Football transfer news

Anzhi Makhachkala manager Guus Hiddink has denied the club will move for Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

The Russian club, who are owned by billionaire Suleyman Kerimov, are aiming to build a squad capable of beating the best in Europe and have made steady inroads and are currently topping their domestic league.

And, after Roberto Carlos stated on Thursday that Anzhi are targeting a move for Rooney, Hiddink insists the former left-back was just expressing his desire rather than actual intent.

Speaking to reporters after his team’s 1-0 loss to Liverpool in the Europa League, Hiddink said: “He is vice-president, Roberto, and he can express his ideas, and he does that well.

“He hasn’t said it to me so far, but it’s nice sometimes to talk out of the blue without any reality.”

Anzhi have already spent large amounts on transfer fees and wages for players such as Samuel Eto’o, Yuri Zhirkov and Chris Samba, but Hiddink is now focusing on promoting young local talent to the first team.

“We want star players,” he added.

“But before the game [against Liverpool], I explained that the club are not making investment for investment’s sake. It must be good.

“Of course, Rooney is very good. But it must be realistically achievable as well. As you have seen tonight, I was happy with the performance of some young Russian players, even though we lost.

“We are not looking just for big names. We want a good balance. I don’t think the club will do anything foolish. But let’s not undervalue Wayne Rooney, of course. I respect him very much.”

EXCLUSIVE
By Greg Stobart

Chelsea will make a sensational £48 million January move for Atletico Madrid star Radamel Falcao, Goal.com has learned.

Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, has decided to activate the €60m (£48.1m) release clause in the Colombian’s contract as he looks to land one of the hottest strikers in the world.

Manchester City are also interested in Falcao but the Premier League champions fear the 26-year-old is destined for a switch to Stamford Bridge in the new year, with some suggesting that he has already agreed personal terms with the Londoners.

Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo wants a leading striker in the next transfer window, with Fernando Torres currently the only out-and-out forward in the first-team squad.

Falcao, who has already scored 12 goals in eight Atletico appearances this season, fits the bill as a natural goalscorer to combine with the likes of Eden Hazard, Juan Mata and Oscar as Chelsea target Premier League glory this term.

Atletico are desperate to keep Falcao but will have no option if a club activates the buyout clause for a player who cost €44m (£34.7m) when he joined from Porto in 2011.

The deal will be complicated by third-party ownership issues – with super agent Jorge Mendes part of a consortium holding an interest in Falcao – but Chelsea have started work early to ensure the move goes through smoothly.

City could yet rival Chelsea for Falcao’s signature but first need to offload one of their four main strikers – Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli – meaning the Blues are hot favourites to land the former River Plate man.

Falcao scored 36 goals in his first season in the Spanish capital, firing them to victory in the Europa League before further catching the eye with a stunning hat-trick in Atletico’s 4-1 win against Chelsea in the European Super Cup in August.

The Blues spent more than £70m in the summer to bring in Hazard, Oscar, Victor Moses, Marko Marin and Cesar Apilicueta – but Abramovich is ready to make the money available to sign Falcao and remains confident that the club will meet Uefa’s Financial Fair Play regulations.

Falcao’s arrival would again raise questions over the long-term future of £50m Fernando Torres, who has scored four goals in eight Premier League appearances so far this season.

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West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has suggested that he could make a move for Rio Ferdinand next summer if the Manchester United defender becomes a free agent.

The 33-year-old is yet to extend his contract at Old Trafford, which is currently set to expire at the end of June, and Goal.com exclusively revealed on Monday that United are set to slash Ferdinand’s £120,000-a-weel wages by around half in a 12-month package.

However, Allardyce, while pessimistic, has admitted to being interested in the prospect of the centre-back returning to the club he started his professional career.

“I think it’s highly unlikely that we would consider Rio Ferdinand at the moment,” Allardyce told reporters.

“But if it’s at the end of the season and he hasn’t got a new contract and he is going to leave Manchester United then we would be interested if we can sustain our Premier League status. It depends entirely on Rio.

“The chairman likes to think big and it’s nice to have a chairman who thinks big.

“Everything has to be in place. If Rio wants to come back, the financial package and so on and so forth and whether they want to release him or not.

“If he wants to live back in London eventually, which is where he comes from, which is what quite a few players like to do before the end of their careers then that might be an advantage for us.”

EXCLUSIVE
By Greg Stobart

Chelsea will make a sensational £48 million January move for Atletico Madrid star Radamel Falcao, Goal.com has learned.

Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, has decided to activate the €60m (£48.1m) release clause in the Colombian’s contract as he looks to land one of the hottest strikers in the world.

Manchester City are also interested in Falcao but the Premier League champions fear the 26-year-old is destined for a switch to Stamford Bridge in the New Year, with some suggestions that he has already agreed personal terms with the Londoners.

Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo wants a leading striker in the next transfer window, with Fernando Torres currently the only out-and-out forward in the first-team squad.

Falcao, who has already scored 12 goals in eight Atletico Madrid appearances this season, fits the bill as a natural goalscorer to combine with the likes of Eden Hazard, Juan Mata and Oscar as Chelsea target Premier League glory this term.

Atletico are desperate to keep Falcao but will have no option if a club activates the buyout clause for a player who cost £34.7m when he joined from Porto in 2011.

The deal will be complicated by third-party ownership issues – with superagent Jorge Mendes part of a consortium holding an interest in Falcao – but Chelsea have started work early to ensure the move goes through smoothly.

City could yet rival Chelsea for Falcao’s signature but first need to offload one of their four main strikers – Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli – meaning the Blues are hot favourites to land the former River Plate man.

Falcao scored 36 goals in his first season in the Spanish capital, firing them to victory in the Europa League before further catching the eye with a stunning hat-trick in Atletico’s 4-1 win against Chelsea in the European Super Cup in August.

The Blues spent more than £70m in the summer to bring in Hazard, Oscar, Victor Moses, Marko Marin and Cesar Apilicueta – but Abramovich is ready to make the money available to sign Falcao and remains confident that the club will meet Uefa’s financial fair play regulations.

Falcao’s arrival would again raise questions over the long-term future of £50m Fernando Torres, who has scored four goals in eight Premier League appearances so far this season.

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Anzhi Makhachkala team director Roberto Carlos has said his side will consider a move for Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney. 

The Russian club, who signed former Barcelona forward Samuel Eto’o last year, have been constantly linked with some of the biggest names in world football.

Carlos believes Anzhi’s owner, billionaire Suleyman Kerimov, will continue to pour money into the club and may even fund a move for Rooney to bring success to the club.

He told Sky Sports News: “Why not? [Rooney] is one of the best players in the world and any team would be happy to have him in their squad.

“He’s still a very young player. Of course I could not say when, and if, it will happen.

“[Kerimov] is capable of doing everything. If the owner of Anzhi has a wish to buy somebody, he will go and do it.

“But we are trying to change the image of the club. It’s not just about money. Of course we are going to buy good players but not only international players – we want to sign good Russian players that are not that expensive.”