06/04/2014

Liverpool and AC Milan eye Micah Richards

AC Milan are ready to battle Liverpool for Micah Richards this summer.
Richards, 25, is expected to leave Manchester City after rejecting a new five-year deal earlier this season. It will bring to an end his 13-year association with the club he joined as a schoolboy in 2001.
A combination of injuries and the form of Pablo Zabaleta has seen the former Academy graduate reduced to a bit-part player .
Richards’ present deal expires at the end of next season and City will look to cash in this summer, rather than allowing the right-back to leave for free.
Milan have sounded out the player’s representatives about a switch to Serie A after getting a recommendation from his former City team-mate Mario Balotelli.
However, Liverpool still have Richards on their wish-list after a loan bid was rejected in January.

City EDS looking to continue goal glut

City’s Elite Development Squad will be looking to continue their prolific scoring run when they travel to face Arsenal on Monday evening at Meadow Park.

The Blues’ Under-21s have scored six in each of their last two league games and trail leaders Liverpool by just four points – but have two games in hand on the Merseysiders.  Sound familiar?
Patrick Vieira will be delighted that his team have responded so well to their disappointing Uefa Youth League exit to Benfica last month after recording three wins on the bounce – two in the league and another victory in the Under-21 Premier League Cup semi-final.
In fact, Vieira’s side could still end up with three trophies in what has proved to be an excellent campaign to date with the U21 league, League Cup and Manchester Senior Cup all still well within their grasp.
Top scorer Jordi Hiwula - who penned a new two-year deal earlier this week - will look to add to the 19 goals he’s already bagged this season when he faces Steve Gatting’s Arsenal.
The Gunners have lost their last three league games and are currently 18th in the table and Devante Cole will hope to continue a rich vein of form that has seen him net 12 goals from just 21 starts this term.
City have won 18 of their last 23 games in all competitions and, again mirroring the senior team, only Liverpool U21s - who are away to fifth-placed Chelsea on Monday evening  - have scored more league goals this term.
Unbeaten in 11 games on the road, the Blues will hope to leave Borehamwood with three more crucial points as they bid to end the campaign with an unprecedented treble at this level.

City gossip: Suarez, Richards, Porto pair

Duncan Castles writes in The Sunday Times that City are prepared to make a "huge investment" in Liverpool striker Luis Suarez to sign him this summer. The article says that Txiki Begiristain has identified Suarez as his main target with the knowledge that Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko could leave. Liverpool's managing director Ian Ayre has since rubbished the report.
The Sunday Mirror write that Micah Richards has attracted the interest of both AC Milan and Liverpool and both will battle it out to sign the player at the end of the season. The full-back's current deal at the Etihad expires in 2015.
Sami Mokbel in the Daily Mail says that City are closing on £20m-rated Porto defender Eliaquim Mangala. The Blues were after the player in January but were unwilling to meet the asking price.
And Jason Burt in the Telegraph claims that City will snap up Mangala AND Fernando - for £41m. Fernando signed a new contract with the Portuguese side in February.
If Gareth Barry wants to move to Everton next season he will have to take a significant pay cut. The midfielder has enjoyed himself at Goodison Park in this campaign but his wages have been subsidised by City.

World Cup: Gareth Barry admits England call is unlikely despite Everton form

Gareth Barry has admitted that he has 'virtually written off' his chances of making the England squad for this summer's World Cup.
The midfielder has won 53 international caps but has not played for his country since a pre-Euro 2012 friendly against Norway and is not anticipating a surprise call-up for Brazil.
Barry's strong performances for Everton this season, having joined the club on loan from Manchester City, had put him in the frame for selection.
However, he concedes that missing out on a place in Roy Hodgson's inflated squad for the recent Denmark friendly almost certainly signalled the end of his hopes.
"I've not spoken to the manager for two years and I didn't get a call from him before the Denmark friendly saying 'you weren't far off'. So in my head, I've virtually written it off," Barry said in the Sunday People.
"When I joined Everton, England wasn't even in the back of my mind, but the way the season has gone, there were a growing number of calls for me to be included.
"When I heard there was going to be a 30-man squad for the Denmark game, I thought: 'There's a really good chance I could be involved here'.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't slightly disappointed that I wasn't - but I've been in football long enough to know it doesn't matter how well you have been playing if your face isn't going to fit in a certain squad."

Manchester City close to signing Porto pair for £41m

Manchester City are closing in on deals to sign Porto pair Eliaquim Mangala and Fernando for a combined fee of £41 million.
City, who maintained their Premier Leaguetitle challenge yesterday with a 4-1 win over Southampton, attempted to acquire both players at the end of the January transfer window but the deals could not be completed in time. However, City’s director of football, Txiki Begiristain, is understood to have continued the negotiations.
The deal to sign Mangala, a rangy 23-year-old central defender who is a France international, is the most progressed, with sources in Portugal claiming yesterday that the fee could be as high as £29 million.
With Joleon Lescott out of contract and leaving this summer, and Martin Demichelis, at 33, signed as a stop-gap, City are keen to strengthen the centre of defence to provide competition for Matija Nastasic as a regular partner to captain Vincent Kompany.
Mangala has been strongly linked to Chelsea in the past but their acquisition of Kurt Zouma for £12.5 million on January deadline day, before loaning him back to St Etienne, was an acknowledgement that they were looking elsewhere.
Fernando’s agent has hinted that the holding midfielder could join City, after a move for him also stalled in January, and the player is expected to command a fee of around £12.4 million.
The 26-year-old signed a new contract at Porto in February, with his previous deal running out at the end of this season, but that appeared only to be a measure to preserve his transfer value. There were also suggestions that Fernando, a Brazilian who is a naturalised Portuguese, was told he would be frozen out of the first team if he did not sign.
Fernando’s deal ties him to Porto until 2017 with a buy-out clause thought to be £25 million but the likelihood is that he will be sold for significantly less. If he does arrive at City it will raise questions over the futures of Jack Rodwell, who is expected to return to Everton, and Javi Garcia.
City’s win over Southampton was aided by a serious mistake by assistant referee Michael McDonough, which allowed Samir Nasri to give them a 2-1 lead.

'We depend on ourselves' - Demichelis unfazed by Liverpool charge

Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis has told Goal he enjoys the pressure of the Premier League title race but isn't worried about the fortunes of their rivals.

Manuel Pellegrini's men earned a 4-1 win over Southampton to keep their hopes of a second league crown in three seasons alive.

Demichelis has come under fire for some of his displays this season, and Goal has learned the 33-year-old could be set for a move to New York.
City face some tough fixtures in the run-in, including a trip to second-placed Liverpool, but the Argentine says he enjoys the weight of expectation.

"The pressure [to win the title] is beautiful,” he told Goal. "We have to keep winning. It's vital because we have two games fewer.

"They [Southampton] did well in the first half and although they didn't reach us [City's goal], they had a lot of possession and that's not what tends to happen against our rivals. Overall we had a good game."

City were somewhat fortuitous on their way to victory on Saturday, as replays showed David Silva was several yards offside in the build-up to Samir Nasri’s goal, which put the hosts 2-1 up before the break.

Demichelis said: "I didn't watch Nasri's movement, I couldn't say anything. From my location I haven't got any chance to see it."

The defender also acknowledged the challenge of Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool and expects a tough match when they meet on April 13.

Both sides have their fate in their own hands, but Demichelis says City will be concentrating on their own fixtures and not keeping an eye on the Reds, who face West Ham on Sunday afternoon.

"Liverpool? We depend on ourselves," he added. "That's the better option."

Man City ready to make "huge investement" in Luis Suarez

Manchester City have made Luis Suarez their top summer transfer market and believe that a "huge investment" will be enough to lure Liverpool's star striker away from Anfield in time for next season, according to the Sunday Times.
Suarez has been nothing short of sensational for Liverpool this season, scoring 29 goals in 27 Premier League games, but that fantastic form only came after a turbulent summer where the Uruguay forward lodged a very public transfer request.
Liverpool managed to rebuff interest from Arsenal last summer but are set for another fierce fight to keep their best player during the close season, despite Suarez signing a new contract in December which commits his future to the club until 2018.
City's director of football Txiki Begiristain has a strong working relationship with Suarez's agent and is anxious that Sergio Aguero or Edin Dzeko could ask to leave the Etihad this summer, with work started on a swoop for their replacement as a contingency.
Begiristain is confident of making a mega-money move for Suarez and thinks there is a release clause if Suarez's new deal that can pave the way for a shock Premier League switch, although Real Madrid are also believed to be very interested in signing a top-class centre forward ahead of next season.
Reds boss Brendan Rodgers has held firm in his stance over Suarez ever since taking charge on Merseyside, but this summer promises to be the sternest test of that outlook despite the title contenders almost certainly securing a return to Champions League football.

Liverpool lead Man City in race for Real Madrid star

The Portuguese defender looks set to leave Los Blancos after a difficult season in which he has only made seven La Liga appearances.
Coentrao came close to joining Manchester United on loan last year, yet the deal fell through, but he is rumoured to be more than willing to make a switch to the Premier League this time around.
Liverpool have now emerged as prime candidates for his signature, with the Merseysiders understood to have been in contact with his agent, Jorge Mendes.
The Reds are said to have discussed a potential deal, and plans for a bid are at an advanced stage.
City are also keen, but it is unclear as to whether or not the 26-year-old is a top target.
Real are set to demand around £11.5m for their man, which is a figure Brendan Rodgers may be willing to stretch to in a bid to solve his current left-back problems.
Tottenham could also revive their interest after baulking at his £15m valuation in 2013.

05/04/2014

Touré leads the way as Negredo's goal drought continues

Manchester City cruised past Southampton (4-1) at home for three points that again tightened things up at the top of the Premier League table, with City, Liverpool and Chelsea all within two points of each other. Goals from the Ivory Coast's Yaya Touré, Samir Nasri and Bosnia's Edin Dzeko sealed the points in the first half, despite Rickie Lambert's goal for the visitors. Montenegro's Stevan Jovetic scored City's fourth towards the end of the second half.
The win took Chilean Manuel Pellegrini's side provisionally into second place with a game in hand, a point behind Liverpool, who visit West Ham tomorrow and a point ahead of Chelsea. Only three minutes had passed at the Etihad Stadium when Dzeko tried to go around Southampton's Portuguese defender, José Fonte, whose trailing foot brought the Bosnian down with minimal contact.
Touré, City's leading goalscorer in the league slotted home his team's opener from the penalty spot to take control of the game. Pochettino's men drew level, also from the spot before the home side regained their lead through Nasri. Dzeko headed home to seal the points for City and Jovetic scored City's fourth of the game. Silva was amongst City's best players.

It's offside! Southampton defender Luke Shaw shows his frustration online after Manchester City defeat

Southampton's Luke Shaw has posted an image on Instagram, showing just how far David Silva was offside during this afternoon's 4-1 defeat to Manchester City.
The Spaniard looked to be the proverbial 'miles off' - when the ball was played - as he set up Samir Nasri to put Manuel Pellegrini's men back in front at the Etihad.
Replays showed the linesman had got the decision horribly wrong and full-back Shaw was keen to show his frustrations by carefully constructing this image, before posting it on Instagram.
It was a bitter blow for Mauricio Pochettino's side who also lost England hopeful Jay Rodriguez in the first half to a knee problem - putting his World Cup chances in doubt.
Three Lions team-mate Shaw will still be hopeful of making the trip to Brazil, but a career in art probably isn't on the horizon after this 'masterpiece'.