Category: Transfer news

Manchester United veteran Ryan Giggs has insisted that he is solely focused on his on-field displays and not a possible contract extension.

Following Wednesday’s 1-0 FA Cup third-round replay win over West Ham, in which Giggs produced a man-of-the-match display, Sir Alex Ferguson claimed that the 39-year-old is set to remain at Old Trafford for a further year.

Giggs has been committing himself to United on one-year rolling contracts for the last few seasons, and the Welshman is calm regarding his current situation – maintaining that he is “not too bothered” about his  future.

“I am not thinking about my contract at the moment,” Giggs told The Independent.

“It is like previous seasons, I am quite relaxed about it. I am just enjoying my football. There are so many crucial games at the moment I am not too bothered about what is happening next year.

“I feel good though. Obviously the manager knows how to look after me and I try and look after myself as best I can, which you have to at this age.

“I am not going to play every game but I have to be ready and prepared when called upon.”

EXCLUSIVE
By Wayne Veysey

Nigel Adkins is on the verge of leaving Southampton, Goal.com can reveal.
 
The manager is believed to have been told that he is about to be dismissed despite steering the Saints to three points clear of the relegation zone.
 

Adkins’ representatives are in talks with the club about a severance package.
 
Goal.com understands that former Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo is Southampton’s choice to replace Adkins.

Newly promoted Saints suffered a torried start to their Premier League campaign, winning just one of their opening 11 games – losing eight – to leave them rooted to the bottom of the table.

However, just two losses from the following 11 games saw them rise to 15th, with credible draws against Arsenal and Chelsea in recent weeks – the latter a second-half comeback from two goals down.

More to follow…

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew is hopeful of convincing Fabricio Coloccini to remain at St James’ Park when he meets with his captain next week.

The centre-back is keen on a move back to Argentina due to personal reasons, with San Lorenzo his preferred destination due to his father’s affiliation with the club.

However, with Coloccini a key member of the Newcastle squad and concerns over the depth of his defence already, Pardew is determined on keeping the 30-year-old and hopes he will find sanctuary “on the football pitch”.

“We’re going to sit down next week and hopefully iron out the issues and come to a conclusion where Colo stays,” Pardew told reporters.

“There’s obviously a problem there in his life.

“The best way to deal with it at times is be on the football pitch and play your best football, and he certainly did that last week [against Norwich].”

Coloccini, who joined the Tyneside club for a fee of £10 million in 2008, penned a new four-year contract last May and San Lorenzo chairman Matias Lammens is sympathetic with the Premier League outfit’s predicament – hinting that their chase of the player’s signature will conclude in the near future.

“Putting myself in Newcastle’s place, it will be difficult to let Fabricio Coloccini leave,” he said to TyC Sports.

“San Lorenzo will wait for him until the end of this week.”

Former Germany international Bernd Schuster believes that the arrival of Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich at the end of this season could lure more high-profile names to the Bundesliga.

Stars such as Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Mario Gotze and Marco Reus already ply their trade in Germany’s top flight, and the 52-year-old believes that more big names could follow suit in the not too distant future following the Catalan’s decision to snub England in favour of Bavaria.

“I can imagine that Guardiola’s appointment could draw more high-profile names. Football’s big stars will have noticed that such a big name is moving to the Bundesliga,” he was quoted as saying by Welt.

“I think that a number of big names could follow in his footsteps. Pep’s arrival will only make Germany an even more appealing destination.”

Bayern have already been linked with players such as Neymar and Thiago Alcantara since the appointment of Guardiola was made public.

AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani has revealed that negotiations with Real Madrid over Kaka are progressing, but with all three all parties keen to make the move happen this winter.

The 68-year-old stated on Thursday that a transfer could prove to be very difficult, but the Rossoneri director now seems slightly more optimistic about a return to San Siro for the attacking midfielder.

“Negotiations are ongoing. Milan, Real Madrid and Kaka himself are all keen to finalise the deal,” Galliani told reporters.

“We will have to be creative to find a solution, though, as it is a complicated deal. All parties have a common objective, but we’re talking about big figures. We will all have to make sacrifices.”

The 30-year-old left Milan for Madrid in the summer of 2009 after a successful six-year spell at San Siro, but failed to live up to the high expectations at the Blancos.

Kaka has made only seven La Liga appearances this term, failing to find the net in any of them.