Argentina international Ever Banega will spurn interest from three Premier League clubs to join Marseille, according to Spanish newspaper Superdeporte. talkSPORT told you earlier this month that Sunderland boss Gus Poyet was closing in on an £8m deal for the Valencia midfielder, who is approaching the end of a loan spell at Newell’s Old Boys in his homeland. Tottenham, whose new manager Mauricio Pochettino was linked with Banega during his time in charge of Southampton, and Everton have also trailed the former Boca Juniors man. However, it is believed the 25-year-old will turn his back on England in order to move to Ligue 1 side Marseille. Banega is tempted by the prospect of working under his compatriot Marcelo Bielsa and will now look to seal a switch to the French team this summer.
SUNDERLAND will have to pay more than £10m to take Fabio Borini back to the Stadium of Light this summer on a permanent basis. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is in no rush to offload Borini until he has examined the progress he has made during pre-season when it begins in July. But if an interested club comes in with an offer in excess of the £10.5m paid to Roma for him in July 2012 then the Reds could be willing to cash in. Borini is high in Gustavo Poyet’s thinking but he would be reluctant to invest a large slice of his transfer budget on just one player this summer, regardless of how well he did on loan last season. The 23-year-old scored ten goals during his nine months on Wearside, seven of those were from his 25 Premier League starts, and such form has led to Liverpool believing he is worth in the region of the sum they paid for him. Such a stance has led to the suggestions that Adam Johnson could be used as a makeweight in the deal, although Liverpool have other options in mind ahead of him despite an interest. Rodgers is desperate to add at least one winger to his squad before the start of next season and Southampton are looking for in excess of £25m for a winger who has travelled to Brazil with England’s World Cup squad. Lallana is very much the priority at this stage, but there are alternatives in mind with Bayern Munich’s Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri, Manchester City’s James Milner, Barcelona’s Alexis Sanchez and Benfica’s Lazar Markovic all under serious consideration at Anfield. Rodgers has previously been interested in Dnipro’s Yevhen Konoplyanka, although Johnson would cost a lot less than all of those players which could yet appeal to the Liverpool boss. Johnson, 26, missed out on a World Cup call this summer and he had hoped his move to Sunderland in 2012 from Manchester City would have improved his international chances because of more first team football. The move closer to his Easington-roots has not gone according to plan so far, although he showed in January and February just how effective he can be in the Premier League when he finds top gear. Rodgers is understood to have admired Johnson’s ability since his days as Chelsea’s youth team and reserve team manager, when the North-East talent was a key part of Middlesbrough’s academy system. There has been talk of Liverpool’s Merseyside rivals Everton being interested in taking Johnson on loan, but Sunderland – who are not interested in signing Newcastle target Bafetimbi Gomis - would not feel the benefit of such a deal and would still have to find a replacement. Sunderland, meanwhile, are set to have a new analyst next season. Carlisle United’s Chris Blake, 27, has left the Cumbrians’ youth set-up to take on an Under-21s role at the Stadium of Light. He has previously had a short spell working at Sunderland.
Sunderland are willing to cash in on Steven Fletcher this summer. According to The Sunderland Echo Fletcher, a £12m Martin O’Neill signing, scored only 3 times in an injury-disrupted campaign and the club might listen to offers if an acceptable one is made. Fletcher has been linked with Celtic, Hull City and in the past.
One man out the door this summer could be Fabio Borini. The Italian spent the season on loan at Sunderland last term impressing with 10 goals for the Black Cats. And the Northern Echo report that Gus Poyet is prepared to launch a bid to be reunited with the 23-year-old this season. It is understood Liverpool would be willing to sell for a fee in the region of £10.5m. Whether Sunderland can stretch to such a figure is less clear at this stage. Liverpool transfer rumours: Reds dealt Pedro blow as Fabio Borini nears exit door Brendan Rodgers has already snapped up Rickie Lambert and Emre Can this summer but who else could he add to his ranks at Anfield ahead of next season? mirror.co.uk
Swansea City have turned down Sunderland’s £4million offer for Ashley Williams and told them to return with a bigger offer. The Black Cats have made the centre-back their priority target and tabled an opening bid for the Wales defender last week but sources in South Wales have indicated that the first offer was rebuffed by Swansea. Indeed Sunderland have been informed that Swansea do not want to sell – but that determination will be tested because Williams only has one year left on his contract. Last week his agent Jamie Moralee warned that the Swans risked losing him for nothing if they did not either resolve his contract situation or sell him. “Ash has only got one year left on his contract, so clubs will look at that. If a new contract is not agreed or they don’t accept one of the bids, Swansea could risk losing him for nothing,” he said. Swansea will be reticent to deal with Sunderland in the summer but the Black Cats are working hard to try and secure a deal for a player that they view as a statement of their intent under Gustavo Poyet. They have already signed Billy Jones from West Brom and Jordi Gomez, the Wigan midfielder, but they are looking for players who will take them to the next level. Williams is seen as one of those, although this saga may stretch into pre-season with Swansea intent on at least fighting to keep him. Meanwhile, former Sunderland striker Martin Smith has piled praise on Connor Wickham – who came back from a loan spell at Leeds to fire the Black Cats to safety. He said: “Connor’s played some football in the Championship and come back sharp and slotted in nicely. “He took that confidence from scoring twice against Manchester City into the rest of the season and you could see that in his all-round game. “As well as getting that goals he was holding the ball up well and bringing other people into play. “If you’re scoring goals, chances tend to drop for you in good positions and Connor made the most of that.”
Ooo A local site! Could mean he doesn't want to sign a new deal. His bird must be keeping him well happy.
He he. Shall we donate some wine and chocolate to her, and some kinky underwear....just to keep him up here.
9 mins · @The_MUFC_Agent According to my source Sunderland have contacted Manchester United regarding the possible transfer of Tom Cleverly. More to come! ‪#‎MUFC‬
Thats the end of that one then @CPFC The club are pleased to confirm that Julian Speroni has signed a new contract at Selhurst Park cpfc.co.uk/news/article/s… http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BqBQ7x3CMAAauYk.jpg pbs.twimg.com pbs.twimg.com
Well, not sure what to say about that, but if that happens, bye bye AJ I'd be surprised if we forked out that much so early on in the window.
