Chelsea Get Their Man

Chelsea have today confirmed the hiring of former Porto manager Andre Villas Boas. This news comes after much speculation regarding the vacant managerial position at Stamford Bridge. Villas Boas, although known by most, is a relatively surprising choice purely because of his lack of experience. After guiding Porto to the Europa League title which culminated in a very dull affair in the final, much has been made of the Portuguese man.

Many thought that Guus Hiddink would be the man to replace Carlo Ancelotti as Chelsea boss but after paying Porto £13.2 million in compensation they were allowed to hijack their man from the Portuguese champions. Many reports suggest that Villas Boas will be taking some of Porto's top players with him to London.

Villas Boas has a history at Stamford Bridge as he worked under Jose Mourinho during the "Special One's" rein at Chelsea. He is now the youngest manager working in the Premiership at this present time and has a lot to prove in the coming season. Talk of Champions League glory has already been mentioned by many.

With the disappointment of last season, many Chelsea fans are expecting big things next year and with such a big risk being taken with the hiring of Villas Boas, it will either go incredibly well or backfire dismally. Villas Boas, only 33, has been credited with having an attacking approach to the way he puts out his team. I'm sure this will please many especially the likes of Torres and Drogba who both struggled to get on target as we were nearing the end of the season.

I feel that everyone close to Chelsea should be reasonably happy with the appointment of Villas Boas. Although the inexperience is somewhat of a concern, there is no underestimating his knowledge and passion for the game. He has proven he can win trophies and that is exactly what Chelsea fans, but more importantly, the Chelsea Board want.

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Barcelona Looking To Improve Options

Despite the success of winning the La Liga title and comfortably beating Man United at Wembley to claim their third Champions League title, Pep Guardiola is still keen on increasing the size of his squad. Barca look interested in bringing in Alexis Sanchez and as we all know, I hope, the very talented Cesc Fabregas who has been tracked by Barca ever since his rise to fame in an Arsenal jersey, although he was on the Barca books at a very young age.

We all know that this Barcelona side is one of, if not the, best club side that we have ever seen but that won't stop Guardiola from reaching into the clubs bank account to take out a cheeky £50 million or so, although the club's board are insisting that all their funds will be generated from the transfers of players currently playing their trade at the Nou Camp. The likes of David Villa are being mentioned as the ones who could be offloaded.

Barcelona have insisted that they will go no higher than £35 million when it comes to the bidding for Cesc Fabregas. Arsenal have made clear time after time that Fabregas is not for sale but I don't think they can do much if the Arsenal captain really wants to move although he hasn't made any indications or expressed any desire to leave the Emirates.

An awful lot has been said about Alexis Sanchez and a lot of people I would presume think he is just "all talk". I'm going to be blatantly honest and admit that the most I've seen of him was a six minute clip on youtube but trust me, he can play. Barcelona are now favourites to land the Chilean playmaker after bids from both Manchester City and United have seemed to have fallen through.

Like I mentioned, if Barcelona want to purchase these players, some players must be sold to generate funds and that will leave the door open to a few of the top European clubs such as Chelsea, Man City, Inter Milan and maybe we could see a cheeky offer put in by Real Madrid for one of the Barca stars.

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Spurs Insist They Will Not Sell Modric At Any Cost

Despite much interest for Luka Modric, Harry  Redknapp and and all associated with Tottenham, are adamant that the little Croatian will not be sold for any price, to any club.

They even claim that they will not even be entering any negotiations.I understand why they would be hesitant to sell Luka, but when the likes of Chelsea are prepared to offer in and around £30 million for the playmaker, I think Totrtenham should take in to consideration who they could potentially buy with that money

Luka Modric, 25, has made it quite clear that he would like to leave White Hart Lane and that Chelsea would be his preferred destination.  Chelsea have all but given up on signing Santos and Brazil star, Neymar and it seems like this is more of a "plan B" choice.

For me, I think Modric should stay with Tottenham. Although the lure of winning titles and cup competitions might be enough to secure the deal for Chelsea, being the main man in a very formidable Spurs side should be enough to persuade Modric to stay. It wouldn't be the best for his reputation either and no doubt the White Hart Lane faithful would be booing him every time he got the ball should he be playing for Chelsea next season.

Spurs are looking into taking legal action as they feel Chelsea, like on many other occasions, have been tapping up a player, this time Modric is the target. Chelsea have got into trouble on many occasions regarding transfers. The transfers of the likes of Ashley Cole and Kakuta were very controversial at the time.

Although Harry Redknapp is so confident that Modric won't go that he probably hasn't looked at potential replacements but I think he should start. With the lack of Champions League football this season it will be hard to attract attention to themselves but at least with the success of last year, they are a known force and are to be reckoned with.

What do you think about this transfer saga? Should Spurs just take the money?

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

West Ham And Newcastle Do Business

In the past two days now, both Newcastle United and West Ham have done business with each other as Kevin Nolan has decided to ditch the Premier League and join the Hammers while Demba Ba is making his way up north as the two clubs agreed a fee for the Senegalese international.

As you might have noticed as well, it's not only Ba and Nolan who are switching roles, both Alan Pardew and Sam Allardyce used to be in each others position. The only difference being, Pardew had a very successful time at Upton Park while "Big Sam" was literally abused by all Geordie's after a terrible start to his Newcastle career left the Newcastle board with no choice but to sack him.

I think there is no doubt that Demba Ba is the better off between the two as although their is no guarantee that he will be starting week in, week out, and although Nolan was confirmed the captain's armband for next season, the difference in caliber between the Premier League and the Championship, no disrespect to the Championship, is quite remarkable.

Newcastle are increasingly likely to lose further players as it has been announced that Barton, Jose Enrique and Gutierrez want out. It looks bleak for the Magpies, purely because of the task Pardew might have in finding replacements and valuable ones as well.

As for West Ham, Sam Allardyce has been given the task of getting the Hammers straight back into the Premiership. It does seem very much possible, especially if they keep hold of the likes of Scott Parker and besides the lack of transfer rumors associated with him, I do think he will be departing West Ham. My only fear though, is that they follow in the footsteps of Leeds and Charlton, where we don't see or even hear about them for the next five years or so. I'm sure it won't happen but who knows.

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Liverpool Look To Carry On With Their Summer Spending Spree

Here is a guest post by Football Team Talk's friend, Jake Rogers.


Liverpool's Kenny Dalglish and Damien Comolli have shown great intent so far this transfer window and if this continues they could be the busiest of Premier League clubs this Summer. Already they have captured the highly rated Jordan Henderson from Sunderland for a fee in the region of 20 million with David N'gog possibly going to Sunderland as part of the deal. 


This could be a very good buy for Liverpool as Henderson is being talked about as a future England captain. N'gog leaving, as far as I'm concerned, is also a bonus. So far this is the only done deal for Liverpool although they have been linked with nearly every player who is looking to leave their clubs.  

In my opinion Liverpool need two decent wingers , a good centreback , another striker and a left back. Personally I think Stewart Downing and Juan Mata would be great additions although the signature of Mata is very much less than likely. They might not need to worry about a winger much longer as Rennes' Sylvain Marveaux is set to complete his move on a free transfer.  Marko Marin of Werder Bremen has also been linked with the Reds and his agent has said that a bid has been rejected for the 22 year old.  

As for a center half, Liverpool have been linked with a few. Scott Dann of Birmingham, Gary Cahill of Bolton and Cristian Zapata who plays in Italy for Udinese. I would like to see someone with Premier League experience but as you know that increases the price tag by up to £15 million as we have seen with the transfers of Jordan Henderson , Andy Carroll and Phil Jones.  

A few strikers have also been linked with a move to Anfield. Connor Wickham, the young Ipswich striker was the subject of a bid from Liverpool. They are also keeping tabs on Antonio Cassano and Gervinho .  Clichy is being linked with a remarkable switch from Arsenal but I would be very surprised if that transfer happened.  

Liverpool are being linked with two centre midfielders also. Charlie Adam and Fernando Gago are being highlighted as potential targets.  I don't think Liverpool need another central  midfielder, Steven Gerrard will be back from injury and new signing Jordan Henderson will be there. Lucas Leiva and Raul Meireles had very good seasons last year and Jay Spearing also came into the squad under Dalglish.

On the other side, a lot of players may be on their way out of Merseyside.  The duo of Joe Cole and Milan Jovanovic, who are both on £90 thousand a week are looking to leave. Paul Konchesky, Christian Poulsen and Jonjo Shelvey are searching for first team football.

Liverpool are looking to reclaim their spot in the top four and start winning trophies again. Liverpools owners are looking to make a franchise out of the club and they will do whatever it takes to make it happen. 

This is going to be a very busy transfer window for Kenny Dalglish , Damien Comolli and everyone involved with Liverpool football club!

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

Chelsea Keen On Two Players But Still In Need Of A Manager

Yesterday we learned that Chelsea's bid for Luka Modric of £22 million was rejected by London rivals, Spurs. Chelsea have claimed that they will improve their offer in their pursuit to land the Croatian. Another player on the Chelsea transfer list is Atletico Madrid forward, Sergio Ageuro. Despite rumors that a deal with Juventus, worth £40 million, was made, his agent has scrapped those rumors leaving Chelsea as well as Man City still in the hunt to sign the little Argentinian.

With all this transfer talk, it seems that many people, including myself for a short while, had forgetten that Chelsea are in fact still without a manager. Guus Hiddink is still the clear favourite but for some reason they just haven't been able to get his signature yet.

Harry Redknapp has slammed the thought that Tottenham will even consider selling the silky and creative Croatian. He has become like a broken record are we keep on hearing that no players are for sale but with an improved offer closer to the £30 million mark will really test the Spurs boss.

As for Aguero, he has been a wanted man for years now and a move this Summer is looking very likely. It is hard to see anyone out-offer Manchester City but I can't see Aguero being too fond of moving to the north of England especially when his Argentinian team-mate, Tevez, has been going on about how "boring" the city is or the weather conditions being horrible. Juventus look like being the favourites but it could be a while before Aguero's future is resolved.

I'm sure Roman Abramovich is in for a hectic few days as he tries to sort out new players coming in and most importantly, a new manager being put in place. He also is under the threat of losing a few key players as Jose Mourinho is reportedly interested in Ghanain, Essien.

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Possible Deals For Manchester City This Summer

I know it is early on, but Man City have been very quiet in this transfer window thus far. It has been their rivals, Man United, who have been the more productive in the transfer window as they have added Phil Jones among the ranks and look likely to add the likes of Ashley Young and now even talk of Wesley Sneijder.

Man City, apparently, have their eye on ex-United favourite, Cristiano Ronaldo. There was talk that as long as he got the number 7 jersey, captain's armband and £400,000 a week that he would agree to join the Blue side of Manchester. Although Cristiano himself has played down these reports, I still have a feeling that the saga might carry on for a few more weeks.

There is no doubt that Ronaldo, 26, has claimed that he can't see himself leaving but if he joined for, what I believe is purely money, why can't he leave for money, it wouldn't surprise me by any means. I think he would be a great asset to a team which is already crammed with superb talent, but as a Man City fan, I would prefer if he didn't join.

Another player who is unheard of to some is Alexis Sanchez. Many clubs are interested in the Chilean and of course City are among them. Barcelona were believed to have been the main threat but reports suggest that Man United might spoil the party as the Glazer's seem to have found a few extra quid in their back pocket as their  Summer spending spree looks to carry on.

Alexis Sanchez is currently at Udinese as is bound to move to a big club, well Man City aren't quite yet at the big club status, even I'll admit that but either way a move to Manchester looks increasingly on the cards. Sanchez has been compared to Ronaldo, coincidentally can play both on the wing or in a more attacking position. Unlike Ronaldo, I would very much welcome the move of Sanchez, but, if he comes in, that means the likes of Adam Johnson will be pushed out.

With Boateng all but gone and talk of Tevez leaving always on-going, surely City will complete the signing of a player some time soon.

What do you think? Will City sign either Ronaldo or Sanchez?

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