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UPDATED 2:15 PM, MAY 17, 2010
If anyone spotted a figure sneaking furtively around London at the weekend it might well have been
Barcelona
president Joan Laporta. Perhaps he was in town to take in the Tate Modern or perhaps he was here, as alleged by Catalan rag
Mundo Deportivo, to negotiate the purchase of
Cesc Fabregas from Arsenal.
The paper says that Fabregas will sit down with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger on Tuesday to discuss his future, not that there appears to be much to discuss. "I would like to go," Fabregas said recently, when asked if he wished to join Barcelona. "Whether they want me or not is another matter."
Given that the Spanish club – which clinched the domestic title at the weekend – has been stalking the injury-prone Fabregas for much of the season it appears the deal is all but done. Fabregas said last week that he wanted his future sorted out before the World Cup and
Mundo Deportivo claims that he will have signed for Barcelona by the end of the week.
As for the future of veteran Italian shotstopper
Gianluigi Buffon, nobody appears to know where he'll end up next season, least of all the poor player himself. Last week it seemed he was a Gunner in all but name but now it appears Manchester might be the 32-year-old's final destination with City and United said to be scrabbling for his services.
What is known is that Juventus are keen to offload their goalkeeper after nine years of service, but Buffon doesn't seem to have much say in the matter. "I do not know if this was my last match for Juventus," he said on Italian TV after Juventus had lost to AC Milan in the final game of the Italian domestic season. And pressed on whether he might be on the brink of a move to Manchester, Buffon was similarly clueless, saying: "I really do not know. These discussions have nothing to do with the problems we experienced this year."
Even if Arsenal do pass on Buffon, they may still head to Italy for a new keeper. According to Italian daily,
TuttoSport ,the Gunners are hoping to sign Bologna keeper
Emiliano Viviano. They will face competition from Fiorentina for the 6ft 4in 24-year-old, who is a former Italian Under-21 international.
But there is a silver lining even if they do miss out. Wenger is an admirer of the current Fiorentina stopper, Frenchman
Sebastien Frey, and, as the
Mirror points out, he may want to move on if Viviano arrives in Florence.
Meanwhile the
Mirror says that Manchester United has competition in its quest to sign
Phil Jagielka from Everton, namely Arsenal. The paper reports that the 27-year-old Jagielka, a doughty defender who has impressed for the Toffees since arriving from Sheffield United in 2007, has recovered from a knee injury that laid him low for much of this season and is now being courted by United and the Gunners with a fee of £15m being mooted.
The
Mirror says that Alex Ferguson would like Jagielka in his squad in case Rio Ferdinand’s injury problems persist next season, while Arsene Wenger sees the Manchester-born Jagielka as a replacement for the soon-to-be-departing
William Gallas.
The
Mirror also reports that Liverpool and Aston Villa are jostling to buy
Carlton Cole from West Ham after the Hammers rejected a Birmingham bid of £10m for the striker. Apparently the Blues put the money on the table - £8m in cash with a further £2m in bonuses – but the Hammers weren't happy with the offer.
With the London club desperate for cash, and with few players good enough to sell for anything more than a few quid, West Ham's rejection might seem strange. Unless, as the
Mirror suggests, they're trying to start a bidding war for Cole. It's known that Martin O'Neill has been a long-time admirer of the 26-year-old Cole and it's alleged the Villa boss has been in contact with West Ham about the player. And the
Mirror says that Liverpool have also been sniffing around.
Finally, the
Daily Mail says that Martin O'Neill might be about to lose one of his own players – England midfielder
James Milner, who is reported to be on the brink of moving to Manchester City in a deal worth £24m. But that's only if Chelsea doesn't have designs on the 24-year-old Milner, due to be flying to South Africa with the England World Cup squad today – ash cloud permitting.
The double champions have been linked with the player this season and so the
Mail warns us not to be surprised if Villa try to get £30m for him, making Milner one of the most expensive signings in English football.
