Papers 31/07

[jezza]

Manchester United are poised with an £11m move for Michael Owen which will spark intense competition from Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle. (Daily Express)

Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to sell Phil Neville, Kleberson and Louis Saha to raise the £11m to buy Owen. (Mail on Sunday)

Phil Neville is set to quit Manchester United for Middlesbrough in a £3.5m deal. (Sunday Mirror)

Real Madrid will not stand in Owen's way if he asks to leave. (Sunday Times)

Chelsea's final take-it-or-leave-it offer to Lyon for Michael Essien will be £20m plus Tiago on a year's loan. (Sunday People)

Chelsea are on the verge of pulling the plug on their deal for Essien. (Sunday Mirror)

Everton boss David Moyes is poised to make a £2m move for Newcastle's Nicky Butt. (News of the World)

Liverpool have dropped their interest in Real Madrid's Luis Figo and decided to make a £1m move for Stelios Giannakopoulos. (Daily Star)

Sir Alex Ferguson wants Bayern Munich midfielder Michael Ballack to be a Manchester United player before the start of the Premiership season. (Sunday People)

Arsenal have agreed a £4m deal to sign Uruguayan keeper Sebastian Viera. (News of the World)

Arsene Wenger is set to make a desperate £12m bid for Jermaine Jenas to fill the gap left by Patrick Vieira's departure. (Sunday People)

Arsenal will turn to Dutch club Heerenveen's Greek striker Georgios Samras after missing out on Julio Baptista. (Mail on Sunday)

Andy Johnson has begged Crystal Palace to sell him - after Everton made a £5.5m offer. (Sunday People)

Aston Villa are still hopeful of signing Liverpool's Milan Baros, even though he has agreed personal terms with Schalke. (Mail on Sunday)

Crystal Palace are keen to sign Arsenal's David Bentley on a season's loan. (Daily Star)

Manchester City boss Stuart Pearce wants to bring Tottenham's Michael Brown to the club. (Daily Star)

Real Madrid will decide this week whether to launch a £20m raid for Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand. (News of the World)

Southampton's board of directors are expected to resign if their decision to back the appointment of ex-England rugby coach Clive Woodward backfires. (Sunday Mirror)

Tottenham have inserted a good conduct clause in Edgar Davids' new contract. (Sunday Mirror)

Football is facing a financial crisis as the Premier League and the European Commission prepare to clash over the next TV deal. (Sunday Mirror)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/gossip_and_transfers/4732029.stm

 

[DB10]

Manchester United are poised with an £11m move for Michael Owen which will spark intense competition from Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle. (Daily Express)

Real Madrid will not stand in Owen's way if he asks to leave. (Sunday Times)

We should stick in a bid anyway, just to see where he'd rather go, although right now I doubt MO cares too much.

Arsenal have agreed a £4m deal to sign Uruguayan keeper Sebastian Viera. (News of the World)

We have? Didn't even know we were after him.

Arsene Wenger is set to make a desperate £12m bid for Jermaine Jenas to fill the gap left by Patrick Vieira's departure. (Sunday People)

Arsenal will turn to Dutch club Heerenveen's Greek striker Georgios Samras after missing out on Julio Baptista. (Mail on Sunday)

This is a re-hash. We were supposed to have signed him in early June but nothing came of it.

 

[Shinboners]

Manchester United are poised with an £11m move for Michael Owen which will spark intense competition from Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle. (Daily Express)

I'll believe it when the club makes an official offer.

Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to sell Phil Neville, Kleberson and Louis Saha to raise the £11m to buy Owen. (Mail on Sunday)

United have reportedly turned down a £2m offer for Kleberson from Besiktas. Apparently we're holding out for a little bit more, but I'd say the deal will go through.

Phil Neville is set to quit Manchester United for Middlesbrough in a £3.5m deal. (Sunday Mirror)

He will be a good pick up for Boro.

Everton boss David Moyes is poised to make a £2m move for Newcastle's Nicky Butt. (News of the World)

And Newcastle should take the money and run.

Sir Alex Ferguson wants Bayern Munich midfielder Michael Ballack to be a Manchester United player before the start of the Premiership season. (Sunday People)

So much for Alan Smith in midfield then.

 

[Shinboners]

Chelsea are on the verge of pulling the plug on their deal for Essien. (Sunday Mirror)

So Liverpool fans - is 12 months enough for Houllier to totally destroy Essien as a player?

Maybe United can pick him up on a free this time next year.

 

[Sexiano Ronaldo]

Sir Alex Ferguson wants Bayern Munich midfielder Michael Ballack to be a Manchester United player before the start of the Premiership season. (Sunday People)

No.

 

[Thewlis Dish]

United have reportedly turned down a £2m offer for Kleberson from Besiktas. Apparently we're holding out for a little bit more, but I'd say the deal will go through.

I'm pretty sure it's Kleba himself is turning down them - he wants to play La Liga with Celta Vigo to get his international prospects back on track.

 

[andrewb94]

Have no idea why Man U turned down the first bid from Vigo for Kleberson, they will be lucky to get much more than 1 million.(even though he is a world cup winner apparently )

Doubt that Ballack story is true, Inter were close to putting a deal for Ballack to go at the end of the season, he wants to stay at Munich this year to try and win Champs league.

 

[Cooldude]

So Liverpool fans - is 12 months enough for Houllier to totally destroy Essien as a player?

You're underestimating GH, 3 months, that's all he'll take to turn Essien into Salif Diao

And Liverpool's interested in MO, particularly with Baros going to Schalke in Germany for around 6.5-7 million

 

[Sexiano Ronaldo]

Doubt that Ballack story is true, Inter were close to putting a deal for Ballack to go at the end of the season, he wants to stay at Munich this year to try and win Champs league.

That's more like it.

 

[Lowie01]

Manchester United are poised with an £11m move for Michael Owen which will spark intense competition from Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle. (Daily Express)

Liverpool have dropped their interest in Real Madrid's Luis Figo and decided to make a £1m move for Stelios Giannakopoulos. (Daily Star)

For the first one, I'm afraid getting back Owen should not be number one on the list of our priorities - fix the defence first.

As for the second one, if I was Luis Figo, I'd be insulted to be mentioned in the same sentence as Stelios.

 

[Cooldude]

For the first one, I'm afraid getting back Owen should not be number one on the list of our priorities - fix the defence first.

On the other hand, the fans would be fuming if we just let Owen go to one of our rivals, be it Arsenal or MUSA, without us giving much of a fight for his signature

 

[Boro]

NEWS OF THE WORLD:

# Real Madrid's Michael Owen is praying for Manchester United or Liverpool to save him from the soccer wilderness

# Real Madrid will this week decide whether or not to make a £20m bid for Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, if Jonathan Woodgate fails to regain full fitness

# Everton are poised to make a £2m swoop for Newcastle midfielder Nicky Butt

# Arsenal have agreed a £4m deal to sign Uruguayan keeper Sebastian Viera, while the Gunners are set to pay £3m for Bastia midfielder Alex Song after his recent trial with the club

# Arsenal have blocked a bid by Ipswich to sign Justin Hoyte on loan for the season

# Liverpool are targeting Fulham midfielder Steed Malbranque, while Reds target Luis Figo will join Inter Milan this week

# Aston Villa are set to bid £1.5m for Brondby centre-half Daniel Agger

# West Ham are set to pip Sunderland to the signing of Stoke left-back Clive Clarke, while the Hammers are set to move for Portsmouth striker Lomana LuaLua

# Shay Given says that he will quit Newcastle if they fail to win any trophies this season, while Fulham's Luis Boa Morte will complete his £3.5m move to Newcastle this week

# Chelsea are ready to pull the plug on their bid to sign Lyon midfielder Michael Essien

# Liverpool striker Milan Baros has agreed to join German side Schalke in a £6.2m deal

# Bayern Munich midfielder Michael Ballack is poised to sign a pre-contract agreement with Manchester United in January

# Charlton face competition from Bolton and Middlesbrough for Lazio defender Fernando Couto

PEOPLE:

# Manchester United are to make a £9m bid for Bayern Munich midfielder Michael Ballack, while United defender

# Phil Neville is set for a £3.5m move to Middlesbrough

# Arsenal are set to make a £12m bid for Newcastle midfielder Jermaine Jenas

# Chelsea will make a final offer of £20m plus Tiago on loan for a year in exchange for Lyon midfielder Michael Essien

# Andy Johnson has begged Crystal Palace to sell him, with Everton having made an offer of £5.5m

# Sunderland have made a move for Walsall striker Matt Fryatt

# Millwall boss Colin Lee wants to make Portsmouth striker Svetoslav Todorov his first signing

# Newcastle will move for Middlesbrough striker Mark Viduka, if they miss out on Fenerbahce's Nicolas Anelka

# Bolton hope to sign Uruguayan star Gonzalo De Los Santos on a free transfer from Valencia

# West Brom are ready to sign Everton defender Alan Stubbs

# Wigan have joined the chase for former Spurs striker Steffen Iversen

# West Ham are trying to hijack Birmingham's move for Walter Pandiani, while the Hammers are leading the chase for Newcastle midfielder Lee Bowyer

# Crystal Palace have stepped up their interest in Arsenal midfielder David Bentley

# Fulham striker Steve Marlet is set for a move to Auxerre

# Bolton midfielder Stelios will join Liverpool in a £1m deal this week

# The door is still open for Rangers' winger Peter Lovenkrands to join Middlesbrough

# Derby are to make a £500,000 bid for Manchester United midfielder Liam Miller

# Southampton are chasing Millwall midfielder David Livermore

MIRROR:

# Manchester United want to rescue Michael Owen from Real Madrid

# Chelsea are on the verge of pulling the plug on their bid to sign Lyon midfielder Michael Essien

# Everton have emerged as favourites to sign Leeds midfielder Eirik Bakke

EXPRESS:

# Manchester United are poised with an £11m bid for Michael Owen

MAIL:

# Manchester United will sell Phil Neville, Kleberson and Louis Saha in order to raise the £11m needed to sign Michael Owen

# Arsenal are poised to sign Heerenveen's Greek striker Georgios Samras

# Aston Villa are confident of pipping Schalke to the signing of Liverpool striker Milan Baros

 

[DB10]

NEWS OF THE WORLD:

# Arsenal have agreed a £4m deal to sign Uruguayan keeper Sebastian Viera, while the Gunners are set to pay £3m for Bastia midfielder Alex Song after his recent trial with the club

# Arsenal have blocked a bid by Ipswich to sign Justin Hoyte on loan for the season

01: two good signings. 7m spent on a 22-year-old keeper who is number one for his country, and someone who has looked very good in the trial matches for us. Happy with that.

02: why? We have Lauren, Eboue and Toure if necessary for right back. Hoyte could've done with a season on loan.

 

[moomba]

02: why? We have Lauren, Eboue and Toure if necessary for right back. Hoyte could've done with a season on loan.

Have heard that Arsenal are hoping to loan him out to a premier league team.

 

[moomba]

Manchester City boss Stuart Pearce wants to bring Tottenham's Michael Brown to the club. (Daily Star)

He's got a few detractors amongst the City support, but I'd be fairly happy with Brown coming back to the club. No doubt Spurs will put a ridiculous price tag on his head, so I suspect this is a non-starter.

 

[DB10]

Have heard that Arsenal are hoping to loan him out to a premier league team.

Ah.

 

[Shinboners]

Back to Owen, I would have some very mixed feelings if Owen came to Manchester United.

On the plus side, it would be very funny to see Jod's reaction. And Owen is a very good player. At United, he'd probably start behind RVN and Rooney, but any club would love to have him coming off the bench.

But on the negative side, I wouldn't want us to fall into the same trap that Liverpool did with Owen. There always seemed to be a feeling that if Owen was fit, Liverpool would be fine and the club could challenge for silverware. But as soon as his hamstrings went, Liverpool would begin to struggle - they would tread water as they counted down the days until Owen's return.

 

[Sexiano Ronaldo]

Liverpool only had one genuine striker at the time (Owen).

We don't.

 

[dogupya]

Liverpool have dropped their interest in Real Madrid's Luis Figo and decided to make a £1m move for Stelios Giannakopoulos. (Daily Star)

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO for god sake NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[Sexiano Ronaldo]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO for god sake NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Stelios is a gun.

I'd have him at OT in a flash.

 

[Cooldude]

But on the negative side, I wouldn't want us to fall into the same trap that Liverpool did with Owen. There always seemed to be a feeling that if Owen was fit, Liverpool would be fine and the club could challenge for silverware. But as soon as his hamstrings went, Liverpool would begin to struggle - they would tread water as they counted down the days until Owen's return.

It was more like GH's gameplan revolving around hoofing balls and hope Owen's pace gets to one of them. Then when he was gone, we had slow ********s like Heskey, Fowler if it's earlier, or whatever.

Fergie would use Owen better than that.

From you Man Utd boys: What's the chance of him heading to you?

 

[Shinboners]

Liverpool only had one genuine striker at the time (Owen).

We don't.

Fair point.

And as Cooldude has pointed out, Houllier only had one game plan.

 

[Shinboners]

From you Man Utd boys: What's the chance of him heading to you?

I think Fergie would be keen, but I don't think the transfer money is there.

If he returns to England, I reckon he'll be in an Arsenal shirt. Maybe even a Spurs or Newcastle one if they offer up the money. I'd be surprised if he returns to Liverpool as Benitez was the one who showed him the door.

 

[DB10]

Only stumbling bloke preventing us buying him is that we've got enough short, speedy forwards as it is, and our less than friendly relationship with Real Madrid. It's no secret Dein and Wenger dislike Perez a lot.

Wouldn't say no to MO though.

 

[Cooldude]

I'd be surprised if he returns to Liverpool as Benitez was the one who showed him the door.

Rafa showed him the door because he was getting ********ed at his stalling antics, and how he knew back in his Valencia days that Owen's agent offered him everywhere in Spain 6 months before hand.

He rates him highly, but not necessarily highly enough to make him spill 10 million on a striker that we don't need when we have other more pressing areas to fix.

The same can be said of Fergie, another striker's not exactly what Man Utd need right now