Football transfer news

Juventus general director Giuseppe Marotta has said that the reason for signing Nicklas Bendtner was because he was the cheap option.

The 24-year old arrived on a loan deal from Arsenal on the last day of the summer transfer window, but has failed to establish himself in the starting line-up, causing questions to be asked by the club’s fans.

And Marotta has now revealed the reasons behind the move.

“Each deal needs economical reasoning before happening,” he explained to Rai Sport.

“We were not able to make a big money signing last summer but we wanted another striker in case we suffered from a lot of injuries or suspensions, which is the reason we chose to sign Bendtner on loan.”

The Denmark international is yet to score for Juve in his seven appearances, and explained his feelings regarding being behind Mirko Vucinic and Sebastian Giavinco in the pecking order.

“I am not in charge and I think [Antonio] Conte is a great coach,” he said.

“Whoever he puts in the team it is up to him, and I respect that. It is right that Conte makes his own choice but I believe that I am a game-changer and I want to play.”

Juventus currently sit top of Serie A with 32 points from 14 games, two points ahead of Napoli in second place.

Nigel de Jong has hailed Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli, with recent reports linking the striker with a move to AC Milan.

The Italy international has struggled to hold down a place in Roberto Mancini’s side this season, and is also interesting Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.

Despite a disappointing campaign so far, one bright spot for the Rossoneri has been Stephan El Shaarawy, with the 20-year-old leading the Serie A scoring charts, but De Jong believes the two Italian strikers are not comparable.

“I have read about Mario coming to Milan in the papers,” De Jong told Tuttosport. “Let’s see what happens. It is always nice to have great players in the team.

“It is difficult to make comparisons, everyone has his own talent and his features. Stephan is currently one of the biggest talents in the world, he is playing at the highest level and he is just 20.

“You don’t have to be crazy – and he isn’t – to be a great player. Balotelli is great but he must feel good to do his best.”

The Netherlands international admitted that he initially found it hard to adapt to life in Italy, but maintains he is happy to stay, but took a swipe at Serie A supporters after playing in stadiums with few fans in.

“It took me longer than I expected to settle here but I’ve only been here for two months,” De Jong added.

“Every game I try to do better. Everything is new for me here, the coach is looking for the best game plan and I have to adapt. Recent results show that we are on the right track with the 4-3-3.

“I like Italian football even if the stadiums are empty.”

Dinamo Zagreb sporting director Zoran Mamic has insisted no deal has been reached with Manchester City for the sale of Alen Halilovic and says the Premier League champions will have to pay more than the widely reported fee of £9 million (€11m).

Halilovic – who has been dubbed the ‘Balkan Messi’ – is the latest graduate from an academy which has previously produced stars such as Luka Modric, Vedran Corluka and Niko Kranjcar.

But, in the wake of reports that the 16-year-old could be set for a move to the Etihad Stadium, Mamic joked that City would be lucky to get one of the wonderkid’s legs for the £9m (€11m) fee currently being touted.

“There’s no deal [with Manchester City],” he told Croatian newspaper sportske.jutarnji.hr.

“We cannot talk about something that hasn’t happened yet. But the figure that is mentioned in the English media [€11 million] – for that kind of money we wouldn’t even sell his left leg!”

Halilovic became the youngest-ever player to debut in the Croatian top-flight when he made an appearance from the substitutes’ bench during his side’s 3-1 victory over bitter rivals Hajduk Split in September.

A mere 10 days later, he broke another record to become the youngest-ever goalscorer in the league with a glorious chip in a 4-1 win against Slaven Belupo.

AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani has dismissed reports that Robinho could leave the club for Santos in the January transfer window.

The Brazil international is continually being linked with a move away from the Serie A giants, but Galliani has made it clear the forward will not return to his native country this winter.

“Robinho will remain at Milan,” Galliani told reporters in the wake of the Rossoneri‘s 1-0 win over Juventus.

The 28-year-old has been struggling to find his best form this season, and his goal against Juve was his first of the 2012-13 campaign.

Meanwhile, Galliani revealed that Milan will probably make Kevin Constant’s stay at the club permanent.

“He [Constant] will probably be signed permanently,” he added.

The 25-year-old joined the San Siro side on a season-long loan deal from Genoa in the summer transfer window, and has since become an integral first team member at the club.

Spartak Moscow have sacked coach Unai Emery just six months after the Spaniard was put in charge of the Russian side.

The former Valencia boss has not had the best of times at the capital club, who currently sit in sixth place in the Premier League after 17 games, outside the European places.

They suffered a 3-0 home defeat to Barcelona in midweek, leaving them in fourth place in their Champions League group and eliminated from European competition.

That was followed up with a crushing 5-1 loss to local rivals Dinamo Moscow on Sunday, and general director Valery Karpin confirmed Emery’s dismissal at the post-match press conference.

“I have one announcement. It has been decided by shareholders of the club that Emery will no longer coach Spartak,” he revealed.

“What happens next will all be announced tomorrow [Monday] or the day after.”

However, when questioned on whether he would take control of the team once more, Karpin simply replied: “No idea.”