Man city agree deal for Jovetic

Manchester City will make Fiorentina striker Stevan Jovetic their fourth high-profile signing of the summer, subject to a medical on Friday.
City moved quickly to finalise the £22m deal for the Montenegro international as new boss Manuel Pellegrini continues to reshape his squad.
Jovetic, 23, had attracted interest from Arsenal and Manchester United.
City will also announce the signing of Sevilla forward Alvaro Negredo after he passed a medical on Thursday.
With the arrival of Jovetic and 27-year-old Negredo, who scored 26 La Liga goals last season, City will take their spending since the arrival of Pellegrini to almost £90m.
They have already signed Jesus Navasfrom Sevilla for or £14.9m andFernandinho from Shakhtar Donetsk for £30m.
Jovetic scored 13 goals in 31 games for Fiorentina last season and will help Pellegrini fill the void left by the departure of Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez.
City manager Pellegrini has left the club's pre-season training camp in South Africa to return home to Chile to deal with a personal matter although he could rejoin the squad in Hong Kong early next week.Assistant manager Brian Kidd, who had a brief spell in charge after Roberto Mancini's sacking at the end of last season, took charge of City's 2-1 friendly defeat to AmaZulu in Durban.Kidd said: "Manuel's had to go back to Chile for personal reasons.
"Hopefully he will be in Hong Kong on Tuesday, but we are not quite sure at the moment.
You want the boss here for obvious reasons."The team were well prepared by him for this game. It's been a good work out in South Africa with two tough games."

Manchester United insist Wayne Rooney is NOT for sale - even with formal transfer request

Manchester United will not sell Wayne Rooney - even if he hands in a formal transfer request,writes David McDonnell in Sydney .
Despite Rooney’s current disillusionment and Chelsea’s determination to buy him, United are adamant they will not sell as they brace themselves for a written transfer request from their unhappy striker. 
Rooney is “angry and confused” at the perception he is now an understudy to Robin van Persie.
But United are adamant they will not be pushed into selling. 
Talks between the clubs ended with an agreement that no player from either sidewould publicly discuss the Blues’ pursuit of the striker.Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho also agreed to not name-check Rooney, with questions over the Scouser declared out of bounds when he flew in to Malaysia from Thailand yesterday. But Chelsea are still poised to make a second offer of around £24m after their original £20m bid was rejected.

Rooney, who flew home from United’s pre-season tour with a hamstring injury, is said to be doing bicycle work at the club’s training ground and could be back for a friendly in Sweden on August 6.
While United insist they don’t want to let Rooney go, boss David Moyes is encouraged that their pursuit of Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas will be successful – once they increase their offer.

Chelsea to risk Stamford bridge conflict with massive Wayne Rooney deal

Chelsea are prepared to make Wayne Rooney their highest-paid player — and risk unsettling their other first-team stars — in order to lure the striker to Stamford Bridge.

The Blues remain confident that they will succeed in their attempts to sign the Manchester United frontman despite having a £27million bid rejected yesterday.Chelsea are ready to smash their wage structure and offer the 27-year-old a five-year contract worth in excess of £200,000 a week.
The club’s top earners are believed to be Fernando Torres and captain John Terry on £175,000 a week, with senior stars Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Petr Cech, plus Eden Hazard and David Luiz, also receiving a six-figure weekly sum.But Juan Mata, who has been voted Chelsea’s Player of the Year by the club’s fans for two seasons in succession, and experienced defender Branislav Ivanovic have yet to break the £100,000-a-week barrier.
Chelsea have been looking to keep costs under control due to Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules but feel Rooney is worth the price and boss Jose Mourinho desperately wants him to lead his attack this season.They will look to sell Torres or Demba Ba to compensate for his arrival but Rooney’s massive salary is in danger of causing friction in the rest of the squad.
Mata, who Chelsea denied was offered as part of a player-plus-cash deal for the England international, is believed to have been in talks over an improved contract for some time.Mourinho still faces a tough task to sign Rooney because United are adamant the forward is not for sale.Speaking after Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Singha All-Stars yesterday, Mourinho claimed Rooney is their only major transfer target.He said: “Nothing is a secret any more. We want the player. Now it’s up to Manchester United.”When asked if it is Rooney or bust, the Portuguese added: “Yes.”Arsenal have also expressed an interest and Arsene Wenger insists his side can meet Rooney’s wage demands.
Just like Chelsea, Wenger has not been put off by United’s claim he is not for sale. He said: “It happened to us last year [with Robin van Persie] and it can happen to them.
Rooney is under contract so it’s United who make the decision.
But we would not have a problem with the wages of Rooney.
”However, Standard Sport understands that Chelsea is Rooney’s preferred destination.Another Arsenal target, Gonzalo Higuain still wants to quit Real Madrid despite having talks with boss Carlo Ancelotti over his future.Ancelotti had hoped to convince the Argentina striker to stay but he wants a new challenge and they have put a £34.5m price tag on his head.
Real still insist they have not received any official offers but have been approached by Napoli and Arsenal. Napoli have claimed that Chelsea are also a rival for Higuain’s signature.

Rodgers determined to keep Suarez

Luis Suarez will remain at Liverpool "unless something drastic happens", according to manager Brendan Rodgers.

Suarez's Anfield future is in doubt, with the 26-year-old striker wanting to play Champions League football.

"There has been lots of speculation about Luis moving to another club but, as I said, he is very much a Liverpool player," Rodgers added.

Arsenal have had a £30m bid rejected for the Uruguayan, who has said "two or three" sides are interested in him.

Liverpool have consistently stated that Suarez - who scored 23 Premier League goals last season - is not for sale.

The issue of the ex-Ajax player's destiny has dominated proceedings at Anfield since he admitted his interest in a potential switch to Real Madrid in May.

However, speaking ahead of Suarez joining up with his team-mates on their pre-season tour of Indonesia, Australia and Thailand, Rodgers insisted: "No matter who the player is, nobody is bigger than Liverpool.

"Luis Suarez is a wonderful player and he is still very much a Liverpool player.

"Luis is a very important member of this squad and I am looking forward to working with him again this season after he had such a fantastic season last term.

"Speculation has also grown about Suarez's future since he was punished with a 10-game ban at the end of the April for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic. 

He still has to serve six games of that suspension next season.That incident followed the eight-game banhe was given in December 2011 after being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.Suarez has complained about his disenchantment with life in England, stating he was "not prepared to continue suffering at the hands of the English journalists".

Transfer gossips-Arsenal shocked as Gonzalo Higuain's asking price rises to £37m

Arsenal were dealt a blow in their bid to sign Gonzalo Higuaín last night after they and Napoli were told that the Argentina forward would cost €40 million (about £37 million).
The North London club seemed confident that they would complete their first signing of the summer, for a fee of close to £23 million, after informal conversations last month with Real Madrid.
It is unclear whether Real have moved the goalposts amid interest from Napoli, who received £53 million from the sale of Edinson Cavani to Paris Saint-Germain.Despite reports that Arsenal had already agreed personal terms with Higuaín’s.

Transfer gossip- Meireles poised for Premier League return as Di Canio wants more Sunderland arrivals

Sunderland are considering a move for former Chelsea and Liverpool midfielder Raul Meireles, 30, who is unsettled at Fenerbahce. 
Fulham are also interested in the central midfielder, who signed for Liverpool from Porto in a £12million deal in 2010, before moving to Chelsea for the same fee the following season, helping the Blues to their Champions League triumph.
Meanwhile, Sunderland face competition from Feyenoord for Manchester City striker John Guidetti and Lazio have made an enquiry for Black Cats midfielder Sebastian Larsson. 
Mackems boss Paolo Di Canio is looking to completely revamp his squad at the Stadium of Light, having already signed nine players, including a £8.6million swoop for Juventus midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini.

Transfer gossip-Man utd launch £60m bid for bale

Manchester United are making a massive £60million bid for Gareth Bale.
Premier League champions United want Tottenham star Bale to be the first major signing of new manager David Moyes' reign.
The move for the Welshman is thought to be one of the reasons why United's vice chairman Ed Woodward is returning early from their pre-season tour of the Far East and Australia.
Spurs are desperate not to lose Bale, last year’s Footballer of the Year, and have so far resisted United’s approach.
But the Old Trafford giants are keen to put the damaging publicity surrounding the future of Wayne Rooney behind them.
They know that buying Bale - who has been linked with Real Madrid throughout the off-season - would give Moyes, his players and the United supporters a huge boost.
And his arrival, as well as continued interest in Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas and at least one other high-profile signing, would soften the blow of Rooney's expected move to Chelsea.
United have been quiet in the transfer market so far this summer, but sources close to the club say that is about to change.
There is also continuing speculation about a mega-bid to bring former favourite Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Trafford from Real Madrid.
But the attempt to prise Bale away from Tottenham is top of the agenda, and United are prepared to smash their £30.8m transfer record to get him.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is famous for driving a hard bargain and his brinkmanship, but United are keen to seal a deal to prise Bale out of the White Hart Lane club before the start of the season on August 17.
They are aware that neighbours Manchester City have already bolstered their squad with the signings of midfielders Fernandinho and Jesus Navas and are close to recruiting forwards Stevan Jovetic and Alvaro Negredo.And United are desperate to ensure that they give Moyes complete backing as he attempts to carry on the phenomenal success his predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson delivered.