Question:

Woodgate heavily linked with Real
Newcastle are facing up to the prospect of losing prize asset Jonathan Woodgate after Real Madrid tabled a £14million bid for the England defender.
United refused to comment on the approach today but it is understood that the offer is on the table and that the Magpies are resigned to losing a player they bought barely 18 months ago from Leeds for £9million.
'Woodgate will be Real's new centre-back,' was the front page headline in Madrid-based sports daily AS, while Marca agreed with its rival, reporting that 'Woodgate is the centre-back that Madrid want.'
Both papers said Real were already in negotiations with the English Premier League club.
The 24-year-old England international is currently in Germany for a consultation over the thigh injury which has kept him out of action since April.
And, while there is little doubt that chairman Freddy Shepherd and manager Sir Bobby Robson would not want to lose the influential defender, there is a realisation that the decision could be taken out of their hands.
Real managed to prise Michael Owen away from Liverpool earlier this summer having recruited Manchester United star David Beckham 12 months earlier, and the lure of arguably the world football's biggest clubs could be almost impossible to resist.

Answer:


Woodgate heavily linked with Real
Newcastle are facing up to the prospect of losing prize asset Jonathan Woodgate after Real Madrid tabled a £14million bid for the England defender.
United refused to comment on the approach today but it is understood that the offer is on the table and that the Magpies are resigned to losing a player they bought barely 18 months ago from Leeds for £9million.
'Woodgate will be Real's new centre-back,' was the front page headline in Madrid-based sports daily AS, while Marca agreed with its rival, reporting that 'Woodgate is the centre-back that Madrid want.'
Both papers said Real were already in negotiations with the English Premier League club.
The 24-year-old England international is currently in Germany for a consultation over the thigh injury which has kept him out of action since April.
And, while there is little doubt that chairman Freddy Shepherd and manager Sir Bobby Robson would not want to lose the influential defender, there is a realisation that the decision could be taken out of their hands.
Real managed to prise Michael Owen away from Liverpool earlier this summer having recruited Manchester United star David Beckham 12 months earlier, and the lure of arguably the world football's biggest clubs could be almost impossible to resist.

Answer:

West Ham have confirmed they are in talks with Tottenham over the transfer of Michael Carrick.
Arsenal, Portsmouth, Crystal Palace, Everton and West Brom have all been linked with the £3.5million-rated midfielder, who is in the last year of his contract.
But Spurs have jumped to the front of the queue after manager Jacques Santini failed with moves to bring Danny Murphy and Owen Hargreaves to White Hart Lane.
Hammers boss Alan Pardew said: 'Spurs are one of the clubs who have come in for Michael.
'There have been initial talks between the clubs. We'll see what develops.'
Carrick was withdrawn from West Ham's reserve-team friendly against Norwich last night after news of Tottenham's interest emerged.
Meanwhile West Ham are giving a trial to Rangers full-back Maurice Ross with a view to a possible loan deal. The 23-year-old Scottish international is being given the chance to solve a defensive crisis at Upton Park.
The Hammers need cover with Christian Dailly out after a knee operation and Andy Melville suffering a hamstring injury while playing for Wales.
Manager Alan Pardew said: 'He's here on trial so we can have a look at him and he can have a look at us.'

Answer:

Monaco have revealed Manchester City will only allow Nicolas Anelka to leave on a 'permanent transfer'.
The City striker has been pursued forcefully by the Champions League finalists who want to sign the 25-year-old on loan.
City have been angered by Monaco's approach and manager Kevin Keegan is adamant they will not allow their most high-profile player to be loaned out.
Keegan would not want to even consider putting Anelka up for sale after the team only narrowly avoided relegation last season and will seek to dissuade him from exiting.
However, if Anelka was determined to leave, City would believe they could command a fee in excess of £10million - which is far beyond Monaco's reach.
Instead, the French league club are looking to engineer a loan move - which City are set to repel.
Monaco sporting director Henri Biancheri told The Guardian: 'He's the absolute priority for (the coach) Didier Deschamps, for me and for the club.
'We believe it's Nicolas' wish to come to Monaco but the problem is that we can only organise a loan and Manchester City would want a permanent transfer.
'But Nicolas wants to play in a team that will be challenging for the title and he will have a chance of being in the France national team.'

Answer:

Juninho insists he is on the verge of completing his move to Celtic.
The Middlesbrough star underwent a medical yesterday and the fine details of his transfer still need some ironing out.
But the 31-year-old, who has slipped down the pecking order at the Riverside Stadium, admitted he was on the verge of penning a contract with the Bank of Scotland Premier League champions.
When asked if he had already signed for the Parkhead club, Juninho said: 'Not yet. Nearly.'
The Brazil international was omitted from the Boro squad for the Barclays Premiership opener against Newcastle on Saturday to underline the fact that manager Steve McClaren had other plans for his campaign this season, which did not include Juninho.
Celtic executive director Peter Lawwell has already announced the board's intention to back manager Martin O'Neill in his move for Juninho but conceded convincing the player to move to the SPL was the major obstacle to the deal.
However, O'Neill did have the lure of a guaranteed Champions League spot up his sleeve to tempt the playmaker north of the border.
Now Juninho is on the verge of making the move from Teesside once an outstanding matter is resolved.
A Celtic spokesman said: 'He is still in discussions with the club and nothing has been signed yet.
'We have had very positive talks with the player and he had a medical.
'Hopefully, we will have some more news within the next 48 hours or so.'
Celtic have signed just one new player this summer, with the year-long loan arrival of Henri Camara from Wolves.
Juninho became a cult hero at Middlesbrough following his arrival in November 1995 for then manager Bryan Robson from Sao Paulo.
But, despite his undoubted talent, the Brazilian was unable to prevent the club being relegated from the English top flight in 1997.
Consequently, Juninho moved to Atletico Madrid that summer for £12million.
However, his stay in Spain became a nightmare as he spent loan periods at Boro, Vasco da Gama and Flamengo before returning to Teesside on a full-time basis for £6million two years ago.
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