Roma’s French International defender Philippe Mexes has yet to make a decision on where he will be playing his football next season, which will come of interest to Arsenal and Chelsea.
Talksport has revealed that Arsenal and Chelsea are the two English clubs among the 28 year old’s list of admirers. The former Auxerre man’s contract with the Serie A outfit expires in June, making him a free agent.
Roma will hope they can still persuade Mexes, who has been at the club since 2004 to extend his stay at the Stadio Olimpico. Mexes hasn’t ruled out this possibility, but he hasn’t quashed any rumours linking him with a move away, “I have many offers, but I will not decide my future until the season ends,” he said.
The Frenchman went onto say, “Right now, I could go to any of the major leagues in the world, but I have to evaluate many things when I make my decision.”
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Mexes would command a hefty wage packet, but with no transfer fee he is sure to be one of the most sought after players in Europe this June.
Juan Carlos Garrido admits it will be difficult for Villarreal to overturn the four-goal deficit against Porto in the Europa League.The Portuguese champions thrashed Villarreal 5-1 in the first leg of their semi-final a week ago, and the Spaniards need an unlikely four-goal win of their own in the return fixture on Thursday if they are to avoid elimination.
They would be the first team to recover from a four-goal deficit since Real Madrid did it against Borussia Monchengladbach in the 1985/86 UEFA Cup, and Garrido believes his team has the quality to progress to the final.
“I think we have a good team and high quality players,” the coach said.
“Our game is always about attacking, being offensive, playing football and having the ball – looking for elaboration and going for goals.”
“And in this game we are going to do it in a much more vigorous way, with more intensity and enthusiasm because we know the prize is big.”
Porto’s record of seven wins in seven away games in the Europa League this season makes it a huge task for Villarreal.
They also have Radamel Falcao in their ranks. The striker scored four goals in the first leg, equalling the competition’s goal scoring record of 15 overall.
It’s a record he now jointly holds with Jurgen Klinsmann, who hit the same amount in the competition when he was at Bayern Munich.
The winner of this tie will play either Braga or Benfica in the final at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on May 18.
An 89th-minute Brek Shea goal has handed FC Dallas a 2-1 win over LA Galaxy in their rain-soaked MLS encounter.The Texas club moves into fifth in Western Conference standings as a consequence while LA remain on top despite the defeat.
LA Galaxy, who named David Beckham in the line-up despite his attendance of the royal nuptials back in his native England, welcomed back former Aston Villa striker Juan Pablo Angel to the starting eleven.
The home side had to be content without star midfielder David Ferreira, who is out with a broken ankle.
Fellow Colombian Fabian Castillo opened the scoring for Dallas two minutes after half-time, sumptuously looping the ball over Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts for his maiden MLS goal.
Castillo celebrated by paying tribute to team-mate Ferreira, who broke his ankle against the Vancouver Whitecaps last Saturday.
After scoring, Castillo held up a shirt with the name of his compatriot, recipient of last season’s MLS Most Valuable Player award.
But it only took four minutes for the Galaxy draw level, through captain Landon Donovan’s sliding poacher’s effort from close range.
Heavy rain and lightning forced the game into an hour-long impasse in the 83rd minute, which resulted in a mass departure of supporters from Pizza Hut Park.
Dallas, however, were not to be denied when play resumed, as Brek Shea floated a cross-cum-shot over Ricketts from the edge of the box to send his side into fifth.
Dallas will now head to the capital to face DC United on Saturday, while the Galaxy welcome New York Red Bull on Saturday.
Santos have taken the upper hand in their Copa Libertadores semi-final against Cerro Porteno after a 1-0 win in the first leg on Wednesday.Captain Edu Dracena scored the only goal of the game two minutes before half time on Wednesday as the Brazilian outfit took an important win at the Estadio Municipal Paulo Machado de Carvalho, ahead of the second leg in Paraguay on June 1.
Dracena headed in after teenage forward Neymar broke free down the left, crossing for the defender to head home off the underside of the crossbar at the back post.
Neymar came close to doubling the advantage on several occasions in the second half, including an 85th-minute strike that fizzed narrowly wide.
Santos did not convert their dominance into goals, and could have had a healthier advantage heading into the second leg.
The winner of the tie will play Argentina’s Velez Sarsfield or Uruguay’s Penarol in the final.
Uruguayan outfit Penarol are through to the Copa Libertadores final despite their 2-1 loss at Velez Sarsfield on Thursday.A 1-0 win in the home leg in Montevideo last week coupled with Thursday’s result was enough to send Penarol through to a first final in 24 years on away goals.
A first-half goal from Henry Mier proved vital for Penarol, while Santiago Silva missed a late penalty for the hosts which would have sent them through.
Velez Sarsfield centre-back Fernando Tobio pulled a goal back for the hosts on the stroke of half time, sending the teams into the break on level terms.
Forward Silva put Velez Sarsfield ahead on the night in the 67th minute, but their hopes looked dashed after being reduced to 10 men two minutes later when defender Fernando Ortiz picked up his second booking.
Silva had the chance to hit the winner when Juan Martinez went down under a Dario Rodriguez challenge in the area with 15 minutes remaining, but he sent the spot-kick ballooning over the bar as Penarol anxiously hung on.
Penarol will meet Brazilian side Santos in the final with the first-leg to be played in Uruguay on June 15.
Velez Sarsfield have confirmed that star midfielder Ricky Alvarez has joined Italian giants Inter, rather than moving to Arsenal. The Argentinean champions have stated that the fee for the move is $17 million (£10.6 million) and that he has signed a five-year contract.
The news will come as a disappointment to Gunners fans, who seemed to be in poll position in the bid to capture the 23-year-old, but a last gasp offer from Serie A’s runners up has foiled Arsene Wenger’s side.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s team have purchased 90 per cent of the South American’s economic rights and will purchase the remaining 10 per cent for £1m if their new signing makes 80 first team appearances.
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Meanwhile, on a more positive note, Lille forward Gervinho arrived in London on Wednesday to undergo a medical with the Emirates side, with a deal to take the Senegalese international to England on the verge of completion. The 24-year-old scored 15 goals and set up 10 more in his side’s Ligue 1 success in 2010/11.
Manchester City kicked off their pre-season tour of North America with a 2-0 victory over Mexican side Club America on Saturday.Defender Ryan McGivern and winger Shaun Wright-Phillips were on target for the English Premier League club during the first half of the match in San Francisco.
City were without captain Carlos Tevez due to international commitments.
The unsettled striker, who is reportedly set for a transfer to Brazilian club Corinthians, missed a spot-kick as Argentina bowed out of the Copa America in a penalty shootout defeat to Uruguay on the same day.
City fared better than Tevez and his international colleagues, easing past America in the warm-up fixture.
Academy product McGivern struck the opener after Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko and Wright-Phillips worked the ball in the box.
The 21-year-old curled the ball to the far post to hand City a 1-0 lead 16 minutes into the match.
Dzeko set up City’s second goal 11 minutes later when he found Wright-Phillips, and the England international’s resulting shot sailed past America goalkeeper Armando Navarrete.
“I saw a glimpse of the goal and I thought I was just trying to get a clean strike in because normally I’m paused in that position,” Wright-Phillips said.
“I thought I should just get a shot off and it went in.”
Fullback Gael Clichy, who joined City from Arsenal earlier this month, made his first appearance, as did Montenegro international Stefan Savic, signed from Partizan Belgrade on July 6.
City boss Roberto Mancini was satisfied with a winning start to City’s preparations for the season ahead.
“Today was important that we played this game and we didn’t have any injuries,” Mancini said.
“We’ve been working hard the last two weeks and it is important we won this game.”
Manchester City will now take on MLS side the Vancouver Whitecaps in British Columbia on Monday.
The Samir Nasri transfer saga rolls on. This week Wenger has declared that Nasri will be staying at the Emirates and has ensured fans that he will be not be sold at any price. Could this be a risk worth taking, giving themselves 12 more months to prove their potential to Samir? It would seem a better solution than taking a risk of losing Nasri, Fabregas and Clichy over one summer.
The 24-year-old wants a move away to fulfil ambition of winning some silverware in England, something he has not yet managed to achieve at Arsenal, unless you count the Emirates Cup. He is unlikely to extend his contract in the current situation and it was thought Arsenal were keen to cash in on the French playmaker.
Instead Nasri, who still has 12 months to run on his contract, has travelled to Asia with the team and was a second half substitute in their convincing 4-0 friendly win over a Malaysia XI. It looks that Wenger is keeping the player at the club at any risk. He said yesterday: “I’m willing to keep him for another year, even if it means we risk losing him for nothing in a year’s time. I think the board agrees with me as it is a technical decision.”
Wenger knows that to sell Nasri now would net him around £20 millions but his loss could have an irreversible effect on the side. If the seemingly inevitable transfer of captain Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona transpires this summer then Wenger could be faced with the dilemma of losing two of his elite players.
Having to compete against Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and a resurgent looking Liverpool for a Champions League spot is going to be hard enough with their current team, imagine trying it without them. Not something that Arsenal can afford to do with Champions League football earning them around £30m a season. Not selling Nasri now is a calculated risk by the Professor Wenger as he realises that the club can re-coup the money lost through a higher placed finish. He seems confident that the board will back his decision to keep the creative play-maker, who netted 15 times in 45 games last season, and he knows Nasri owes a lot to Arsenal, who took a chance on the young midfielder, and that he should repay them by seeing out the rest of his contract.
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It must be frustrating for Wenger who thought he had secured Nasri on a new four-year deal before their season turned into its disastrous end, losing to Barcelona in the Champions League, Manchester United in the FA Cup and to Birmingham City in the Carling Cup final.
Of course they would have to replace him but who would they find for £20m to replace his quality and with the departure of the unsettled Fabregas, Nasri knows he would take a much bigger role next season in his favoured position of central midfield, is this enough to make him stay?
I think Wenger’s insistence to keep Nasri at the club despite the obvious risks shows that he has given up trying to keep Fabregas. If Cesc was staying put in North London, why would Wenger be trying so hard to keep Nasri and even be taking the gamble of losing him for nothing?
Not only will Wenger’s stance have pleased the Gunners fan’s but it has also shown himself to be in control of the situation and nothing like the sinking ship some for the media have portrayed at the Emirates.
This is a transfer yarn that will not go away with the transfer window is open with speculation continuing of a move away from the club. If Nasri does indeed honour his last year of his contract he can leave for next to nothing in 12 months costing Arsenal £20m in the process.
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If Arsenal can perform on the pitch and finally win the silverware Samir so craves, then maybe it would be a sensible gamble to take but if there is yet another season of disappointment, he will be leaving for next to nothing in the summer costing Arsenal around £20m in the process. It is a big gamble but one worth taking to ensure some success this season.
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Frank Lampard has revealed his desire to be a part of the England squad that travels to the World Cup finals in 2014, but with a new generation of players forcing their way in to Fabio Capello’s plans, the Chelsea midfielder conceded that this would be no easy feat. Lampard will be 36 by the time the finals are underway, and would be second oldest outfield player to appear for England at a World Cup should he be selected, though many seem to have written off the possibility of this happening already.
Lampard has often been the target of frustrated England fans, and has been criticised for his failure to replicate the kind of form he has shown at club level on the international stage. It has also often been argued that Lampard and Steven Gerrard cannot play together in the centre of England’s midfield, though Gerrard has generally not come under fire in the same manner as Lampard, despite having made more appearances and scored less goals than the Chelsea man at international level.
Of course goals are not everything, Gerrard has put in numerous man of the match performances for England and was undoubtedly our best player in South Africa last summer. However, it would be a mistake to suggest that he is able to replicate the kind of form that he shows at Liverpool week in week out; on three occasions Gerrard has scored more goals in a club season than he has throughout his international career, yet England fans do not demand more from their Scouser as they do from Lampard.
Questions have been raised over Lampard’s future after a season in which he missed nearly a third of games through injury, and was able to rack up a total of just thirteen goals in all competitions, less than half of his total the season before. It is not only Lampard’s international career that is the subject of speculation, with Chelsea seemingly prioritised with locating a new central midfielder themselves, and Luka Modric top of their wish list. Whether or not there would be room for both Lampard and Modric in the Chelsea line up is certainly a contentious issue, but unless ‘super Frank’ can rediscover his form of two season ago, the 33-year-old is only going to come under further scrutiny, and is likely to find himself further down the picking order than he has been used to for most of his career.
Lampard had previously insisted that he would never voluntarily retire from the England set up, but has now suggested that for his “own benefit” and his “own career as a player”, he may be forced to follow the likes of Paul Scholes and focus solely on prolonging his career at club level for as long as possible. With the likes of Jack Wilshere and teammate Josh McEachran gradually establishing themselves at club level, Lampard has conceded his future with the national side is ultimately out of his hands. Lampard will be given his chance to prove his abilities at Chelsea, and it seems only fair that the England manager do the same. Unfortunately for Frank, it seems his England future may have already been decided thanks to media and disgruntled fans, and even consistency at Chelsea may not be enough to earn him a place in the national side for much longer. Questions over Gerrard’s England future are yet to be raised by either fans or the media – he will of course be only 34 though by the 2014 World Cup, and should probably play until the finals in Russia, if not Qatar.
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Arsenal youngster Emmanuel Frimpong has opted to play for Ghana rather than England, after meeting with the FA president of the African nation.
The 19-year-old has represented England at under-16 and under-17 level, but pulled out of the under-21 squad last week. Despite living most of his life in the United Kingdom, the midfielder was born in Accra, and met with executive Kwesi Nyantakyi after the Black Stars 1-0 friendly defeat to Brazil at Craven Cottage on Monday.
“I have Done My Part For the Love of The country Now Lets Wait and See The Outcome……,” Frimpong stated on his Twitter account on Tuesday, and Nyantakyi confirmed the player’s decision to turn his back on England.
“Yesterday we met him after the game at Fulham at a hotel. He wants to play for Ghana. We have to apply to Fifa now – send them the documentation and wait,” the president told The Guardian.
“It is out of my hands how long they will take, but with my experience [of these matters] I expect no longer than three months and it will probably be shorter than that,” he concluded.
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Frimpong is one of The Gunners’ brightest prospects, and has broken into the first team squad at the Emirates this season. He started his first competitive fixture for the London side against Liverpool earlier in the campaign, but was sent off in a 2-0 defeat for Arsene Wenger’s side.