Transfers news

AC Milan complete signing of Maxi Lopez from Catania

The Argentine forward has joined the Rossoneri, a development which appears to confirm that the Italian champions have finally given up on signing his compatriot Carlos Tevez

AC Milan have completed the signing of Maxi Lopez from Catania, suggesting Carlos Tevez's proposed move to San Siro from Manchester City has collapsed.

The Italian champions have long had an agreement in place to sign Lopez, but even after the player had met with CEO Adriano Galliani Friday lunchtime it was still unclear if the deal would go through because of the club's continued attempts to land City striker Tevez.

However, Galliani maintained that the situation would be resolved by 19:00CET and shortly after that deadline, Milan Channel revealed that the club had registered Lopez as a Rossoneri player.

It has not yet been confirmed if Milan have abandoned their pursuit of Tevez and it was reported by both Sky Sport Italia and Gazzetta dello Sport less than a couple of hours before the Lopez announcement that Galliani had made a last-ditch plea to City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak to allow the forward to leave.

Milan had appeared near-certainties to land Tevez during the current transfer window having already agreed terms with the player, who, according to Galliani, only wanted to join the Rossoneri in spite of interest from Inter and Paris Saint-Germain.

However, they seemingly ended their pursuit of the player following Alexandre Pato's decision to turn down a move to PSG earlier this month, but Inter then had a bid rejected for Tevez, while PSG broke off negotiations five days ago and Milan then re-entered the race.

The 27-year-old forward has not played for City since allegedly refusing to come on as a substitute in the English outfit's Champions League defeat by Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena earlier this season.

Inter to sign Fredy Guarin from Porto - report

The Colombia international was also linked with Juventus in recent weeks but he now appears set to join the Nerazzurri on loan with a permanent deal in the summer likely

Inter are reportedly poised to complete the signing of Fredy Guarin from Porto, casting further doubt over the future of Thiago Motta at San Siro.

According to Sky Sport24, the Nerazzurri will pay an initial €1.5 million (£1.25m) to take the Colombia international on loan until the end of the season with a view to signing the player on a permanent transfer in June for €11m (£9.2m).

Guarin had also been linked with Serie A leaders Juventus in recent weeks but the Bianconeri's acquisition of Uruguayan defender Martin Caceres from Sevilla on Friday meant that they had no room left in their squad for another non-European Union player.

Consequently, the midfielder seems bound for San Siro and that could mean Paris Saint-Germain target Thiago Motta, who was left out of the Nerazzurri squad for Sunday's clash with Lecce, could well be on his way to the French capital before the transfer window closes on Tuesday night.

Guarin, meanwhile, is under contract to Porto until 2014 but has become increasingly frustrated by a lack of game time at the Dragao this season.

Fiorentina confirm signing of Amauri from Juventus

The forward was frozen out of the Bianconeri squad following the arrival of new coach Antonio Conte last summer and has finally secured a move away from Turin

Fiorentina have confirmed the signing of Amauri from Serie A rivals Juventus on a temporary basis.

The 31-year-old, who was frozen out of the Bianconeri squad following the arrival of Antonio Conte as coach last summer, had also been linked with Roma in recent weeks.

However, Fiorentina sporting director Pantaleo Corvino revealed last week that they had reached an agreement with Juve for the player and the Viola announced the completion of the deal on their official website on Tuesday.

"Fiorentina announces that they have acquired from Juventus, on a temporary basis, the services of the forward Amauri Carvalho de Oliveira," a statement read. 

Fiorentina have been looking to strengthen their forward line after selling Alberto Gilardino to Genoa earlier this month.

Amauri has been surplus to requirements at Juve for a long time now and spent the second half of last season on loan at Parma.

The striker scored just 17 league goals in 71 appearances for the Old Lady following his arrival from Palermo in 2008.

Source: goal.com

Caceres to join Juventus

Sevilla defender Martin Caceres will undergo a medical today in Turin before completing his transfer to Juventus, the Spanish club have confirmed.

Caceres is expected to move to Juve on loan until the end of the season with an option to make his stay permanent for a reported €10 million.

A statement from Sevilla read: "Martin Caceres has travelled today to Turin to undergo a medical in the next few hours with Juventus. If the medical is successful, the player will then proceed to sign the documents to become a player of the Italian club.''

The South American will become Juve's first signing in this transfer window. Caceres spent the 2009-10 campaign on loan at Juventus from Barcelona, but the Italians opted not to acquire his sporting rights after an injury-plagued campaign.

However, the Serie A leaders revived their interest in the 24-year-old defender after Caceres' solid performances for Sevilla this season.

Source: ESPN

Arsenal close in on £400,000 signing of Borussia Dortmund midfielder Thomas Eisfeld after holding talks in London

The 19-year-old playmaker will complete a move to London in the next 24 hours if he passes a stringent medical

Arsenal are in advanced talks to sign midfielder Thomas Eisfeld from Borussia Dortmund for around £400,000

The 19-year-old German has been in London today with his agent Reza Fazeli negotiating a switch to the Premier League club.

Eisfeld, who is a product of Dortmund’s academy and has found his path to the first team blocked by the likes of German sensation Mario Gotze, is set to to complete a move to Arsenal in the next 24 hours if he passes what is expected to be a stringent medical.

The teenager's development has been hindered by keee problems - he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in 2009 - and he will be put through his paces at the club’s London Colney training ground before signing a long-term contract.

It is not known whether Eisfeld, who only turned 19 earlier this month, will go straight into the first-team set-up or start off with Arsenal’s academy. He has played most of his football for Dortmund’s Under-19 team this season, where he has been the team's leading scorer, with six goals from 12 games.

Arsenal have taken advantage of the youngster’s availability – he is out of contract in the summer – to prise the highly-rated young playmaker from Germany.

The Premier League club are likely to have to pay a compensation fee of around £400,000 to Dortmund for developing Eisfeld.

Had he stayed in Germany, Eisfeld would have faced strong competition for a place, with the Bundesliga champions having signed midfielders Moritz Leitner, Leonardo Bittencourt and Mustafa Amini over the course of the last 12 months.

Liverpool sign Wales under-19 goalkeeper Danny Ward from Wrexham

The youngster had yet to make an appearance in the Blue Square Premier side's first team but will now link up with the Reds' reserve squad

Liverpool have signed Wales under-19 international goalkeeper Danny Ward from Wrexham.

The young shot-stopper, who joined Wrexham as a 14-year-old, has penned a permanent deal with the Reds after joining for a fee believed to be in the region of £100k.

Ward made a one-off loan appearance for Wrexham's Blue Square rivals Tamworth last season, making his senior debut and being awarded with man of the match recognition for his performance.

Internationally, Ward has played at schoolboy, under-17s and under-19s level for his country and featured in a UEFA qualifying tournament based in Slovakia in September 2011.

Ward is set to become a part of the club's reserve squad.

Source: goal.com

Chelsea on verge of signing Genk winger Kevin de Bruyne

Kevin de Bruyne has two caps for Belgium's national side and has been a regular for Genk since 2010

Chelsea will complete the £6.7m signing of Kevin de Bruyne from Genk in the next 24 hours, with the winger to return to the Belgian club on loan for the remainder of the campaign.

De Bruyne, a long-standing target for the Londoners, is undergoing a medical today and will sign a five-and-a-half-year contract at Stamford Bridge. The 20-year-old featured for the Belgians against Chelsea in the Champions League this season and is cup-tied in the competition, with his new employers keen for him to benefit from further first-team action to speed his development. He is also expected to be loaned out to another club, most likely not in Belgium, next season.

André Villas-Boas confirmed last week that De Bruyne, a full Belgium international, had been targeted prior to his own arrival at the club last summer, with his signing reflective of Chelsea's established drive to recruit the most promising young talent on the continent. The likes of Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois, who is currently on loan at Atlético Madrid and could remain there next term, have also joined from Belgian football. "Kevin's a target that was decided by the club, that I knew about for quite some time," said the Portuguese. "He was under the scrutiny of the club for some time and we've been following this player.

"Romelu Lukaku was the same, and Petr Cech was the same when I arrived in 2004 [as part of José Mourinho's backroom staff]. In the sense that the club policy for the future, it's the right thing [to buy him] and I'll do everything in my power for him to reach maximum potential. But his purchase is down to the club in decision-making, not to me.

"This player, this specific case, is like Lukaku and Cech and part of a long-term policy. It paid off with Cech. Lukaku will eventually pay off in the future given the talent he has. We're trying to get young players and the right players at the right age. I have to raise their potential. Hopefully I can do that, as a professional at the club. I can promote talent through the club."

Manchester City reject Liverpool's Andy Carroll for Carlos Tevez offer

Liverpool offered Andy Carroll to Manchester City in a straight swap for Carlos Tevez

Liverpool have made a remarkable bid to swap Andy Carroll with Carlos Tevez and move on their club-record £35m signing not even a year after signing him from Newcastle United.

The Anfield club contacted City on Thursday to ask how much they want for Tevez and whether they would be willing to contemplate a straight exchange with Carroll. Brian Marwood, the City football administrator, rebuffed the idea immediately, even though Carroll is a player Roberto Mancini has admitted admiring when he was at Newcastle.

The move demonstrates how Liverpool are now openly looking at offloading Carroll despite the insistence behind the scenes at Anfield that he can still play a prominent part and Kenny Dalglish's praise for the player after the 2-1 FA Cup defeat of Manchester United.

Carroll has scored only six goals in 35 appearances since becoming the eighth most expensive footballer in history and has not even been able to establish himself as a regular starter this season.

His problems adapting on Merseyside have also left Liverpool willing to take a £10m hit on the player, with Tevez valued at £25m, though that revelation is hardly surprising considering his difficulties at Anfield, added to the sense that he has not always been fully focused.

Fabio Capello, the England manager, has already expressed misgivings about the lifestyle of a player who has managed only two league goals this season in 20 appearances.

Those remarks went down badly at Anfield, with Dalglish defending Carroll, but the questions will probably not go away until he becomes a regular scorer. Carroll's longest run of starts this season is three games and Marwood's decision was made on the basis that he could no longer improve their team even though Mancini has a shortage of front players at a time when Tevez's strike is in its 11th week and Mario Balotelli is now serving a four-match suspension.

Tevez is planning to return to Manchester next week now it has become apparent that Milan are not able to meet City's asking price and, unless anything changes before Tuesday's transfer deadline, his adviser, Kia Joorabchian, says the Argentinian wants to re-establish himself in the team.

Whether that is possible remains to be seen, with Mancini not prepared to entertain the idea unless there is an apology from Tevez for walking out on the club and the string of other offences that have already led to him being found guilty of gross misconduct and losing almost £10m in wages, fines and lost bonuses since the start of the season.

Tevez is still a formidable striker and finished as the league's joint-top scorer last season, but he will be returning to England with a severely damaged reputation and Liverpool's attempt to take him along the M62 will surprise many people given his propensity for causing dressing-room problems and an apparent dislike of living in England.

There is also the fact that, approaching his 28th birthday, he would not have fitted into Liverpool's usual policy of buying players at a young age who will keep a resale value over the course of their contract. Liverpool, however, were willing to make an exception and City would have been glad to arrange a deal after unsuccessful talks not just with Milan but also Juventus, Internazionale and Paris St-Germain. They remain open to offers for the Argentinian but will not change their mind about Carroll.

Source: the guardian

Premier League - January 21

Norwich City 0-0 Chelsea

Fernando Torres frustrated again as Blues are held to a goalless draw at Carrow Road

Andre Villas-Boas' men had no shortage of possession and chances but a poor miss from the £50m Spaniard and some key saves from John Ruddy gave the hosts a precious point

Firing blanks | Torres again fails to the net as Norwich hold firm

Fernando Torres was guilty of missing a key chance as Chelsea stuttered once again, drawing 0-0 with a dogged Norwich City side who picked up their first clean sheet of the campaign.

Norwich recalled captain Grant Holt to the starting line-up alongside Steve Morison with the creative Wes Hoolahan dropping to a substitute role.

Andre Villas-Boas, meanwhile, elected for an attacking set-up with Daniel Sturridge returning to complement Fernando Torres and Juan Mata in the Chelsea attack. There was no debut for £7 million signing Gary Cahill, though, who was omitted from the matchday squad and had to watch from the stands.

The Blues monopolised possession in the opening minutes but Norwich started to break from the full-back positions and, with 10 minutes gone, forged a great chance as Morison combined brilliantly with Holt to lose the skipper in front of Petr Cech’s goal. The Canaries captain twisted himself into position and fired his shot agonisingly past the post.

Torres seemed in lively mood, and, leading a counter-attack for the visitors, he put hearts in mouths as he skipped past a yellow shirt to poke an effort low towards the corner, with John Ruddy intervening to turn it behind.

As the half drew on, Frank Lampard dropped to the floor clutching his calf, an injury that brought his afternoon to a premature end. The enforced change saw the introduction of Florent Malouda, who immediately threaded Mata through in the Norwich area before Ruddy denied the Spaniard.

Mata then arguably should have given the Blues a half-time lead when he picked up the ball in the inside-left channel following Russell Martin limply surrendering possession and made a thrilling run bearing down on the area. However, the ex-Valencia man rushed his shot somewhat and blasted over.

Anthony Pilkington then rushed back into his area to steal the ball from the waiting Sturridge, after Torres produced a burst of pace down the right to cross into the middle, ensuring that it remained goalless at the break.

Pilkington then caught the eye soon after the restart, cutting inside on his preferred left foot to unleash a fiery effort towards goal, but he drove it over the bar.

Chelsea responded on the hour with Torres taking hold of the ball in a crowded area, but the misfiring Spaniard was wayward once again, prodding his shot a hair’s breadth past the post when it would have been easier to score.

The Blues continued to pile on the pressure with Mata bursting down the left flank to force a great save from John Ruddy, dropping low to his right to deflect the winger’s effort.

Referee Mark Clattenburg then earned the scorn of the home support by waving away furied shouts for handball when Raul Meireles appeared to handle dangerously close to his own area.

With Torres hauled off, young Romelu Lukaku entered the fray for Chelsea but it was Mata again who proved the main threat. Picking the ball up in the centre of the area from the right-hand side, the diminutive attacker aimed for the bottom corner but once again Ruddy was there to drop low and tip it onto the post.

The Blues kept pushing with shots from Ashley Cole and Malouda coming to nothing, Ruddy again key in stopping the latter, but they could not find a way through and Norwich found themselves recording their first clean sheet of the season against the odds.

Bolton Wanderers 3-1 Liverpool

Davies, Reo-Coker & Steinsson strikes send lacklustre Reds to disappointing defeat

Kenny Dalglish's men were bettered throughout by their spirited hosts and sparked only briefly after Craig Bellamy's cool finish had given them hope before half-time

Bolton climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone with an impressive 3-1 win over Liverpool at the Reebok Stadium.

A coolly-taken opener from Mark Davies gave the Trotters the lead before Nigel Reo-Coker doubled it after an identically slick build-up from the hosts.

Craig Bellamy provided hope of a comeback before half-time but this was quickly extinguished by Gretar Steinsson’s volley early in the second period.

Bolton manager Owen Coyle chose to stick with the same side which were so comfortably beaten at Old Trafford in the Trotters’ last outing as former Liverpool striker David N’Gog led the line for the Lancashire side.

Meanwhile, opposite number Kenny Dalglish rang the changes after a frustrating home draw with Stoke City in their last fixture. Bellamy, Maxi Rodriguez and Andy Carroll formed the basis of a potent-looking attack whilst Daniel Agger made his return from injury. Defenders Sebastian Coates and Jamie Carragher missed out in the reshuffle as did Stewart Downing and Dirk Kuyt.

The visitors had looked comfortable in the opening exchanges, passing the ball with familiar vigour, but they were to be stung in ruthless fashion by their hosts’ first attack.

A ball inside to N’Gog saw the Frenchman flick brilliantly first-time to the onrushing Davies who took two touches as he ran into the box before firing past a helpless Pepe Reina.

The early goal understandably buoyed the home crowd and the visitors seemed rocked as moments later Jose Enrique gifted the ball to Chris Eagles only for the winger’s ball across goal to be left agonisingly untouched with the goal gaping.

Dalglish’s men had an opportunity to hit back on the counter just moments later but Rodriguez could only control a lofted ball with his hand in the opposition box and wasted a chance at goal.

The chance spurred Liverpool into further action and only desperate defending could prevent Bellamy driving home from a Rodriguez layoff in the box as their influence on the game grew.

Henderson’s drive from distance, after a trademark Agger run from defence, was then well stopped by Adam Bogdan as the Merseysiders cemented their hold on the game, if not the scoreline.

If the Reds had been looking more impressive than their opponents, they had infinitely less cutting edge as Reo-Coker proved by giving his side their second goal with their second clear chance.

In an almost mirror image of the first goal, a flick on allowed Eagles to burst from midfield but instead of the late-runner going alone, he passed to Reo-Coker, who confidently smashed past Reina to give his side an unlikely two-goal lead.

Reebok reverse | Davies' early goal was a sign of things to come

Given their terrible start, Liverpool barely deserved a chance to get back into the game but they got just that with eight minutes of the first half remaining.

A wonderfully controlled header from Carroll allowed Bellamy through on goal and the Welshman’s touch to take him away from defenders was equally impressive, leaving him to dink over Bogdan and give his side hope.

A free-kick from Petrov underlined the possibility of a Bolton third as Liverpool went in at half-time perhaps the more dominant side, but a goal down.

As the second half began, Dalglish’s men asserted their dominance as a clever passing exchange allowed Charlie Adam to fire at goal. Although the shot was blocked well, it provided ample confidence to a side hoping to get back into the game.

However, this wasn’t set to last for long, as Bolton extended their lead with just five minutes of the second half gone. A ball into the box was brilliantly won by David Wheater and dropped to fellow defender Gretar Steinsson, who produced a striker’s finish to put his side two goals to the good.

The visitors pushed even harder after conceding the third goal but their toothless forward line continued to provide more problems than answers as the Trotters held out resolutely.

This led to their manager producing a double substitution which saw the woeful Adam and ineffective Rodriguez replaced by Kuyt and Downing. The changes did little but solidify the poor state of affairs for those in Red as Coyle’s men stayed in command.

That the game was not going to change in Liverpool’s favour was then further emphasised as Agger drove onto the bar 20 minutes from time after a brilliant run.

A Bellamy strike from distance, well collected by Bogdan, simply compounded what was a damaging night for a side supposed to be chasing Champions League qualification.

Source: goal.com