Barca Snap Up Arsenal
Skipper Vermaelen
Barcelona have completed the £15m signing of Arsenal’s
Belgium international defender Thomas Vermaelen on a five-year contract. The
28-year-old passed a medical on Saturday and was presented to fans and media at
the Nou Camp on Sunday after finalising the deal. “Coming to Barcelona is
a dream move – it wasn’t a difficult decision at all,” the centre-back
said. Vermaelen joined Arsenal from Ajax for £10m in 2009 and made 150
appearances. Barcelona’s new signing said: “I feel ready to play here. I
think I can offer a lot to this club. There’s a lot of competition here but I’m
very excited. It’s up to me to show what I can do – it’ll be a challenge for
me.” Vermaelen had been a target for Manchester United but they ended
their interest after refusing Arsenal’s demand to receive a player as part of
the deal. Gunners manager Arsene Wenger confirmed ahead of Sunday’s Community
Shield match against Manchester City that he would be looking for a replacement
defender. He told BT Sport: “At the moment it is a possibility that
someone comes in to replace Thomas Vermaelen. I can’t tell you who!” Vermaelen
was troubled by a series of injuries and lost his place at centre-back last
season as Wenger favoured Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny. Vermaelen
becomes Barca’s second centre-back signing this summer after Valencia’s Jeremy
Mathieu, their first recruit in that position since 2009.
Liverpool boss
Brendan Rodgers has revealed Daniel Agger is no closer to getting his wish of a
move away from Anfield, despite reported interest from Tottenham and Arsenal.
The defender has reportedly begged Rodgers to allow him to leave this summer,
in search of regular first-team football. But the Reds boss says no clubs
appear to be interested in signing the Danish international, despite his clear
desire for change. “I’ve seen some stories on that but, no, we haven’t had any
enquiries,” said Rodgers. “Dan’s still getting some work done on his knee, he’s
been a bit unfortunate since America. He’s still getting treatment but we haven’t
had anything, no offers.” The 29-year-old centre-back made just 23 appearances
in all competitions under Rodgers last season and believes his chances on
Merseyside remain slim. Arsenal and Tottenham have both been linked with a move
for Agger, but have yet to make a formal approach.
Hatem Ben Arfa has
seemingly taken Newcastle’s decision to ban him from the club’s open training
event into his own hands – after the winger decided to hold his own meet and
greet session with fans on the same day. The Frenchman has been rumoured to
be on his way out of the St James’ Park outfit this summer after the
27-year-old returned to pre-season training from his holidays overweight. The
incident resulted in the Magpies ordering Ben Arfa to train with the club’s
reserve squad before they stripped him of his No. 10 shirt – with the jersey
being given to new recruit Siem De Jong instead. And after Newcastle banned Ben
Arfa from their open training session with supporters on Tuesday, the winger
participated in his own meet and greet session with fans at a sports memorabilia
shop, The Back Page, later that day.
Manchester United appear to be a step closer to sealing a
move for Juan Cuadrado, after reportedly agreeing personal terms with the player.Catalan newspaper Sport are reporting the agreement between
player and club, despite mounting interest from Barcelona. But United are not
yet believed to have reached a deal with Fiorentina, who are still holding out
for around £32m. Meanwhile, further reports in Spain also suggest boss Louis
Van Gaal is stepping up his pursuit of Angel Di Maria after Paris Saint-Germain
cooled their interest over the weekend. “We don’t have attacking wingers to
give us width. Or, I should say, we don’t have wingers of the highest level,
like Ronaldo or Di Maria, or somebody like that,” the Dutchman is reported to
have said.
Brazilian forward
Robinho has joined boyhood club Santos in his native Brazil for his third stint
with the club. The former Real Madrid attacker has had much speculation
over a move away from the San Siro in recent months, and it has finally been
revealed that the 30-year-old will be returning to Santos for a year-long loan.
“It’s my home,” Robinho told Santos’ official website. “It’s a
place where I feel very good, where I showed up to the football world. I hope
to repay all the affection of the fans on the pitch. I want to put Santos where
it has to be, which is in the highest place in the table,” added the
former Brazilian national team star.
Sunderland have
signed English midfielder Jack Rodwell on a five-year deal from Premier League
champions Manchester City. The clubs did not disclose a transfer fee, but
media reports indicate Rodwell cost around £10million. The 23-year-old
struggled to make an impact in two injury-plagued seasons at the Etihad
following his exit from Everton.
German striker
Miroslav Klose has retired from international football at the age of 36. The
Lazio star is the country’s top scorer with 71 goals from 137 appearances,
while he also holds the record for World Cup goals with 16 strikes.
Premier League outfit Liverpool have captured Atletico Madrid
right-back Javier Manquillo on a season-long loan deal at Anfield.The
20-year-old, who began his career at Real Madrid before swopping for crosstown
rivals Atletico in 2007, is a regular Spanish international at youth level,
having turned out for the U18, U19 and U20 national teams, winning the 2012 U19
European Championships. The speedy fullback becomes the seventh signing at
Anfield, joining the likes of Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Emre Can, Lazar
Markovic, Dejan Lovren and Divock Origi in a new-looks Reds squad this season.
Former Orlando
Pirates midfielder Isaac Chansa has become the latest player with PSL
experience to move to the new Indian Super League. Chansa has signed for
Shilang Lajong FC, who play in the I-League, and will also feature for North
East United FC in the ISL which will start on October 12. The Zambian will be
team-mates with 2010 World Cup winner Joan Capdevilla at North East United. Botswana
midfielder Ofentse Nato and Ethiopian striker Fikru Tefera Lemessa, along with
Deshi Bhaktawer who will work as goalkeeper coach at the Antonio Lopez
Habas-coached Atletico de Kolkata, make up the growing list of players with PSL
links heading to the subcontinent. Chansa has most recently been playing for
Zanaco back in his homeland and returns to Asia having previously competed in
China. The contracts range from R250 000 to R7,5 million for the marquee
signings.
Pepe Reina has
completed his move to Bayern Munich from Liverpool, the German club has
confirmed. The Spanish goalkeeper, who spent last season on loan at Napoli,
has penned a three-year deal with the Bundesliga champions. Reina, 31, is
expected to serve as cover to 2014 World Cup winner Manuel Neuer at the Allianz
Arena. Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said on the club’s official
website: “It reflects what we were looking for. We wanted a goalkeeper who
is experienced and established and also has certain footballing
qualities.”
Italian giants AC Milan have reinforced their defence with
the addition of Napoli’s Pablo Armero on a season-long loan.The
Colombian international, who did duty for his country at this year’s World Cup,
replaces left-back Kevin Constant, who was sold to Turkish outfit Trabzonspor
last week.
Ajax Amsterdam are in
talks with Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto’o regarding a short-term deal, the
club’s director Marc Overmars has confirmed. Eto’o, 33, is a free agent
after netting 12 goals for Chelsea last season. “Samuel seemed very hungry
to play for Ajax. He is fit and has a great drive to succeed once again,”
Overmars told Voetbal International. “We don’t want to block the growing
process of our talents like [Arkadiusz] Milik and [Richairo] Zivkovic, but if
it is possible to sign a world class player like Eto’o, then why not? It will
be fantastic.” Eto’o, a record four-time African Footballer of the Year,
is also believed to be on Sunderland and Liverpool’s radar having rejected a
move to West Ham in the off-season.
World Cup top
goal-scorer James Rodriguez has revealed he has practiced his memorable volley
against Uruguay on numerous occasions in training, yet finds it hard to
replicate his heroics which won him this the World Cup’s Golden Boot award. Speaking
to Fifa after being awarded his trophy, the Colombian star said he was pleased
with his country’s run to the quarter-finals of this year’s World Cup, before
coming unstuck against South American counter parts Brazil. The new Real Madrid
signing secured the tournament’s top goal-scorer award with six goals, yet
could not pinpoint one which he preferred over the rest. “I like all six,” he
revealed. “They were all important because they helped the team to win games.
Every one of them was special because scoring goals in such a big competition
is unique.” The talented forward was then asked about his well-taken volley
against Uruguay which many feel was the goal of the tournament. “I’ve seen it …
(pauses and smiles) about 20 times,” he said. “I always try it in training. You
try 100 times and it goes in twice! This time it went in, and right in the
corner too, although personally I prefer the one against Japan. It was classier
and had a little more magic about it. It was a nice goal.”
Real Madrid goalkeeper
Diego Lopez is set to join AC Milan after agreeing terms with the Serie A
giants. Milan confirmed the news via their club television channel on
Saturday morning. The 32-year-old’s departure was seemingly hastened by Real’s
summer signing of Costa Rica star Keylor Navas from Levante. Lopez shared the
number one jersey with Iker Casillas following his arrival at Los Blancos
midway through the 2012/13 season from Sevilla.
Aston Villa have
signed French left-back Aly Cissokho from Valencia for an undisclosed fee,
thought to be around £2-3m. The 26-year-old, who spent last season on loan
at Liverpool, has penned a four-year deal with his new club. Cissokho’s arrival
at Villa follows that of fellow summer recruits Joe Cole, Philippe Senderos and
Kieran Richardson. Cissokho made 15 Premier League outings for the Reds in
2013/14. He previously won the Portuguese League at FC Porto and the French Cup
while at Lyon.
Eliaquim Mangala has finally been confirmed as a Manchester
City player, with the central defender’s arrival from Porto for around £32m
landing Manuel Pellegrini his prime summer transfer target.The
manager hopes Mangala, 23, will play alongside the captain, Vincent Kompany,
with Martín Demichelis and Matija Nastasic providing competition. Mangala, a
member of France’s Brazil 2014 squad, is already familiar with some of his new
team-mates. “The fact that Fernando is here is better because I played with him
at Porto but there is also other players that I know like [Bacary] Sagna, [Gael]
Clichy and [Samir] Nasri.” Pellegrini said: “I’m delighted to have added a
player of Eliaquim’s quality in the squad ahead of the new season. He is
already a fine player but in my opinion, he has all of the mental, physical,
technical and tactical attributes to become one of Europe’s very best
defenders. Eliaquim is a player I believe will make an immediate impact in the
Premier League, thanks to his physicality, his reading of the game and quality
on the ball. I think he will prove to be a great signing for us.”