Liverpool midfielder moves nearer the exit door

Blackburn Rovers are lining up a move for Liverpool midfielder Jermaine Pennant as a replacement for David Bentley. Pennant has been linked with a move to Paul Ince's men for weeks now but so far nothing has materialised.

After receiving £18 million for the sale of Bentley to Spurs, Paul Ince is keen to rebuild his squad. Pennant, 25, has spent two seasons at Anfield, struggling to nail down a first team spot. He has made over 50 appearances for the Merseyside club, scoring three times in the process.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if this move does indeed go through. Pennant has only been a part player at Liverpool and I feel it would be in the best interests of himself and Liverpool if they were to part company. It is thought that Rovers will have to pay as much as £6 million to secure the former Birmingham winger's signature.

£15 million striker to follow Bentley to the Lane

Tottenham have today confirmed they have held preliminary talks with Spartak Moscow striker Roman Pavlyuchenko. The Russian international has been linked with a move to the Premier League for several weeks now after his terrific displays in the European Championships which saw Russia reach the semi-finals.

Spurs boss Juande Ramos has targeted the 26-year old as a possible replacement for Robbie Keane who left for Liverpool earlier this week. After a mass exodus at White Hart Lane in recent weeks, it is now thought that Ramos will begin the rebuild the squad for the new campaign.

Following the arrival of David Bentley at the club today, it now looks likely that Pavlyunchenko will be the next in the door at Spurs. I personally believe that the signing of Pavlyuchenko would be one that sees Spurs a much stronger outfit. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to see Pavlyuchenko's international team-mate Arshavin follow suit and join the North London giants.

Spurs and Arsenal continue to impress, whilst Liverpool play out bore draw

Tottenham demolished League One side Leyton Orient tonight to continue their terrific pre-season campaign. Juande Ramos' men strolled to a 5-1 victory after conceding an early first-half goal before putting five past the Orient keeper Glenn Morris.

Darren Bent scored a second hat-trick in three days to give Spurs the victory. Luka Modric and Aaron Lennon also got on the score-sheet for the Londoners. Meanwhile, North London rivals, Arsenal beat German side Stuttgart 3-1 as they continued their build up to the new season.

After falling behind after the break they stormed back to put three past former Gunners keeper Jens Lehman. Nicklas Bendtner, Carlos Vela and Gunners teenager Jack Wilshere all getting on the score sheet for Arsene Wenger's men.

Liverpool and Villarreal played out a goalless draw in Spain tonight. The highlight of the night had to of been the debut for Liverpool's new £20 million striker Robbie Keane. He showed some good touches and was close to getting off the mark for Liverpool but neither side in truth deserved to win and the game finished 0-0.

Nike pull the plug on Premier League...

midfielder Joey Barton. Nike have today pulled the plug on their sponsorship deal with Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton. The England international recently received the backing of Magpies boss Kevin Keegan following his release from prison yesterday.

Barton, 25, has a long history (so long I can't even remember) of off field trouble and it comes as no surprise to me that (scum bag) Barton has finally lost the sponsorship deal. The £40,000 annual boot sponsorship deal ended back in May and an Nike spokesperson has confirmed that they don't plan to re-sign him.

A spokesman said: "We have provision in all our sponsorship contracts that take into account any actions by an athlete that bring the brand into disrepute. "While Joey is a talented footballer, we cannot condone or accept what he did."Back in May when he was found guilty, we immediately terminated his contract. "We certainly have no plans to re-sign him now that he has been released."

Wenger completes signing of yet another young talent

Arsenal have today completed the signing of Weder Bremen midfielder Amaury Bischoff. The French-born Bischoff has signed for the Gunners for an undisclosed fee after weeks of speculation about the 21-year old's future at Bremen.

The Portuguese under-21 international admitted earlier this month that a chance to join the Premier League giants would be too good to turn down and so that has proved. He will link up with his Arsenal team-mates when the squad return from their pre-season tour of Austria.

I feel the signing of Bischoff is vital for Arsenal considering Arsene Wenger has let go of some many midfield players. I have seen bits of Amaury and I have also heard many good things about him so I, along with all the Gunners fans will be eager to see how he progresses at the Emirates stadium.

Liverpool's pursuit of £18 million midfielder ends

Liverpool's pursuit of Aston Villa midfielder is over tonight after the Midlands club confirmed the player will be staying at Villa Park. The England international has been linked with a move to Anfield for months now after he confirmed that he was interested in a move to Merseyside club.

Barry, 27, was valued at £18 million by Villa, a price which Reds boss Rafa Benitez felt was too much for the Villa captain. "During talks in the past few days, a final deadline to conclude this episode was set that all parties were aware of and agreed to," said a Villa statement. "This deadline has now passed and so Gareth will remain with Villa."

Villa boss Martin O'Neill was very critical of the way Liverpool pursued their interests in Barry and he has always said their was a chance that Barry would stay at the club. I personally think this is a good thing for both clubs. Villa still have their captain, whilst Liverpool still have £18 million to go out and buy an even better midfield player.

Spurs wrap up £18 million Bentley deal and excpect more to arrive at White Hart Lane

Tottenham are tonight on the verge of signing Blackburn Rovers midfielder David Bentley after months of speculation over the players future. Bentley had linked with a move away from Ewood Park since he admitted last month that he wanted to leave Rovers leading to intense speculation that he would join either Spurs or Aston Villa.

The England international never hid his desire to join the North Londoners and he is to be unveiled at a press conference in White Hart Lane tomorrow. The 23-year old has reportedly set Juande Ramos back £18 million but this is likely to be the catalyst for a number of other signings to go through before the start of the season.

Names like Andrei Arshavin and Diego Milito are likely to follow Bentley in the door at Spurs, following weeks of departures from the club. I personally feel Bentley will turn out to be a magnificent signing for Spurs. He is young and extremely gifted and I am sure he will become a firm fan favourite with the Spurs faithful.

£6 million Liverpool midfielder heading for Manchester exit !

Man City are supposedly ready to table a bid of £6 million for Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun according to reports in the Daily Mail today.

Since joining Liverpool in 2007 from West Ham, Yossi Benayoun has made 30 appearances for The Reds but has been used a lot in Rafa's rotation policy. Towards the conclusion of last season Benitez became more and more fond of his new 4-5-1 formation. However after the introduction of Robbie Keane earlier this week and the inevitability of playing a second striker, Benayoun's playing time looks as though it may have just taken a blow with one less midfielder to play with.

The Israeli international has previously been linked with a move to The Eastlands despite his so far, short stay at Anfield. And the rumours have reignited again today after Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane completed his £19 million move to Merseyside a few days ago. Mark Hughes is reportedly going to make an enquiry about the midfielder in the next week or so.

Real Madrid set to sign £10 million Chelsea and Liverpool target !

Real Madrid will complete the signing of Dutch ace Rafael Van Der Vaart according to reports in the Spanish newspaper Marca today.

Currently playing for Hamburg, Van Der Vaart is well above his depth at the Bundesliga club, and has been linked with a move away from them for some time. Liverpool and Chelsea have also been mentioned along with Madrid amongst the clubs vying to snatch up the 25 year old.

The former Ajax midfielder's move to the Bernabeu looks a near certainty now and he will join fellow Dutch international's Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Wesley Sneijder, Royston Drenthe and Arjen Robben when he arrives at the home of the La Liga Champions. The deal thought to be worth in the region of £8 million is expected to be completed later next week.

Villa swoop in with bid for £10 million Gunners target !

Aston Villa have made a bid for Spanish midfielder Ruben de la Red according to Spanish newspaper Marca today.

The 23 year old joined Getafe from Real Madrid last year in a deal which gave the La Liga champions an option to take the Spaniard back after the conclusion of the season, which they have since done.

Despite claims that Bernt Schuster wants to give the youngster a chance in the first team, it is still expected that De La Red will move away from the Bernabeu this summer with Spurs and Arsenal thought to be leading the race for the Spanish international. However it appears Villa have made the first move with an offer thought to be worth up to £9.4 million

Spurs to forget about Keane quick by bringing in £18 million Chelsea & Arsenal target

Tottenham have today sold Robbie Keane to Liverpool, but they are certainly not waiting around to sign a replacement striker. They will use the majority of the money from the Keane sale on Arsenal and Chelsea target Andrei Arshavin.

The Russian international has been linked with a move to White Hart Lane for weeks now as speculation mounts the player is ready to make the move to England. The Zenit St Petersburg star player, admitted after the European Championships that his dream move would be to Barcelona but they seemed to of cooled their interests leaving Spurs in the clear.

The signing of Arshavin would no doubt make Spurs fans feel a lot better about themselves. It is never easy losing a star player like Robbie Keane, but I have no doubts if they were to sign Arshavin he would do just as good a job, if not better, as Keane did for Spurs over the past few years.

Liverpool purchase perfect strike partner for Torres for £20 million

Liverpool have today completed the signing of Tottenham striker Robbie Keane for a fee that could rise to £20 million. The Republic of Ireland international has been linked with a move to Anfield for weeks now after Rafa Benitez admitted his interest in the player, whilst Keane expressed his interest to join the club.

Keane, 28, has played for Inter Milan, Wolves, Coventry, Leeds and Spurs in a career which has seen the Dubliner score more than 160 goals in all competitions. Benitez had made it clear that he was desperate to sign a new striker after the departure of Peter Crouch earlier this month to Portsmouth.

I personally feel Keane is a terrific signing, however I feel £20 million is a bit much to be paying for a 28-year old. He will no doubt score a lot of goals at Liverpool and will get the fans hopes up of maybe lifting the Premier League trophy come the end of May, but I don't think that is really going to happen.

Ferguson prepares £15 million bid for Gunners Legend

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has today switched his attentions from Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov to Barcelona front man Thierry Henry. The former Arsenal striker has been linked with United in the past after an average first season in La Liga and it now thought Ferguson is ready to bid £15 million for the Frenchman. (Daily Star)

Henry, 30, said he would never sign for any other Premier League club other than Arsenal, which seems to rule out a move to Old Trafford. But Ferguson is confident of persuading the former Juventus striker back to the Premier League in order to bolster his attacking options.

I personally couldn't see Henry going to United but stranger things have happened. He is an exceptional player who I feel would fit right in at United but wheter or not he wants the move is another matter. The former Gunner made over 250 appearances for Arsene Wenger and I am sure all Arsenal fans will be hoping he doesn't move to the Red Devils.

Utd line up Spurs coach as Fergie's number 2 !

Man United are lining up Spurs' assistant manager Gus Poyet according to reports in the Mail on Sunday.

The Uruguaian coach joined the club just last year and has proved an instant hit at the club for which he previously played. Second in line to Juande Ramos, this is already the 40 year old's third job in his short coaching career after spells at Swindon and Leeds. After Carlos Queiroz left Man United a few weeks ago Sir Alex has been on the hunt for his new number 2.

Spurs' Poyet and Swansea manager Roberto Martinez both initially laughed off the suggestions of joining Sir Alex at Old Trafford. However the rumours of Poyet have now been reignited and there's no doubt that a small part of him will be tempted to snacth at the opportunity.

Spurs close in on Robinson replacement !

Spurs haven't wasted anytime in lining up a replacement for Paul Robinson as the Londoners are supposedly ready to bid for Swedish keeper Johan Wiland according to reports on Sky Sports today.
After Robinson's exit to Blackburn last week, Spurs are on the hunt for a new shot stopper at White Hart Lane with the 27 year old, who is currently playing for Elfsborg, thought to be one of the club's top Summer targets.

The club has already signed PSV number 1 Heurelho Gomes and it is expected that he will be the club's first choice. The Spanish gaffer still feels though that more personnel are needed in that area of the pitch. Spurs have made an official enquiry about the Swedish international today.

United turn attention to Inter star !

Newcastle are planning a Summer swoop for Inter Milan defender Nicolas Burdisso according to reports in todays papers.

It's publicly known and hoped for by Newcastle fans that Kevin Keegan is looking to recruit new defenders at St.James. The likes of Anton Ferdinand, Richard Dunne and Fabricio Coloccini have all been linked with The Geordies but a move is yet to materialise.

Nicolas Burdisso is thought to be unsettled at his current club of Inter Milan and King Kev is expected to offer him a route out of the San Siro with a £4 million swoop for the Argentine international. The 27 year old is also a target for his orginal club, Boca Juniors where he says he wants to finish his career.

Pictures from Dundee United versus Barcelona Match

Barcelona Pre Season Match; Dundee United-1, Barcelona-5

Barcelona saw off a spirited challenge from Dundee United with a five star performance. The final score of 1-5 may have been too harsh on Dundee players and fans. Against all expectation it was Dundee who took the lead and it has to be said that the team's response to the goal was simply outstanding. Barcelona started the match with Valdes on Goal, Alves, Caceres, Marquez, Victor Sanchez in the defense. Keita, Crosas, Gudjohnsen formed the midfield with Pedrito, Henry and Bojan upfront. The second half team was Pinto on goal; Alves , Caceres, Pique, Victor Sanchez. Midfield was replaced by Victor Vazquez, Toure and Busquets. While as expected Messi and Eto'o joined with Jeffren to provide the attacking sticnt. Barcelona didn't start the match the was they dominated against Hibernians. Henry had the best of chances in the early exchanges but as usual he missed most of them. In the 25th minute Dundee took the lead from Bauben's header. Caceres was the initial culprit allowing the cross to reach the left of the post, but then the entire defense made a mess by rushing to the left and leaving Bauben unmarked. For all the addition to the defense our weakness with set pieces still remains. A minute later Barcelona equalled with henry scoring his second goal in as many of matches. Dundee United defense made a mess of a harmless Alves cross and Henry took full advantage of it on the rebound.

The entry of Messi and Eto changed the complexion of the match completely. In the 54th minute, Messi madehis trade mark run from the left drawing defenders along with him, he played a wonderful 1-2 with Eto and slotted the ball past the Keeper. The third goal came from a silly mistake in the 60th minute when the Dundee midfielder's back passed straight to Eto who had only the keeper to beat. In the 76th minute Messi scored his second goal with a wonderful volley after combaining again with Eto, Eto did outystandingly well to pass the ball to messi when he was surrounded by a 4-5 defenders. Undoubtedly that was the best goal of the match. In the 80th minute Messi completed his hat-trick after the goal keeper made a save from Eto's feet, but the rebound fell straight to Messi. Messi had an excellent night, but for me Eto was the outstanding player. Moreover he might have sowed enough doubts on mind of Guardiola. Indeed it will be very tough to find an equally successful player.

Liverpool to forget about Barry and move for £16 million Spaniard

Liverpool are today preparing to forget about signing Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry and instead move for Valencia winger David Silva. Reds boss Rafa Benitez has been chasing Barry for months now but he has been priced out of a move for him by Villa boss Martin O'Neill. (The Sun)

He has now decided to move for Spanish international David Silva, who has been linked with a whole host of Premier League clubs in recent weeks as it becomes more and more likely he will leave Valencia this summer. That is down to the fact that the La Liga club have massive financial trouble and they are looking to sell some of their prized assets.

Silva, 22, would be a magnificent signing for Liverpool and I feel he would fit right in at Anfield. He is a quick a skillful winger that loves shooting from long range. I think Liverpool would be getting a fair deal at £16 million for the player who can play on either side of midfield.

Transfer merry-go round continues ; Spurs, Rovers and Villa all involved

The transfer merry-go round has continued today with Aston Villa completing the signing of Blackburn Rovers keeper Brad Friedel whilst Tottenham have sold keeper Paul Robinson to Blackburn.

The Brad Friedel deal was put on hold until Rovers boss Paul Ince had completed the signing of Spurs' Paul Robinson. Manchester City made a last ditch attempt to sign Friedel but it was too late with the big American shot-stopper signing for a fee believed to be £1.5 million.

Meanwhile, Robinson completed his £3.5 million move to Ewood Park late last night after agreeing personal terms and completing a medical. I feel the signing of Robinson by Blackburn could turn out to be a quality bit of business. All the England international needs to do is gain some confidence and he will prove to be a terrific signings.

Messi, What a Shame!

It must be said that Messi's father who was organising the Messi's Beijing Olympics campaign has till done a fabulous job. A job whose priority for me was to get the blame of Messi missing the Olympics on someone else. But it looks like his luck might have finally run out, with Maradona questioning about Messi's character. Maradona has been very careful in this issue, earlier criticising the Club but not until this day has launched an attack on Messi. Now he rightly does the same, he said and I quote "think he needs to show a little more character and I believe that this is the time to where he can become a man.There are always occasions when a player has other commitments but I really hope that Messi can change his attitude. Hopefully with time, he will become more of a complete footballer." Barcelona has been playing the hard ball and would face punishment from FIFA as AFA is not ready to give up on the player. Before this day the world was sympathetic to Messi, he was potrayed as a person whose heart belonged with Argenitinian team in Beijing but was forced to be in Scotland with Barcelona. Barcelona has been potrayed as the villain and messi played his part of the victim perfectly. I am not saying for a moment that Barcelona is not the villain, but I believe the real villain is Messi and his father.

Messi's was really in a strange position. He was touted as the next Maradona and the pivotal player on which Barcelona going to rebuild. He knew it was tough to make a choice between Club and Country, so he and his father for me orchestred a wonderful drama in which everyone participated unknowingly. If you see carefully, Messi announced much early that he wants to go to Beijing. But when he learned about Guardiola's objection (due to his lack of national pride, maybe) he mellowed down a bit. His father stated that it was upto the Club to decide, simply speeking they outsourced the tough job of making the decision. After that they went to Argentina, where Messi said that he finally made up a decision that he will not miss Olympics. He looked like in a mood of defying the Club, but for no surprise the moment he came back to Barcelona he mellowed down his stand again. Simply put he was playing a game where he has already chosen to miss the Olympics, but want to keep the tag of Next Maradona intact. Have to say he had huge sucess till now. But with Maradona asking the Kid to grow up, the situation might change. For all the barcelona fans who keep on saying that Barcelona has the right to keep him, I have only one question - If there was a small crisis in your family and the same time you cannot leave your work. What decision would you take? There is nothing like these guys are being forced, If Messi or Kaka decides that they will go to Olympics disregard of the club's instruction, what will happen? Milan will not sell Kaka because of that, nor do Barcelona. I am not encouraging indiscipline, but sometimes if your Club will not listen to you for a genuine matter, a bit of indiscipline is good. remember you might have contracted to the Club, but you are not their slave. Olympics and the Olympics' spirit are worth fighting for, Messi.

United set to sign £35 million Argentine

Manchester United are set to sign Carlos Tevez on a permanent basis for a fee believed to be £35 million. All the money from the sale will go to Tevez' owner Kia Joorabchian, who is the head of Media Sports Investments.

Tevez made a big impression at Old Trafford last season scoring 18 goals since his move from fellow Premier League side West Ham. If the £35 million deal does go through, Tevez will become the most expensive player in British history, smashing the record by a whole £5 million, since Chelsea signed Andrei Shevchenko two years ago for £30 million.

I understand Tevez is a terrific player and nearly every manager in Europe would love him in their sides but I wouldn't be paying £35 million form him. More like £26 million for the little Argentine would be a fairer estimate of his ability. The 24-year old must be worth a look at for this seasons "You The Manager" (through the link at the top) and at £7 million he is most definitly a bargain.

Arsenal will win the league this season

That's the opinion of our readers anyway. In a recent poll run of Football Corner, we asked you, the readers, to tell us who you think will win the Premier League title this season and in our closest poll to date Arsenal just came out on top.

They won by just a mere three votes to Liverpool in second, in a poll that saw 2,634 express your opinion. In third place was champions Manchester United and interestingly enough other came out ahead of Chelsea in the vote.


Full result of Poll:

Arsenal - 815 (votes) 30%.
Liverpool - 812 (votes) 29%.
Man United - 392 (votes) 16%.
Other - 312 (votes) 13%.
Chelsea - 303 (votes) 12%.

Be sure to vote in our latest poll, which three sides will be relegated from the Premier League this season.

Spurs in poll position to sign £24 million rated attacker !

Tottenham appear to be leading the race to sign Andrei Arshavin according to reports in the Daily Mail today.

After helping his club side of Zenit St.Petersburg to UEFA Cup success and bringing Russia to the semi finals of Euro 2008 after initially being outsiders, Andrei Arshavin is one of the most sought after players by Europe's big guns this Summer.

The Russian international has been the centre of one of the biggest sagas this transfer window with Chelsea, Arsenal, Barcelona and Real Madrid all vying to snatch up the highly rated attacking midfielder.

However reports today suggest Juande Ramos looks favourite to sign the 27 year old after the players agent said that he would be interested in a move to White Hart Lane. Zenit are thought to be valuing Arshavin at about £24 million, however Spurs arelikely to make an opening bid about £5 million less than that.

Liverpool to complete £18 million deal for Premier League ace within days

Liverpool are to complete a £18 million move for Tottenham striker Robbie Keane within days. The Republic of Ireland international has been linked with a move to Anfield for weeks now after he admitted the chance to move to Liverpool would be too good to turn down. (Daily Telegraph)

Spurs boss Juande Ramos was keen to hold onto the 27-year old, with fellow Spurs front man Dimitar Berbatov also looking likely to leave White Hart Lane this summer. It is believed now that Keane only has to agree personal terms and a medical before completing his £18 million move to the Premier League giants.

This will inevitably force Spurs to go out and buy a new top class triker and that is likely to come in the shape of Blackburn Rovers striker Roque Santa Cruz. As for Liverpool, I personally think Rafa Benitez will be chuffed with this bit of business because there is no doubt Keane could well prove to be a superb strike partner to Fernando Torres.

United move for £8 million Argentine star !

Newcastle are considering a move for Deportivo defender Fabricio Coloccini according to reports in The Independent today.
The 26 year old joined the Spanish outfit in 2004 after spending several seasons on loan away from AC Milan. His international career took off in 2003 when he made his first appearance for Argentina, he has since added 26 more caps to his collection for the South American side.

Kevin Keegan reportedly believes that Coloccini is the answer to Newcastle's defensive problems and it is expected that the Geordie boss will put in an initial bid of around £7 million for the Deportivo number 5.

Rovers snatch up Liverpool starlet !

Tranmere have snatched up Liverpool youngster Godwin Antwi on loan move until January 2009.Antwi joined the Reds in 2006 from Real Zaragoza and made an immediate impact helping The Reds to FA Youth Cup success in his debut season on Merseyside.

After loan spells at Accrington and Hartlepool over the past few seasons, Antwi joins local side Tranmere where he is the sixth signing for the club this Summer. The League 1's side boss Ronnie Moore said that he has had his eye on Antwi for a while now.

"Godwin is a very talented young defender who we've been watching for some time... When I heard he had become available on loan I jumped at the chance of bringing him in to play right-back."

Pictures from Barcelona vs Hibernian FC Match

Barcelona Pre Season Match; Hibernian FC - 0, Barcelona - 6

Barcelona started of their pre season campaign well by scoring half a dozen goal against the Hibernian FC. Hibernian FC was never considered to pose any challenge, but the way the side eased past the Scottish side would have given enough encouragement to Guardiola. More over this was Guardiola's first match as incharge of the team and he could not have wished for a better result. Barcelona started the first half with Valdes on the Goal. Infront of him was Alves, Marquez, Pique and Corcoles. The midfield consist of Vazquez, Busquets, Gudjohnsen and upfront Pedrito joined Henry and Messi to form the attacking trio. In the second half the side was substituted almost completely. Pinto took over the Goal Keeper gloves, Caceres made his debut in place of Marquez, Toure was brought in midfield and Jeffren replaced Messi. Surprisingly Eto was absent from both the starting eleven and was brought in only at the 66th minute.

The first goal came in the fourth minute when a curling cross from Alves into the box was poorly cleared by the defense, the defender cleared it on to the legs of Gudjonsen and Eidur send the ball past the Goal keeper to the left of the goal with a tremendous kick. The second goal came in the 14th minute again from a defensive mistake, the Hibernian defense gave away the ball in their half and Busquets played the ball to Messi on the right; Messi cut inside the defender and send the ball past the Goal keeper to the extreme left of the post. The third came in the 16th minute when a beautiful link up between Alves and Messi which cut apart the defense, Henry couldn't control the final ball from Messi but fortunately it reached Gudjonsens and his shot was deflected ion to the goal. Next it was Pedrito's time to get onto the score sheetin the 27th minute. Messi passed the ball to pedrito on wide left, he cut inside and send a scorching shot past the goal keeper. For me that was the best goal of the lot. Goal Keeper and defense had no chance against it. Shortly after the half time Bojan grabbed the fifth goal, after a wonderful run by Jeffren in to the box. Again the defense was the culprit in that goal. Then in the 68th minute Barca rounded up a wonderful performance by Toure's Goal. That was a typical Samuel Eto goal.

Gunners to snatch £12 million England ace from Spurs and Everton

Arsenal are to make a £12 million bid for Manchester City midfielder Michael Johnson. The England under-21 international has been linked with moves to Tottenham and Everton all summer as word spreads that he is unhappy at the City of Manchester stadium. (Premiership Latest)

Johnson, 20, has made a huge impact at Man City in recent years after progressing through the club's renowned academy. He has made over 40 appearances for the Blues and has just one cap for the England under-21's.

With Arsenal's lack of numbers in midfield and Johnson's apparent unwillingness to stay at City this could be a deal waiting to happen. Johnson is unhappy at the way former City boss Sven Goran Eriksson was treated and reports are that he is now ready to leave the club in search of a bigger challenge.

Is Johnson good enough for your fantasy football team? If so register now for the Daily Mirror's, You The Manager, fantasy football game(through the link at the top) and buy the player for just £3.5 million! Now that's a bargain!

Mass exodus at White Hart Lane continues, but who has Ramos lined up?

The mass exodus from White Hart Lane has continued today with Anthony Gardner joining Premier League newcomers Hull City. Pascal Chimbonda also completed his move to Sunderland, with Younnes Kaboul to follow him out the door at Spurs to join up with Roy Keane's men.

Teemu Tainio also left London earlier this week to join Sunderland. Steed Malbranque could follow suit within days as Sunderland look to tie up a deal worth £23 million for the quartet. The recent departure of many of Juande Ramos' squad has left Spurs fans wondering just who has the Spaniard got lined up?

Well it is now thought Ramos has finished clearing out the shite at the club (with Paul Robinson to join Blackburn later this week) and he will now look to start spending all the money received from Sunderland, Aston Villa and Hull City.

Names like Roque Santa Cruz, David Bentley, Andrei Arshavin and Vagner Love have all been mentioned, however I have heard of very few defenders linked with the club in recent weeks. Just think about it. They are letting go of Kaboul, Gardner and Chimbonda, all crap defenders, but that only leaves them with half a dozen defenders in Dawson, Bale, Gunther, King, Woodgate and Gilberto.

Now what I think and I am sure a lot of other Spurs fans think is that Ramos needs to go out and buy one or two top quality defenders to give himself some options in defence. I mean they were hardly a defence to be feared last year, so if they were to go out and buy someone like Micah Richards from Manchester City they would certainly look a lot stronger outfit.

Man United midfielder to hang his boots up in two years

Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes had today said he will retire from football in two years time. The United veteran has spent his whole career at Old Trafford and he has admitted today he will give up the game in just two seasons time.

The 33-year old has one year left on his current deal at United but he is hoping for that to be extended soon. "How long will I go on? I'd think two years at the most," said Scholes.

"I have one year left on my contract and hopefully I'll get another one but I suppose it all depends on how you're feeling and how you're playing. "At the moment I just think two years would be about right."

Scholes is considered by many as a model professional. You never see Scholes making the headlines in the papers for the wrong reason and he is a role model for thousands of youngsters. A career that has spanned 15 years, playing over 400 times for the Red Devils and 66 times for England, Scholes will always be remembered for his pin-point passing and his terrific long range shooting.

Is Scholes good enough for your fantasy football team. If so sign up for the Daily Mirror's, You The Manager (through the link at the top) and sign the ginger magician for just £4.5 million!