Football transfer news

TIDYING UP ALL THE LOOSE STORIES IN FOOTBALL THIS WEEK

By Wayne Veysey and Greg Stobart

BUTLAND ON MANCHESTER CITY’S RADAR BUT MANCINI COOL ON VALDES

Birmingham City goalkeeper Jack Butland has become used to attention from Premier League clubs since his impressive display for Team GB during the Olympics.

Almost every week, a different scout from the top flight is in the stands to watch the 19-year-old, with Liverpool believed to be strongly considering a bid.

Manchester City are the latest club to show an interest as they look to bolster their goalkeeping options and add competition for Joe Hart.

The prospect of having to compete with Hart for a first-team place would probably lead Butland to reject a move to the Etihad Stadium, but Birmingham’s financial troubles mean he is likely to be playing for a new club by the start of next season.

While City are actively searching for new goalkeepers, The Sweeper understands that Roberto Mancini will not be making a bid for Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes, despite reports in Spain to the contrary.

HARRY’S BATTLE TO RESTORE DRESSING ROOM SPLIT BETWEEN HAVES AND HAVE-NOTS

Harry Redknapp will need all his talismanic qualities to overturn QPR’s disastrous start to the season and keep the club in the Premier League.
 
One of the priorities of the renowned man-manager will be to restore some harmony to a dressing room divided between the haves and have-nots.
 
The Sweeper understands that the split is principally between the players who were integral to the club’s promotion campaign two seasons ago and those who have been parachuted in on vastly superior wages to establish QPR as a top-tier outfit.
 
Longer-serving players like Jamie Mackie, Clint Hill, Shaun Derry and Hogan Ephraim are believed to earn between £8,000-£15,000-a-week.
 
By comparison, Rangers’ top bracket of earners, the majority of whom were signed in the last two transfer windows in the wake of the Tony Fernandes-led takeover in August 2011, earn £60,000-£70,000-a-week.
 
What is said to be particularly galling for those signed by Neil Warnock when Rangers were unable to offer Premier League-standard salaries is the relative underperformance of those earning big bucks.
 
Joining Joey Barton, whose salary is partly funded by his club Marseille, on monster wages are Bobby Zamora, Jose Bosingwa, Nedum Onuoha and Shaun Wright-Phillips.
 
None of these big earners are first-team regulars or likely to be heavily relied upon by Redknapp in the battle that lies ahead.

DE GEA’S MANCHESTER UNITED CAREER NOT THE ONLY THING VEERING OFF COURSE

David de Gea will take his place on the Manchester United bench for today’s clash against Reading at the Madejski Stadium.

But the United goalkeeper may need a lift home on his return to Manchester after crashing his Lamborghini this week.

The 22-year-old is in good company – the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Mario Balotelli have all totalled cars on the roads in the north west.

FRIMPONG’S WOLVES LOAN COLLAPSED DUE TO FITNESS AND WAGES

Emmanuel Frimpong was on the verge of a loan move to Wolves last month before it collapsed late in the day and he joined another Championship club, Charlton Athletic, instead.
 
Sources have told The Sweeper, that the Arsenal midfielder’s switch to Molineux fell through due both to concerns over his fitness and the portion of his salary that Wolves were willing to pay.
 
Frimpong, who began a loan spell at Wolves in the second half of last season only for it to be ended after five games because of a cruciate ligament injury to his right knee, is due to return to Emirates Stadium in January when his Charlton loan expires.
 
Wolves remain interested in buying the 20-year-old on a permanent basis and are ready to make a move in the forthcoming window if he proves his fitness at The Valley.
 
Although Frimpong has said he wants to stay at Arsenal, the club he has been at since he was nine have not yet offered him a new deal and there is a strong possibility that he will be offloaded.

Robbie Keane has fanned the flames linking Kaka with a move to LA Galaxy, as the MLS club begin their search for a big name to replace the outgoing David Beckham.

The Brazilian playmaker has struggled to find consistent first-team action at Real Madrid, and the MLS Cup finalists would offer a potential outlet should the Real Madrid star seek a transfer.

“If we want to – as a team and an organisation – to push on and be the best that we can, to attract players like Kaka would be brilliant,” Robbie Keane has told reporters at a press conference.

Rumours continue to link the 30-year-old away from Santiago Bernabeu. Kaka has largely failed to recapture his AC Milan form which saw him awarded the 2007 Ballon d’Or.

“Someone like Kaka was only voted one of the best players in the world a few years ago,” Keane said. “We welcome anyone with his stature and his ability to the Galaxy, but ultimately it’s down to the boss.”

The ‘boss’ – AEG president Tim Leiweke – agrees with the Republic of Ireland international. The man who brought Beckham to Los Angeles is now batting his eyelashes at Kaka, and doing so publicly.

Kaka has frequently talked of his admiration of the United States. His brother, Digao, plays for the New York Red Bulls, and the best man at his wedding, Marcelo Saragosa, is at DC United.

“We’re well aware of Kaka’s interest in MLS, and we in turn have made it very clear to him that he’s aware of our interest in him,” Leiweke told Sports Illustrated.

“We have a great relationship with Real Madrid, and just as we worked through a player with them six years ago [Beckham], I’m absolutely convinced we could find the right deal this time, too.”

Gaston Ramirez admits he would be tempted by a move back to Serie A but insists his current focus is on his career at Southampton.

The 21-year-old joined Nigel Adkins’ side for a reported €15 million from Bologna in August and has netted two goals and created another two in eight Premier League outings.

Ramirez concedes he would entertain the idea of returning to Italy but has been buoyed by his introduction to English football.

“In Bologna I was fine, but now I think about Southampton,” he told Tuttomercatoweb.

“Coming back to Italy? In England I have discovered fantastic football. But in life never say never. In Italy, as well as in England, there are many important teams.”

Fiorentina are rumoured to be interested in the Uruguay international, with Ramirez speaking highly of the Viola and their coach, Vincenzo Montella.

He added: “Me to Fiorentina? It would be nice as they are playing very well and I like the coach, Montella. In every game the team are having fun and they have great quality. Why not? I’d come back in Italy, I like it and I was happy there.”

Claudio Ranieri has admitted that David Beckham would be a fantastic signing for Monaco, but insists he has not yet spoken to the 37-year-old about a possible switch.

The re-emerging French powerhouse have recently been credited with an interest in the former Real Madrid and Manchester United man, who is set to leave LA Galaxy at the end of the MLS season.

And when quizzed about whether the midfielder would pitch up at Stade Louis II at some point during the January transfer window, the Italian coach was enthusiastic about the prospect.

“About Beckham, I read and heard the same thing as you in the media,” Ranieri told reporters.