CORNER KICK: *Real Madrid are stepping up their efforts to sign England winger Raheem Sterling, 19, next summer as a new Liverpool deal fails to materialise. *Raheem Sterlings £30,000-a-week deal makes him one of the lowest paid in the Liverpool squad. *Manchester United are preparing a £35m bid for Juventus and Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal, 27. United are also lining up a return for Barcelona and Spain centre-back Gerard Pique, 27, in January. *Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid will make another attempt to sign Tottenham striker Roberto Soldado, 29, in January. *Manchester United and Arsenal target Netherlands defender Ron Vlaar, 29, has told Aston Villa he is finally ready to start contract negotiations. *Everton insist midfielder Ross Barkley, 20, is not for sale amid fresh rumours Manchester City have made him a £30m summer transfer target. *Argentina and Sampdoria goalkeeper Sergio Romero, 27, has dismissed suggestions that he turned down a summer move to Manchester United. *Midfielder James Milner, 28, has reiterated he will only commit his future to Manchester City if he is getting enough match time. *Paris St-Germain are ready to sell midfielder Adrien Rabiot, 19, in January and Arsenal intend to approach the French club. *Manchester Uniteds defensive mistakes have prompted manager Louis van Gaal to consider using Michael Carrick, 33, as an emergency centre-back. * Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says the public will have to wait and see which goalkeeper he opts to start against Villarreal on Saturday. Debate has raged in recent weeks over which shot-stopper should be the Blancos first-choice, with Spain international Iker Casillas and Costa Ricas World Cup hero Keylor Navas jostling for the position. However, Ancelotti was tight-lipped when asked who would star at El Madrigal - after Casillas was dropped for Navas in Tuesdays 5-1 victory over Elche. * Jurgen Klopp said he expects Borussia Dortmund captain Mats Hummels to return against Stuttgart in Bundesliga on Wednesday. Hummels is yet to feature for Dortmund since being handed the armband following Germanys World Cup triumph in July, with the centre-back recovering from muscular problems. The 25-year-old has stepped up his recovery in recent weeks and Dortmund, who have lost two of their past four league games, are set to receive a boost with Hummels on track to feature at Signal Iduna Park. * Fernando Torres was “very happy with my first goal” for Milan and in Serie A, but wanted victory against Empoli. The Chelsea-owned striker was on target with a looping header during his first Serie A start, a 2-2 draw at the Stadio Castellani. * Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski is wanted on loan by Newcastle, with club manager Alan Pardew reportedly looking to sign the German international on a season long deal.The World Cup winning striker is so far not on the Gunners starting eleven team sheet in the Premier League and thus is now ready to move elsewhere. Newcastle have struggled this season and Pardews attacking line have yet to produce the goals needed to send them up the league table. Newcastle are confident a deal can be agreed in the coming months. * Diego Simeone is not in the least bit perturbed that some Atletico Madrid fans whistled his team following their 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo at the weekend. The reigning Liga champions remain unbeaten domestically this campaign but after letting a 2-1 half-time lead slip against the Galician outfit on Saturday, they were berated by their own supporters. However, Simeone has no issue with the backlash, arguing that it was a perfectly normal reaction to a poor result. Today the Rojiblancos travel to face an Almeria team that claimed a 2-1 win at Real Sociedad last weekend and Simeone - who is currently serving an eight-game touchline ban - is keen to ensure that his side cut out the defensive mistakes that cost them two points against Celta. * Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger expects Kieran Gibbs and Per Mertesacker to be available for this weekends derby clash with Tottenham. Knocks meant the defensive pair were only fit enough to be amongst the substitutes last night as Southampton won 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium to send the Gunners out of the League Cup. Arsenal struggled to create many clear-cut chances but it was at the back where their main issue lied, with the inexperienced back four boasting just 54 Arsenal appearances between them - the majority belonging to Francis Coquelin, who was playing out-of-position. Injuries to Mathieu Debuchy and Nacho Monreal have left them light defensively, while knocks saw Mertesacker and Gibbs remain on the bench - injuries that Wenger says will not keep them out of Saturdays derby with Tottenham. They will be all right, he said. We are a bit short, yes, because of the injuries we have.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 06:57:12 +0000
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