SPURS TO MAKE UNITED PAY £32m
Football managers are generally irked by the papers at the best of times, but it looks like the fourth estate have p***ed Tottenham off something rotten, if you believe The Daily Mirror
Word in quite a few papers this morning is that Dimitar Berbatov's move to Manchester United is sewn up for around £28million, but the Mirror caught our eye with the theory that Spurs are so irritated by reports that the deal is done, that they will make United pay £32million to get their man.
Apparently Daniel Levy is royally miffed that United made a 'phantom' £20million bid for Thierry Henry in order to smoke Spurs out, and has upped the asking price accordingly.
AND WHO IS GOING TO REPLACE BERBA?
Meanwhile, plenty of news on who Spurs will be spending some of that £32million on.
The Daily Mail claims that Spurs have increased their initial offer for Andrei Arshavin, from an initial £12.5million to around £17million, in the hope that Zenit St Petersburg will settle for that. Arshavin's loquacious agent Dennis Lachter is apparently in Russia to try and push through the deal.
Meanwhile, the Mail also reckons Magic Juande wants to bring the new and improved Fredi Kanoute back to White Hart Lane. Pre-Ramos, Kanoute was an intensely frustrating but talented loper, but post he was turned into a La Liga goal machine.
However, apparently interest in Roman Pavlyuchenko has cooled.
SET TO RUN AND RUN AND RUN AND RUN...
Another transfer saga involving Real Madrid looks like it's going to bang on for a bit longer, if words in The Daily Star are to be believed.
Wagner Ribeiro, Robinho's agent, has been sounding off again at how shoddily Real are treating his client, and how he wants the move to Chelsea to go through.
"I will try and do everything possible to get this resolved," he said in the Daily Star.
"It is what Chelsea and Peter Kenyon want but there is no way they will pay what Madrid want."
Ye gods.
SPARKY MAKES ROQUE BID
After the papers yesterday were full of gossip that Mark Hughes had been told to keep his sticky mitts off Roque Santa Cruz, The Sun reckons good old Sparky has completely ignored those warnings and tabled a £12million bid for his old mucka.
However, it might not be that well received, if The Sun's 'source' at Rovers is to be trusted:
"City asked whether we'd be interested in selling Santa Cruz but were told very definitely the answer was no.
"There's no plans to sell him this summer, particularly not to Manchester City. We've done all the selling we are going to do."
WHY SO IN DEMAND?
Word flying around yesterday was that Newcastle were on the verge of signing Tiago on loan from Juventus, but The Daily Mail this morn reckons Everton will try to improve their rather shaky-looking squad with a cheeky late bid for the Portuguese midfielder.
Quite why he's in such high demand is unclear. After all, you have to wonder about someone who is 27 and hasn't spent more than two seasons at any one club.
More fun and games at Goodison Park are reported in The Daily Mirror, after a loan move for Vagner Love apparently fell through after David Moyes was, get this, misled by agents.
Surely not.
Still, the paper reckons Moyes will dry his eyes on Alan Smith's shoulder, with a move for the non-striker/non-midfielder to be rushed through pronto.
ARSENAL IN FOR HAYNES?
Quick line from The Daily Mirror, who claim that Arsenal will make a sneaky bid for Ipswich striker Danny Haynes.
Little more to say on that one, other than it probably won't happen.
DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING?
Another quick line from The Daily Mirror, who do little to allay fears that Paul Ince's spell at Blackburn will be a disaster.
They claim that he is going to replace the potentially outgoing Stephen Warnock with.....Fulham's Paul Konchesky.
Lordy.
AND THE REST...
David Silva has agreed a pay rise to stick with Valencia...Burnley and Leeds are battling for Ipswich centre-back Alex Bruce...Cardiff defender Glenn Loovens is wanted by Rangers and Celtic...Harry Redknapp has been told he has no more money to spend before the transfer window...Kevin Keegan is facing another battle with the Newcastle hierarchy in his bid to keep James Milner at St James's Park...Aston Villa last night made a £9million offer for Newcastle winger James Milner...Ipswich and Norwich are again vying for Shola Ameobi's signature.