Football transfer news

Cristiano Ronaldo’s comments after Real Madrid’s 3-0 win over Granada on Sunday, in which he stated
that he was sad and that people at the club knew why, have sparked a frenzy of speculation and conjecture.

It matters little that the 27-year-old still has three years left on his contract – the buy out clause for which
is €1 billion – rumours have abounded that the Portuguese wants to leave the Bernabeu. To that end,
Paddy Power are offering a special book on where the attacker will be playing come the September 1, 2013.

The most likely outcome of course is that he stays in the Spanish capital and he is priced at 1/14 (1.07)
to remain a Madrid player next season.

A romantic return to Manchester United, the side which sold him for a world record €100 million, comes next in the betting available at 10/1 (11.00), while big-spending French side PSG can be backed at 14/1 (15.00).

Should Ronaldo wish to sever any ties he had with United, he could do so by joining arch-rivals Manchester City, and the English champions are offered at 16/1 (17.00) to secure the forward’s services.

Further down in the betting an unlikely move to Barcelona is available at 33/1 (34.00), with Russian side
Anzhi Makhachkala, who have the finances if not the glamour needed to secure Ronaldo’s signature,
offered at the same price.

Finally a return to his boyhood club Sporting Lisbon can be backed at 66/1 (67.00)

Phil Kitromilides is a sports broadcaster working on radio and TV in London and Madrid. You can also follow Phil on Twitter.

West Ham chairman David Gold remains hopeful over retaining Andy Carroll for the entirety of his season-long loan at the club.

The 23-year-old striker is with the Hammers on a season-long deal after failing to find his feet at parent club Liverpool, but the terms of the agreement has been described as “confidential”, with speculation growing that the Anfield club could recall him in January after failing to bring in a replacement on transfer deadline day.

Carroll got off to a flying start for his new team, proving a constant threat to the Fulham defence in West Ham’s 3-0 win on Saturday, before being withdrawn with a hamstring injury.

And with the exact details of the striker’s loan agreement subject to a confidentiality agreement, Gold has revealed on Twitter he is hopeful that Carroll will remain at Upton Park for the rest of the season.

“The exact terms of AC [Andy Carroll’s] year-long loan deal is subject to a confidentially agreement but we are hopeful he will be with us the whole season,” he tweeted.

Carroll was linked with a move to former club Newcastle United throughout the summer, but with West Ham stealing in in the latter stages of the transfer window, the London side could be looking to strike a permanent deal with Liverpool to keep the England international at Upton Park after his loan deal expires.

Athletic Bilbao president Josu Urrutia has revealed that the Basque side could take legal action against Bayern Munich in the wake of the transfer of Javi Martinez to the Bundesliga giants.

The midfielder underwent a medical with the Germans without permission from his club, before completing his move the following day, and the Basque side are not amused with die Roten‘s behaviour.

“We are looking into the possibilities of taking legal action against Bayern Munich,” Urrutia stated at a press conference.

“Javi Martinez had a valid contract with us, which was specifically protected by the rules and regulations of world football’s governing body, Fifa.”

Bayern Munich eventually met the player’s €40 million buy-out clause to lure the Spain international away from Bilbao and the 24-year-old made his official Bayern debut at the weekend in the 6-1 Bundesliga win over Stuttgart.

Tottenham’s new signing Clint Dempsey has admitted he is relieved to have secured a move to White Hart Lane after a tense end to his spell at Fulham.

The American was linked with a move away from Craven Cottage throughout the summer, with Liverpool said to be his preferred destination, before agreeing a £6 million switch to Spurs on deadline day.

And Dempsey is delighted to have moved to a side where he’ll not only have the chance to play in Europe, but also without unduly unsettling his family.

Dempsey told The Guardian, “I’m very relieved and looking forward to getting back to playing.

“I think the team is a perfect fit. They qualified for a place last season for the Champions League but missed out on a technicality.

“But it’s still in London. My family doesn’t have to move far. My daughter, she can go to another international school and be on the same curriculum. It couldn’t have worked out any better in that regard.”

After netting 23 times in all competitions for Fulham last season, Dempsey had made no secret of his desire to play for a Champions League club.

And despite not being the case for Tottenham this season, he believes there is sufficient quality within the side to do so in future.

“I always wanted to play at the highest level possible. That was never a secret. That’s something I always said.

“It would be a dream of mine to play Champions League and you want to play on the best team possible to try to get there.

“That’s definitely a team with a lot of quality in it but now it’s all about the team that I’m with.”

After five years at Fulham, Dempsey concedes he was disappointed to leave on sour terms after refuting reports suggesting he refused to play but is now looking forward to his career at Tottenham.

“I’m disappointed in the way I was portrayed in the end with Fulham,” he admitted

“There were some things that were said that weren’t true. That’s in the past.

“It’s about looking towards the future. I’m looking forward to playing with Tottenham. It’s a great team, a great club.

“I want to thank the fans of Fulham. It’s been five great years.”

Juventus have announced on their official website that Jorge Martinez has left the club for Cluj on a one-year loan deal.

The Uruguayan midfielder was no longer needed by the Serie A giants, and will now try and re-launch his career with the Transylvanian Champions League hopefuls.

Martinez joined Juventus from Catania in the summer of 2010, but never really managed to secure regular first team action at the Turin side.

The 29-year-old had been farmed out on loan to Cesena last season, and will spent the 2012-13 campaign at Cluj, who are the reigning champions of the Romanian league.

Martinez has a contract with Juventus until the summer of 2014.