Zenit Saint Petersburg are set to rival Liverpool in their pursuit of Genoa star Andreas Granqvist, according to reports from talkSPORT.
The Premier League side were linked with the Swedish international over the summer, with Brendan Rodgers rumoured to be keen on strengthening his defensive options.
However, reports have emerged that the big spending Russians are now keen on the centre-back and could make a swoop during the January transfer window.
The Italians are believed to value their man at around £6.5m, which would be small change for Zenit who splashed a combined £70m to bring former Chelsea target Hulk and Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel to the club earlier this year.
The 27-year-old is rumoured to be keen on a switch to Anfield, but the Saint Petersburg-based outfit are likely to offer him a very lucrative deal to swap Serie A life for the Russian Premier League.
Granqvist spent the 2008/09 season with Wigan, moving to the DW Stadium from Helsingborgs in his homeland.
He failed to hold down a starting berth with the Latics, making just over ten appearances before moving to Eredivisie outfit Groningen.
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Since his forgettable spell in the Premier League the Swede has forged a reputation as tough-tackling, reliable defender and made almost 30 appearances for his national team.
Mikel Arteta missed an injury time penalty to deny Arsenal a win against Fulham in a six-goal thriller at the Emirates Stadium.
The draw means it is now the Gunners’ worst start to a Premier League season since Arsene Wenger arrived in North London 16 years ago and leaves them four points shy of a Champions League spot.
Much like their Champions League draw with Schalke in midweek the hosts seized the initiative early in the game and raced into a two goal lead inside the first 25 minutes.
Oliver Giroud was on target first heading in a cross from a revitalised Theo Walcott after 11 minutes before Lukas Podolski converted Arteta’s cut back from six-yards to double Arsenal’s advantage.
But the Cottagers are made of sterner stuff these days and hauled themselves back into the game courtesy of Dimitar Berbatov’s close range header from Bryan Ruiz’s corner in the 29th minute. The comeback was complete just before the break as Berbatov turned provider, setting up Alex Kacaniklic to nod past Vito Mannone.
Martin Jol’s men took their foot off the gas after the break but were gifted a third goal as Arteta had his pocket picked by Ruiz before hauling down the Costa Rican in the penalty area. Berbatov stepped up to covert from the spot and put the visitors within sight of their first win at Arsenal in 108 years.
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But barely two minutes later their hopes of an historic triumph were dashed as Giroud’s shot bounced off the post to Walcott, who crossed for the French striker to beat Mark Schwarzer.
But that wasn’t the end of the drama as referee Phil Dowd harshly punished Sascha Riether for handball only for Arteta to fluff his lines from 12-yards, seeing his spot kick kept out by a full stretch save from Schwarzer.
Manchester United currently sit at the top of the Premier League table, with neighbours Man City breathing down their neck.
In the last week Sir Alex Ferguson’s men have picked up six points at Old Trafford in the league, beating West Ham 1-0 after a 3-1 victory over QPR at the weekend.
In that comeback win, the final goal was scored by Mexican Javier Hernandez and provided by Brazilian Anderson.
Here are Man Utd duo Anderson and Chicharito celebrating the goal, but can you come up with a funny caption for this picture?
Leave your suggestions below…
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This week you can win a copy of the Manchester United: Greatest Ever XI DVD!
As voted for by the fans, this is Manchester United’s greatest ever XI.
A unique, fan-driven project, MANCHESTER UNITED: GREATEST EVER XI sets out to select a definitive team of the greatest players ever to pull on the famous red shirt.
Across 4 DVDs and more than over 130 players, fans make the case for their picks and relive memories of mighty performances on the pitch highlighting the club’s most memorable players.
For the FootballFanCast.com Caption Competition Terms and Conditions click here
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Check out our Caption Competition Gallery for some inspiration and to see the winners so far.
Last week’s winner: tremorman – click here to see all entries
AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani has warned Manchester City that Stephan El Shaarawy will not be leaving the club, report talkSPORT.
The Sky Blues’ manager Roberto Mancini is believed to be interested in the 20-year-old, who he sees as an ideal addition to his attacking armoury in the fight for the Premier League title.
A possible swap deal involving controversial striker Mario Balotelli has been mooted, with the Italian failing to meet expectations at the Etihad Stadium.
However, Galliani is insistent that El Shaarawy will not be leaving the Rossoneri:
“El Shaarawy to swap with Balotelli at City? I swear that will end with El Shaarawy at Milan.” He said.
The AC Milan youngster has been a success since joining the club in 2011 from Genoa.
His eye for goal has seen him hit 13 efforts in his last 16 Serie A appearances, in which the team have struggled on field.
This form has alerted a number of top sides, but Manchester City are thought to be in pole position for his signature should a move occur.
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El Shaarawy is of Egyptian decent, but has represented the Italy at international level on three occasions, finding the net once.
A low centre of gravity and explosive pace make the forward a handful for opposing defenders and have seen him heralded as one of the finest talents Italian football.
The teams involved in this fixture both have pressing needs to grab all three points in this fixture at opposite ends of the table.
Reading will be desperate to try and find a 3 points from anywhere so they don’t lose touch with the chasing pack as they try and stave off relegation.
Manchester City will be under slightly more pressure you suspect though with the fans expectant of a win and a goal glut against an indifferent Reading side.
Roberto Mancini’s men still lie six points adrift of Premier League leaders Manchester United and will be looking to close that gap wherever possible.
They surrendered their long unbeaten record at the Etihad Stadium to United a few weekends ago but firmly got themselves back on track at St. James’s Park last time out.
An impressive display and a 3-1 fixture ensured that they regained the momentum they had before their derby day loss.
The Royals sit rock bottom at the foot of the Premier League and haven’t won in six matches and a trip to Manchester would not have been on their Christmas wish list. McDermott as a consequence remains the favourite with the bookies to be the next Premier League manager to be sacked.
Vincent Kompany the club captain for City is expected to massively lift the side return from injury. Mario Balotelli may have taken the headlines midweek over his wage docking but misses out on this one with a virus. Samir Nasri (hamstring) has been ruled out and full-back Aleksandar Kolarov (knee) is unavailable too.
Reading look set to be without striker Jason Roberts for the trip to the Etihad stadium. Jem Karacan (knee), Jimmy Kebe (groin) and Danny Guthrie (thigh) all come back at a crucial time as options for the Royals. Sean Morrison and Alex McCarthy remain out for a significant period of time.
Reading have faced more shots than any other side in the top five European leagues this season and can expect more of the same in this fixture.
Prediction: Man City 3-0 Reading
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Liverpool right back Martin Kelly has demanded £45,000 a week in his new Liverpool contract according to the Daily Mail.
Kelly has missed the majority of this season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury and may not play again until the start of next season in August.
The England international may struggle to get back into the Liverpool side with Andre Wisdom taking his chance at the back for the Reds as well as Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique coming into form.
The Merseyside club were shocked at the demands of the young defender and have asked him to deeply reconsider his demands as they are only willing to offer him around £25,000 a week.
Youngsters such as Raheem Sterling have set a bad example from the club as they have been granted a large wedge of money each week in order to keep them happy but Kelly is unlikely to get the same treatment.
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West Ham United protracted negotiations to become tenants of the Olympic Stadium are set to take longer than expected, The Guardian reports.
The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) was set to approve the bid this Tuesday after the Hammers upped their annual rent offer to £2.5 million.
However, the two-year talks are yet to come to an end as, after LLDC ratifies the move, Newham’s council will have also to formally confirm the part-fund of the £160m-plus conversion costs of a new cantilevered roof and retractable seats.
The LLCD chairman, London Mayor Boris Johnson, has negotiated the cut of any profits made if the Premier League club decided a sale to a new owner.
But it is believed that David Gold and David Sullivan, co-owners of 65% of the shares of the club, have no intention of selling up.
West Ham, expected to be playing at the stadium from the 2016-2017 season, earned the “highest-bidder” status despite the LLDC pretensions of obtaining more than the £15 million the club was willing to offer towards the conversion costs.
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The Hammers have since promised to pay any additional costs for the roof and seats to the LLDC within the next ten years.
Monday night’s Manchester derby was an exciting and entertaining if rather futile affair. Of course, Manchester City had to win it; unlike Man United, their pride was at stake, having failed to mount anything reminiscent of a title defence this season and with the Red Devils already comfortably Champions-elect, even if they’re still a few wins away from lifting the Premier League winners’ trophy.
But the 2-1 victory was more than a simple battle of pride. It’s put City in good stead for their FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea next weekend – having lost would have seriously dampened the mood at Eastlands,– but furthermore, it was a show of quality to English football fans, and evidence that despite the limp campaign, the Citizens have pound-for-pound a better equipped and richer in quality Starting XI in comparison to their local rivals, and thus the best in the English top flight.
It’d be wrong to base an opinion on a single game where essentially nothing was on the line, but it’s no secret that United’s successful title challenge can be attributed as much to the failings of the other major Premier League teams, namely Chelsea, Arsenal and City, as it does the level of talent of the Red Devil’s roster.
I am not suggesting Sir Alex Ferguson’s men are of an inadequate quality to deserve lifting the domestic title, but considering the vast majority of their players are either developing youngsters or firmly into their twilight years, you wouldn’t have bet on them in the summer to monopolise the Premiership table so effortlessly, and media discussions suggesting the United squad will be looked back upon as a ‘vintage team’ is quintessentially misguided.
It is Ferguson alone and the solidarity and consistency he provides, with the help of Arsene Wenger allowing the Premiership’s best striker move from Arsenal to Old Trafford for a mere £20million in the summer, which has been the deciding factor in this year’s one-horse title race.
No doubt, the Scottish gaffer already knows that next year it will not be so easy. Chelsea fans will not accept another year of being in the wilderness when it comes to the English top flight. They’ve been miles away from their rivals in their last two campaigns, and the appointment of a new manager in the summer looks set to trigger a new era at the club, potentially with Jose Mourinho at the helm.
[cat_link cat=”manchester-united” type=”tower”]
Similarly, spending another season where the overall aim appears to be winning the battle for fourth spot has awoken a rather volatile reaction from the Arsenal faithful. Arsene Wenger has been constantly criticised, and spent as much of his time in press conferences justifying the club’s reluctance to make big signings as he has actually discussing the Gunners’ on-pitch performances, which additionally have been found wanting on a number of occasions, predominantly against the bigger teams. The Frenchman is expected to make a complete u-turn on his transfer policy, and take advantage of an apparent £80million kitty by finally bringing in some marquee signings to stop the malaise at the Emirates.
Likewise, just as Fergie refused to take missing out on the title on goal difference last season lying down, responding with more desire and determination than ever this year to quieten United’s noisy neighbours, I doubt the City roster will let the current campaign be the final word for the history books about their abilities as individuals or a team. I’d expect to see some serious investment from the Sheik owners, predominantly in a new striker, but also perhaps a natural winger, in a bid to further bolster the City ranks, as well as a rise in performance from the likes of Vincent Kompany, Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and David Silva.
With the predicted revival of the sleeping beasts that form three of the top four clubs in England, Ferguson will have to spend considerably in the summer. There are too many weak links in the United starting XI to spend a another season relying upon ageing veterans Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand to do a job and keep a cool head when it comes to the business end of the season.
The area where City most showed up United on Monday night was in midfield; Yaya Toure, James Milner and Gareth Barry athletically dominated over a central pairing of Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs, whilst the speed and skill of David Silva and Samir Nasri left their opponents tracking backwards rather than progressing up the pitch.
It’s a soft underbelly that Ferguson has been getting away with for some time – he’s attempted to bring in Moussa Dembele, John Obi Mikel and Wesley Sneijder to Old Trafford in recent years, but in failing to do so, the Scot yet to find a long-term replacement for Paul Scholes, or provide a physical element in the middle of the park to allow Carrick to focus solely on his astute passing game.
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Tom Cleverly has been fulfilling a purpose this season, being the only United midfielder with any sort of athleticism in comparison to Carrick, Scholes and Anderson, but I feel his role would have been reduced to cameo appearances if Fergie had a viable alternative. His two goals and one assist in 20 Premier League appearances leaves a lot to be desired and the 23 year old will not progress to the level that many expect of him. Lars Bender, Christian Eriksen and Mario Gotze have all been linked with a summer move to Old Trafford; however, moving Wayne Rooney deeper into the midfield would also be an interesting, if risky, option.
Similarly, in defence, the champions-to-be are at a cross-road. Ferguson announced earlier in the season that the era of the Ferdinand-Vidic partnership is well and truly over, and although Chris Smalling and Phil Jones have shown a lot of promise, it is still too early for both of them to be handed a permanent slot in the Starting XI, whilst despite making nearly 100 league appearances for the Red Devils, the jury is still out on Jonny Evans. Although one centre-back slot can be open to rotation, a top class defender needs to be brought in to add some quality and provide some stability to the first team, with the stand-out candidate being Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels.
Even in the striker department, which is United’s strongest area, you feel improvements have to made in time for next season. Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie operate well together against rank and file Premier League clubs, but both are yet to get on the score sheet together in a major game. Furthermore, the partnership has served them well this year, but the only way to maintain dominance in English football is to continually progress, and for all of Rooney’s hustle and bustle, there are clear weaknesses to his game – he becomes too involved in the dog fight on the big occasions and leaves Van Persie isolated up top.
I see the 2013/2014 season being one of stark contrast to the current Premier League campaign. On the surface, it appears its United’s for the taking, with their impressive array of youngsters progressing closer to their peak years, and Rooney and Van Persie spearheading the first team. But there is no way that Chelsea or Manchester City, with all their money and resources available to them, will put up with the current status quo. They will return with a vengeance, and quite frankly, the current Red Devils’ roster is not ready for it. If Ferguson wishes to lift a consecutive title next year, he will have to spend big and bold, not to maintain the club’s dominance, but simply to keep up with Premier League opposition that has been surprisingly dormant this year.
Cheick Tiote and Davide Santon have been added to Newcastle’s injury list and will miss out against Manchester City this weekend.
The Magpies have struggled with injury problems all season and they are starting to bite again at a crucial stage of the season with six players set to miss the City clash.
Boss Alan Pardew has confirmed that both Tiote and Santon are struggling with muscle strains and will miss the clash against City. Santon picked up his injury against Wigan and it looks as though Tiote suffered his in training.
French full-back Mathieu Debuchy will also miss out due to his hamstring injury picked up at the DW Stadium, while Massadio Haidara could play against Benfica in the Europa League but this weekend’s game comes too soon.
Tim Krul and Fabricio Coloccini are also back in training and could return for the Benfica clash but Pardew will not risk them at the Etihad Stadium this weekend.
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Paris Saint-Germain director of football Leonardo has dismissed speculation the club are looking to sign England striker Wayne Rooney.
The Manchester United forward has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford this term, with a deal abroad being tipped for the Three Lions star.
PSG, who have been able to bring the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Beckham to the Parc des Princes, have been strongly linked with the 27-year-old.
However, Leonardo is adamant his club have made no move for Rooney ahead of the summer transfer window and the Brazilian has also played down speculation concerning a deal involving Napoli star Edinson Cavani and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
He told Gazzetta dello Sport: “On Ronaldo, there has never been an offer. I’ve never heard anything about Rooney or Cavani either.
“I do not rule out big signings, but only if there is a suitable opportunity.” (Metro)
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