Foster message for United fans

Ben FosterBen Foster
Ben Foster has urged Manchester United's supporters to quell their protests against the Glazer family's ownership and instead show their backing for the club.

Goalkeeper Foster this week secured a £6million move from United to Birmingham, and the 27-year-old's remarks are likely to stir up anger in the supporters he is leaving behind at Old Trafford.

The Red Knights group of wealthy United supporters have recently promised to attempt to oust the Glazers from the club, which is carrying debts in excess of £700million.

Led by leading investment banker and former United director Jim O'Neill, the Red Knights have been inching towards lodging a formal bid for the Old Trafford outfit, which had been anticipated prior to the World Cup's opening game on June 11.

However Foster believes the club is functioning well and suggests fans could make a greater contribution by diverting their energies.

He said: "There's maybe too much made of it by the supporters. They are obviously passionate about Manchester United, but sometimes they need to focus on supporting the club a bit more than getting carried away with the technicalities of who's in charge.

"Personally, I think the Glazers have always put money in to Manchester United to buy players when needed. Having said that, I don't think the manager needs to buy too many players there anyway. They have a lot of good youngsters coming through the ranks."

You can't blame Cesc Fabregas for wanting to leave a club as dismally unambitious as Arsene Wenger's Arsenal

I don't blame Cesc Fabregas for wanting to leave Arsenal. I’ve tried to find it in my heart to hate him for his treachery but I can’t. The guy’s given us seven years of his career on a persistent promise from his manager, Arsene Wenger, that he’d be spearheading a world-beating squad of brilliant youngsters.

But that promise has not been fulfilled. Arsenal went backwards this season, not forwards. We got humiliated in all the big games, by Chelsea, Manchester United and, most unedifyingly, by Barcelona. Yet still Wenger stubbornly refused to get his chequebook out and do anything about it.

I suspect something died inside Fabregas in January, when Arsenal were still in the race for the Premier League and Champions League, and the fans were screaming for more firepower to give us the best chance possible. Wenger bought just one player, 35-year-old Sol Campbell. This despite the Arsenal board insisting he had significant funds to spend.

I met Fabregas at a charity fashion show soon after the transfer window had ended and he couldn’t hide his disappointment at the lack of big signings.

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The dream has died: Cesc Fabregas looks set to depart Arsenal - and Piers can't blame him

When Barcelona came knocking again last week, just after signing one of the world’s great strikers, David Villa, to play alongside the sublime Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the dazzling Leo Messi, it can’t have taken young Cesc very long to do the maths.

He wants to win things. And let’s be brutally honest here, he’s not going to win anything at Arsenal as long as the current defeatist mentality continues to exist at the club. I’m astonished how many Gooners seem content to just put up with what’s happening at the Emirates. ‘We’re playing great football,’ they blindly insist to me.

Which is true, apart from when we play any really good team — and then we get thrashed off the park. ‘We can’t afford to buy any top players,’ they recite, parrot fashion. A statement which is poppycock given the huge revenues pouring in from the new stadium.

‘Wenger knows what he’s doing,’ they nod, sagely. To which I’ve begun to reply: ‘DOES he?’


  • PIERS MORGAN: Redknapp has made being British and a manager cool again



  • I’ll admit that I’m not a good loser. I’m so competitive that when Amanda Holden once asked me to sponsor her in the

    Z London Marathon and said Simon Cowell had offered £1,000, I immediately stumped up £1,001.

    And I hate Arsenal not winning anything. Hate it, hate it, hate it.

    I wouldn’t mind if I genuinely believed we had the potential to do so but I don’t. All I’m seeing is other clubs getting stronger as we get weaker. And if, or should I say when, Fabregas leaves, it will mean that Wenger’s youth experiment has failed.

    You can’t bang on about grooming rookies to conquer the world, then let the best one (and our captain) go before you’re anywhere near the summit.

    I continue to believe Wenger’s a brilliant man — intelligent, charming, sophisticated and loyal. But sadly, I’ve stopped believing in his strategy for improving Arsenal’s ability to win trophies. And the impending departure of Fabregas merely serves to cement that view.

    Thanks for the ride, Cesc, I’m just very, very sorry that our dismal lack of ambition forced you to quit.

    Now the FA need a man like Dein

    I’ve known Gary Lineker a long time (we have sons in the same school) and I like and respect the man. But I think he’s wrong about this Lord Triesman business.

    The right man for the job: Dein

    The right man for the job: Dein

    You can’t have a Football Association chairman accusing other countries of bribery and corruption, on the record or off it. Nor one behaving like a dumb, lovestruck teenager with a 37-year-old gold-digger.

    Not when you’re trying to garner international support for your World Cup bid and when you’ve stripped John Terry of the England captaincy for matters related to alleged carnal misconduct.

    The randy old goat behaved like the classic old fool of old fools and was right to step down.

    But I don’t think it will make much difference to our chances of winning the bid. I imagine the most common reaction of anyone south of Dover to the scandal was ‘Lord who?’

    More pertinently, I never thought Triesman was any good to start with.

    What the FA need at the helm is someone like David Dein, a football man to his shinpads and a highly skilful negotiator.

    Arsenal haven’t been the same since he was forced out of the club. But our loss could, and should, be the FA’s gain.

    Avram Grant claims that resigning from debt-ridden, relegated Portsmouth was ‘one of the most difficult decisions of my career’. To which I say: ‘Tosh.’

    Sir Alex Ferguson says his Manchester United squad’s good enough and he won’t be buying big in the transfer market this summer.

    Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho’s heading to the Bernabeu, where he’ll take a good, long look at the already fantastic Real Madrid squad, then spend money like a Goldman Sachs banker at Royal Ascot.

    Proven winner: Mourinho

    Proven winner: Mourinho

    And that’s why he’ll carry on winning trophies at United’s expense and why United should have retired Sir Alex and brought Mourinho to Old Trafford.

    He understands the truth of the maxim ‘speculate to accumulate’ and wouldn’t put up with the ghastly Glazers’ penny-pinching.

    Typical, isn’t it? I take a week off writing this column and England win the cricket Twenty20 World Cup. What a game, though. By the end, the Australians looked like we’d shot every kangaroo, dingo and Crocodile Dundee lookalike that exists on the planet.

    Paul Collingwood’s men were magnificent, there’s no other word for it. For which he and coach Andy Flower must take huge credit. But one man was unquestionably more magnificent than others.

    Kevin Pietersen’s been through a tough old year. He missed most of the Ashes campaign through an achilles injury, struggled in his comeback tour to South Africa and began to attract the kind of sniping criticism we Brits so adore when our sporting heroes take a dip in form.

    Daddy of the all: Pietersen

    Daddy of the all: Pietersen

    Every time I defended him in this column, insisting he was the best batsman England have had in decades, emails would pour in mocking me and abusing Pietersen. Now my inbox has gone rather quiet.

    KP averaged 83 in the series against Bangladesh, 59 in the Indian Premier League (he headed the batting figures) and 62 in the World Cup, scoring 248 runs at a strike rate of 137. And he’s been

    batting with a power, freedom and creative genius that has surely confirmed him as the world’s most dangerous player.

    What I love about this guy is that he never once moaned to me about the critics or his temporary loss of form. He just worked harder in the nets and let his bat do the talking.

    Pietersen became a father for the first time two weeks ago. Which is appropriate because, as the battered, bruised Aussies will discover Down Under this winter, he’s The Daddy.

    Have your say

    Dear Clever Clogs, I kept your predictions for the 2009-10 football season (Mail on Sunday of 9.8.09). All you got right was that Robbie Keane would leave Spurs, Newcastle would be promoted and Burnley and Hull would go down. My wife could have told you that and she thinks Wayne Rooney is ‘a good kicker’.

    These are the worst of your list: Manchester United will fail to finish in the top two. WRONG!

    Torres will be top scorer in the Premier League. WRONG!

    Wolves will be relegated. WRONG!

    Portsmouth will be absolutely fine. JUST A BIT WRONG!

    Roy Keane will quit Ipswich. WRONG!

    And finally, Liverpool will win the Premier League. MILES OUT!!

    Stick to Britain’s Got Talent, mate!

    BRIAN NORMAN

    Piers says: ‘Not great, I admit. But you forgot 'Bolton will bore the bojangles out of everyone”. I was right about that.’

    Do you think Beckham will be awarded his umpteenth cap for travelling to Africa as England coach? It was my belief you needed ‘written’ qualifications for that job, not be a one-footed, one-paced, no-heading-ability player.

    TERRY JONES

    Piers says: ‘I think Beckham’s going as a multi-lingual translator.’

    Could you buy Sam Allardyce a couple of new shirts, that actually fit him?

    A D IMRIE

    Piers says: ‘I think he bursts them. He’s not called Big Sam for nothing.’

    Manchester United's Michael Owen feels strange not going to the World Cup

    Red Devils striker a part of last three squads

    Michael Owen (Getty Images)
    Michael Owen admits it feels strange to not be a part ofEngland's World Cup campaign.

    The
    Manchester United striker, who burst onto the scene with one of the goal’s of the tournament against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup in France, will not be a part of this summer's tournament after a hamstring injury in March ruled him out.

    The 30-year-old, once a key member of the England squad before injuries blighted his career, has not been selected by manager
    Fabio Capello to play for the Three Lions since the game against France in 2008, with many speculating his international career may be over.

    Owen appears not to have given up hope, and has stated that he still felt very much a part of the international set-up.

    Owen said: "Not being in South Africa will be strange.

    "I've been involved in our last five major tournaments and, even if I haven't played internationally for the last year or two, I still feel a part of it, I'm still mates with the lads.”

    The former
    Liverpool and Real Madrid forward, who has scored 40 goals in 89 appearances for England, also stated how he would like to get into coaching one day, despite still being focused on his fitness and continuing his playing career under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford.

    "I've started doing my coaching badges now so I'm on a rung of the ladder which would indicate I'm half thinking about it," he added.

    "As you get older you start thinking about how and why managers do things.
    "I find it all really, really interesting. That's why I started doing my coaching badges.

    Manchester United ready to offer £20m for Real Madrid's Rafael van der Vaart - report

    Rafael Van Der Vaart, Real Madrid (Getty Images)

    Despite a positive season with Real Madrid under Manuel Pellegrini, Rafael van der Vaart could yet leave La Liga for the Premier League if the latest reports are to be believed.

    Van der Vaart was strongly linked with an exit last summer but eventually remained with los Blancos, and a string of strong performances have raised his market value again.

    AS now believes that Manchester United are willing to stump up €23 million (£20m) for the Dutchman, who is highly rated by manager Sir Alex Ferguson. It is not the first time that the former Hamburg midfielder has been linked with the Premier League, as Arsenal, Liverpool,Chelsea and Manchester City have all been credited with an interest in the past.

    There is little chance of the figure being greatly reduced as van der Vaart is under contract at the Bernabeu until 2013 and it is believed that he is still eager to remain at the club.

    However, with no trophies to show for the €250m (£217m) spending spree last summer, Florentino Perez is reportedly ready to splash the cash in the market again this year, starting with
    Inter coach Jose Mourinho.

    A new coach and more expensive signings are therefore likely to put van der Vaart's place in los Merengues' squad in jeopardy.

    Atletico Madrid ahead of Manchester United and Chelsea in the race for Ajax star Luis Suarez

    Luis Suarez scoort, Ajax - VVV-Venlo (PROSHOTS)

    Europa League
    winners Atletico Madrid are considering making a move for Uruguayan international Luis Suarez, according to a report in AS.

    The Rojiblancos are in the market for attacking reinforcements due to the possible departure of Sergio Aguero in the summer, and Atletico supposedly see the current Ajax hitman as the perfect replacement.

    The tricky attacker has developed into a star player for the Amsterdam side since joining them from Groningen in the summer of 2007. Suarez has made 97 Eredivisie appearances for Ajax so far, scoring 74 goals in the process.

    It remains to be seen though whether Atletico are willing to meet Ajax’s hefty demands. The Godenzonen have reportedly set a £30 million asking price for the 23-year-old striker.

    Suarez was previously linked with a move to the Premier League, with Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal reported to be keeping tabs on him, but no club has yet to make an official offer for the young attacker.

    FERGUSON- GLAZERS ARE GREAT OWNER


    Sir Alex Ferguson has again defended Manchester United owners the Glazer family for their constant support despite much criticism.
    "They've been great owners," he said. "They have supported me every way I've asked them.
    "There's no other reason to think they haven't supported me. If you look at any time I've wanted a player they've provided the money; if you look at what we've done this season - and people don't recognise this - we've spent over £20million on young players.
    "We've bought Chris Smalling, Mame Diouf and Javier Hernandez.
    "People don't realise how we're structured and how we see our future of the club. We've always based it on a nucleus and foundation of young players developing in the club."
    The demand for instant success, though, and the "greed" of foreign owners makes Ferguson believe a salary cap will not be introduced in football any time soon.
    "I don't think so," he said. "This has been talked about for many, many years. There must be concern about the level of salaries in the game.
    "But, football is worldwide game and there's a lot of greed, particularly with the types of owners that come into the game - Russians, Americans, Middle-East owners.
    "Salary caps will not come into their domain in the sense of the wealth they have and what they can do with that wealth.
    "They can attract the best players through that wealth and I just don't see that salary caps come into their area of thinking."
    What do you think? Have your say.

    Jose Mourinho set to offer Steven Gerrard a £25m Liverpool escape route... once he takes the reins at Real Madrid

    Fed up: Steven Gerrard's relationship with Rafa Benitez is said to have deteriorated

    Fed up: Steven Gerrard's relationship with Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is said to have deteriorated


    Real Madrid are working on a deal that would give Steven Gerrard a route out of Liverpool.

    The Anfield hierarchy fear that their captain's frustration with life under boss Rafa Benitez will see him leave if the right offer comes in.

    Jose Mourinho is ready to take advantage by sanctioning a £25million move when he takes over at the Bernabeu next week.

    Gerrard is on a short list of two to add energy and creativity to a midfield that hardly bore comparison to that of La Liga champions Barcelona this season.

    Reports in Spain say the other player in their sights is Roma captain Daniele de Rossi, but the Italy international would cost in excess of £40m and has previously been reluctant to leave his hometown team.

    Mourinho, who is set to quit Inter Milan for Madrid after Saturday's Champions League final against Bayern Munich, would also like to team up again with Frank Lampard.

    However, doing a deal with Chelsea is fraught with difficulty and Blues chairman Bruce Buck has reiterated this week that the England man is not for sale.

    Gerrard is the target most vulnerable to approach and the 29-year-old remains frustrated that he has not won a League title.

    Manchester City made their own tentative interest but realise Gerrard will not go to Eastlands despite not having to uproot his family.

    Making way: Lassana (left) or Mahamadou Diarra (right) could leave the Bernabeu to free up space fro Gerrard's arrival
    Making way: Lassana (left) or Mahamadou Diarra (right) could leave the Bernabeu to free up space fro Gerrard's arrival

    Making way: Lassana (left) or Mahamadou Diarra (right) could leave the Bernabeu to free up space for Gerrard's arrival... once Jose Mourinho takes charge

    Even if Mourinho's move to the Bernabeu does collapse, he would be interested in taking Gerrard to Inter.

    But the self-styled 'Special One' looks a shoo-in for the Bernabeu hot seat and reports in Spain say he is close to agreeing fine details of a three-year contract worth £170,000 a week.


    Inter Milan have conceded they will lose their boss, despite offering him £200,000 a week, a difference of £4.5m more over the three years of his Spain stay.

    To make way for Gerrard, Madrid could offload Manchester City target Fernando Gago or either Mahamadou or Lassa Diarra, who have both been linked to Manchester United.

    Meanwhile, Madrid newspaper Marca claims that Real were offered Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Barcelona, despite the Catalans publicly declaring their Sweden striker would stay at the Nou Camp. Madrid are said to have swiftly declined.

    World Cup 2010 - Ferguson: England too tired

    England's bid for glory at the World Cup will be hurt by the exhaustion of their players after a long season of fast-paced Premier League football, according to Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.

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    "The intensity of the English game is so great that it makes it more difficult for those players to perform well in the World Cup," Ferguson said while promoting Manchester United's four-game North American summer tour.

    "You have to say the number of games, particularly at our level, is exhausting.

    "Every game Manchester United play is a Cup final. We have to win, and teams playing against us are motivated to play against Manchester United."

    Ferguson said his players competing in the World Cup will be in urgent need of the 28 days of rest they are given before returning to training with United for next season.

    "They must have that or they won't feature next year, they'll just collapse. Exhaustion will get them, which makes it difficult for English players to perform well in the World Cup," he added.

    United's leading striker Wayne Rooney, who carries the weight of the nation's expectations every time he pulls on an England shirt, struggled with injury towards the end of the season but Ferguson said he would be fit for the finals.

    "If he wasn't (fit), there would probably be headlines all over the papers," he said. "I'm sure he'll be all right. I'm sure he's OK."

    Asked who would win the tournament in South Africa which starts on June 11 Ferguson went with the form books.

    "My general view is that Brazil are very strong favourites with Spain following them," Ferguson said. "I think that France will do better than people think. They are underdogs, which is not normal for them, and Italy will probably get to the semi-finals."

    Foster a big LOSS

    Bailey- Foster a big loss
    Gary Bailey believes the Reds may regret selling Ben Foster in the long run. Foster joined United from Stoke City in summer 2005 and had to bide his time for a prolonged shot at the Reds' No1 jersey. When he was finally given his chance at the start of the season, while Edwin Van der Sar nursed a broken hand, the 27-year-old seemed unable to handle the pressure, making a number of costly high-profile mistakes. Despite Foster spending two years on loan at Watford earlier in his United career, Bailey - who made more than 300 appearances in goal for the Reds between 1978-1987 - believes United should loan out Foster again instead of looking to cash in by selling him to Birmingham, with a move set to go through for £6m. "I rate him he is a very good goalkeeper," Bailey said, who also kept goal for England. "I think he has been unlucky. The problem with United is you can't work your way up for a number of years like you could when I was there. I learned my trade while playing for United, these days you don't. Experience "You have to learn somewhere else and you arrive at United as the finished product and, what's more, you have to be the finished product with a certain amount of experience. "Outfield players can learn a little easily - the Federico Macheda's of this world are still stuck in the reserves because to be a starter you have to have experience. But as a goalkeeper, managers are looking for people who have played at the highest level. Therefore the only way you can see Foster staying at United is if he goes on loan and then comes back. "A loan would work best, because I would hate, from United's point of view, to lose him and then for him to become England's next No1 and United will look back and say: `Why did we let him go?' "I think you should treat him like Joe Hart has been treated - let him go out on loan at someone in the Premier League, gain enough experience and come back and say: `I am the complete deal now. I am ready to take over.' Bailey admits Foster has not been helped by the consistent displays of first choice shot-stopper Van der Sar who was recently rewarded with another one-year deal. "Ed has been brilliant," he enthused. "He has been the find of the last few years for United. He is so calm in defence and you have to feel sorry for Foster, who a year ago was England's first choice and Edwin comes back and poor Ben has disappeared into the background. "That is the tough part of being a goalkeeper. There is no coming off the bench and making an impact so for Ben it has been tough but I think Edwin is one of the best goalkeepers in the world today and that is a hell of a compliment to say that about someone who is nearly 40. "It's been a bit hit-and-miss for United. In previous seasons, if Wayne Rooney wasn't playing well Cristiano Ronaldo was frightening the living daylights out of teams and if he wasn't playing well then Carlos Tevez would be chasing and hounding and between the three of them they were absolutely unbelievable. "Unfortunately, Dimitar Berbatov didn't quite come to the party. He has got the ability but he didn't quite gel and I think that is the problem. We didn't have someone alongside Wayne with that calibre so hopefully this summer break Fergie can sort that out." While United may have relied too much on Rooney towards the end of the season Bailey insists the same cannot be said of England. "Other England players can hurt the opposition," he pointed out. "You have Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard who are both different class and you have Peter Crouch who is an impact player, Aaron Lennon is another and Ashley Cole down the left is superb. "I think it is a wonderful England team but the only question mark is the goalkeeper and who is going to be given that vote of confidence. I don't think the goalkeeper will have that much to do but I think that the team are as good as any and really it is about building belief and if they get a good opening result they can go all the way. "You still need luck and you need all the players to perform but England have as good a squad as I have seen for a long time."

    Interest rate rises at Old Trafford as Manchester United fans fear Sir Alex Ferguson will have no money to spend in the summer


    Massive debts: United supporters are furious with the current owners

    Massive debts: United supporters are furious with the current owners

    Manchester United are facing a huge rise in their interest rate as debts continue to spiral at Old Trafford.

    It is being reported that the Reds could face £75million extra debt on top of the £716m arrears Red Football Ltd, the Glazers' holding company for Manchester United, registered at the start of the year.

    The interest rate on United's loan of £220m will increase from 14.25 per cent to 16.25 per cent, leading to fears that the under-fire Glazers will be forced to pay off the loan rather than allow Sir Alex Ferguson funds to inject into the squad in the summer.

    Duncan Drasdo, Head of the Manchester United Supporters' Trust, is furious with the latest reports.

    'That is the problem with the Glazers,' he told the Sun newspaper. 'They have wasted every single penny supporters have paid for tickets over the entire five years of their ownership. Every single penny of our money which we paid to our club.'

    United we stand: Fans vent their frustrations at the Glazer family on the final day of the campaign

    United we stand: Fans vent their frustrations at the Glazer family on the final day of the campaign

    A City source added: 'The pressure is growing on the Glazers to sort their debts out as soon as they can before they go too high.

    'They will have to find this money from somewhere and I imagine it will come from the club.'


    Barca-Roo-na

    Wayne Rooney is Barcelona's latest transfer target - with political wrangling at the Catalan club suggesting that an £80 million move for the Manchester United striker is on the cards.

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    The Daily Express claim that Rooney will be used as the pawn to help Sandro Rosell win the club presidency, just as Cristiano Ronaldoplayed a part in the Real Madrid elections last year.

    It's a tough one to swallow - why would United sell their only true world-class player? - but Barca believe the chance to play alongside fellow uberstar Lionel Messi might tempt Rooney into making a move as Barcelona desperately attempt to win back their Champions League crown.

    Most of the back pages lead with confirmation that Cesc Fabregas is to leave Arsenal forBarcelona, despite the fairly obvious sticking point that nothing of the sort has yet been confirmed.

    Though everybody agrees that he is on his way - except the Daily Star, who believe Wenger will try to block the move - nobody seems to agree on how much Barca will have to pay. The Sun reckons it'll be a bargain basement £30m; the Daily Mirror and Express believe £40m; while the Daily Mail trump the lot by declaring that he won't leave for less than £50m - or possibly £40m plus Yaya Toure.

    Jose Mourinho will make Carlos Tevez his first target if and when he takes over at Real Madrid, according to the Daily Star. The Manchester City striker would cost around £45m, but Mourino is a huge fan of Tevez's committed approach to the game.

    Should Mourinho join Real in the long-anticipated deal, it could clear the way for Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez to move to Italy as manager of Internazionale. Benitez's potential move to Juventus fell through over a combination of compensation and dithering, but the Daily Mail reports that Benitez will meet Inter chiefs in Madrid before the Champions League final to discuss a possible move.

    Chelsea's frustrated midfielder Deco is set to return to his Brazilian homeland, with the champions ready to release him on a free transfer to Fluminense. The 32-year-old Portugal international was born in Brazil, with The Sun claiming that "personal and family reasons" are at the heart of his decision to quit the Premier League.

    Manchester United might also be seeing the back of a Brazilian midfielder. Benfica want to bring 22-year-oldAnderson to Portugal despite his long-term injury, clearing the way for United to put together a player-plus-cash offer for their top summer target, winger Angel Di Maria.

    Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is readying a £22m move for French midfielder Yoann Gourcuff, according to The Sun, with the player ready to leave Bordeaux following the departure of manager Laurent Blanc for the French national job.

    When Sol Campbell ended up leaving Notts County after roughly 17 minutes last season it seemed like a sad, spluttering end to a great career.

    How things have changed. The veteran defender looked good at Arsenal when manager Arsene Wenger drafted him in mid-way through the season during an injury crisis, and now The Sun reports that Celtic want to sign the free agent - despite the fact that a new deal at the Emirates is likely to be offered to Campbell.

    Campbell isn't the only ageing star who could be heading north of the border: the Daily Mirror reports that Jimmy Bullard is in talks to join Celtic, with cash-strapped Hull having little choice but to offload their record signing lest his hefty wages bankrupt the club.

    Bolton are reported to be winning the race to sign former Portsmouth loan star Aruna Dindane, according to The Sun, despite the player stating openly last week that he would prefer a move to Panathinaikos that would secure Champions League football.

    Everton manager David Moyes is hoping to sign Manchester City winger Martin Petrov - so long as a wage deal can be agreed, according to The Sun. With City likely to splash the cash this summer the 31-year-old Petrov knows he won't be likely to win a starting spot - but his £45,000-a-week wages will stretch the Toffees.

    Moyes is also reportedly keen on Ajax centre-back Jan Vertonghen, according to the Daily Mirror, with a £9m deal having been offered. But Ajax want £2m more and, with Liverpool interested as well, a bidding war could commence.

    Avram Grant has yet to sign on the dotted line at West Ham, but the Hammers are already talking about Kevin-Prince Boateng joining him on the move up to London.

    The Sun claims that the man who single-handedly wrecked Germany's hopes at the World Cup (if you believe the German press, that is) will cost £3m. Aston Villa defender Nicky Shorey is also a reported target for West Ham after a decent loan spell with Fulham.

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