Sunday might be a rest day for many, but it’s anything but a slow day in transfer news and rumors. We’ve got the latest on Andrei Arshavin, Craig Bellamy, Stewart Downing, and many others, well-known and not so much…yet at least.
England
Arsenal are set to increase their bid for Andrei Arshavin to £12m after Zenit St. Petersburg rejected their initial offer of £10m + bonuses. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: Something has to give. Arsenal don’t want to overpay, Zenit don’t want to budge from or far from their valuation of Arshavin.
However, they could be set to lose out to Manchester City, who have reportedly agreed an £18m fee with Zenit for Arshavin. (The Mirror)
Analysis: And then steps in the club who will pay what Zenit wants and what Arshavin wants without a second thought.
Arshavin isn’t the only target for the Gunners, as they could look to bolster their midfield by moving for Fulham’s Jimmy Bullard and West Ham’s Jack Collison (The Mirror), along with Boca Juniors star Sebastian Battaglia (Tribalfootball).
Analysis: Bullard would likely be available for an inexpensive fee, but West Ham might be reluctant to sell one of their future. Arsenal need some tenacity and intensity in their ranks, and Battaglia would bring it, for a low price, at that.
Craig Bellamy would rather join Tottenham than Manchester City, but West Ham may prefer to do business with big-spending City. (The Guardian)
Analysis: Bellamy may not get his wish though. Tottenham be looking for a cheaper option than Bellamy. As for where his first-team prospects are better, they’re probably better at City in the short term, but in the long run, he’d likely be better off at Tottenham.
Could David Bentley be headed to Teeside? According to reports, Tottenham are set to off Bentley to Middlesbrough in exchange for Stewart Downing. (The Mirror)
Analysis: Middlesbrough don’t want to sell Downing. Bentley still needs time at Tottenham. And when he’s not playing well on the left at Spurs, why would he go play on the left somewhere else?
Tottenham have rejected an offer of £7m from an unnamed club for keeper Gomes. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: He’s put a rough start behind him, and Harry Redknapp has a lot of confidence in him now, so he’s not going anywhere.
Emile Heskey has decided that, barring a big offer, he’ll remain at Wigan until the summer until signing elsewhere on a free. (The Mirror)
Analysis: Wigan will lose him for free, but him helping them to a high finish will be payoff enough.
Everton could solve their striker woes with a loan move for Real Madrid’s Javier Saviola (Tribalfootball), and the Toffees are also set for a £500k bid for highly-rated Bristol City defender James Wilson. (The Mirror)
Analysis: Saviola hasn’t made much of an impact in two seasons at Real Madrid, but this could be a low-risk, high-reward move for Everton.
Italy
Sampdoria are set to make a loan bid for Andriy Shevchenko in the coming days. (Tribalfootball)
Analysis: Shevchenko’s return to AC Milan hasn’t worked out as he’d hoped, but Sampdoria could offer him the chance to show he’s still got it.
Udinese and Fiorentina are close to completing a striker swap that would see Fabio Quagliarella move to Fiorentina and Giampaolo Pazzini move to Udinese. (Tribalfootball)
Analysis: Pazzini’s got potential, but Fiorentina clearly get the better of the deal, in my opinion. Maybe this is what Pazzini needs to make his breakthrough, and if he does, then it’ll be a worthy gamble for Udinese.
If you have a juicy rumor that you think we may have missed, post it in the comments, along with the link to the source if possible.
And if you want to keep up with all of the latest confirmed transfers, check out our updated transfer lists.
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