adminTOTTENHAM’S attempts to sign Willian could be scuppered after it emerged that Chelsea have joined the race for the Anzhi Makhachkala forward.The 25-year-old has already passed a medical with Spurs and looked set to team up with manager Andre Villas-Boas in a £30 million deal.
However, it is believed Willian is keeping his options open, with Chelsea making a late move for the Brazilian, and talks between Jose Mourinho and the player are set to take place after sources confirmed the Blues’ interest to ESPN.
Liverpool dropped out of the running for Willian, leaving the path clear for Tottenham, and a five-year contract was in place to make the Anzhi man Spurs’ record signing -surpassing the £26 million they paid for Roberto Soldado only at the beginning of August.
Speaking after Tottenham’s 5-0 win over Dinamo Tbilisi in the qualification round for the Europa League, on potentially losing out to Chelsea in the transfer, Villas-Boas said: “I confirmed our interest in the player. Everything is possible, but I’m not aware of the circumstances because of our involvement in the [Dinamo] game.”
Arsenal are set to loan striker Lukas Podolski to Bundesliga club Schalke 04 as the German international looks to get more playing time in the build-up season to next year’s Soccer World Cup in Brazil. The former Bayern Munich marksman who is under contract with the Londoners until 2014 has struggled to break into Arsene Wenger’s starting line-up and may be set for a return to the Bundesliga, according to reports on yesterday in German daily Bild.
“Poldi is a great guy who will really suit Schalke. It would be brilliant,” said former international Gerald Asamoah who recently moved to Schalke from Greuther Furth. The team are off to a poor start in domestic action with just one point from two matches and are in desperate need of strike power with Dutch veteran Klaas-Jan Huntelaar out for several weeks with a knee problem while Peruvian Jefferson Farfa is also struggling for fitness.
It is not the first time the Gelsenkirchen club have shown interest in the Polish-born 28-year-old who has scored 46 goals in 111 appearances for Germany, but their bid to sign him in 2007 failed to materialise.
Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany is set for a month-long spell on the sidelines after suffering a groin injury in the opening match against Newcastle United, manager Manuel Pellegrini said yesterday.
Kompany, whose imposing presence will be sorely missed at the heart of the City defence, limped off the pitch 71 minutes into their 4-0 victory.
The Belgium international will miss his country’s World Cup qualifier against Scotland on 6 September, as well as Premier League matches against Cardiff City, Hull City and Stoke City.
He is also a doubt for the first Manchester derby of the season on 22 September.
“I prefer the doctor has the final word on this but I think he will be out for at least one month,” Pellegrini said on the club website (www.mcfc.co.uk).
The City boss did not rule out making a late move in the transfer window to bring in defensive reinforcements.
“If we do strengthen (at centre back) it will not just be because of Vincent Kompany’s injury. We have a very good squad and we will see what happens,” he added.
“Today or tomorrow we will know exactly how long Vincent will be out for.”
West Bromwich Albion manager Steve Clarke has said striker Nicolas Anelka has told him that he is considering retiring following the death of his agent.
The Frenchman had already been excused from his team’s Premier League game against Everton today on compassionate grounds after learning that Eric Manasse had died.
British media reported the well-travelled forward had already cleared his locker at the club’s training base.
“There was no big bust up, he didn’t storm out,” Clarke was quoted as saying by the BBC.
“Retirement? When you’re not in a good place those thoughts can come into your mind. I’m not going to deny he mentioned (retirement). He hasn’t trained this week (because of a knock). I was preparing the team for Everton without him.”
The player’s current agent, Doug Pingisi, however told French daily Le Parisien that Anelka “has not retired from football”.
Anelka wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday: “I’ve just learned with deep sadness the death of mister Eric Manasse. I can’t find the words to express my huge grief and I wanted to pay condolences to the Manasse family after this tragic death.”
The 34-year-old Anelka joined West Brom, his sixth Premier League club, on a free transfer last month and featured in their opening game defeat at the hands of Southampton last Saturday.
He moved to Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua from Chelsea in January 2012 but did not settle and went out on loan at Juventus.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has conceded defeat in his pursuit of Liverpool striker Luis Suarez after declaring there is “no chance” the Uruguayan will move to the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal have had two bids for Suarez rejected during the current transfer window and, speaking after his side won 3-0 at Fenerbahce in the first leg of their Champions League play-off, Wenger said they would not be making another offer. A number of British media outlets, including the BBC, claim that Arsenal have expressed an interest in signing Real Madrid pair Karim Benzema and Angel Di Maria. The London club have also had a bid for Newcastle United’s France international midfielder Yohan Cabaye rejected.
Wenger would not be drawn on the identity of his transfer targets, but he confirmed that the club are working to bring in new players.
Fixtures
Today: Fulham v Arsenal, Craven Cottage 13:45
Stoke v Crystal Palace, Britannia Stadium 16:00
Everton v West Brom, Goodison Park 16:00
Newcastle v West Ham, St James’ Park 16:00
Southampton v Sunderland, St. Mary’s Stadium 16:00
Hull v Norwich, The KC Stadium 16:00
Aston Villa v Liverpool, Villa Park 18:30
Tomorrow: Cardiff v Manchester City, Cardiff City Stadium 17:00, Tottenham v Swansea, White Hart Lane 17:00
-Online.
Online Reporter