Latest Footy News 14/07/2011

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has confirmed the club are working to agree personal terms with Stewart Downing ahead of his planned £20million move to Anfield from Aston Villa.

The England international winger is due to undergo a medical with the Merseyside giants and will hold talks with the Reds after the two clubs agreed a fee.

Downing has been a long-term target for Dalglish, with a £15million offer rejected earlier in the summer before an improved bid was accepted late on Wednesday evening.

Villa have also revealed that the former Middlesbrough player handed in a formal transfer request, which played a part in their decision to give the green light for his exit.

And now Dalglish, speaking from the club's pre-season tour in Malaysia, is keeping his fingers crossed that the medical can be passed and terms agreed.

"We have been given permission to speak to the player," he told the club's official website.

 "We will now try to agree personal terms with him, but it will all depend on the medical.
"It is a work in progress and we will see what happens and keep you informed."

The Reds have already brought in Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam this summer and the arrival of Downing would provide a further boost to their midfield options.

Dalglish is looking to re-shape his squad to help Liverpool push for a return to the UEFA Champions League after two consecutive seasons away from European football's top table.

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Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp still hopes to keep Luka Modric amid reports that the Chelsea target has submitted a written transfer request.

Modric is desperate to move to Stamford Bridge, but Spurs are determined to hold on to their man and have rejected bids of £22million and £27million.

Media reports claim the 25-year-old has put in a transfer request before jetting out for a pre-season tour of South Africa to try to force through a move.

But Redknapp insists any such tactic would have no impact on the club and chairman Daniel Levy's stance that a player who has five years left on his contract is not for sale.

Redknapp said: "We know he wants to leave and whether he writes it down on a piece of paper doesn't really make any difference to our stance.

"He's a great player and we don't want to lose him."

Modric, who could potentially earn £120,000-a-week at Chelsea, has already claimed that Levy has betrayed a gentleman's agreement which was struck when he signed a new six-year contract in May 2010.
Levy insists no such agreement exists, but Modric believes there was an understanding that Tottenham would listen to offers from perceivably bigger clubs.

Speculation has suggested that Lyon's £9m-rated Bosnian, Miralem Pjanic, is being considered by Tottenham as a potential replacement.

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Bayern Munich have confirmed that they have agreed terms with Manchester City for Germany international defender Jerome Boateng.

The 22-year-old, who can play at full-back or in central defence, only moved to Eastlands last summer when City paid Hamburg over £10million for his services.

But he made just 16 appearances during the season and was never able to command a regular first-team place under Roberto Mancini.

Now City and Bayern have agreed terms after weeks of talks and Boateng is due for a medical in Germany ahead of signing a four-year deal.

Bayern sporting director Christian Nerlinger said: "Jerome Boateng is a young German international, who fits perfectly into the philosophy of FC Bayern.

"He was also the desire of our head coach Jupp Heynckes."

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Kenny Dalglish feels Liverpool's lack of European commitments could aid their bid to return to the UEFA Champions League.

The Reds have been absent from the top table of continental competition for the past two seasons after slipping out of the top four in the Premier League.

Anfield will not even witness the consolation of Europa League action this term after they finished in sixth spot, 10 points adrift of Arsenal in fourth.

But Dalglish feels that could be a blessing in disguise with only domestic duties giving the Reds a less hectic schedule than their rivals.
He told the club's official website: "We'd much rather be in the Champions League than out of it and this is the first year for many years we've not been in Europe.

"But maybe that will be an advantage to us because we will have less games to play and players will have a chance to get more rest.

"All we can say is we'll give our best for the football club.
"The more games we win the more successful we'll be. We can promise everyone we will give everything for the football club.

"All we can do is give our best and if we get results we'll be successful."

And Dalglish has brushed aside suggestions that the overwhelming pressure of managing the Merseyside giants will hamper his side this term.

"It's more of an honour than a burden to manage this club," added the Scot.

"The expectations are there but we have to manage them and the supporters have to manage them.

"We know our fans have respect for us and commitment to the football club and we hope to get results for them."


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Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani will not be joining Sunderland this summer, according to his agent.

Speculation in the English media claims Steve Bruce wants to make the Italian, who spent last season on loan at Juventus, his 10th signing of the summer.

However, when asked about the link with Sunderland, Aquilani's agent, Franco Zavaglia, told Tuttomercatoweb.com: "Right now I firmly believe that Aquilani will play at Liverpool next season."
Aquilani, 26, has also been linked with AC Milan, but Zavaglia said a move to the Serie A champions was unlikely.

"There have been no negotiations with Milan regarding Aquilani's reported move there," he added.
"The chances of seeing Alberto in the Italian league next season are very low at this point in time."

Aquilani is with Liverpool on a pre-season tour of the Far East, but wants to return to Italy ahead of the new campaign.

But the Anfield club have received no suitable offers despite making 33 league appearances for the Turin outfit.

Liverpool signed Aquilani for a reported fee of £20million from Roma in 2009 and he is under contract with the Reds until June 2014.
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Federico Macheda bagged a brace as Manchester United opened their pre-season tour of the United States with a 4-1 win over the New England Revolution.

The Italian stated his case for a more involved role next season with a starring role in a match that marked the debut of Ashley Young.

The first half ended goalless with Wayne Rooney missing the best chance, heading over on 18 minutes before he was replaced at the interval.

Michael Owen broke the deadlock on 51 minutes with a low shot from Michael Carrick's pass and the midfielder played a one-two with Machedea three minutes later to get the 19-year-old off the mark.

The MLS side pulled one back on 56 when Benny Feilhaber's free-kick deflected in off Kenny Mansally but five minutes later Macheda converted a Rafael cross to restore the two-goal cushion.

Park Ji-sung sealed the win nine minutes from time with a delightful chip after good work from Gabriel Obertan and Ryan Giggs.