Football transfer news

Alessandro Del Piero has rubbished talk that he could leave Sydney FC in January by committing his future to the club.

The 38-year-old penned a one-year contract worth €1.5 million with the Australian side in the summer after he opted to end his 19-year association with Juventus and has since scored five goals in 10 matches – one of which was crowned Goal.com‘s Goal of the Week.

However, his arrival has not impacted positively on Sydney’s fortunes, with the team sinking to the bottom of the A-League after just three wins all season, leading to speculation that the forward may decide against extending his deal, but he claims this is not the case.

“Everything is clear for me and the club,” Del Piero told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday. “I’m not finding [our recent slump] stressful. I want to put all of my knowledge and heart into matches.

“My brother [Stefano] talks about [the matter of my contract]. It’s his problem, not mine. I’ve had a really good time here.

“At the moment the best thing for me, the club, my team-mates and everyone here is to concentrate on the games ahead.

“We have to put all of our energy, mentally and physically, into games. I’m really enjoying it here. Now we have to win a couple of games for more enjoyment.

“We have to overcome this slump with heart, fight, pressure and a little luck.”

Besiktas president Fikret Orman has claimed that Nene will join the club providing that conditions are met by the Paris Saint-Germain forward.

The 31-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and recently announced that he will not renew his stay with the Ligue 1 leaders, meaning he is free to talk to other teams with a view to signing a pre-contractual agreement.

Speculation in the Turkish media suggested that the Brazilian had already negotiated personal terms, and on Wednesday, the Black Eagles’ supremo told NTVspor:

“If our conditions are met, the transfer will happen.”

Nene, who despite finishing as the French top flight’s joint-top scorer with 21 goals last term, has been frozen out of Carlo Ancelotti’s plans at PSG in 2012-13, featuring just nine times in the league.

The forward has reportedly been offered an annual net salary of €2.25 million by Besiktas, who are seeking a replacement for the newly-departed Ricardo Quaresma.

Daniele De Rossi has reiterated his desire to stay at Roma, as the January transfer window looms.

The Italy international has been far from a regular in coach Zdenek Zeman’s plans so far this season, with Goal.com revealing that AC Milan had become the latest club interested in the player’s signature.

The 29-year-old put in a storming performance in the Giallorossi‘s 4-2 victory over Massimiliano Allegri’s side last weekend, and he has since affirmed his commitment to his boyhood club, insisting he has never contemplated a move away from Stadio Olimpico.

He told the New York Times: “I was born in Rome. For me, it is the normal thing to play right here. I never tried, or really wanted, to play outside for another team.

“For me, it is amazing, great. I first came to the training centre when I was 12-years-old. It’s my home.

“President James Pallotta said I am not on the market, not for sale. I repeat, I still love this city and the club. Everything I love is here. It would be so difficult for me if I have to change.

“If some clubs want me, my manager will have to talk with them.

“I live for this club. My story is that I live for the club and, for me, leaving would be a drama, a big drama. I would like to stay here.”

Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel has signed a new contract with the club until 2014 despite losing his place in the starting XI to France international Hugo Lloris.

The 41-year-old started the season as No.1 at White Hart Lane and has been displaced by Andre Villas-Boas’ summer signing, but has chosen to extend his stay despite the presence of Carlo Cudicini and Heurelho Gomes in the ranks as well.

“We are delighted to announce that Brad Friedel has signed a new contract with the Club until 2014,” the club revealed on its official website.

Friedel would have been a free agent at the end of the 2012-13 campaign and free to talk to other clubs in January, but the club’s desire to prolong his contract suggests Villas-Boas still sees a role for the keeper despite his age.

The deal means Spurs have four senior goalkeepers on the books, although Villas-Boas revealed earlier in December the club “will listen to proposals” for both Cudicini and Gomes, with Friedel and Lloris likely to compete for the starting role.

The American keeper joined Spurs from Aston Villa in 2010 and has made 49 appearances for the club.

The shot-stopper also has the distinguished record of being the only player in the Premier League to have made over 300 consecutive starts, reaching 310 before being dropped for Lloris against Villa in October.

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini insists he did not force midfielder Adam Johnson out of the Premier League champions’ side.

The Italian admitted that the England international had grown frustrated with his lack of first team opportunities at City and now faces the man he sold to Sunderland for £10 million in the summer for the second time since his departure.

“I didn’t say to him to leave. Adam said he wanted to always play and for that reason I let him go,” Mancini told reporters.

The 24-year-old has made a quiet start to life at the Stadium of Light, scoring two goals in 15 appearances in the league this season and has seen his international opportunities dwindle as a consequence.

“For me Adam was an important player but I understand the situation,” Mancini continued.

“He is young, he wants to play every game.”

Mancini’s side are second in the league heading into the Boxing Day fixtures, four points behind leaders Manchester United having gained two points on them after their rivals’ 1-1 draw at Swansea on Sunday.