Tottenham have made a £12 million bid for Yann M’Vila, according to The Telegraph.
The north London side are restructuring under new boss Andre Villas-Boas, and have already added Jan Vertonghen and Gylfi Sigurdsson to their squad this summer.
The France international midfielder has outgrown Ligue 1 side Rennes, and has been linked with a move to Arsenal, Inter and Zenit St Petersburg.
However, the Spurs boss is thought to be an admirer of M’Vila and wants him at White Hart Lane.
Rennes chairman Frederic de Saint-Sernin has admitted that the French side have received a concrete offer from an English team for M’Vila’s services, and reports across the channel state that Spurs are the team interested.
Tottenham may face losing Luka Modric this summer, and as such Villas-Boas is keen to bolster his options in the centre of the park.
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Newcastle’s Hatem Ben Arfa has spoken of the trails of recovering from a broken leg, and is now looking forward to getting back to playing football for the Premier League club.
The Frenchman suffered a horrific leg break in a challenge with Manchester City’s Nigel De Jong last October, but made a return in the Carling Cup against Nottingham Forest in midweek.
After intense rehabilitation, the winger is now ready to return to the Tyneside club’s first team.
“My leg was shattered in two places. One bit pointing this way, the other pointing the wrong direction, but now it has finally healed, and it is straight again! It took a year, there were setbacks along the way but now it is right. It is a massive relief,” he told Mirror Football.
“It was 11 months. I was sad and a very frustrated at times but I had to keep calm. I wanted the whole process to hurry up. I wanted it to be ready immediately.
“I have not been depressed, but I have certainly been sad. It has been hard watching the team play and not being involved. It is difficult to come back from a big injury like the one I suffered, but now it is finished and I will put it behind me,” he admitted.
Ben Arfa is looking to use the injury as a reason to appreciate his career, and feels he is stronger because of it.
“So many things went through my mind. It was not just worrying about football. It was life in general. It is difficult to explain, but it has made me a bit more patient, I appreciate my career now.
“I think it can make me a stronger person, coming through that sort of trauma. My heart is stronger. I have to make sure that, in the long run, it becomes an experience that I learn from – a good experience, in a way. Now it is finished, though.
“I am very happy to be playing again. It has been a difficult year, a long, hard time for me physically and mentally. I am delighted now to have got back on the pitch,” he concluded.
Newcastle host Blackburn at St James’ Park on Saturday, with Ben Arfa likely to be used as a substitute.
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Arsene Wenger is in a bullish mood this morning claiming the North Londoners can end their trophy drought by landing a historic quadruple this season. I am sure most Arsenal fans will settle for one, despite their manager’s bold claims.
In the papers this morning there has been a mixed bag of stories that include Ferguson hailing the form of Nani; Lampard reckons England need Redknapp, while Manchester City fear a summer raid on Carlos Tevez.
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Fergie hails improved Nani – Sky Sports
Arsenal can win quadruple, says Wenger – Guardian
Lampard: England need Redknapp – Daily Telegraph
City fear summer raid for Tevez – Sun
FA backs Bernstein proposal – Sky Sports
FA distances itself from Wembley prices – Guardian
Ferguson is hot on Rod – Sun
Atletico plan summer swoop for homesick Manchester City star Silva – Daily Mail
Ancelotti casts doubt on Chelsea future – Guardian
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Carroll can be a Kop Idol, says Kenny – Mirror
David Bentley closes the book on Tottenham – Daily Mail
Jose Mourinho has said that he has always wanted to coach Real Madrid after signing a four-year contract with the Spanish giants.
The former FC Porto and Chelsea coach left Internazionale last week after guiding the Italian club to a famous treble of Serie A, Champions League and Coppa Italia titles.
Mourinho, who is Real's ninth coach in six years, replaces the former Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini who spent one season in charge at the Bernabeu.
Real have paid Inter a reported eight million euros in compensation for the 47-year-old, who said:"I don't know if I was born to coach Real Madrid but I was born to be a football coach. I love important challenges.
"I am Jose Mourinho and I don't change. I arrive with all my qualities and my defects.
"My attraction to Real Madrid is due to its history, its frustrations in recent years and its expectations to win. It's a unique club and I believe that not to coach Real leaves a void in a coach's career.
"Luckily, I've had a beautiful career and it makes me proud to have come here. I am very enthusiastic. I want my players to think that way. The beauty is not so much to train or play at Real, but to win at Real Madrid.
"I think four years of contract is enough to win, to build a strong team for the present and the future.
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"The sacking of Pellegrini doesn't make me happy. I am never happy when a coach is sacked but football is like that.
"I have a lot of confidence in my players, I have the hope that my new players have confidence in me."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
History would suggest the archetypal Brazilian’s adaption to the Barclays Premier League is usually one fraught with danger, but there appears to be something of a new generation; one that at the very least, fancies itself to conquer rigours of English football. Are the likes of Chelsea new boy Oscar et al, ready to break the hoodoo of their underperforming predecessors?
When you think of dodgy imports, you wouldn’t usually associate Brazilian footballers with suspect polo shirts from Eastern Europe. But whilst both have the capacity to make you look like a bit of a lemon, a penchant for fake Lacoste won’t set you back several million quid. You’d imagine Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson would rather don a truckload of counterfeit clobber than fork out another £12 million for Afonso Alves.
It might seem unfair to use Alves as the flagship for Brazilian quality in the Premier League, but there has been something of a negative trend set by many of his countrymen in the English top flight. Kleberson and Roque Junior both came to England with lofty reputations, and left with egg on their face. Robinho and Heurelho Gomes impressed in parts, but ultimately failed to have enough of an impact on the Premier League. And the likes of Claudio Cacapa and Mineiro were simply so bad, we’ve erased them from memory.
Of course, for every Mario Jardel, there is a Lucas Leiva. But even the Liverpool midfielder, who has since won an array of plaudits, saw his Premier League career move to the edge of a cliff before he fired on all cylinders. Ramires, David Luiz and Sandro all have a lot of quality, but it is perhaps only former Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva who has left a real, sustained legacy in English football.
And maybe it won’t be until any of the aforementioned players produce the goods consistently, over a number of seasons like Gilberto did, that this perceived hoodoo will ever be broken. But with the level of Brazilian talent that’s currently about or ready to arrive on these shores, surely it is only a matter of time.
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Chelsea new boy Oscar arrives with at least the reputation to match the price tag. The attacking midfielder has shown he has genuine magic in his locker during his short career with Internacional, but at 21, he has every chance of succeeding in the Premier League. And he seems to be part of a growing trend amongst his countrymen. Tottenham’s Sandro arrived from the same club at the same age. The Da Silva twins both went to Old Trafford before their 18th birthdays. Lucas Piazon has already made a huge impression at Stamford Bridge behind the scenes – he came to England aged 17.
Coming to England at such a young age has given all of the above the best chance of succeeding in English football. To a certain extent, they’ve all finished/are finishing their footballing education in England. They’re learning as much as they are acclimatising. But even then, it seems difficult to understand that Brazilians have some intrinsic inability to adapt to a faster or more physical brand of football. Carlos Tevez was no more aware of English football than Kleberson was when he came from South America. Sergio Aguero was just as established in Spain as Robinho was once upon a time.
It’s not as much that Brazilians have just suddenly figured out how to play in England. It feels more as if the Premier League has evolved into an environment better suited to their strengths.
The Premier League today is an almost completely different beast to what we saw ten years ago. Both are massively entertaining models, but tactically, English football has evolved – in no small part due to the influx of foreign players and the culture that they’ve brought with them.
It’s not a cliché – rigid 4-4-2’s built around a fast-paced, physical and, in some parts, largely aerial game are not particularly commonplace back in Brazil. And whilst the top teams in the Premier League were more accommodating to more fluent styles back in 2002, the rest of the league perhaps wasn’t. Footballers can adapt to all formations and cultures given time. But England probably offered the least likely chance of success to South Americans moving over to Europe.
But we’re now experiencing a level of tactical fluidity and evolution in the Premier League that feels a lot more continental. The 4-4-2 is never going to be consigned to history, but we’re seeing a lot more teams adopt the more astute 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3. This is naturally more likely to aid the acclimatisation of the traditional Brazilian footballer – technically accomplished, tactically aware and better with the ball on the deck.
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Debunking myths isn’t an easy task in football. Stereotypes stick in all walks of society, but they’re almost bred in the beautiful game. In reality, there have been just as many failed Italian and South American imports, as there have been Brazilians. Gianfranco Zola, Ossie Ardiles and Jurgen Klinsmann, to a certain extent, don’t particularly represent the majority of their countrymen in terms of the impact they had on English football. But we’re still waiting for a real samba-induced legacy in the Premier League.
But if there is something of a stigma that Brazilians carry when English clubs are looking to purchase, surely that is now set to be blasted into oblivion. There is now real, genuine Brazilian talent within the league and at the age of which so many of them are, they have a superb opportunity to go and put their watermark on English football. Oscar’s transfer may just be the catalyst for a Brazilian revolution.
High hopes for the current crop of Brazilian talent? Sick of hearing how they can’t prosper in this country? Tell me how you see it on Twitter, follow @samuel_antrobus and bat me your views.
Steve Bruce will be breathing a huge sigh of relief tonight after his Sunderland side came from two goals down to snatch a point against West Brom at the Stadium of Light.
The Black Cats looked shell shocked after James Morrison and Shane Long scored within a minute of each other to give the Baggies a two nil lead with only five minutes on the clock. Chants from supporters requesting Bruce’s dismissal quickly evaporated after Nicklas Bendtner and Ahmed Elmohamady struck to bring the home side level and give both sides a valuable point in an entertaining affair on Wearside. It will have been a satisfying end to a torrid week for the red and whites after defeat to Norwich on Monday and Titus Brambles arrest and subsequent suspension. Both clubs have started the season in dreadful form and it was clear from the off that they were determined to give their fans something to shout about. The travelling Albion supporters were certainly singing after four minutes when Morrison put them into the lead. Some woeful marking from Wes Brown allowed the Scotland midfielder to nip in and nod Chris Brunts free kick past Simon Mignolet.
With the hosts still reeling from the opener Long gave them a huge mountain to climb just a minute later outpacing the lumbering Michael Turner before cooly slotting the ball home. Baggies boss Roy Hodgson would have been delighted by his sides rapid start considering they’ve only managed to score three goals in their six games so far this season. That joy quickly ebbed away and he will have been unhappy that his players failed to build on their early dominance allowing Sunderland to slowly but surely get back into the game. The home side responded well to the two goal sucker punch and the roof was lifted when Nicklas Bendtner struck his first goal in a red and white shirt. The on loan Arsenal hit man was a tad fortunate to see his strike deflect off Gareth McAuley after being teed up by Sebastian Larsson’s back heel. The big Dane then turned provider crossing for Elmohamody to head home his first goal since joining the club at the start of last season.
The action didn’t stop there with Sunderland having keeper Mignolet to thank as he twice denied Morrison with opposite number Ben Foster also having to be alert to keep out Larsson’s effort. The Swedish midfielder also had a good disallowed for offside as the first half ended at a frenetic pace. It was a shame the same intensity wasn’t displayed during the second period with both teams seemingly happy to settle for a point with the only notable chance going to the hosts as Brown’s flicked header bounced narrowly wide.
Get over to Goaldash and check your numbers to see what you might have won!
Tottenham Hotspur travel to the San Siro to meet Serie A leaders AC Milan in the first Champions League knock-out round on Tuesday.
Spurs have visited the famous Italian stadium once already this season after being drawn in Group A with defending champions Inter Milan.
Harry Redknapp’s side found themselves 4-0 down after 35 minutes and also lost goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes to a red card.
But the 10-man visitors nearly completed a remarkable comeback thanks to one of the performances of the season from Gareth Bale.
The Welsh left-sided player – nominally a full-back but increasingly deployed in attack this season by Redknapp – scored a hat-trick, tormenting Brazil international right-back Maicon.
Bale reprised his role in the return fixture at White Hart Lane, shredding the Inter defence to set up two goals in a 3-1 win for Spurs.
But the English Premier League side are likely to be without their most potent weapon for their second visit to Milan – Bale has missed Tottenham’s last four matches with a back injury.
Influential playmaker Luka Modric is also in serious doubt, meaning Rafael van der Vaart is expected to be risked, despite struggling with a calf problem.
Long-term defensive absentees Younis Kaboul and Ledley King remain sidelined, while holding midfielder Tom Huddlestone – another key component of Tottenham’s European line-up – is also out.
Even without a full strength line-up to choose from, experienced Champions League campaigners Milan are a demanding prospect.
Despite drawing two of their last four matches, they remain unbeaten in their last nine and top the Serie A table by three points.
While Spurs were forced to scramble for a 2-1 win over Sunderland on Saturday, a second-half brace from Brazil forward Robinho eased Milan to a confidence-boosting 4-0 win over Parma.
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But Massimiliano Allegri’s side are not without problems of their own.
January arrivals Antonio Cassano, Mark Van Bommel and Urby Emanuelson are cup-tied, while key midfielders Andrea Pirlo and Massimo Ambrosini are injured.
Alessandro Nesta may return in central defence for what will be both Redknapp and Allegri’s first taste of management in the latter stages of the competition.
The Real Madrid vs. Barcelona story has given us another subplot. In fact, it’s a subplot of a subplot, whereby Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s on-field rivalry will once again extent to the Ballon d’Or. Following his excellent title-winning season with Madrid, is Jose Mourinho right to suggest Ronaldo should win the award this year?
It never seemed possible for another player to challenge Lionel Messi for personal accolades in the foreseeable future. No matter how good a rival was against the Argentine forward, it appeared that Lionel Messi would always be destined to be the world’s best.
Ronaldo has run Messi close since the Portuguese forward surrendered the title to the Barcelona man in 2009, and even Messi’s team-mates have given it a good go to claim the title as best in the world. Arguably, there is nothing between the talents of Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Messi besides production in front of goal. Even Ronaldo can claim to equal or better Messi’s impressive scoring records, despite falling short at the end of each year for the award.
But this year might be different, and at the very least it should open the debate a little further than to just suggest Ronaldo was a close second to Messi.
Indeed, Messi was the focal point of Barcelona’s attack last season, and no one in Pep Guardiola’s side could come anywhere near to matching Messi’s output. However, that was one of a number of reasons why Barcelona failed to deliver beyond the Copa del Rey and a few minor trophies. Ronaldo, on the other hand, was the leading performer and scorer in a team with a greater distribution of goals among the team. He soared well above the contributions of his more than stellar team-mates, and he managed to shake the notion that he’s simply not a big-game player.
The talent in the Madrid squad was never something to be questioned, but rather it was a mental aspect that they needed to overcome in order to beat Barcelona. The victory at the Nou Camp last season for Madrid was their first win inside 90-minutes against this Barcelona side, and it helped to seal the league title with less than handful of games left.
Ronaldo’s goal following Alexis Sanchez’s equaliser was a phenomenal announcement on a grand stage. The Real Madrid forward had exorcised a number of demons from prior in the campaign, and it did more than enough to silence the doubters, as well as the Barcelona supporters. Was it enough to take Ronaldo past Messi for the upcoming Ballon d’Or? It was a much-needed addition to an already outstanding campaign.
We were all impressed by Lionel Messi’s five-goal performance in the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen, and normally that would be enough to land him the award once again. But Ronaldo was also impressing on European and domestic battlefields. The Portuguese had turned in an outstanding performance against Sevilla following a hugely disappointing game against Barcelona at the Bernabeu. It wasn’t so much that it was a typical Ronaldo performance that night, but rather it was the manner in which he launched himself and his team away from the bitterness of the previous league game.
A 6-2 drumming of a team who held Barcelona to a 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp was enough to start Madrid on the road to the title. It was a path that they were led down by the unwavering confidence of their no.7.
Maybe it helps that neither Ronaldo nor Messi were able to win the Champions League this past season, as it certainly levels the playing field. The goals and contributions to both their sides have arguably been equal, but it was Ronaldo who impressed the most and helped to guide his team past a weakened, but still extremely strong, Barcelona side.
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Jose Mourinho will naturally be on the look out to favour his own, and there can be little argument against his claim that Ronaldo deserves to be crowned as the best footballer in the world.
More than ever, this is Ronaldo’s best chance of emerging from the shadows of Lionel Messi and staking a claim that he is still good enough to challenge and overhaul the magician at Barcelona.
New Arsenal signing Per Mertesacker will provide inside information on the side’s Champions League opponents Borussia Dortmund, as The Gunners travel to take on the Bundesliga holders at Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday.
The Germany international signed for the London club from Werder Bremen this summer after eight seasons playing in his homeland, and Arsene Wenger has confirmed that the defender’s knowledge will be vital to preparation.
“Mertesacker knows the stadium well and German football well. He is strong and talks, he communicates,” the French coach told Mirror Football.
“We have a big game on Tuesday against a very big side. It’s a massive game and a chance to show what we can do. It’s a first big test.”
Wenger has also looked back on the side’s poor start to the season, and believes that the qualifying fixtures against Udinese had an adverse effect on the side’s domestic form.
“The Champions League qualifiers had a big impact on our Premier League performances.
“I think we were disturbed by two things – the players who were not with us (Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri) and the two Udinese games had an impact on our games against Liverpool and United,” he concluded.
Arsenal have been drawn in a difficult group, as along with the Dortmund the Emirates outfit must face Marseille and Olympiakos.
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Wayne Rooney found his scoring touch to fire Manchester United to a 3-1 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
The England striker has struggled in front of goal all season, despite impressing in all other aspects of his game, but netted two first-half strikes to set the Red Devils on the road to victory.
Villa briefly threatened a second-half comeback when Darren Bent hit his second goal since making a 24-million-pound switch from Sunderland with his only meaningful touch of the game.
But Nemanja Vidic smashed in a third to seal the victory and extend United’s unbeaten run to 24 Premier League games this season.
United were ahead inside 50 seconds with goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar the unlikely architect of the goal. The 40-year-old, who will retire at the end of the season, was alert enough to launch a quick 80-yard free-kick that Rooney got to ahead of Richard Dunne before smashing his shot into the top corner.
Nani had a penalty claim when he was barged over by Dunne and before the Portuguese winger hit a rasping 20-yard shot that brought a fine save from Brad Friedel as United tried to build on their lead.
Friedel made good stops from Patrice Evra and Dimitar Berbatov before a deserved second finally came on the stroke of half-time. Nani created space on the wing with some quick footwork before whipping in a pinpoint cross for Rooney to slot home.
Villa started the second half much brighter and pulled a goal back in the 58th minute. Stuart Downing broke at pace and laid a perfect cross for Bent to fire home past Van der Sar.
But five minutes later, United’s two-goal advantage was restored when Rooney laid the ball back for Vidic to smash in a curling shot from 15 yards with Friedel rooted to the spot.
Ashley Young’s curling effort clipped the top of the crossbar as the visitors tried to fight their way back into the game, though the goals seemed more likely to come at the other end as Berbatov blasted high over the bar and Rooney was denied a hat-trick by Friedel.