Israel Saria
Eurosport
The absurd transfer merry-go-round appears to have lost momentum, with Barcelona reported to have cooled their interest in Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor.
The Sun claim that the Togo man told a team mate “I’m not sure I’m going to leave now”.
Barca are said to be less than impressed by Adebayor’s attitude, having had previous fall-outs at former club Monaco and with his national team, while a £37.5 million price tag is proving more than off-putting.
And with Milan closing their chequebook after the signing of Ronaldinho, Adebayor might have to ‘do a Gareth Barry‘ and endure the low-level wrath of Gunners fans.
Pep Guardiola’s Barca, meanwhile, may have switched their attention to the white half of North London. With Tottenham Hotspur furious at what they perceive to be illegal attempts by Manchester United to sign Dimitar Berbatov, they could let the Bulgaria hit-man go to Los Cules – for £5m under the asking price.
Spurs want £30m from United – although it is understood they would accept a few million less – while Barca would be allowed to have the ex-Leverkusen man for around £25m.
Britain’s favourite tabloid also reckon that former Liverpool midfielder Paul Ince wants to make Reds winger Jermaine Pennant his first proper signing at Blackburn. They say he will use £6 million of the cash raked in by selling David Bentley to Spurs.
The Daily Star could land Liverpool in yet more hot water after quoting Dirk Kuyt as saying he would welcome Robbie Keane as a “great signing”.
Rafael Benitez has already been reported by Spurs for commenting on long-term target Keane, while Aston Villa are furious at his pursuit of their captain Barry.
And it seems Benitez has used a similar tactic with Keane – Steven Gerrard openly courted Barry early in that saga, which drew criticism from Villa fans and the club.
The same paper also made the somewhat colourful claim that Everton boss David Moyes is angry with Andrew Johnson for not playing in a pre-season friendly ahead of a proposed £10.5 million move to Fulham – but The Sun reckon he was more than happy to rest his striker, with Vagner Love set to move to Goodison from CSKA Moscow.
With Steed Malbranque and Younes Kaboul still umming and aahing about moves to Sunderland, Roy Keane is lining up a £6 million bid for Celtic winger Aiden McGeady – even though he just signed a new contract (Daily Mirror).
Marlon King has to wait to join Hull after the proposed move hit a contractual snag with Wigan, who want him to waive his loyalty bonus after barely featuring for the club since joining in January (The Sun), although The Guardian reckon it’s “90 percent” done.
Middlesbrough could replace Wigan-bound midfielder Lee Cattermole with Reading‘s James Harper, according to The Guardian, while Manchester City have offered Chelsea £4 million for misfit Israel defender Tal Ben Haim.
And finally, the Premier League goalkeeper swap-shop is gaining momentum, with all papers reporting Brad Friedel‘s move from Blackburn to Aston Villa, and Spurs keeper Paul Robinson set to replace the American at Ewood Park. Another American – Brad Guzan – will provide back-up to Friedel at Villa Park, assuming he gets a work permit for his move from Chivas USA.
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