Yiddo
Jack Jull
Schar today linked with UTD. Huntelaar could be worth a throw of the dice
Anyone is worth the throw of the dice compared to our non goal scoring forwards.
Schar today linked with UTD. Huntelaar could be worth a throw of the dice
Konoplyanka please. Give them a few mill and get it done in January.
Cardiff City are to consider releasing midfielder Ravel Morrison, 21, after manager Russell Slade admitted the move to Wales has not quite worked for the England Under-21 international, who is on loan from West Ham. (Western Mail)
Atletico Madrid will reportedly look to either Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino or Napoli’s Rafa Benitez as possible replacements if they lose manager Diego Simeone according to Sport.es.
Though the Argentine hasn’t been a huge success in his early months in charge at White Hart Lane he is clearly still a well respected boss and could perhaps be open to a move to the Vicente Calderon.
Pochettino spent three and a half years in charge of Espanyol and if his stint at Spurs doesn’t show signs of marked improvement then a move back to La Liga would no doubt become all the more tempting.
A move for Benitez may however be more likely given the experienced Spaniard’s success with Valencia, prior to his move to Liverpool, though he may still feel he has unfinished business at current club Napoli.
He surely has to be better than Lennon & Townsend
What a weird one.. first he was a wasted talent, then all of a sudden last year he was the best thing since sliced bread and then this year it's a failed loan move to the Championship!?
Why did they even loan him out? I thought he was a regular at the end of last season.
Konoplyanka please. Give them a few mill and get it done in January.
The stick Dawson used to get from some of our fans! Shawcross is the ultimate agricultural defender
Chelsea lead the race for Borussia Dortmund winger Marco Reus, 25, and could offer forward Andre Schurrle, 24, in exchange to beat Liverpool and Arsenal to the deal. (Daily Express)
Manchester United winger Angel Di Maria, 26, is eyeing a move away from Old Trafford, with former suitors Paris St-Germain uppermost in his thoughts. (Daily Star)
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, 34, will switch Merseyside for the San Siro by joining Inter Milan in the January transfer window. (Daily Mirror)
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insists midfielder Lukas Podolski, 29, is not for sale in January. (Goal.com)
Former Saudi Sportswashing Machine midfielder Olivier Bernard says he is "absolutely sure" that fellow Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, 28, will return to the Premier League from Paris St-Germain in January. (Saudi Sportswashing Machine Chronicle)
Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta has denied claims that he is interested in bringing Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho back to the Nou Camp if he is re-elected. (Evening Standard)
Gareth Bale's agent admitted Manchester United offered more money for the Welshman than Real Madrid, but the 25-year-old forward had his heart set on Spain. (InsideFutbol.com)
Manchester United striker Radamel Falcao is undergoing an intensive fitness programme at the club's Carrington training ground during the international break so that he can finally get himself into peak condition. (Daily Telegraph)
Meanwhile, Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo, 24, has revealed he went on strike to force his £16m move from Sporting Lisbon in the summer. (Sun - subscription required)
England striker Wayne Rooney is desperate for a win over Scotland on Tuesday so he can wind up former Manchester United managers David Moyes and Sir Alex Ferguson. (Daily Record)
Arsenal and France defender Mathieu Debuchy, 29, is close to a return to action after being sidelined with an ankle injury in September. (Daily Mirror)
Cardiff City are to consider releasing midfielder Ravel Morrison, 21, after manager Russell Slade admitted the move to Wales has not quite worked for the England Under-21 international, who is on loan from West Ham. (Western Mail)
Uefa officials forced Slovenia to take a bus to Wembley for their international with England - even though they were staying at a hotel just 50 metres from the stadium entrance. (Daily Mail)
More people watched the BBC quiz show Pointless than tuned in to England's Euro 2016 qualifier on ITV against Slovenia on Saturday.
Turkish club Genclerbirligi have banned players from growing beards, with anyone flouting the facial hair rule liable for a £7,000 fine
Off-field problems. He tried to throw acid in some woman's face or something. Someone to steer well clear of.
Konoplyanka please. Give them a few mill and get it done in January.
He surely has to be better than Lennon & Townsend
I seem to remember an 'ITK' in the rumour threads from the summer saying that the club were likely to steer well clear of Konoplyanka because of some alleged of-the-field baggage. I'd love to know what that was exactly...
A lot of interesting names on that list of potential free transfers for sure. Would be a good negotiating situation for Levy in January...
(Near enough) the full list of players out of contract ni the Summer of 2015:
England
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Michael Carrick (33) DM
Winston Reid (26) CH
Mathieu Flamini (30) DM
Mikel Arteta (32) DM
Steven Gerrard (33) CM
Glen Johnson (30) RB
James Milner (28) LB/LM/RM/CM
Emmanuel Adebayor (30) CF
Jon Flanagan (21) RB
Mark Noble (27) CM
Ron Vlaar (29) CH
Fabian Delph (24) CM
Suso (20) RW
Connor Wickham (21) CF
Danny Ings (22) CF
Italy
====
Giorgio Chiellini (30) CH
Stephan Lichtsteiner (30) RB
Sebastian Giovinco (27) AM/CF
Alberto Aquilani (30) CM
Andrea Ranocchia (26) CH
Nigel de Jong (29) DM
Ignazio Abate (28) RB
Giampaolo Pazzini (30) CF
Andrea Ranocchia (26)
Jonathan (28) RB
Cristian Ledesma (32) DM
Spain
=====
Sami Khedira (27) DM
Stephane Mbia (28) DM
Andoni Iraola (32) RB
Allan Nyom (26) RB
Adama Traore (18) RW
Germany
========
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (31) CF
Stefan Reinartz (25) DM
Rafa Van Der Vaart (31) AM
Marcell Jansen (29) LB
Carlos Zambrano (25) CH
France
======
Jeremy Toulalan (31) DM
Andre Ayew (24) LW
Andre-Pierre Gignac (28) CF
Rio Mavuba (30) DM
Yoann Gourcuff (28) AM
Clement Chantome (27) CM
Portugal
=======
Maxi Pereira (30) RB
Joao Pereira (30) RB
Netherlands
==========
Lasse Schone (28) RW
Niklas Moisander (29) CH
Ukraine
======
Evgen Konoplyanka (25) LW
Luiz Adriano (27) CF
Lukman Haruna (23) CM
Taras Stepanenko (25) DM
Ivan Strinic (27) LB
Ondrej Mazuch (25) CH
Russia
=====
Rasmus Elm (26) CM
Danny (31) AM
Christopher Samba (30) CH
Dame N'Doye (29) CF
Artem Dzyuba (26) CF
Vitali Denisov (27) LB
Switzerland
=========
Fabian Schar (22) CH
There are a number of very useful players in the list, many of which would help to fill positions in which we look weak at the moment.
I have bolded those that I think would be worth going after (obviously I don't expect us/want us to go after them all - I just think they all might represent decent options) I have tried to concentrate on areas where we need some strengthening - so primarly through the spine of our team. I have also tried to focus on players that I think we would have a chance of getting (and therefore ignored Khedeira)
My choices and explanations:
Centre Half
1st Choice: Winston Reid. Persuading West Ham to sell to us might be difficult and I think it would take a decent sized offer even though he only has 6 months left on his deal. For that reason he might be one we'd have to wait until the Summer for to take on a bosman.
2nd Choice: Fabian Schar. I think we would have serious competition - but could probably get him if we really pushed the boat out. Of course the worry here is his level of experience so for me he would probably be a signing for next Summer as opposed to in January.
We can move Chiriches on to accomodate either of the above. If we got both of them then we could let Kaboul go or perhaps even cash in on Vertonghen.
Defensive Midfield
1st Choice. Nigel De Jong. Exactly the sort of nasty ******* we need. Already knows the Premiership and is suited to playing in it. At 29 he would still have at least 3 years left. He would be the perfect January signing and I'm sure that Milan would be prepared to get a couple of million for him then rather than nothing for him in the Summer.
2nd Choice. Stefan Reinartz. A no nonsense holding midfielder at a decent age, playing at a good level in a good league, played for Germany at every level from under 16s to the full national team (4 appearances) where he is currentand is currently on the fringes of the national team.
3rd Choice. Taras Stepanenko. 27 games for Ukraine's under 21s and 14 caps for his country at only 25 so young for a holding midfielder. I have been impressed with his play at the base of midfield for his club and country. The only question mark is whether he would adapt to PL football.
Getting any of the above would allow us to move Capoue on (I would also argue that getting none of the above would allow us to move Capoue on - but that's another story :lol
Centre Midfield
1st Choice: Fabian Delph. I think he has the pace, physicality and stamina to play the role that Mason is currently filling for us. He is another player that isn't afraid to put his foot in and I think he also has good quality on the ball. Also is a "home-grown" player which is a good thing.
2nd Choice. James Milner. I would love to have Milner in our squad. He would be the first name on the teamsheet for me every week and I would play him in any of the midfield positions other than the holding role (although he could probably do a better job there than Capoue!) and he could even fill in at fullback in an emergency. Another player for our home grown quota and one with a real winning mentality, which is something that we seriously lack throughout our squad currently.
I would be delighted if we could bring both of the above players in. Paulinho and Ceballos could make way in the squad
Left Wing Forward
1st Choice: Andre Ayew. Would bring some much needed pace to the team.
2nd Choice: Evgen Konoplyanka. As above - brings pace. My only worry with him is that players from this region haven't always adapted to the PL.
We could accomodate either player by moving Lennon on. I think it would make sense to try to complete a deal for one of these two in January
Centre Forward
1st Choice: Danny Ings. I was impressed with him when I saw him scoring goals for Burnley in the Championship. A young, hard working player who knows where the goal is.
2nd Choice: Andre-Pierre Gignac. I am surprised that he isn't already a premiership player as there has been interest in him from PL teams for a number of years.
Getting either of the above would allow us to move Soldado on. I think we could wait until the Summer for either of these if necessary, although if we could do a January deal then we could loan Soldado out to Italy/Spain hoping that a few goals might persuade a club to give us a few million for him in the Summer.
We can then use any money we have made out of the players we are selling to bring in a replacement for Adebayor this Summer (Berahino would be my top choice for that).
I don't even think our wage bill would suffer that much if we were losing the likes of Soldado, Adebayor, Paulinho, Lennon and Chiriches.