Football transfer news

By Wayne Veysey | Chief Correspondent

AC Milan are leading the chase to sign Nani but want Manchester United to lower their price tag to £12 million, Goal.comhas learned.

The Portuguese is almost certain to leave Old Trafford next year following a breakdown in his relationship with the club.

Talks over a new contract have yet to be resolved while the winger’s poor start to the season reached a new low when he had an alleged training ground fight with reserve team midfielder Davide Petrucci last month.

United are holding out for £20m for a player they signed from Sporting Lisbon in 2007 but his value will diminish if he is still at Old Trafford at the end of the season, by which time he will only have 12 months remaining on his contract.

Milan have indicated they are willing to enter the race for Nani’s signature but value him at the £12m mark.

It is believed Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to sanction the sale of the winger, who turns 26 next month.

Although a key creator and goalscorer for United in the three seasons that followed Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure to Real Madrid, Nani has frustrated Ferguson with his inconsistency.

He was dropped from the 18-man United squad against Fulham in the second weekend of the season after failing to shine in their Premier League opener against Everton.

He then upset Ferguson by missing a penalty against Galatasaray in the Champions League and only started the 3-2 defeat to Tottenham, in which he scored his only goal of the season, because of injuries to Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young.

A January exit is understood to be unlikely but a parting of the ways next summer is now increasingly inevitable.

A £25m deal to sell him to Zenit St Petersburg in the summer fell through because his “unreal” wage demands put off the Russian club.

Ferguson has strengthened his attacking options by signing Robin van Persie, Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell this summer, and, as revealed by Goal.com last month, is lining up a £5m move for 20-year-old Blackpool winger Tom Ince.

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EXCLUSIVE
By Elia Raimondo

Jordy Clasie has caught the attention of AC Milan, Juventus and Roma with his fine performances for Feyenoord over the past few months, Goal.com can reveal.

The midfielder, 21, is a product of the Rotterdam giants’ youth academy, and has developed into an important first-team member since returning from his one-year loan spell at Excelsior in 2010-11.

Clasie’s rise to prominence has not gone unnoticed in Italy, as it has now emerged that Milan, Juventus and Roma have all enquired about his availability.

The playmaker, who has been likened to Barcelona’s Xavi due to his style of play, will not be available on the cheap, though, as he has a contract with Feyenoord until the summer of 2015.

Additionally, Clasie has also attracted the interest of a number of unnamed Premier League clubs, and an offer in excess of €10 million could be needed to lure him away from De Kuip.

Clasie made his Netherlands debut earlier this season in the World Cup 2014 qualifier against Turkey and is currently preparing for the Oranje‘s trip to Romania.

Galatasaray chief executive Lutfi Aribogan has disclosed an interest in signing Arsenal left-back Andre Santos.

The defender has failed to fully establish himself in the Premier League, and seen his appearances once again limited so far this season by injury and the good early form of Kieran Gibbs.

Santos has also lost his place in the Brazil set-up under Mano Menezes, not featuring since the Copa America in 2011, and could be in search of regular first-team action in anticipation of World Cup 2014, which will be held in his home country.

“Andre Santos is one of the names [we have] on our list,” Aribogan told the Turkish sports newspaper Fanatik.

Galatasaray are familiar with Santos from his stint with Super Lig rivals Fenerbahce, where he spent two seasons prior to signing for Arsenal, and it seems that a return to Turkey could perhaps be on the cards for the Brazilian.

However, Aribogan did admit that any possible transfer is, at the moment, a long way off, adding: “We currently have no contact with his club and the player himself.”

EXCLUSIVE
By Romeo Agresti

Juventus have told Giuseppe Rossi’s agent, Federico Pastorello, that they are not interested in signing the Villarreal striker, Goal.com can reveal.

The 25-year-old is eager to leave El Madrigal for a return to Serie A in the January transfer window and his representative had offered him to clubs such as AC Milan, Inter and Napoli, as well as the champions.

However, the Bianconeri have no plans to make an approach for Rossi anytime soon as they have doubts about his physical condition and style of play.

Juventus were close to signing Rossi in the summer of 2011 but the move eventually never materialised due to financial reasons.

Yet, even though they have since continued to monitor the attacker’s situation in Spain, a transfer is not an option at this point.

Rossi is currently recovering from a knee injury that has kept him out of action so far this season, but he is hopeful of making a return in February.

The Parma youth product has a contract with Villarreal until the summer of 2016, but the Yellow Submarine are ready to cash in on the forward if a good-enough offer comes in.

Paris Saint-Germain will tempt Ashley Cole with a €185,000-a-week (£150,000) three-year deal in a bid to sign him in 2013.

The French giants are in the driving seat to sign the England left-back and are ready to offer him a lucrative long-term contract as doubts grow over his Chelsea future.

Cole has failed to agree terms on a new Stamford Bridge agreement, despite having just eight months remaining on his current deal.

The defender, who is set to return to the England team for the World Cup qualifier against Poland on Tuesday night after sitting out the 5-0 win over minnows San Marino on Friday, has been offered only a one-year extension by Chelsea.

Cole, who turns 32 in December, wants at least a two-year deal and is ready to move on if he does not get it.

He is free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with foreign suitors in January ahead of a summer move, and his west London exit is now looking inevitable.

Sources say the Blues are even willing to offload Cole when the transfer window re-opens if his understudy, Ryan Bertrand, maintains the progress that he has made over the last six months.

Bertrand has won his first two England caps this season and began the new campaign in the Chelsea team after starting the Champions League final in May.

Although he has been playing in a left-midfield role for club and country, Chelsea staff have earmarked him to be Cole’s long-term successor at left-back.
 
PSG are confident that they have the ambition and resources to win Cole’s signature. The defender was called “the best left-back in the world” by coach Carlo Ancelotti earlier in October when asked about the club’s interest in his former player.

The Ligue 1 outfit have a strong English connection on the backroom staff, where Ancelotti has recruited former Stamford Bridge employees Paul Clement, Claude Makelele and Nick Broad.

Paris’ close distance by Eurostar to London could also prove important when negotiations with Cole begin in earnest over the coming weeks.

The breakdown in the full-back’s contract talks with Chelsea is believed to be unrelated to the recent controversy over his recent tweet rant against the Football Association (FA).