monthly salary of 127,000 euros for his one-year deal, not including bonuses from the sale of his image rights.
Brazilian star Ronaldo looks set to resume his football career with Brazilian giants Corinthians, who are back in the first division in 2009. The 32-year-old striker has been out of action since picking up another career-threatening knee injury in February while playing for former club AC Milan.
Ronaldo has reportedly been working hard for the past few months in a bid to regain fitness, after putting on the kilos in the wake of his left knee injury. Corinthians said the former two-time European footballer of the year and three-time FIFA player of the year was "only hours from signing a deal."
Ronaldo, who won the FIFA World Cup™ with Brazil in 1994 and 2002, suffered the serious knee injury in February only months before his contract with AC Milan came to an end. He has played since, in a match organised by the United Nations in Morocco in mid-November, but was only on the pitch 22 minutes.
Corinthians are one of Brazil's biggest clubs and have in the past included top players such as Deco, now of Chelsea, Manchester United's Carlos Tevez and current Brazil keeper Dida of AC Milan.
Spanish champions Real Madrid have fired coach Bernd Schuster and replaced him with Juande Ramos, club spokesman Miguel Angel Arroyo has confirmed.
Real's sports director Pedja Mijatovic said he had held an earlier meeting with Schuster, at which the German "accepted" the decision but "was sad to do so". Ramos has been given an initial six-month deal at the Spanish giants, who lost 4-3 at home to Sevilla at the weekend, a result that left them languishing in fifth place in La Liga, nine points behind leaders Barcelona.
The German coach had been under pressure as early as November, following Real's elimination from the King's Cup by lower-league side Real Union. But it appears the final nail in the coffin was Schuster's remarks to the Spanish press last weekend, when he said his injury-riddled side had no chance in their forthcoming game at arch-rivals Barça.
Ramos was sacked as manager of Tottenham Hotspur in October, following a disastrous start to the Premier League season, but he enjoys a healthy reputation in Spain based on his successes with Sevilla, which included two UEFA Cup triumphs in 2006 and 2007. fifa
"This is the dream of every coach, I hope I don't disappoint anybody," Ramos said. "I don't think there is any higher level than arriving at Real Madrid."
Spanish champions Real Madrid, plagued by injuries and poor form this season, have signed Dutch international striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar from Ajax for €27 million, the two clubs said on Tuesday. The 25-year-old is expected to replace another Dutchman, Ruud van Nistelrooy, who will miss the rest of the season after a knee operation.
"Huntelaar is now officially a new player at Real Madrid," the club said in a statement, which praised 'his great positioning, opportunism and intelligence'. "The agreement is of course contingent upon the player passing a physical and signing his contract with Real Madrid," which would keep him at the club until June 30, 2013.Ajax said the transfer fee was €27 million ($34 million), a fixed payment of €20 million and a "variable" fee of €7 million. Huntelaar is currently out of action due to an ankle injury, and is not expected to be fit again until the middle of this month. He has scored six goals in the Dutch first division this season after finishing as top scorer last season with 33 goals in 34 games played. He has also taken over from van Nistelrooy in the Dutch national side.
The reigning Spanish champions, currently fourth in the Primera Liga, last summer lost Brazilian Robinho to Manchester City and failed to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United. They have also been plagued by injuries this season; in addition to van Nistelrooy, Robben has been unavailable since early last month.
On Saturday, three players, Sneijder, Spanish defender Miguel Torres and Brazilian-born Portuguese defender Pepe, were injured during a 3-1 defeat by city rivals Getafe and will be out for between two weeks and a month. Recent poor results have also led to press reports that German coach Bernd Schuster, who joined Real in July 2007, could be on his way out. However, Calderon on Monday gave him a cautious vote of confidence. fifa
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