Wanyama shows interest to join Arsenal

Wanyama’s mentor confirms Arsenal interest in his ward

Victor Wanyama’s footballing mentor Jean-Marie Abeels and also his coach at his youth academy back home in Kenya has confirmed that the Celtic midfielder wants to join Arsenal.

The Belgian coach says that 10 million pound rated Kenyan international has already had contact with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. The 21 year old was linked with a number of top European clubs including the likes of Manchester United after excelling in the Champions League for Celtic this season.

Jean-Marie Abeels told the Daily Mail that the Arsenal manager had reportedly contacted Celtic a month ago to discuss the possibility of a move to North London. His youth academy coach though thinks that Wanyama should think about the move to such a big club and that he would prefer if Victor took a step somewhere in the middle so that he can continue to develop by playing regular first team football before making the big step up to a top club.

Wanyama captured the attention of the footballing world by scoring the winning goal against Barcelona at Parkhead. However, the youngster is predominantly a defensive midfielder and would add a much needed layer of steel in front of the Arsenal back four.

With Arsenal known to be a club which relishes developing young talent, Wanyama would no doubt benefit greatly from the move, and it will be interesting to see if Arsenal follow up their interest in the midfielder in the coming weeks.

Ramsey: Wanyama is welcome in Arsenal

Ramsey: Wanyama is welcome in Arsenal
In an interview with The Daily Nation while holidaying in beautiful Kenya, Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey confessed that he would be delighted to welcome Celtic youngster Victor Wanyama to the squad should the Kenyan superstar make a big money move to the North London side this summer. .

Ramsey, who appears to have got another lease of life on his Arsenal career, playing in a deeper role in midfield this season, is still nowhere near the young talent who first landed at the Emirates before having his leg horrifically broken by Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross. But one can see the confidence return in the Welshman, and it is even more admirable that he would welcome an addition to the squad who could potentially curtail his playing time!

Ramsey said in an interview with the local Kenyan newspaper, “I have watched him (Wanyama) play for Celtic, I watched him score against Barcelona and I think he is a great player. Whether he will join us is for other people to decided.”

Following the departure of Alex Song to Barcelona, Arsenal have not really replaced the powerful Cameroonian with a natural defensive midfielder, with Mikel Arteta deployed in a creative holding role in front of the back four. While that works well for Arsenal going forward, against certain teams it is beneficial to have a player who is better suited for the role, a position Wanyama would fit perfectly into.

The Gunners are very keen on signing the 21 year old as his athleticism and his combative nature in the center of the park is just what Arsenal need. His signing could also help Arsenal use both Ramsey and Arteta to link up play going forward, and leave the defending to the powerful Kenyan. The player’s versatility meanwhile would be a bonus.

Ramsey was quick to add that for a player from Kenya to win the young player of year award in Scotland shows that there is great football potential in the country.

The return of the “special one”

The return of the “special one”

Jose Mourinho has returned to Chelsea for his second term at Stamford Bridge on a four year contract and unlike the other new managers making their way into the Premier League, the Portuguese sensation has immediately got down to work. According to the Daily Mail he could well sign up to 5 new players in the summer transfer window. The targets are reportedly Fiorentina’s striker Stevan Jovetic, Manchester City’s super sub Edin Dzeko, Porto’s young French center half Eliaquim Mangala, Roma’s veteran midfielder Daniele De Rossi and Shakhtar Donetsk’s Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho. The Mail also believes that young Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, who just returned from a loan spell at West Brom, will not be shipped out again on loan next season.

Mourinho shared in his address on Chelsea TV that he wanted to improve his team not just by buying new players but also improving the players currently in the squad, a strong indication that he wants to improve his image as a manager, one which has been tainted by the enormous funds that have been made available to him to “buy success” wherever he has gone. Mourinho also said that he would like to start from scratch and forget that he was a champion in the Premier League before.

He claimed that he is the complete one rather than the special one as he is back with Blues. Mourinho said that he wanted to change the fact that he has never stayed at one club for more than 4 years in his 13 year career. The former Real Madrid coach has understood that even though there are 4 or 5 players who were there when he was the manager, the squad is filled with youngsters. He confessed that he has arrived in the best moment of his career. Mourinho has brought with him to Stamford Bridge, his trusted assistants.

Michu to Arsenal?

Arsenal plot summer swoop of star Spanish striker

Miguel Perez Cuesta better known as Michu had an exhilarating debut season in the Premier League with Welsh club Swansea City as he banged in an incredible 22 goals and 4 assists. Michu was arguably the buy of the season having joined Swansea from Rayo Vallecano for just 2 million pounds at a time when clubs quote fees in excess of 30-40 million pounds for a half decent striker.

Michu announced himself on the Premier League stage with a bang, scoring a brace on debut, and was crucially one of the more consistent players over the course of the season, barely having a lean spell. Swansea procured Michu on a real steal despite him being the highest scoring midfielder in La Liga the season before, and left many top clubs asking their scouts if they had been caught napping letting such a fantastic prospect slip through their grasp.

The 27 year old, who was converted into a striker by the Welsh club due to the poor goal return of Danny Graham, was his club’s standout performer. Swansea had an incredible season, winning the Capital One Cup to capture their first major trophy, and also finished in 9th place in the Premier League standings.

The Daily Mail reports that Michu is now on top of the shopping list for London giants Arsenal, who are looking to bolster their ranks with some top notch striking talent. The player’s ability to fit in either as the lead striker or in the hole behind one makes him a fantastic prospect for the Gunners, while his aerial ability would be a huge bonus for a side that is known for playing silky one touch football.

Swansea though got the Spaniard to commit to a 4 year deal in January this year, and are under no obligation to sell the player. Arsenal will need to make a blockbuster offer to get them to reconsider their stance, with the Gunners likely to be rather unpopular in the Welsh countryside if they do snatch Michu and club skipper Ashley Williams from the Swans this summer.

NEYMAR TO CAMP NOU

Barcelona has confirmed the signing of the 21 year old Santos super striker. On Monday Neymar will sign his 5 year contract which will keep him in Barcelona until 2018. The striker who has been with the Brazilian club Santos since he was 17 has been on the transfer news for the last two years. The club (Santos) has said that they have tried their utmost best to keep the player in Brazil by turning down a number of deals. In the last two days Santos had confirmed that they had received two offers.

Barcelona like every year is trying to improve their attack. It is clear that they want to stay the best club in the world even with the embarrassing defeats to Bayern in the Champions league and to Real Madrid in the Copa Del Ray. When Neymar joins the squad it will be strengthened for sure and it will take a lot of pressure off Messi. In the recent past Barcelona has not played well when Messi hasn’t played well. It is not sure if Messi will have great synergy with Neymar but there is one thing that is sure, with passes and plays created by Xavi and Iniesta. Neymar’s chances of scoring goals will improve tremendously. One of the negatives that Barca might face is the fact that Neymar coming into the team will reduce the starting appearances of Alexis Sanchez, David Villa, Tello and Pedro.

WAYNE ROONEY AND ARSENAL: TO BE OR NOT TO BE

While it is known to all that Wayne Rooney’s deep-seated allegiance to the legendary English football club Manchester United has waned away for the second time in the last three years, it is unknown whether he will join any other football club in the near future or choose to dismiss the idea and retain his loyalty for his existing club. However, it is rumored that the highly acclaimed football player does not wish to resume his career as a footballer hailing from a club in the United Kingdom, and instead wishes to expand his horizons by exploring football clubs in other nations.

When it comes to the subject of Wayne Rooney joining the ranks of the esteemed football club Arsenal, the chances are grim. A large contributing factor to this almost inevitable conclusion is that Rooney’s weekly wage is more than double of the highest-grossing Arsenal player Lucas Podolski, whose weekly wage is just in excess of £100,000 though Arsenal has more than enough funds to afford the transfer fee for Rooney; a fact that contradicts the above statement. Despite this, chances of Rooney joining Arsenal FC are still slim, as he is rumored to be in contact with two other clubs who are more capable of meeting his financial demands; PSG and Real Madrid.
Rooney’s enigmatic career while at a seemingly long hiatus is surely far from an ending altogether, but we are sure to see Rooney at action for years to come.

IS ANGEL DI MARIA, BECKHAM'S SUCCESSOR AT PSG

Angel Di Maria had an unsettled season with Real Madrid. The 25 year old versatile winger was only able to score 7 goals and give 5 assists in the league while he only managed 8 goals and 10 assists in the whole season. He only had 33 starts in his 48 appearances in the 2012/2013 season. Jose Mourinho, the Real Madrid manager had completely lost his trust of Di Maria after his poor start to season with the Los Blancos (18 appearances, 2 goals and 1 assist). The Argentinian only had three-four good matches in the whole season

Real Madrid is reportedly trying to offload both Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain to facilitate the transfer of Gareth Bale (£60 million) from Tottenham Hotspur who is considered to be one of the best players in the world. Both Manchester United and PSG have been looking at the versatile winger from Real Madrid for various reasons. While Manchester united has been looking at him as a replacement for Nani if he leaves, PSG the Ligue 1 champions have been looking at him as a replacement for David Beckham. Manchester United and PSG aren’t afraid to spend money on him as they have sufficient funds. PSG are supposedly ready to make a 17 million bid for him. Wherever he goes, his career is going upwards.