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Paper Talk
Raheem Sterling has told Liverpool he will not go on their pre-season tour to Australia and south east Asia and the news is set to spark Manchester City into a third bid of nearly £50m for him.
Micah Richards has told his new skipper Fabian Delph not to swap Aston Villa for Manchester City - unless he genuinely believes he is world class.
Alan Pardew will splash the cash in a double bid to land both Yohan Cabaye and QPR striker Charlie Austin.
Former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri has issued a come-and-get-me plea to Leicester.
Raheem Sterling has told Liverpool he will not go on their pre-season tour and a third bid is now expected from Manchester City that will be close to £50million.
Tottenham are ready to defy Southampton by confirming £11.5m Toby Alderweireld as their player within the next 72 hours despite the Saints' legal threats.
Leicester are trying to sign Caen star N'Golo Kante - despite not having a manager in place. City, who fired Nigel Pearson earlier this month, have offered £6m for the defensive midfielder.
Besiktas are bidding to test Chelsea's insistence that Loic Remy is not for sale. The Turkish club are seeking a season-long loan with a view to a permanent deal for the 28-year-old striker.
Atletico Madrid have completed the signing of Villarreal striker Luciano Vietto, reportedly a target for Liverpool and Manchester United.
Everton have made an £8milion bid for Crystal Palace defender Scott Dann.
Crystal Palace will have to shatter their wage structure to give Yohan Cabaye a £100,000-a-week contract.
Manchester United are closing in on the £12million capture of Italy international Matteo Darmian.
Jose Mourinho has been knocked back in a £20m move for Real Madrid star Isco.
Newcastle have stepped up their interest in Georginio Wijnaldum - but now face competition from Everton.
Fenerbahce have stepped up their efforts to sign Robin van Persie from Manchester United.
Raheem Sterling has told Liverpool that he does not wish to go on the club's pre-season tour.
Fluminense forward Kenedy had a medical in London on Tuesday night ahead of his proposed £6.3m move to Chelsea; he had also been monitored by Manchester United.
Former Reading and Crystal Palace winger Jimmy Kebe is to have a trial with Mallorca; the 31-year-old is a free agent after his Palace contract was cancelled in January.
Sunderland have tabled an offer of £9m for Dynamo Kiev striker Jeremain Lens. Dick Advocaat is keen to bolster his strike-force on Wearside.
West Ham have failed in a bid to sign Rennes winger Paul-Georges Ntep, who would prefer a move to a Champions League club.
QPR's move for Lazio midfielder Ravel Morrison is on hold. The Championship club are understood to have reservations about the player's character while Lazio want to assess him in training.
Arsenal are interested in signing Angel Di Maria.
Crystal Palace have moved a significant step closer to signing Yohan Cabaye after agreeing a £12.8m fee with Paris Saint-Germain for the France international.
Manchester United are closing in on the signing of right-sided defender Matteo Darmian after discussions with Italian club Torino reached an advanced stage.
Micah Richards has revealed that Fabian Delph has asked his advice about joining Manchester City.
Aston Villa are stepping up their pursuit of Nice left-back Jordan Amavi.
Manchester City have cooled their interest in Paul Pogba in the face of astronomical demands from the player and his club Juventus.
Mohamed Salah will meet with Chelsea today to decide his future.
Manchester United are set to snap up Italy defender Matteo Darmian for £12m from Torino.
Real Madrid have rejected Chelsea's £20m offer to sign Spain international Isco.
Raheem Sterling has refused to go on Liverpool's pre-season tour as looks to force a move to Manchester City.
Vincent Kompany claims Manchester City risk falling further behind their rivals unless they buy big this summer.
Tottenham expect to complete the signing of Toby Alderweireld this week with a legal threat from Southampton set to fall on deaf ears.
Alex Neil has been told it will cost promoted Norwich £9m to prise Robbie Brady away from relegated Hull.
Gonzalo Higuain has told Napoli he wants to leave the club this summer amid reports Arsenal are lining-up a £43m bid for the striker.
Manchester United will finally sign Valencia defender Nicholas Otamendi; United have been targeting the 27-year-old centre-back for much of the summer.
Belgian striker Christian Benteke will hold talks with Tim Sherwood on Wednesday and reiterate his desire to quit Aston Villa this summer.
Manchester City are ready to abandon their pursuit of Paul Pogba due to the cost of the £100m-plus package to sign the Juventus midfielder.
West Ham have rejected a £5.5m bid for Stewart Downing.
BBC
Manchester United are hopeful of signing Southampton's France midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, 25, before flying to the United States on Monday. (Guardian)
Manchester City are ready to increase their bid for Liverpool's England forward Raheem Sterling to £50m. (Sun - subscription required)
City have told Roma that Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko, 29, will cost them £20m. (Times - subscription required)
Crystal Palace have reached an agreement with Paris St-Germain for France international Yohan Cabaye, 29, with the former Newcastle midfielder expected to decide on if he wants the £12m move next week. And the Eagles are hopeful of completing the signing of QPR striker Charlie Austin, 26. (Daily Express)
Everton manager Roberto Martinez has bid £8m for Crystal Palace defender Scott Dann but have been told they may have to double their offer for the 28-year-old. (Daily Mirror)
West Ham are closing in on an £8m deal for Juventus' Italy defender Angelo Ogbonna, 27. (Guardian)
Liverpool have been told they will have to pay £32.5m if they are to sign Aston Villa's Belgium striker Christian Benteke, 24. (Daily Star)
Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas, 34, has agreed to leave Real Madrid for Porto - paving the way for Manchester United's David De Gea, 24, to move to the Bernabeu. (Sun - subscription required)
Real Madrid are interested in signing Paris St-Germain's Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 33. (Sport - in Spanish)
Manchester United have agreed a £12m fee with Torino for Italy right-back Matteo Darmian, 25. (Sky Italia via Daily Star)
Fluminense's Brazil forward Kenedy, 19, was having a medical in London on Tuesday before a proposed £6.3m move to Chelsea. (Daily Mail)
Tottenham are set to complete an £11.5m deal for Belgium international Toby Alderweireld. Southampton are likely to get a share of the fee for the 26-year-old Atletico Madrid defender, who spent last season on loan at St Mary's. (London Evening Standard)
Sevilla are in talks with Stoke City for midfielder Steven Nzonzi and the 26-year-old former France Under-21's Wikipedia page was changed to state he played for the Spanish club. (Stoke Sentinel)
Former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri, 63, has said he would listen to any offer Leicester City made him but claims he is still awaiting contact. (Leicester Mercury).
Liverpool could move for Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette, 24, this summer. (L'Equipe via Talksport)
QPR want versatile defender Ryan Taylor, 30, who was released by Newcastle last month. (Get West London)
Celtic will complete the signings of Dundee United striker Nadir Ciftci, 23, and OH Leuven keeper Logan Bailly, 29, before targeting Real Madrid's 16-year-old Norway midfielder Martin Odegaard. (Daily Express)
QPR have reservations over Ravel Morrison's character and have halted a move for the 22-year-old Lazio midfielder. (Daily Mail)
Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany, 29, is confident the club can attract the signings they need to challenge for the Premier League title next season. (Manchester Evening News)
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, 28, is considering taking a sabbatical from playing for Argentina after helping them finish second at the Copa America. (Ole, via AS)
Best of social media
Manchester City skipper Vincent Kompany was back in training on Tuesday and, despite the weather, appeared happy. He tweeted: "First day of training was a Manchester classic. Lots of running, lots of raining. Nice to be back still!"
It would seem former England striker Alan Shearer has lost none of his accuracy after his son Will tweeted a video of the 44-year-old chipping a ball into a seat before wheeling away in his trademark celebration.
Ravel Morrison has responded to claims there are concerns over his attitude. The 22-year-old is linked with a move back to England having agreed a deal to sign for Lazio this summer earlier in the year. He tweeted: "In Italy working hard and focusing and the English media still want to write about me making up stupid lies. Let me live please."
And finally
Chelsea have offered about £11m a year to use Wembley as a temporary home while Stamford Bridge is rebuilt. (Times - subscription required)
The Premier League, its players and clubs paid £2.4bn in tax during the 2013-14 season. (London Evening Standard)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Michael Butler
When Micah Richards signed for Aston Villa from Manchester City earlier this summer, it was hailed as a bit of a coup. Free transfer you say? Oooof. A (former) England international in the prime of his career? Not half! A player with a point arriving with motivation to prove the doubters wrong. Suits you sir! Indeed, what could go wrong?
Tim Sherwood signed Richards hoping to add a dash of claret to his sky blue heart but poor Tim has been the victim of a horrible Manuel Pellegrini trick. For 26-year-old Richards is in fact a double agent, sent into Villa’s ranks to for one purpose and one purpose only, to tap up Fabian Delph. You can take the boy of out Manchester …
Up until now, Richards has played his role to perfection, grinning at press conferences with that Cheshire Cat smile, shaking hands, posing for photos with Birmingham babies. But at Villa’s new kit launch, Richards let slip to members of the press just what he had been up to, with all the subtlety of Richard Dunne wearing skis at an origami day class.
“I told Fabian I can’t comment to be honest,” commented Richards, after Delph reportedly asked Richards about the possibility of moving to City. “If you’re good enough you’ll play. It’s just being given that chance. If he [Pellegrini] is going to give him the chance to play then it’s hard to turn down the chance of playing Champions League football. I don’t want to say go there and then he [Pellegrini] doesn’t play him – he’ll be ringing me up afterwards!” continued Richards, seemingly much more perturbed at the possibility of a slightly awkward phonecall from Delph in a few months than the prospect of his new club losing their talisman.
Just how long Richards lasts in Birmingham now that the ruse is out remains to be seen. Let’s see how long the first own goal takes to arrive shall we?
If City are conducting their summer business with espionage, Everton are following the more well-trodden route of simply offering large sums of money for their targets. Georginio Wijnaldum is the man, £15m big ones is the cost, but they are not alone in their endeavours with Newcastle – yes Newcastle! – also in the hunt for the PSV captain. The new Newcastle manager Steve McClaren has yet to loosen Mike Ashley’s notoriously tight purse strings, but he is reportedly keen to capture last season’s Dutch footballer of the year, who is said to be keen to follow Memphis Depay from Eindhoven to Blighty.
Chelsea have had a £20m bid for disco star Isco. Quite right too, if you’re asking the Mill: the 23-year-old signed for Real Madrid for £23m two years ago and has only become a better player since then. José Mourinho and co are keen to have another go for the silky Spaniard but may well only increase their bid if Oscar leaves for Juventus, which he may well do.
One man Chelsea are on the threshold of signing is the Internacional midfielder Charles Aránguiz, who recently impressed at the Copa América with Chile. Arsenal have also been tracking the 5ft 7in playmaker, who admitted earlier this year that plying his trade in the Premier League would be a “dream.”
Carlos Vela has decided that he loves David Moyes way too much to leave Real Sociedad for West Ham, even though the London club are willing to pay the Mexican’s £21.4m release clause, according to Marca.
Tottenham have been told that they’re not allowed to sign Atlético Madrid’s Toby Alderweireld because Southampton have first option on the player. But Spurs don’t care about rules, so £11.4m should do just fine. Bleary-eyed Saints manager Ronald Koeman will make himself feel better by bringing in Jordy Clasie, who looks set to replace the outgoing Morgan Schneiderlin.
C&H
OS to get artificial/natural grass mixed pitch
The football pitch for West Ham in the Olympic Stadium will be a Desso GrassMaster which is a mix of artificial and natural grass. The artificial grass fibres are injected 20 centimetres deep, and cover about 5% of the surface. While the grass is growing, the roots intertwine with the artificial fibres. The designers claim this anchors the field to create a solid, even structure with good drainage and ‘playing comfort’.
West Ham have been using Desso Grassmaster pitches at the Boleyn Ground since 2002.
The new pitch at the OS will be similar to one installed at Wembley in this vide below. The creation of the new pitch at the Olympic Stadium is expected to completed in the next two weeks in time for the first Olympic Stadium event on the 19th July when the Morrisons Great Newham run is staged. The Sainsburys Anniversary games will follow afterwards between 24th July and 26th July.
A rugby match between Samoa and Barbarians is scheduled on 29th August with the Rugby World Cup starting in September and finishing in October.
Mirror
Ogbonna in London
Juventus defender Angelo Ogbonna will arrive in London today to seal his move to West Ham, according to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
The 27-year-old Italy international is due to have a medical at the Boleyn Ground ahead of his move.
The fee is reported to be in the region of €12m (£8.58m).
Vela snubs Hammers
Former Arsenal forward Carlos Vela has rejected the chance to move to West Ham, according to Radio MARCA Donostia.
Vela has a €30m release clause at Real Sociedad, which both the Irons and Wolfsburg are prepared to meet.
West Ham are also reportedly prepared to make him the highest paid player at the club, but Vela - who is settled in Spain - has turned down the chance to move to the club.
West Ham reject Downing bid
West Ham have rejected a £5.5m bid for Stewart Downing.
The Telegraph report that Middlesbrough are keen to Downing back to the Riverside but will have to up their offer.
Aitor Karanka also wants to bring Shay Given to the club, and that deal is on the verge of completion.
HITC
West Ham's renewed commitment to Mauro Zarate to be put to the test by Bologna
After a loan at QPR, Mauro Zarate is back in favour at West Ham, but new suitors are on the horizon.
Dan Coombs
West Ham face a challenge to their commitment to Mauro Zarate, with Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport claiming Bologna are interested in the forward.
Zarate signed with the Hammers last summer and made a good early impression before falling out of favour under Sam Allardyce, and being sent out on loan to relegated QPR.
As far as 2015/16 goes, Zarate is already off to a positive start, being picked in the starting line-up for Slaven Bilic's first game as manager, going on to provide an assist in a 3-0 Europa League win over Lusitanos.
The Hammers appear keen on giving him a second chance, with co-chairman David Gold saying on Twitter in late May the striker would be welcome back at the club.
Corriere dello Sport report Serie A side Bologna have identified Zarate as an affordable transfer target after being priced out of the market for Liverpool's Fabio Borini.
The paper even claims Zarate is keen to leave West Ham, but this information could very well be outdated considering his recent return to the first team fold, so should be taken as conjecture rather than fact.
What West Ham decide to do if there is a bid could be interesting, and will depend very much on whether Zarate keeps impressing during the early Europa League matches and in pre-season.
After the way he trailed off last season there could be temptation to cash in while there is interest, but this will depend on how much of this was attributed to the player, and how much to then manager Sam Allardyce for failing to get a talented player performing at his best.
Shoot
Stoke join West Ham in race to sign former Chelsea defender
Stoke have reportedly joined West Ham in the race to sign free agent defender Glen Johnson.
The England international’s contract with Liverpool ran out at the end of June, and after he wasn’t offered a new deal, he is now looking for a new club.
That alerted the Hammers, who the 30-year-old used to play for, but it appears that their Premier League rivals are also chasing the right-back, as Mark Hughes looks to sort out a long-term problem position.
Johnson made 28 appearances in all competitions in the 2014/15 campaign, scoring one goal.
C&H
Irons unwilling to match Cabaye’s £12.8m price tag
Yohan Cabaye’s move to Crystal Palace seems to be nearing completion say L’Équipe this morning. Palace and PSG are said to have finally agreed a 18 million euro deal in principle made up of a 14 million Euros up front fee plus up to 4 million Euros in performance and appearance bonuses. The £12.8m package is not a price West Ham are prepared to pay for the 29 year old according to reports.
Yesterday reports emerged he would rather join West Ham than Crystal Palace but that seems very unlikely with the Hammers unwilling to match Crystal Palace’s bumper offer. Another stumbling block were the claims the player wanted up to £100,000 per week to re-join the Premier League which would shatter West Ham’s current wage structure where the highest paid player, Andy Carroll receives £85,000 per week basic.
Cabaye will cost another £15.6m in wages over three years if his wage demands are met.
Cabaye was spotted in London’s Regent street yesterday shopping in advance of agreeing personal terms and a medical later this week.
HITC
What will West Ham be getting if they sign Italy international Angelo Ogbonna from Juventus?
West Ham United are reportedly close to signing Italy defender Angelo Ogbonna from Serie A giants Juventus, but what do we know about the former Torino man?
Damien Lucas
According to the Daily Mail, the Hammers have beaten off competition from Premier League rivals Everton for Ogbonna's signature from the Serie A giants.
The deal is said to be worth in the region of £8 million and he would become West Ham's third major summer signing after midfielders Pedro Obiang from Sampdoria and Dimitri Payet from Marseille.
But what do we actually know about Ogbonna?
Well apart from the fact his picture was accidentally tweeted out by Hammers co-owner David Gold when announcing the signing of Obiang last month, not many people in England will have heard of the centre back.
Promising talent became Juventus bit-part player
The 27-year-old was an unused substitute for Juventus when they were beaten by Barcelona in the Champions League final in May.
It was a night that kind of summed up his time at the Italian champions.
Even without their first choice centre backs, Ogbonna was not trusted with a start when it mattered. He has predominantly been used at the tail end of the club's seasons when they are juggling participation domestically, in Europe and the cups and therefore rotate their squad.
He has played just 41 times, many as a sub, for Juve since signing for them in 2013.
A controversial figure who crossed the Turin divide
He is something of a controversial figure in Italy after he became the first player in history to captain Torino and transfer to hated rivals Juventus.
To put it in perspective for West Ham fans. It would be like captaining Millwall and then leaving to join West Ham, you just don't do it.
He was lucky to survive a car accident near Turin in 2008 when he ended up in a river at 5am and it will be interesting to see how he handles the bright lights of London.
As a player he has all the attributes to make him a success in the Premier League. Strong and powerful, Ogbonna is known for his outstanding physical attributes and can also play at left back.
He is good with the ball at his feet but interestingly is left footed the same as West Ham's key defender Winston Reid.
The new Joseph Yobo?
The 6ft 3in star, who is of Nigerian heritage, has 10 caps for Italy after getting citizenship on his 18th birthday.
The general consensus of opinion among Juve fans is that Ogbonna was a disappointment but that with time on his side and at a club with lower expectations and less pressure he can kickstart his career.
It is ironic that Everton were one of the other clubs in for him as he has often been likened to their famous centre back Joseph Yobo back in Nigeria due to the similarities between the two.
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