With the focus on football today, it’s a relatively slow day in transfer news and rumors, but I’ve managed to scrounge up many of the day’s best bits, including the latest on Kaka and Manchester City’s other potential dealings.
England
Kaka is going to seal his £108m move to Manchester City next week. However, while he’s already saying his goodbyes, he seems to feel that he’s being pushed into making the move to City. Oh dear.
Analysis: Once again…this can only be good for everyone, right? Right?
Manchester City are also planning on making a £40m swoop for Chelsea’s John Terry. (The Sun)
Analysis: City would benefit more on the pitch from the presence of a guy like Terry than they would from Kaka, but you can nip this one in the bud. Terry is a blue through and through, but not that kind of blue.
City won’t be getting top keeper target Gianluigi Buffon, but they have made an improved £8m offer for Newcastle keeper Shay Given. (The Sun)
Analysis: I imagine Newcastle would like to hold out for an eight-figure offer, but with each poor defensive performance, Given can’t be getting any happier about being where he is.
As I expected, Manchester United plan to hijack Tottenham’s £14m move for Wigan midfielder Wilson Palacios. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: No doubt Harry Redknapp will be a little less than pleased if United nick Palacios late, but until he signs on the dotted line, he’s up for grabs.
Zenit St. Petersburg and Arsenal will hold talks in St. Petersburg on Tuesday to try to hammer out a deal for Andrei Arshavin. (Sky Sports)
Analysis: There’s a lot of space between the two clubs in regards to a transfer fee, but it’s a positive sign that Zenit are quite willing to work on a deal. Maybe they can find a happy medium at £15m.
I didn’t mention it in great detail in yesterday’s roundup, but if you hadn’t heard already, Craig Bellamy stormed out of training at West Ham yesterday after being refused permission to talk to Tottenham about a £12m move. (The Mirror)
Analysis: West Ham are pretty adamant about not dealing with Tottenham, and that could give Manchester City some hope, but wherever he lands, it looks like another bridge burned by Bellamy.
Middlesbrough have made a bid of £2m for highly-rated Charlton youngster Jonjo Shelvey, while Everton have made a £3m bid for the England U-17 man.
The 16-year old midfielder has already broken into the Addicks’ first team, and his strike against Norwich in their FA Cup tie two weeks ago made him the youngest person to score a goal for Charlton.
Analysis: I don’t see him leaving Charlton for a little while, but any deal that Charlton eventually do for Shelvey, whether with Middlesbrough or one of his other many suitors, best involve a sizable sell-on fee for any future deal, because this kid’s got a wealth of promise.
Spain
Barcelona plan to shell out £25m to bring Carlos Tevez to Spain in the summer. (The Mirror)
Analysis: He’s still Manchester United’s for the taking, but as I said in yesterday’s roundup, these next few weeks will play a role in determining whether or not they actually want him.
Real Madrid have been warned off of a move for Aston Villa star Ashley Young, as Martin O’Neill says Young is ‘irreplaceable and priceless.’ (The Mirror)
Analysis: Well, to be fair, he does have a price, but it’s one well over and above what Real would pay for him right now.
Italy
Roma have denied reports that Manchester City have made an approach for Daniele De Rossi, and while there has recently been interest from Real Madrid, De Rossi is not going anywhere. (Sporting Life)
Analysis: De Rossi is another player that would add some spark into Sparky’s squad, but it’d take a lot more than
If you have a juicy rumor that we may have missed, post it in the comments along with the link to the source.
And if you want to keep up with all of the latest confirmed transfers from many of Europe’s top leagues, check out our updated January 2009 transfer lists.
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