Manchester United's transfer window: Sir Alex goes on the offensive - originally posted on
Soccerlens.com
Manchester United are a wounded animal after relinquishing their Premier League title in
last-gasp fashion to cross-town rivals Manchester City in 2011-12. As such, Sir Alex Ferguson
entered this summer's transfer market eager to purchase the firepower and quality to come back in
2012-13 stronger.
On the same day that Arsenal's main defensive midfielder was confirmed as a Barcelona player,
Everton overran Manchester United in a very impressive and fully deserved 1-0 win at Goodison
Park.
The link here? United had no midfield. Sky called it a 4-3-3 in the pre-match buildup, but it
looked more like a 4-2-3-1 with Rooney, Nani and Kagawa swapping positions behind Welbeck and ahead
of Scholes and Cleverley; one is an ageing playmaker, the other a young playmaker who missed the
whole of last season through injury.
Liverpool are exploring the possibility of signing France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris as Pepe Reina
continues to interest AC Milan, according to reports in France.
Reina, who has been at Liverpool since 2005, is on the radar of AC Milan, who are looking to
replace the ageing Christian Abbiati.
New Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is thought to be scouting potential replacements in the instance
that the Spaniard leaves for the San Siro, and French newspaper Le 10 Sport believe he has his
sights on Lloris.
Demoralised Manchester United fans had feared the worst after their captain, Nemanja Vidic, was
stretchered off during that disastrous Champions League exit in Basel during the week. And now,
those fears have been realised, with Sir Alex Ferguson revealing that the Serbian centre-half would
miss the rest of the season with knee ligament damage.
Following Manchester United's Carling Cup exit against Crystal Palace last night, OTP looks at five
players on display night who are treading a tightrope if they want to continue their careers at Old
Trafford. 1. Darron Gibson It looked like Fergie was going to ship Gibson out on the regular
Manchester-Sunderland service during the summer.
When it comes to transfer rumours and Arsenal we all know that most of them turn out to be just
that rumours, and anyone we are interested in normally ends up elsewhere anyway. There is one doing
the rounds today suggesting that Arsene Wenger is preparing a January bid for Manchester United's
ageing striker Michael [.
Tottenham close-in on Lloris, but lose out on Damiao - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Following the sale of Luka Modric to Real Madrid on Monday, Tottenham have an injection of
transfer funds believed to be in the region of £33 million. Andre Villas-Boas is expected to be
one of the busier Premier League managers over the remainder of the transfer window, and the quest
to sign a new goalkeeper and striker have materialised; one in Spurs' favour and one not.
Hail Cesar: Azpilicueta joins rampant Chelsea from Marseille - originally posted on
Soccerlens.com
Chelsea have continued their summer spending spree by announcing the signature of Spanish
right-back Cesar Azpilicueta from Marseille. A fee reported to be in the region of £7 million has
been enough to convince the Ligue 1 side to part with the starlet, with the news confirmed on the
Stade Velodrome side's official website.
Brendan Rodgers is close to adding Swansea's midfielder Joe Allen for a fee of £11 million
pounds and negotiations are also continuing with Fulham to secure Clint Dempsey for upwards of £5
million maybe rising to almost £10 million for the 30-year-old midfielder.
Rodgers has already lodged an enquiry with the Swans over Allen but was told by his replacement
Michel Laudrup that the player would be staying in Wales this summer - unless a huge offer was put
on the table.
As I am sure you were not surprised to hear, Kieron Dyer is yet again out of action for the
season. However much it is a shame for a man of his talent to have to end his career on such a
note, the he should just give up. Dyer has not had any kind of form since leaving Newcastle over
four years ago, and even there he was so blighted by injury that his wages (and off field behavior)
were the cause of embarrassment.
On the day that Gary Cahill had to withdraw from England's Euro 2012 squad with the
inexperienced Liverpool defender, Martin Kelly, taking his place, the 'representative' of Rio
Ferdinand has blasted both the FA and manager Roy Hodgson for failing to pick his client.
Some pointers for AVB By the end of Wednesday evening and after a 2-1 loss in Leverkusen, nothing
could mask the eruption of crisis talk surrounding the Stamford Bridge club. Not even the
assortment of face masks on display Andre Villas-Boas's job hangs in the balance and so do the
contracts of many of the [.
With the 2014 World Cup qualifiers beginning this month, it's the perfect time to assess which
countries out of the home nations can make it to Brazil in two years' time.
England
Roy Hodgson appears to be overseeing a transitional period for the Three Lions with a mixture of
ageing but established stars being complemented by plenty of exciting, up-and-coming talents.
The new Spurs manager will need to look closely at the current squad and consider who has a
future at the club. To an extent, his job has been started for him with Niko Kranjcar and Vedran
Corluka leaving the club but there may be some fans' favourites under particular threat.
The Evening Standard claims that West Ham are monitoring the situation closely with a view to
making a move for William Gallas.
Top Spurs story in the news today comes courtesy of the Evening Standard who claim that the
club's Chairman Daniel Levy is preparing to make Harry Redknapp a personal offer he can't refuse
while throwing in a £50m transfer fund to strengthen the squad for next season.
The article by James Olley is an interesting read but this is probably the essence of it,
"Redknapp's contract with Spurs expires at the end of next season and negotiations have begun on
a new four-year deal on an increased salary from his present £3m a year before bonuses.
It started with Ernie - Mehmet inherited and added to the mess and now look where we are.
The Victory midfield has been a debacle since Fred left. His fast running midfield added much to
Archie Thompson and a younger Danny Allsopp's firepower but how many years ago was that.
And was the style sustainable in Asia - or even the A-League.
Liverpool look likely to have to accelerate their interest in Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen if
they wish to ensure the Danish youngster ends up at Anfield.
The Reds are known to be tracking the 19-year-old and have repeatedly been linked with a bid for
his services, although Ajax has remained adamant that Eriksen will not leave the Amsterdam ArenA.
