Is the Sandro Ranieri saga about to end?

Watch FootBrazil's video special on Ranieri here

According to Sandro Ranieri's agent, Luíz Paulo Chignall, the player has agreed personal terms with Spurs.

However, the midfielder's representative also made it clear that Internacional and Tottenham have yet to come to an agreement over the fee.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has shrugged aside any doubt over the immediate future of Ryan Babel, who has been widely tipped for a winter transfer.
The 22-year-old attacker has found first-team opportunities hard to come by at Anfield, having shown only glimpses of the raw talent that earned him an £11.

COS Contributor Chris Wright looks at the imminent managerial switch that makes little or no sense.

Buy Burnley Tickets at Fantastic Prices!

Join Our Facebook Fan Page for the Latest News/Rumours/Forums/Videos/WAGS/Funny Stuff/Features!

From the moment it was announced that the Bolton Wanderers top brass were coquettishly fluttering their eyelids at Owen Coyle across a crowded saloon and that he was reciprocating with a coy flick of his hair or two, one question loomed large in my and many other people's minds; ‘Why would he want to go?

Olympiacos will return to Liverpool with a bid for Spanish midfielder Albert Riera after their £5 million approach for Yossi Benayoun was rejected by the Anfield outfit, according to a report from The Daily Mail.
The Spaniard has not managed this season to reproduce the fine form of his debut campaign on Merseyside, and Reds boss Rafa Benitez could be tempted to part with the left-sided midfielder.

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has rejected an approach from Greek outfit Olympiakos for Yossi Benayoun, according to a report from The Daily Mail.
The Greek giants apparently offered the Reds £5 million for the Israeli winger, who would have reportedly been paid £40,000 a week after tax had he moved.

Liverpool will conclude a £1.5 million deal for Atletico de Madrid winger Maxi Rodriguez in the next 24 hours, according to The Times.
A source from the club previously revealed exclusively to Goal.com UK that the midfielder had been convinced by Argentina captain Javier Mascherano that first-team football would be in the offing, should he make the switch and join the Reds.

Liverpool are confident that a money row between Maxi Rodriguez and Atletico Madrid will not derail the Argentine's £1.2 million move to Anfield.
Manager Rafa Benitez has agreed a fee with the Spanish club and Rodriguez has accepted the terms of an 18-month contract.
But the 29-year-old midfielder's arrival has been put in doubt by a stand-off with Atletico.

Having crashed out of the Champions League in the group stages, the FA Cup in the third round, and hanging out in 7th place on the table with their three best players out of action, Liverpool are staring straight at catastrophe. Without the revenues available to buy their way out of this mess, and with no more money coming in from the Champions League or ticket sales from the FA Cup and a probable lack of Champions league football next year, all those unthinkable questions now need to be asked.

It was the marquee signing that announced that Manchester City had money to burn and were determined to usurp the comfy old pals act at the top of the Premiership. Fans flocked to Eastlands in tea-towels to show their new Arabic allegiance and the shock that seemed to follow such a transfer.

With the VLeague kicking off this weekend Binh Duong are reported to have signed an $800,000 sponsorship deal with a bank, allowing them a budget of $4 million for the coming season. Compare that with Persisam Samarinda in Indonesia whose budget I believe was about $3.5 million and Balestier Khalsa in the SLeague who get by on $25, free passes on the MRT and Happy Meal vouchers.

Réver celebrates a move to Germany by getting plastered

German side Wolfsburg are set to pay around €5 million for Grêmio defender Réver.

Like many Brazilian players, Réver is owned by more than one party. In his case; Grêmio have 55%, Paulista FC 25% and an investment group 20%.

It appears as though progress is being made over the potential signing of Middlesbrough's Adam Johnson.
After Gordon Strachan poured water on a possible move yesterday, Sky Sports reported that Johnson himself was keen to speak to us over a move and today's MEN states a deal is 'edging' closer:

Manchester City are closing in on Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson to replace the departing Robinho.

Theo joined the Arsenal in January 2006 for a fee of £5 million rising to £12 million based on appearances including internationals. At the time, there was a lot of publicity over this so called ...

Theo joined the Arsenal in January 2006 for a fee of £5 million rising to £12 million based on appearances including internationals. At the time, there was a lot of publicity over this so called ...

Crystal Palace's in-demand young striker, Victor Moses, insists he is happy to remain at Selhurst Park despite reports linking him with a move to Liverpool, Arsenal or even Barcelona.
Moses, who has represented England at Under-19 level, is widely expected to leave Palace in the January transfer window as the club are looking to ease their financial problems and could cash in on the striker who has been valued at £5 million.

The Telegraph is reporting that we are set to demand a fee of £7 million for Daniel Sturridge when the tribunal is held in a week or so's time on January 14th:

City had initially planned to target a £10 million figure, but the club have now set what they consider a more realistic figure of £7 million for the England U21 forward.

Steven Gerrard came out in an honest interview yesterday when he said that: "The table never lies, we haven't been good enough.
We are in this position for a reason and it tells us that we haven't been good enough and the players have to take responsibility for that.
I still think we can turn the corner.

What a dashing young man

Reports in the papers today suggest that Celtic manager Tony Mowbray is lining up a loan move for Stoke striker Dave Kitson, which would see the player move north of the border until the end of the season.

The striker moved from Reading to Stoke in 2008 for a club record fee of £5.

Liverpool's Andrea Dossena will shortly sign for Napoli in a €5 million deal, according to various reports in the Italian press.
Napoli's sporting director, Riccardo Bigon, arrived in Merseyside on Monday for talks that have apparently borne fruit.
Dossena, 28, arrived at Anfield in the summer of 2008 but has failed to settle into the rhythm of the English game.

Douglas Costa

Grêmio have confirmed that their highly-coveted midfielder, Douglas Costa, has joined Shakhtar Donetsk for €6.5 million (£5.8 million). The contract was signed on Wednesday but the speed of the deal surprised everyone including the player who was preparing for pre-season with Grêmio.

Lady in red, is dancing with me...

Bit of a double-barreller to get us off the mark this morning.

It seems that Birmingham are going to be a bit of a staple in this months transfer speculation after Blues chairman Carson Yeung's strange decision to announce to all and sundry that they have a shed load of cash to burn.

Liverpool winger Albert Riera is not about to depart Anfield and join Olympiacos, according to his agent Angel Castell.
The Greek outfit were reported on Wednesday to be lining up a bid for the wide player after their £5 million offer for Yossi Benayoun was apparently rejected by the Reds.

The secret to Eidur's success? Ostrich knees.

Eidur Gudjohnsen is seriously considering a return to the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers said to be keen to acquire the services of the former Barcelona man, according to his father and agent, Arnor Gudjohnsen.

Manchester United have reported pre-tax profits of £48.2million for the year to June 30th 2009, with a total turnover of £278.5 million for the year, up from £256.2 million the year before.

The sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for £80million in the summer was included in the profits as was the £41.

The game may be in us, but it's certainly not in Chicago.

"We are going to announce 18 cities with an average capacity of 78,000 seats adjusted for World Cup," said Sunil Gulati, president of US Soccer. Gulati was preparing the crowd who had gathered for the US World Cup Bid press conference for the announcement of 18 final cities that would host World Cup should the US get the tournament for 2018 or 2022.

South Korean clubs teams don't change coaches at the drop of a hat and usually wait until the season ends before taking a look at how their man in the hotseat has done. Sackings are rare, coaches tend to leave as contracts end or better offers come along. This off-season period is a little unusual however as three of the four clubs that were under overseas stewardship last season will have a new coach when the 2010 K-League season kicks off at the end of February.

Chelsea will pay Manchester City an initial £3.5 million for Daniel Sturridge. That figure could subsequently rise to around £6.5m based upon appearances.

"Chelsea FC will pay an initial fee of £3.5million with additional payments of £500,000 after each of 10, 20, 30 and 40 first-team competitive appearances," Professional Football Compensation Committee statement read, according to Press Association Sport.

Chelsea have been told hay they must pay Manchester City an initial fee of £3.5 million for Daniel Sturridge . That figure could subsequently rise to around £6.5m based upon appearances.

"Chelsea FC will pay an initial fee of £3.5million with additional payments of £500,000 after each of 10, 20, 30 and 40 first-team competitive appearances," Professional Football Compensation Committee statement read, according to Press Association Sport.

By Chris Wright

Nasty blisters have blighted Sturridge throughout his career

An independent tribunal set up by the Premier League has, this morning, concluded that Chelsea are to pay Manchester City an initial fee of £3.5 million for their young striker Daniel Sturridge who moved between the clubs last July.

Today's early transfer rumors roundup almost feels like a blast from the past for me, not only because these are yesterday's headlines, but because it features a few names who have been prominently featured in a number of roundups in past transfer windows.

Perhaps a taste of deja vu or what have you isn't such a bad thing for you, but it'd be nice if these guys, you know, move already.

The tribunal to decide the transfer fee of Daniel Sturridge has of course now announced the fee we would receive to compensate for the loss:

CHELSEA must pay Manchester City an initial fee of £3.5m for Daniel Sturridge and the striker's transfer could eventually cost the Londoners around £7m.

The Daily Mail claims that Ryan Babel's days at Liverpool are numbered, after he complained about his exclusion from Saturday's clash with Stoke City via his Twitter account.
The Dutch forward has struggled to make an impact at Anfield since his £11.5 million move from Ajax in 2007, and his standing in Rafael Benitez's ranks has just become more precarious than ever.

According to reports in the Italian media, Fiorentina is close to signing Porto midfielder Mario Bolatti. The Italian club is reportedly paying 6.5 million euros.

Télam

Bolatti, a un paso de Fiorentina

FLORENCIA El mediocampista Mario Bolatti quedó a un paso de convertirse en nuevo jugador de la Fiorentina de Italia a cambio de 6,5 millones de euros, informó la prensa local.

The Daily Mail and the Times both writes tonight that Wolves have made a massive bid of £6.5 million on Boro winger Adam Johnson. Paddytheflea has written lengthy about Johnson as a player and Wolves interest in him before (HERE) and my conclusion then was that Sunderland may very well be his final address.

Liverpool have locked horns with AC Milan to secure the services of Standard Liege's Milan Jovanovic, according to The Sun.
The sought-after Serb had previously revealed the Reds' interest in luring him to England, while also explaining that he had been courted by the San Siro outfit.

One team that we tendto forget from time to time when it comes to stadium discussions is the Kansas City Wizards. Well we may be putting their stadium needs to rest soon enough. KansasCity.com is reporting this evening that a final agreement for the stadium development is finally up for consideration by Wyandotte County officials.

Walter (centre) back amongst the goals at Inter

In March last year, Internacional's Walter Henrique da Silva was amongst the bunch of young Brazilians being looked at by Manchester United. Back then he was valued at around the £5 million mark. But the 20-year-old suffered a serious knee injury and has only just returned to training after an eight month layoff.

By Chris Wright

Hands, knees, sneeze!

Following initial interest in the summer, Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho is reportedly preparing a fresh €11.5 million bid for Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas. 'The Special One' may also opt to offer Spurs a cash-plus-player deal with Sulley Muntari being used as aggregate.

Firstly, before anything else I'd like to post a video my cousin back in Canada made. It's a video which contains some pictures as well as a few videos, the kind of scenes which make us proud when we look back on them as well as give us hope for the future.

So, the official debts have been released and the numbers were alot less scary than some of the rumours we heard a few weeks back.

By Chris Wright

Who could leave this kind of love behind?

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has reportedly targeted two more midfielders that he wishes to sign before the transfer window shuts One being West Ham's Valon Behrami, and the other being Middlesbrough's Adam Johnson.