Football Dispatch

Wednesday Football
06 June 2007
Juventus are hoping to make Frank Lampard their new talisman. Bianconeri manager Claudio Ranieri will have upwards of 70M-pounds to spend over the summer after the club was promoted back to the Serie-A; and the former Chelsea boss is confident that he can lure the out-of-favor England international to Italy. Coincidentally, Ranieri was in charge at Stamford Bridge when Lampard arrived from West Ham for 11M-pounds in 2001. He has 2-years remaining on his current contract and has rejected every proposal of an extension to date. Chelsea's most recent offer was rumored to be in the vicinity of 140,000-pounds per-week. Despite promotion, Juventus are desperate to add talent and depth to their squad in hopes of qualifying for the Champions' League next term. Ranieri will table an initial offer of 12M-pounds for Lampard.

AC Milan have admitted their desire to bring Samuel Eto'o to the San Siro ahead of next season. Eto'o has battled injuries and landed himself in hot water after making disparaging remarks concerning the inner workings of Barcelona in what has been an up-and-down season at the Nou Camp. It has long been held that he does not get on with Ronaldinho and that one of the two would make their exit in the summertime. Milan's interest in the Cameroon international would seem to indicate that the Catalans are confident of signing Thierry Henry. Milan had also made overtures to the Arsenal striker in previous weeks. The Rossoneri are poised to lose Alberto Gilardino and suddenly find themselves rather thin among the forwards. Vice-president Adriano Galliani confirmed Milan's interest in Eto'o, yesterday, remarking, "Milan will make an official approach to Barcelona with the Spanish league finishes."

Roberto Carlos will join Fenerbahce next season. The reigning Turkish champions trumpeted their new signing, yesterday. "We don't have too much difficulty in signing players of legendary status," gushed vice-president Murat Ozaydinli. The 34-year-old left-back has two matches remaining in his Real Madrid career. He announced his intent to leave the Spanish giants three months ago and looks set to hoist a final piece of silverware at the Bernabeu in the coming weeks. Madrid are level atop La Liga with Barcelona and in 1st-place by virtue of a superior head-to-head record.

Former Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton completed a medical examination on Tyneside, this morning. The 24-year-old is also set to agree a 5-year contract worth 45,000-pounds per-week with Newcastle later today. He will become the first signing since Sam Allardyce assumed managerial duties at the club last month. Mark Viduka's signature is also imminent. The 31-year-old Australian hit-man is expected to be a Newcastle player by the end of the week.

Sevilla's Daniel Alves would prefer a move to Merseyside despite an initial offer from Chelsea. The versatile Brazilian has long been on Rafael Benitez' radar and looked poised to join Liverpool until Frank Arnesen swooped for Chelsea at the last moment. Benitez must now decide if he can match or better the Blues' 12M-pound offer for the 25-year-old. Despite Sevilla's success this term which could see them win a treble, Alves remains intent on a move abroad. "Going to a bigger club is something that obsesses me," he stated.

Manchester United will square-off with the Home Office over the status of new signing Anderson. The 19-year-old Brazilian was signed from Porto, last week, for 19M-pounds. However, UEFA rules stipulate that non-EU players must have participated in 75% of their national team's fixtures over the past two years. Anderson has yet to earn a full cap; although he has been named in Dunga's Brazil squad ahead of the summer's Copa America tournament. United faced similar difficulties after the purchase of Ji-Sung Park from PSV Eindhoven in 2005.

Luis Figo is desperate to end his professional career in the Premiership. The ex-Portugal captain and Inter Milan midfielder is out of contract at the San Siro and can leave Italy on a free-transfer this summer. He nearly joined Saudi Arabia's Al Aly last winter before deciding to finish the season in the Serie-A. Inter have not offered Figo a new contract and the right-winger is hopeful that Tottenham Hotspur will make an overture in the coming weeks.

Alan Smith will not be offered a contract extension with Manchester United. The 26-year-old has battled injuries over his 3-year spell at Old Trafford after a 7M-pound transfer from Leeds. However, he regained his place in Sir Alex Ferguson's starting-XI after returning from a broken leg and started for England against Brazil at Wembley on Friday. Each of Spurs, Everton, Middlesbrough, and Aston Villa are tracking his situation closely. Still, Smith intends to see-out the remaining two years on his current contract at United.

Aston Villa's 7M-pound bid for West Ham's Nigel Reo-Coker will be followed-up by an 8M-pound offer for Ajax winger Wesley Sneijder. The 22-year-old Dutchman has been capped 33-times for the Netherlands -- scoring 6-goals for his country. He looked poised for a summer move to Valencia before the deal fell through at the final moment. Villa owner Randy Lerner has given manager Martin O'Neill a substantial transfer kitty with an eye to European qualification next season.