Liverpool have been linked with a move for out-of-favour Real Madrid midfielder Fernando Gago, according to the Daily Mail.
The 25-year old moved to Real from Argentine side Boca Juniors in January 2007 and has made 121 appearances for the club. However, he has fallen down the pecking order under Jose Mourinho in favour of Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira and only made 7 appearances last season. With the summer arrivals of Nuri Sahin and Hamit Altintop from Dortmund and Bayern Munich respectively the Argentinean’s opportunities next year could be even more limited.
Real signed the midfielder for a fee in the region of €20 million but are willing to do business for £15 million. However, Liverpool look like starting the bidding at closer to £10 million.
The club have already splashed £20 million on ex-Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson and continue to be linked with a move for Blackpool’s Charlie Adam. However, the club must first look to offload high-earners such as Maxi Rodriguez, Joe Cole and Christian Poulsen. The future of Alberto Aquilani is also to be decided whilst Raul Meireles has recently been linked with a move to Inter Milan.
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Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has also been linked with a move for Newcastle due Jose Enrique and Jonas Gutierrez but has yet to make a move for either player.
If you keep your ear close to the ground on all events concerning your football club, you may be aware of the NextGen series; a new European football club competition designed for under-19 footballers founded in 2011. Arsenal and Chelsea are just the latest English clubs to enter the competition for the 2012/13 edition after a successful maiden season whereby Inter Milan beat Ajax on penalties to become champions. Mind-bogglingly, Manchester United remain one of few European elite clubs to shun the competition, with United reserve-team boss Warren Joyce maintaining there is enough quality in reserve without the need for a holistic European experience on top.
What struck me as surprising about this tact was that in this country, we are so het-up about developing youth to build a robust England squad for the future as well as looking on enviously at the German 2010 World Cup Squad with many talents remaining in their infancy. So what better way to get the best out of youngsters than to throw them into their own specially designated tournament?
It is heavily documented and widely applauded that achieving European qualification at first team level is an accomplishment in its own right. Just take Newcastle United and their surprising season. Now they can almost taste Champions League football, Alan Pardew isn’t thinking whether it will be too soon for his squad but he wants to seize the opportunity. Similarly, Arsene Wenger has spoken countless times about European football offering a valuable, money-can’t-buy experience for his youngsters such as Carl Jenkinson and Emmanuel Frimpong who he employed in the group stages this term. So if European experience is lauded as a distinct progression at first team level, surely it should at reserve level also; if not more.
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In my experience, as a youngster, you want to play as much football as you can, but also you want to compete against the best teams to prove you are indeed the best. Warren Joyce’s one-dimensional standpoint is foolish in that his reserve ranks won’t get to find out about differing and potentially advantageous playing styles on the continent, but will blindly just experience English football in a restrictive manner. On the contrary, Liverpool reserve boss Rodolfo Borrell had nothing but praise for the NextGen series.
‘We have enjoyed the NextGen series so far and it has been very beneficial for the lads. They have played in different countries against different styles of play. It has been good for their mentality” (Liverpool Echo).
Borrell’s point is valid in that as a youngster it is not only the football that forges good character but also the team spirit, exposure to travel and multi-faceted experiences which shape well-rounded individuals. The bottom-up approach that players play in different countries and are exposed to what they wouldn’t expect in a Premier reserve league surely means a better grounding and a more holistic upbringing. There have always been criticisms levelled at England national teams in that they play far too slowly, don’t encompass enough technical ability and struggle to acclimatise to differing temperatures. Although, we would be wrong to surmise the NextGen series fixes all of these factors in an instance, surely it would contribute to a better understanding of the problems.
As we know, it has been Manchester United’s prerogative to send many youthful talents to their feeder club Royal Antwerp over the years, with John Cofie being the latest to sample this tried and tested route. Whilst this may forge decent steady characters in the case of Jonny Evans, Danny Simpson, Phil Bardsley and so on, a grounding in the Belgian Second Division surely isn’t as robust as competing against the European elite of youngsters in a governed annual tournament. After all, the latter two examples indeed proved that they weren’t cut out for a long career at United.
We may point to the modern-day examples of Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley currently competing in the first team at Old Trafford after a rise from the schoolboy ranks, but aside from these talents, the United academy has struggled to fast-track youngsters through on a rate as comparable to an Arsenal perhaps. United do have a future squad in place but many younger talents have been poached from other clubs in the cases of Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, the Da Silva twins and Paul Pogba whose future is yet to be decided. Manchester United no longer anticipate a whole batch of home-grown academy stars coming through like their golden generation which yielded talents such as Scholes, Giggs and Beckham but instead have opted to sign the best youngsters from elsewhere as an alternative, most recently that of Frederic Veseli from cross-town rivals Manchester City in the January transfer window. Will Keane, Michael Keane, Ezekiel Fryers and Ryan Tunnicliffe have all received first team experience, but just how far they go remains to be seen. Only time will tell but Manchester United just might regret not signing up as England’s eighth representative in the ever-impressive NextGen series.
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Have United been stupid in their decision not to enter the NextGen series? Follow me @ http://twitter.com/Taylor_Will1989
New signing Aleksandr Kolarov believes he can challenge for Premier League and Champions League honours with Manchester City.
The Serbia full-back became ambitious City's latest big-money signing when he joined in a £19million deal from Lazio on Saturday.
Manager Roberto Mancini had already signed David Silva, Yaya Toure and Jerome Boateng this summer, with Kolarov's arrival increasing his spending to approximately £75million since the end of last season.
"I'm very excited to be here at a great club like Manchester City. Even the training ground is fantastic, better than Lazio's," he told the club's official website.
"I'm coming back early next week to train with the players who aren't touring America. I want to start as soon as I can, and I can't wait to meet all the other guys.
"I had the opportunity to join other teams – the names are not important. When I spoke with Mr Mancini, my choice was Manchester City because I know they are a good team. I think maybe a great team.
"The Premier League is the best in the world and he wants us to go further and win the Premier title and the Champions League.
"For a young player like me, this is the best opportunity. It's the dream."
Meanwhile, Mancini has denied suggestions that the arrival of Kolarov will lead to the departure of current left-back Wayne Bridge.
Liverpool are reported to be keen on signing England international Bridge.
"'I want two top-class players for each position," explained Mancini.
"I first saw Kolarov in his Lazio debut back in 2007. I have watched him a lot since then and so have the Manchester City scouts.
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"His attacking capability is very good. He is fast and can shoot with power and accuracy.
"He also has the ability to play in numerous positions and is very good in midfield.
"This is an additional benefit to the team. He has a fantastic international career ahead of him. I am looking forward to working with him."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Stoke City manager Tony Pulis has admitted he is facing a potential selection dilemma with several players airing their frustrations.
The Potteries club boss has allowed Michael Tonge and Danny Pugh to depart the Britannia Stadium on loan after finding their first-team opportunities limited.
Republic of Ireland international Glenn Whelan is also wanting more game time after dropping down the pecking order, but Pulis is not prepared to let him, or a disgruntled Eidur Gudjohnsen, leave at the moment.
"We have just let Michael Tonge and Danny Pugh go out on loan to Preston because they are desperate to play," he said.
"Players want to play games and you have to understand and recognise that.
"It is very difficult for players to be sat on the sidelines week in, week out. Glenn has played a great part at this football club and we don't want him to go.
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"I understand the situation he is in and the way he is feeling – that is really the right way to be."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
As the news broke that Brendan Rodgers was the man chosen to succeed Kenny Dalglish in the Anfield hot seat scores of supporters on Merseyside licked their lips in anticipation. Following the disastrous second coming of their supposed ‘king’ that saw the club widely ridiculed for blowing over £100 million on a cluster of below-average players the arrival of Rodgers was supposed to herald a significant change. Having operated on a shoestring budget throughout his career the expectation was that Northern Irishman would shrewdly navigate the transfer market picking up a few bargain signings on the way. But just two months into his reign and he’s already been stung by Dalglish’s reckless splurges after being quoted £15m for Wales midfielder Joe Allen – a player with just one seasons worth of Premier League experience. His predecessor set a ludicrously high benchmark for spending that clubs will now use as a strong bargaining chip to force the Red’s into paying over-the-odds once again. Whether Rodgers can stand firm and resist temptation is another question entirely.
This week on FFC can the Reds still lure the world’s elite names to Anfield and which Uruguayan is Rodgers hoping to bring to Anfield this summer?
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Best of FFC
Liverpool in danger of being one-dimensional?
Can Liverpool still attract the very best?
An unwanted distraction for Liverpool FC?
Why Liverpool must retain him at all costs
Fast becoming a dying trait in football
Liverpool Targeting Uruguayan Sensation
A transfer conundrum for Liverpool
Liverpool plotting £750k swoop for stopper
Liverpool turn down £17m bid
Liverpool look to up the transfer ante to land midfielder
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Best of WEB
Liverpool Shouldn’t ‘Take The Hit’ On Alive Again Misfit – Live 4 Liverpool
Noooo! The Steven Gerrard ‘Kiss of Death’ strikes again. Game over…? – Liverpool Kop
Liverpool FC: Incapable of Driving a Bargain? Not Quite… – This is Anfield
Are Liverpool at ‘Year Zero’? – Liverpool Kop
LFC fans tell FSG: Dump Hendo + sign this £15m maestro instead. Agree? – The Tomkins Times
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Do Liverpool Really Need Joe Allen? – Live 4 Liverpool
Will he stay or will he go? The Alberto Aquilani Dilemma – This is Anfield
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Quote of the Week
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“I do think we will get in the top four. I think we will get it. I am confident we will get it. I am not being unrealistic. If we can play like we did in a lot of games last season, be clinical and take our chances, I think we will be high up in the table. I do.” Steven Gerrard believes Liverpool can finish in the top four next season
Fernando Torres is making good progress in his recovery from his latest injury setback ahead of Sunday's Merseyside derby, according to Liverpool's head of medical Peter Brukner.
The Spain striker limped out of the 2-1 defeat by Blackpool ten days ago with an adductor muscle problem.
However, he has provided under-pressure manager Roy Hodgson with a timely boost after making a return to training.
Torres has struggled with a succession of injury problems during the past 12 months.
The Reds travel to Goodison Park for a massive derby encounter with Everton on Sunday.
Both clubs are struggling towards the foot of the Premier League table following disappointing starts to the season.
"Fernando is doing pretty well. He had a slight tear in one of his adductor muscles very early on in the game against Blackpool that prevented him going away with Spain in the internationals," head of sports science and sports medicine Brukner told the club's official website.
"He has had intense treatment over the last ten days and responded very well to that treatment.
"He's ready to resume training today and if we can build up his training and get through the next few days, then we are optimistic but not certain that he will be able to line up against Everton.
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"It's still early days but so far so good. He has responded well to the treatment but we will just have to wait and see whether he is able to build up his training sufficiently.
"He'll join in the full training session on Thursday, then build up Friday and Saturday. If he gets through these sessions and he is able to stretch out fully and has no after effect from the sessions then he will be able to play.
"So we are optimistic he will be ready but it's still too early to say for sure."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has been given permission by the club’s owners to bring in fresh talent during the January transfer window.
Dalglish’s return to Anfield as a replacement for sacked manager Roy Hodgson is yet to produce a win on the field, but the Reds legend said he will not rush into the market looking for a quick-fix.
“We had a positive meeting yesterday with (owners) John (Henry) and Tom (Werner) in which we discussed many things,” Dalglish said.
“One of them was obviously transfers. There’s no problem with transfers. As long as we are responsible we can go and look for players, try to sign them and bring them in here.”
“I’m not going to sit here and give you names or comment on every question that is asked about an individual player.”
“We certainly won’t talk about sums of money. Every time I go into the transfer market I am responsible and I will continue to be. I will try and spend the club’s money as diligently as I would spend my own.”
The 59-year-old also confirmed striker Ryan Babel was almost out the door at Anfield, with the Dutchman yet to make up his mind on a move to Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim.
“We’ve accepted a bid from Hoffenheim. Ryan is considering what he wants to do. That’s his right. A transfer only goes through if three parties agree,” he said.
Liverpool will look for their first win under their new manager against second-from-bottom Wolves on Saturday, but Dalglish is wary of the threat posed by Mick McCarthy’s men.
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“They were excellent last week at Man City, especially in the first half hour. Even when they went 4-1 down, which was a bit unfair I thought, they pulled it back to 4-3,” Dalglish said.
“If Mick McCarthy is in charge of a team they are not going to lie down, are they? They are going to work as hard as they can and we know that from first-hand experience.”
“There are no games in the Premiership where you can rest a couple here or a couple there. They are all really difficult games.”
Alan Pardew says he has left the door open for Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton to stay with the club.The 28-year-old was placed on the transfer list earlier this week, and was fined two weeks wages after he criticised the club on social networking site Twitter.
Barton was also made to train by himself as a result of the sanction, but the Newcastle boss was not about to give up hope on his influential midfielder.
“I think I’ve never closed the door on any individual and I won’t close the door on Joey,” Pardew said.
Pardew believes Barton could still have a future at St. James’ Park, but has urged football authorities to take control of player’s use of social media websites.
“The problem with Twitter and I think this is a bigger problem generally for football is that we need to get hold of this. There’s nothing coming down from above within the game to tell us how to deal with this from the Premier League,” Pardew said.
“I spoke to Sir Alex (Ferguson) this morning because they’ve had a problem with Twitter as well and we’ve gone on a similar line to Manchester United in that you cannot criticise from within on your personal account. In fact, you shouldn’t mention your football club at all, in my opinion.”
Pardew said there were no hard feelings between him and Barton following their pre-season friendly loss to Leeds United on Saturday, contrary to reports.
“Myself and Joey have had words since Saturday and most of it has been pretty controlled from both of us. I think we both realised we could have done things better at the weekend and I think that’s where our relationship is,” he said.
“Our relationship at the moment is unbroken as far as I’m concerned. And the repairing of that will be quite simple but the bigger problem is the criticism of the club and the board and that’s something else we need to reflect on to.”
Twitter is essentially a glorified Facebook status update, allowing you to share each and every thought that pops into your head with a global audience. In the right hands this can be a very powerful tool but in the wrong hands, it’s just straight up dangerous. Most of us have the foresight to consider our ‘tweets’ before we set them in virtual stone but footballers appear incapable of such logic, instead using the site to offload a few ‘brain dumps’.
The advent of social media has bestowed us with unprecedented access into the lives of our favourite superstars. We’re now all too readily exposed to an unfiltered stream of mundane and trivial information, which serves only to quash our once idolised view of our sporting icons. I’m sure most players don’t set out to infuriate, annoy or ‘wind-up’, some actually share interesting content, but that doesn’t stop them from further enforcing all the negative stereotypes associated with the modern day footballer.
Click on Pele below to reveal my Top 15 most annoying footballers on Twitter
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West Ham United co-owner, David Sullivan, admits the club are still carrying the financial burden of the Carlos Tevez saga which relegated Sheffield United back in 2007, according to Daily Mail reports.
Sullivan admitted West Ham still owe the Blades £10 million in compensation, as Tevez’s winner against Manchester United saved the club from relegation and effectively sent the Yorkshiremen back to the Championship, despite the Argentine being ineligible to play.
He said: “We have an eight-figure sum still outstanding over the Tevez affair, even though we have been playing it down over the past two years.” (Daily Mail)
Manager, Sam Allardyce has been shrewd in the transfer market, bringing in the likes of Jussi Jaaskelainen and George McCartney in the summer transfer window, while Kevin Nolan proved to be an inspirational signing last year and scored the winner in Saturday’s opening day victory over Aston Villa, but Sullivan admits the debt has hindered the Hammers’ spending.
He claimed: “We’ve done some good business and brought in some real quality despite our still-limited resources.
“That amount has to be paid off over the next 12 months, which does take its toll on our transfer activity.”