Sporting Alert

College Football, NCAAB, NBA, NFL

Chelsea transfer news

Chelsea Bid For Jamaican winger Leon Bailey Rejected: Mail

by Leave a Comment

LONDON, Sporting Alert — English Premier League champions Chelsea have made the first bid for Jamaican winger Leon Bailey, according to British newspaper, the Daily Mail.

Bailey, one of the hottest prospect in European football, has been in impressive form so far this season for German side Bayer Leverkusen, and he’s reportedly being “seriously” monitored by both Chelsea and Barcelona.

In an effort to beat the Spanish giants to the signature of the 20-year-old, the Mail reports that the Blues sent scouts to watch the Jamaican impress against Stuttgart last Friday.

The Sun also claimed the Blues have scouted the player on three occasions this season.

After watching the young starlet tormented the defense with his skill and pace and set up both goals in the 2-0 win over Stuttgart, the Premier League side apparently lodged a £22million bid to Bayer Leverkusen for a January window move.

However, the Bundesliga outfits quickly declined the offer — telling the Blues bosses that they are not interested in selling their talented youngster who has four goals and four assists in 12 league appearances with two Man of the Match honors this term

It is understood that Barcelona who will battle with Chelsea in the round of last 16 of the Champions League, intend to make an offer for Bailey as well, as they see him as a long-term prospect.

For the Blues, the future of winger Willian remains questionable and have identified Bailey as a long-term replacement for the Brazilian international.

The Mail also reports that Antonio Conte and the big boss are “all in” for the Jamaican winger, but are not prepared to go crazy in the January market.

It is believed Premier League sides Manchester United and Liverpool have also shown interest in the player.

Bailey moved from Belgium side Genk to Bayer Leverkusen in January for a fee in the region of £11.5m.

Chelsea Target John Stones Asked To Leave Everton

by Leave a Comment

LONDON, Sporting Alert – Chelsea edged closer to signing another player before the summer transfer window closes, after Everton defender John Stones submitted a transfer request, Sky Sports is reporting.

SKY BET REPORTS: “Stones was 4/6 to make the move to Stamford Bridge this morning but is now into just 1/5 and it’s 100/30 that he remains an Everton player when the window closes.”

Stones has been a strong transfer target for Jose Mourinho and Chelsea all summer, but Everton have been working hard to keep a hold of the England man.

However, after seeing three bids for him rejected by Everton, including a massive £30-million offer – it is believed the player has had enough and has decided to hand in a written transfer request to leave the club.

Everton manager Roberto Martinez remains stubborn about letting one of the club’s best players leave, and it is understood The Toffees are prepared to block him from exiting Goodison Park.

Mourinho is hoping to add more option to his backline at Chelsea, following the sliding performances of John Terry and Gary Cahill and the Blues boss believes the 21-year-old would be perfect.

Stones has been warned about making a switch to Chelsea, as he’s not guaranteed to play every week – something that could stifle his current development.

Terry has been struggling at the moment, but he is expected bounce back to form.

Nevertheless, it is understood the player has made up his mind about leaving and is ready to do whatever it takes to push for a move to Stamford Bridge where he will be available for Champions League selection.

The last player to have submitted a transfer request at Everton was Marouane Fellaini, who asked to leave the club to join Manchester United, during the David Moyes era, two-years-ago.

In the other transfer developing news going on at the moment, Sky Sports is also reporting that West Brom have rejected another offer for striker Saido Berahino.

According Sky Sports News, West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace believes it is too late for the club to find a suitable target to lead the attack.

Chelsea v Arsenal Spendings: Sky Sports Breaks Down Figures

by Leave a Comment

Jose Mourinho has accused Arsene Wenger of buying his way to the Premier League title, but Sky Sports’ figures revealed it’s the Chelsea boss who has spent the most in the transfer window in the last three seasons.

Arsenal Boss Arsene Wenger Speaks About Jose

Mourinho, in another one of his clever moves to unsettle his rivals ahead of the start of the Premier League season, claimed Arsenal were spending their way into the title contention and Wenger should have no excuses if his side misses out again at winning the domestic crown.

Arsenal last won the Premier League title in the 2003–04 season and have finished runner-ups just once afterwards.

However, Mourinho said the amount of money his London rivals spent in buying new players, such as Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, Danny Welbeck, Mathieu Debuchy and Petr Cech in the last three seasons, should now make them favourites to mount a serious challenge for the title.

“If you add up the amounts clubs have spent in the last three or four years I think maybe you will find a surprise,” Mourinho said in the Guardian recently.

“If you put Ozil plus Alexis Sanchez, plus Chambers, plus Debuchy, you will find a surprise.

“It’s a fantastic squad with good players, fantastic goalkeeper, they are more than ready to be a title contenders.

“Get a calculator. That is the easiest thing, it leaves no space for speculation. If you want to be honest, objective and pragmatic it is the easiest job for a manager to do.”

So Sky Sports followed Mourinho’s instructions and calculated both clubs’ spendings on new players, but the figures showed that it is actually Chelsea who have spent the most during the period in question.

Below shows the reported summary from Sky Sports’ data:

Chelsea Spending Figures

 
2013/14: Willian £32m, Nemanja Matic £21m, Andre Schurrle £18m, Kurt Zouma £12.5m, Mohamed Salah £11m, Marco van Ginkel £8m, Christian Atsu £3.5m, Cristian Cuevas £1.7m, Isaiah Brown £209,000*.

2014/15: Diego Costa £32m, Cesc Fabregas £30m, Juan Cuadrado £23.3m, Felipe Luis £15.8m, Loic Remy £8.5m, Mario Pasalic £3m*.

2015/16: Asmir Begovic £8m, Nathan £4.5m*, Danilo Pantic £1.25m*.

Total: £234.259m.

Arsenal Spending Figures

2013/14: Mesut Ozil £42.5m, Matt Macey £100,000*.

2014/15: Alexis Sanchez £35m, Calum Chambers £16m, Danny Welbeck £16m, Mathieu Debuchy £12m, Gabriel Paulista £11.2m, David Ospina £3m, Krystian Bielik £2.4m.

2015/16: Petr Cech £10m.

Total: £148.2m

*Reported fee

Everton Rejects £25m Stones Bid; Warns Chelsea – Reports

by Leave a Comment

LONDON, Sporting Alert – Everton have rejected a bid of £25m from Chelsea for defender John Stones and told the Premier League champions the defender is not for sale, according to reports on Wednesday.

It is understood Jose Mourinho is a keen admirer of Stones and is hoping to tempt the England centre-back away from Goodison in the current transfer window.

However, Everton are determined to hold on to the 21-year-old who has been tipped by several of his teammates to move to a bigger club at some point in his career.

The Blues would love to bring Stones to Stamford Bridge to link up with the likes of John Terry, Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma, but Sky Sports is reporting that Everton have no intentions to sell and have rejected the reported improved offer from Chelsea.

Reports claimed Everton had turned down an initial offer of £20m.

But despite the latest snub, it is believed Chelsea are keen on landing the improving centre-back and could return with another offer this summer.

Sky Bet is now backing the London club at 1/4 to sign Stones.

Everton manager Roberto Martinez is fixed on keeping the centre-half, as he thinks Goodison Park is the best place for him to continue to develop.

Martinez also thinks that if the club was to lose the defender, it would be a massive setback in his quest to build a squad to battle for a top-four place.

Costa: I Have No Reason To Leave Chelsea For Madrid

by Leave a Comment

SYDNEY, Australia (Sporting Alert) — Chelsea forward Diego Costa has rubbish reports suggesting he is seeking a move away from Stamford Bridge after just one season this summer.

Spanish press on Tuesday claimed the Blues star was looking to make a return to Atletico Madrid.

According to the reports, Costa, who only joined the English Premier League last summer, was having a difficult time adapting to life in London and was looking to engineer a move back to Atletico in the summer transfer window.

However, the Spanish forward, speaking to Chelsea TV, dismissed the reports, adding that he couldn’t be any happier at the moment and wants to stay.

“(It is) quite a simple answer. It’s always a bit more difficult in the first season for adaptation, but I have no reason to leave this place, I love it, the fans love me and I want to stay,” he told Chelsea TV after Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Sydney FC in a friendly game.

“It’s really good to come in the first season and win two things. It’s really important and next year I’ll be ready to come back and hopefully win a couple more trophies.”

Jose Mourinho also played down the media rumours — saying Costa is the “happiest guy in the dressing room” and has no plans to leave the club.

“He’s the happiest guy in the dressing room, so if this is unhappiness, I’m happy with that,” Mourinho said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Sky Sports Spanish expert Guillem Balague confirmed Atletico Madrid are indeed searching for a center forward in the summer as a possible replacement for Mario Mandzukic, but said Costa is not a player on their list.

“Atletico Madrid are not aware at all of that to be the case. In any case a pay cut would still be too much for Atletico Madrid,” Balague said.

“One of the main reasons why Costa left was because of the contract he was going to get at Chelsea. Atletico Madrid are looking for a new striker, they want to sell Mandzukic.

“They are looking for a striker – but not in London.”

Costa left  the Vicente Calderon and signed for Chelsea last summer for £32 million and he enjoyed his first season in England — scoring 20 Premier League goals and helped the club win the Premier League title and the League Cup crown.

Alex Ferguson, David Gill help secure Mata for Man United – Reports

by Leave a Comment

LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Former manager Sir Alex Ferguson and ex-chief executive David Gill helped Manchester United land Juan Mata from Chelsea, according to reports.

Both Ferguson and Gill were pictured at Stamford Bridge during Manchester United’s 3-1 Premier League defeat to Chelsea last week, and according to the Sunday Express, the pair teamed up like old times to help secure Mata for a club record £37 million.

The report suggested that Ferguson and Gill made the advanced talks after they got the approval from Man United manager David Moyes “before leaving West London.”

It is understood that after a disastrous summer transfer window in which the EPL champions failed to land any of their prime targets, Ed Woodward, who succeeded Gill as chief executive at Manchester United, was happy to stand aside and allow Ferguson and Gill to do the work in the Mata deal.

At the end of the day, Moyes wasn’t worried about who made it work, he was just happy that another quality player has made their way to Old Trafford.

“I am thrilled, I got wind a month or two ago it could be possible, but I never thought we would pull it off.”

Chelsea beat Liverpool to Mohamed Salah

by Leave a Comment

LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Chelsea have once again pipped a rival for their targeted player, following the news that Basel star Mohamed Salah is set to join Jose Mourinho’s side.

In the summer transfer window, Mourinho and Chelsea snapped Willian from under the nose of Tottenham, and it is now clear that Salah, who was heavily linked with a move to Liverpool, will be heading to Stamford Bridge instead.

Liverpool, it is believed, was very close to signing the Egypt attacker, a player who was their prime target in the January transfer window, but Brendan Rodgers and his crew failed to come to an agreement with Basel.

Salah, it is understood, is expected to join Chelsea this weekend, and his arrival is set to excite the Chelsea fans again, with star player Juan Mata set to join rivals Manchester United.

Chelsea Transfer News: Benfica star Matic says he’s joining Chelsea

by Leave a Comment

LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Chelsea are on the verge of re-signing Nemanja Matic from Benfica in the January transfer window.

Matic was a member of Chelsea for two years, but was part of the deal that brought David Luiz from Benfica in 2011.

He was quoted as telling Portuguese newspaper A Bola that the game against FC Porto at the week was his last outing for Benfica, adding that he is looking forward to rejoining Chelsea, a club he loves.

“The game against FC Porto was my last game for Benfica,” he told A Bola

“I want to thank everyone at the club and all the fans. Benfica will forever be in my heart.

“I played here for two-and-a-half years, gave my best at every training session, and now it is the right moment to leave.

“I want to improve, I want to play in a better league and I want to go to Chelsea, a club I also love.

“I would also like to thank Benfica’s president, he did everything he could to keep me, but I wanted to leave.

“I insisted on leaving because I think this is the right moment.”

Arsenal, Manchester United target wantaway Mata

by Leave a Comment

Juan Mata
Juan Mata of Chelsea

LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Arsenal are monitoring the situation with Juan Mata at Chelsea and could make a bid for the Spanish international in the January transfer window.

Mata, after flourishing under previous managers at Chelsea, has fallen out of the rotation under new manager Jose Mourinho which sees his playing time this season severely limited.

Unable to guarantee him more minutes in the near future, Mourinho, although admitting to wanting to keep one of the club’s star players, told the attacking midfielder that the door is open if he wants to leave the club this month.

“I want to keep him. I want to keep him. I don’t want him to go,” Mourinho revealed.

“That’s my opinion, my wish. But my door is open and the club’s door is open too. When a player wants to speak with us we are there waiting.”

A frustrated Mata couldn’t hide his feelings at being replaced against Southampton on New Year’s Day, and with a World Cup place at stake in the Spanish side, the midfielder is ready to take up Mourinho’s offer and leave the club.

“I didn’t see the reaction, his frustration was because of the result – we have to win,” the manager said.

“If we don’t win this game then the difference to the leaders is bigger. At the end of the game everyone including him it was celebrating the victory.”

It is understood that although a striker is Arsenal’s main priority this transfer window, manager Arsene Wenger would be interested in adding another attacking option to his setup as he push to win the English Premie League title this season.

Manchester United are also said to be interested in signing the £20 million rated-player, with manager David Moyes desparate to add quality his team in an attempt to win a top four spot.

The Premier League sides will get plenty of competition from several top European clubs with the Evening Standard reporting that French giants Paris Saint Germain are preparing to out-bid everyone for the signature of Mata.

Chelsea boss Mourinho ready to dump Ba, Torres for Higuain

by Leave a Comment

Gonzalo Higuain
Gonzalo Higuain of Napoli

LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is ready to dump Fernando Torres and Demba Ba on Napoli boss Rafa Benitez as he seeks to bring in Gonzalo Higuain in the January transfer window.

Chelsea forwards, Torres, Ba and Samuel Eto’o has been struggling to score goals in the English Premier League this season and Mourinho is becoming more and more frustrated.

The Portuguese boss has been doing his best to stay grounded, but it is believed that he’s beginning to lose patience with his misfiring strikers and is ready to bring in at least one new frontman during the January transfer window.

According to reports, Napoli forward Higuain is the man Mourinho has identified as the main target.

The pair worked together during their time at Real Madrid and it is believed that Higuain would welcome a move to the EPL.

However, the Argentine would be Cup-tied, meaning he would be ineligible to play in the Champions League, something Mourinho will be considering.

Benitez worked with both Torres and Ba during his stint at Chelsea and was the one who brought the latter to Stamford Bridge from Newcastle last January.

Benitez likes the idea of having more options in front of goal, but is not too keen on letting Higuain leave, after beating Arsenal to his signature in the summer when Arsene Wenger delayed to pay his transfer fee.

Meanwhile, it is also understood that Monaco forward Radamel Falcao is next on the list and he would be available to fire in the Champions League should he complete a move to London.

Mourinho would also welcome selling Ba to Arsenal if it helps to fund for a new striker.

Chelsea looking at £80m Falcao price-tag – Reports

by Leave a Comment

LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Chelsea are interested in signing forward Radmael Falcao in the January transfer window, but they could be forced to pay big for the Columbian international.

Chelsea FC Transfer News

It is understood that Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, after missing out at signing Wayne Rooney from Manchester United in the summer, is still on the hunt for a striker and Falcao has been identified as the man he wants.

However, the Daily Star is reporting that AS Monaco have slapped a massive £80 million price-tag on the target man, who they want to keep in their push to win the Ligue 1 title.

The paper added that should a deal go through, then Fernando Torres or Demba Ba could also need to be part of any exchange.

It is believe that Falcao wouldn’t shy away from a move to play in the English Premier League, but he wants to remain with Monaco, at least for the rest of the season and help guide the French side into the Champions League next season.

Lampard reps, Manchester United make contact – Report

by Leave a Comment

LONDON (Sporting Alert) – Manchester United and the representatives of Frank Lampard have made contact about the possibilities of the midfielder moving to Old Trafford, reports are saying.

It is being understood that Chelsea no longer see Lampard in its future plans and have told him that he will not be offered a new contract.

According to The Sun, EPL leaders Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has been following the situation closely and has apparently welcome a move for the 34-year-old, who many said is capable of playing the game at a higher tempo than the likes of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.

It is highly unlikely though that Lampard will make any move in the current transfer window as he wants to see out the remainder of his contract in honor of the Chelsea fans, who have been showering him with supportive cheers and “sign him up” chants since news broke about his contract talks.

At the same time, former Chelsea coach Ray Wilkins has been urging Ferguson to go get Lampard in the January transfer window.

Wilkins said Lampard is of the same quality of the current midfielders at United, but his biggest advantage is his eye for goal.

The EPL leaders have not been getting too many goals from midfield, but with Lampard, Wilkins said they would be a force that not too many teams in the league could stop.

Follow the EPL latest transfer news