Cesc Fábregas: I don't know if Arsenal want to sell me or not

Arsenal's Spanish midfielder Cesc Fábregas is praying for the right decision over his future. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

Cesc Fábregas has said his future as an Arsenal player is up in the air, admitting he does not know if the club wishes to sell him and revealing his frustrations after another trophyless season at the Emirates.
Speculation that the 24-year-old will return to Barcelona – after he signed for Arsenal from the Catalan club in 2003 – has gone on for the past two years. While Fábregas was careful to choose his words he did admit to his dissatisfaction at being at a club that has not won anything since 2005 but said his future will be decided by Arsène Wenger, the manager.
"Barcelona are the best team in the world and going there guarantees titles. Any player who says he is not frustrated at not winning titles is lying," said Fábregas yesterday. "I am ambitious. But I owe myself to Arsenal. I have not spoken to the manager – he is the boss, he takes decisions and I don't know if they want to sell me or not.
"Everyone sees things in a different way but in these decisions, not everything depends on the player. I am not going to talk about any team but I can't say no to anyone because you never know what could happen in the future. If I said anything else it would be a lie, it would give rise to speculation that is not true.
"I have values and after all that I have lived in eight years I am not going to say a word that would ruin everything. I have always acted with discretion. I am very happy at Arsenal."
The statement underlines the sense at Arsenal that their captain is intent on a move back to his boyhood club. Bacary Sagna, the right-back, became the first player to break rank and concede as much on French radio on Tuesday.
The Frenchman said: "Compared to last year, yes, it's true there are chances of him leaving. I can say it's true that Cesc wants to go to Barça. Cesc needs to return to his country, to his home to rejoin his family. He needs to play for one of the best teams in the world, which is Barcelona. One can understand that. But for the moment he's still our captain at Arsenal."
Whether Barcelona can afford to buy Fábregas is moot. The Spaniard signed a five-year deal last year worth around £110,000 a week which suggests any fee for a player who, despite having already won the European Championship and World Cup, may approach his peak over the coming five years could be more than £50m.
There is hope at the Camp Nou that Arsenal might accept a sizeable fee plus two or three players from the La Masía academy where Fábregas developed, yet whether this would be acceptable to Wenger and the club's supporters is debatable. The manager would be lothth to start a summer of recruitment that is crucial to his hopes of ending Arsenal's six-year trophy drought by allowing Fábregas to leave due to the negative signal this would offer to their rivals. So, if Fábregas does depart it may be later in the summer, if the manager can first make two or three marquee signings.
Wenger
received news regarding the future of Fábregas's team-mate,
Samir Nasri, after his agent said the midfielder could remain at Arsenal following speculation that the Frenchman may leave, possibly for Manchester United.
Alain Migliaccio told calciomercatoweb: "There has been no break with Arsenal over the contract renewal and we should meet again soon with Wenger. There are a few clubs interested in Samir but it is useless to name them. Before listening to other teams, we need and want to talk with Arsenal."

Sizzling Spain see off Czechs

Spain put one foot into the semi-finals of the European U-21 Championship courtesy of a 2-0 win over Czech Republic in Group B on Wednesday.

Spain: Celebrate their opening goal in Viborg

Both sides have been tipped as possible winners of the tournament in Denmark but on the evidence of Wednesday's clash it is Spain who appear the stronger contenders.
Luis Milla's side were held to a 1-1 draw by England in an opening match that saw them dominate possession but lack a cutting edge.
It was a different story in Viborg, though, as Atletico Madrid-bound Adrian scored two expertly-taken goals from Juan Mata assists.
The breakthrough came after 27 minutes when Valencia's Mata slipped a clever pass through to Adrian and he showed great composure to fire a shot past Tomas Vaclik.
The same two players combined two minutes into the second half as Mata again released Adrian and the striker cut inside Ondrej Mazuch before curling a precise finish in off the far post.
Spain continued to control proceedings as Czech Republic rarely threatened to get back into the game, although Manchester United target David De Gea was forced to make a fine save from Ondrej Celustka's header three minutes from time.
The result leaves Spain in command of the group with four points from two games, while Czech Republic face a potentially decisive encounter against England on Sunday.

http://www.teamtalk.com

Barca join race for Sanchez

Barcelona vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu has said that the club have started negotiations with Udinese for Chile forward Alexis Sanchez.

GettyImages / GabrieleMaltintiAlexis Sanchez: Is believed to favour a move to the Euro champions

According to the Sun, Gill flew out to meet with Udinese owner Gino Pozzo in Barcelona, where he lives, in a bid to thrash out a deal for a player who is also being tracked by Barcelona and Inter Milan.
There are conflicting reports around how much it will cost to secure the services of the Chile international, with a figure between £35 million and £44 million in the press. Man City are thought to be prepared to pay no more than £27 million, which may mean Udinese have to reach a compromise with one of the player's suitors.
If United do make a serious move for Sanchez it could suggest that their interest in Aston Villa's Ashley Young has cooled as a summer of transfer tug of war continues in the Premier League. And Sanchez's arrival would also place question marks over the future of Nani, who could be sold to help finance the Red Devils' summer spending.
After Pozzo stated on Tuesday that City were favourites, due to the spending power of clubs in the Premier League, the 22-year-old's agent, Fernando Felicevich, said: "An agreement with City? Sanchez's future is still very much wide open.
"We are working on it and, after meetings with City, we have other new appointments."

By ESPNsoccernet staff

Midfielder Joey Barton insists he has no intention of following Kevin Nolan through the exit door at Newcastle.

Barton: Wants to stay at St James' Park

The Magpies star has aired his disappointment at learning of the news that Nolan is closing on a move to the capital.
He joked on Twitter that he could be among those offloaded by Alan Pardew in the next few weeks, with his future having generated plenty of speculation of late.
Barton, though, claims that he will not be pushing for a switch elsewhere and maintains that he is happy at St James' Park.
"I love the football club, without a shadow of a doubt, and I think everyone knows that," he said.
"I have a great working relationship with the manager and a lot of the other players, obviously the other senior players who have been through the ups and downs - the likes of myself, Kevin Nolan, Stevie Harper, Smudger (Alan Smith).
"It's a difficult situation and I totally understand the club's point of view, but on the flip side it's hard for me to get drawn into it.
"I am an employee of the football club and I have to go back and do a job in the summer. As far as I know I will go back to Newcastle United and play until my contract runs out and they tell me I am no longer needed.
"I have got no ambitions to leave the football club, I don't want to leave the football club, and I would love nothing more than to win a trophy at Newcastle. Whether I get the opportunity to do that is out of my hands.
"I am an employee of the football club and if they choose to do something, I would be foolish not to listen to it. If I'm not wanted then I believe greatly in my ability and I would have to re-evaluate my options.
"That's the situation we are at at the minute. If that's the situation in a month's time then I will report back for pre-season training, if it's not then it's not.
"It's all hypothetical at the minute and I'm just trying to keep myself in shape and get myself ready for a league campaign with Newcastle United next season."

Liverpool set course to renew rivalry

By Will Tidey
There's a nostalgic breeze blowing through the transfer window this summer. Liverpool and Manchester United have dominated the early exchanges, and with Sir Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish both targeting a youthful revolution, the two footballing giants of the North West could be on course for a return to the halcyon days of a rivalry that defined a generation.

GettyImagesJordan Henderson: Liverpool's new £16m midfielder

Liverpool struck first with a reported £16 million deal for 20-year-old Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson - a player Dalglish hailed a "class act on and off the field", and rates as one the most talented young players in the game. Henderson was a wanted man, with United among his many suitors, but Liverpool were fixed on their target and ultimately were prepared to out-bid the competition.
It was the third time in less than six months their director of football, Damien Comolli, had made the kind of statement in the transfer market Dalglish believes will "raise the profile" of a club once the envy of Europe. Andy Carroll's arrival might have been funded with proceeds from the £50 million sale of Fernando Torres, but anytime you spend £35 million on a relatively unproven 22-year-old, you're going to turn heads.
Luis Suarez was a less speculative investment. As part of Uruguay's overachieving team at the 2010 World Cup, the 24-year-old had proved himself on the biggest stage - and came with Champions League experience and a fine scoring record in the Eredivisie with Ajax. The fact he was given Dalglish's iconic No. 7 shirt said it all. Liverpool paid nearly £23 million for a player they were confident could play an integral role in returning the club to former glories.
All three purchases, at a combined cost of over £70 million, were achieved with a ruthlessness vital to Liverpool's evolution. The club can't offer Champions League football next season, but freed of the suffocating debts of the George Gillett and Tom Hicks era, they can at least now put some money on the table to illustrate their ambition.
New owners Fenway Sports Group are said to have a clear long-term strategy for the club, and the arrival of three hugely promising young players is a good indication they're prepared to be patient.
Comolli maintains they're not finished yet. Rumours are rife that Blackpool midfielder Charlie Adam will hold talks at Anfield in the coming days, and Liverpool have also been linked to full-backs Gael Clichy and Luis Enrique. With each bold signing, the club becomes a more attractive proposition to prospective new players, and with Dalglish lending his romantic appeal to the renaissance, Liverpool finally appear to be back on an upward trajectory.
Meanwhile, down the M62 at Manchester United, Dalglish's age-old adversary Ferguson is once again seeking to evolve his team and answer the questions set by Barcelona in a one-sided Champions League final. Shorn of the retired Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Edwin Van der Sar, and with Ryan Giggs now 37, Ferguson has made youth a priority and appears set to oversee a summer of reinvention at Old Trafford.
Blackburn central defender Phil Jones was the first through the door. United paid an estimated £16.5 million fee for the 19-year-old, beating Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool to land the England Under-21 international. When you consider Chris Smalling is 21, and the Da Silva twins Rafael and Fabio are still just 20, United have the makings of a defence to watch over the next decade at Old Trafford.
The man behind them still looks likely to be Atletico Madrid's 20-year-old goalkeeper David de Gea - the highly-rated Spain Under-21 international Ferguson believes has exactly the combination of composure and confidence he was looking for in a successor for Van der Sar. The United manager took six years to find a worthy replacement for Peter Schmeichel and suffered the consequences. He won't be making the same mistake again.
In midfield, Ferguson continues his search for a replacement for Scholes - but United are reported to have already secured a key acquisition in the signing of England international Ashley Young. The 25-year-old offers Ferguson an alternative to the talents of Nani, Antonio Valencia and Park Ji-Sung - and represents further investment in English talent.

APPhil Jones: Manchester United's new £16.5m defender

With the Premier League now requiring eight members of a 25-man squad be "homegrown", and FIFA still exploring the possibility of introducing the controversial "six-plus-five" rule in time for the 2012-13 season, United and Liverpool both appear to be making a calculated attempt to up their quotas. It's another reason to believe the two bitter rivals could be stealing a march on their competition - and on course for a return to the great battles that lit up the mid-to-late 1980s and 1990s.
It will be 25 years ago this November that Ferguson took over an under-achieving United side with a drinking culture and attempted to overthrow a dynasty. As Liverpool's player-manager, Dalglish had just masterminded a league and cup double, and was riding high with the best club side English football had produced for a decade. Ferguson later revealed his intent had been to "knock them off their f**king perch", but few outside of Old Trafford had believed he could do it at the time.
A quarter of a century later, and with Ferguson fresh from winning United a record 19th league title - the 12th of his remarkable reign - the balance of power has long since shifted. Liverpool have enjoyed sporadic success, notably winning a Champions League in 2005, but they've gone without a league title for 21 years and suffered a fall from grace that's been hard to bear for everyone concerned. Some cite the club's financial naivety; others the departure of Dalglish in 1991 and the mismanagement that followed him.
But with King Kenny back on his throne, and Liverpool making plans for the future, Anfield could yet bear witness to a joyous redemption.
Ferguson knocked them off their perch, but Liverpool could finally be ready to take it back. And what better finale for the two grand old masters of the game than a head-to-head battle for the ages.

Tottenham Hotspur turn down £22m Chelsea bid for Luka Modric

Chelsea's opening salvo could start a bidding war for Luka Modric, who is wanted by Manchester City and Manchester United. Photograph: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto

Chelsea have had a £22m offer for Luka Modric rejected by Tottenham Hotspur, according to reports last night, in a move that could ignite a bidding war between the Premier League's three richest clubs as Manchester City and Manchester United also retain a keen interest in the Croatian playmaker.
The formal approach by Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, was made late yesterday afternoon but was rejected without consideration by the Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy. While he may wish to keep Modric, who is considered the club's best player alongside Gareth Bale, and has publicly said alongside Harry Redknapp, the manager, that there is no desire to sell any of the club's premier players this summer, Levy has also proved a canny operator in the transfer market.
He may be waiting to see who else joins the race to sign the 25-year-old with Levy shrewd enough to acknowledge that the growing interest in a player dubbed "Little Mozart", due to his sublime talent, could ultimately prove impossible to keep him at White Hart Lane.
Unlike last season Tottenham will not be featuring in the Champions League during the next campaign and Modric's preference is to continue playing in club football's elite competition.
While his agent could not be reached last night Modric recently conceded that his future was unsure. "I'm a Tottenham player and will be in London on July 7 to begin preparing for the season," he said. "But I want to say that transfers could occur later. In England it is often the case they happen on the last day of the transfer period, August 31. So it is pointless to worry about anything now. If my situation changes after the start of preparation, it would not be a problem. You can't predict things in football because anything can happen. But I am enjoying it here."
Although Abramovich has yet to appoint a successor to Carlo Ancelotti the need to rebuild at Stamford Bridge is the prime objective for the Russian this summer. While Modric would be a key part of this programme Chelsea will be conscious that his current contract, which expires in 2016, is said to be worth only £40,000 a week, so the offer of a salary of £100,000 or more would prove tempting.
With Liverpool and Manchester United having just paid £18m for Jordan Henderson and Phil Jones, respectively, Modric as an established Premier League and international performer is arguably worth considerably more than the £22m offered by Chelsea and so the west London club can be expected to increase their offer markedly.
Any bid of £30m or more would force Levy into giving serious consideration to allowing the sale, with West Ham United's Scott Parker, of whom Redknapp is a keen admirer, the potential replacement.
That may risk upsetting Redknapp, who recently declared his desire to keep Modric. "We want to keep him here and build a team round Luka," the Spurs manager said. "If you start thinking about selling your best players, you might as well give up. What's the point in carrying on? It effectively sends out all the wrong signals. And, when one player leaves, the rest want to follow him straight out the door. Then you have a situation where the quality of football goes into decline and you're going backwards on the pitch."

 http://www.guardian.co.uk

SISSOKO FLATTERED BY REAL TALK

Juventus midfielder Mohamed Sissoko is flattered by interest from Real Madrid but claims he is happy with the Turin side.
The former Liverpool man has been linked with a move to the Bernabeu as coach Jose Mourinho seeks a midfield enforcer, with Lassana Diarra having been tipped to leave the Spanish capital.

 Mohamed Sissoko - Real interest 'fantastic'.

"All I know about it is from the press. It makes me happy that a club like Real Madrid want me," Sissoko told Spanish newspaper Marca.
"It's fantastic, but I still have two years on my contract at Juventus - a club I have great respect for. I'm flattered by the interest from Madrid, but I'm a Juventus player."
Sissoko played with Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso at Liverpool and has fond memories of partnering the Spain star during his Anfield days.
"It was a special time," he said.
"Playing with Xabi is simple because he's a great player. I played really well alongside him and we had a good relationship in the dressing room - he's a great person."
Sissoko has already played in Spain, with Valencia, but the Mali midfielder believes he has since improved as a player.
"I'm a better player than I was at Valencia," he said.
"I'm much more complete and experienced. I was 17 when I arrived in Valencia and now I'm much better after having played in England and Italy."

ENGLAND HELD AGAIN; SPAIN WIN

England left themselves needing to win their final European Under-21 Championship Group B game to avoid crashing out of the tournament after stumbling to a 0-0 draw against Ukraine.

 

Frustration for Jordan Henderson and Co.

Stuart Pearce's Young Lions failed to improve upon their opening display against Spain, despite playing arguably inferior opponents at Herning's MCH Arena.
Danny Welbeck missed England's best chance when put clean through by Daniel Sturridge, who also hit the crossbar, but Ukraine might have won it, with Frankie Fielding keeping out Roman Zozulya's late effort.
England must now beat Czech Republic in their final game to reach the semi-finals.
In Wednesday's other game the Czechs crashed to a 2-0 defeat against Spain.
Both sides have been tipped as possible winners of the tournament but on the evidence of this game it is Spain who are the stronger contenders.
Luis Milla's side were held to a 1-1 draw by England in an opening match that saw them dominate possession but lack a cutting edge.
It was a different story in Viborg, though, as Atletico Madrid-bound Adrian scored two expertly-taken goals from Juan Mata assists.

Blues in Pastore chase - Palermo

Pastore: Heavily linked with move from Palermo

 

Palermo have confirmed that Chelsea are still pursuing Javier Pastore but face competition from Barcelona and Real Madrid.

The Argentina star has caught the eye of the managerless Blues as they look to add a creative force to their midfield, with Tottenham's Luka Modric another reported target.
Palermo are aware of Chelsea's interest in 21-year-old attacking midfielder Pastore, but claim Primera Liga giants Barca and Real are also gunning for his signature.
"Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona want Pastore," Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini was quoted as saying in The Sun.
"I told his agent to see what market there is for the player and he has probably spoken to some clubs.
"At the end of the week we will meet to shed a bit of light on the future of the player."
Zamparini has slapped a 50million euros (£44million) price tag on Pastore, who is contracted at Palermo until 2014, and is thought to be unwilling to sell him to a rival Serie A club.