Football Dispatch

Summer Football
16 August 2007
Sevilla have turned-down Chelsea's bid for wing-back Daniel Alves. Blues manager Jose Mourinho had dispatched Peter Kenyon to Seville with a mandate to wrap-up the deal for the 24-year-old Brazilian earlier in the week. Kenyon, however, had his hands tied after Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich refused to meet the Spanish side's asking price. Varying reports had Chelsea offering between 21M-pounds and 24.6M-pounds for Alves. But when Sevilla demanded compensation slightly in excess of 25M-pounds, Abramovich would not be swayed; and Kenyon was left stranded in Andalucia. A club statement released by Sevilla stated that Chelsea's final offer was "way below the level expected by the club." Alves has yet to start a match for the Copa del Rey and UEFA Cup holders this season, citing his desire for an immediate move to Stamford Bridge.

David Beckham opened his goalscoring account for Los Angeles Galaxy, yesterday. The former England captain tallied on a trade-mark free-kick from 25-yards just prior to the half-hour of Galaxy's Superliga semi-final with DC United. Beckham also produced Landon Donovan's goal in the 47th-minute. Despite Beckham's place in manager Frank Yallop's starting-XI, as well as his being handed the captain's armband, just 17,223-onlookers witnessed the match in the 29,000-capacity Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

Kieron Dyer is officially a West Ham player. His 7M-pound move from Newcastle was completed yesterday and he is in Allan Curbishley's plans for Saturday's match against Birmingham City. Dyer passed a medical examination early last week after West Ham and Newcastle had agreed an initial fee of 5M-pounds. But at the eleventh hour, Newcastle pulled out of the deal -- demanding an additional 3M-pounds. The two sides eventually settled on a 7M-pound valuation of the 28-year-old midfielder.

With his refurbished Tottenham Hotspur squad winless in two matches to open the season, manager Martin Jol has turned his attention to Holland international midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart. Currently with Hamburg in the Bundesliga, the 24-year-old Van der Vaart has already been the focus of attention from both Valencia and Juventus; and each have had their 10M-pound offers rejected by Hamburg. Jol would have to spend upwards of 15M-pounds to add his fellow Dutchman.

Spurs are also tracking Matt Taylor. A set-piece specialist, Taylor has been valued at 8M-pounds by Portsmouth.
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heffield United have filed a lawsuit against West Ham. The Blades are seeking 30M-pounds in lost revenue after being relegated from the Premier League last spring. West Ham, having used inelligible players Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano, enjoyed a late-season run of form which salvaged their season at the expense of Sheffield United. An initial appeal against the Premier League was tossed out of the High Court last month; so Blades chairman Kevin McCabe has set his sights on West Ham in order to recoup lost income.

While Manchester City are enjoying a renaissance of sorts in England, Le Mans is shocking just about everyone in France. Sitting pretty atop Ligue-1, Le Mans beat Bordeaux for their third win of the season, yesterday. Brazilian forwards Tulio de Melo and Grafite figured in the scoring for visiting Le Mans. Tulio de Melo, just 22-years-old and on loan from Atletico Mineiro, has already scored 4-goals this term. This is just the third season in French football's top-flight for Le Mans. A small city of just under 150,000, Le Mans is best known for its 3rd-century Roman architecture.