My BLoG: Manchester United To Bid £25m For Mesut Ozil Ahead...

My BLoG: Manchester United To Bid £25m For Mesut Ozil Ahead...: "Manchester United are set to move one step ahead of their rivals by putting in a £25 million bid for Germany star Mesut Ozil. The Old Traff..."

Manchester United And Manchester City In Bidding War For £33.5m Rated Inter Milan’s Mario Balotelli

Manchester United and Manchester City will both meet Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli’s agent Mino Raiola this week to discuss possible deals to join either Premier League clubs. The 19-year-old has been subject of interest from both clubs this summer, with United boss Sir Alex Ferguson rating the player so highly as to call him the next Cristiano Ronaldo, while City coach Roberto Mancini is also a firm admirer of the teenager after working with Balotelli during his time at the Giuseppe Meazza.

With Raiola having spent all summer hawking his client to every club this summer in search of a mega-million pound move, both clubs will now be submitting details of a package for the player’s consideration before opening a bidding war for Balotelli with Inter.

The Italian and European champions are reportedly demanding at least £33.5 million for their young enigmatic talent, with new Inter boss Rafael Benitez keen to make use of the funds made available from the transfer to seal moves for other priority transfer targets.

With Balotelli keen to leave the Giuseppe Meazza after a season that has seen him fall out of favour amongst the Inter fans, Benitez is hoping to bring in reinforcements in the form of either highly rated Palermo and Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani or his former work horse protege at Liverpool Dirk Kuyt.

Kuyt spoke last week of his desire to discuss a deal with the Anfield giants that would see him end his career on Merseyside, while Palermo are refusing to sell their prized asset to Inter, thus Benitez may have tougher wheeling and dealing to do in the future.

Inter are also confident of keeping Brazilian defender Maicon at the club following reports that Real Madrid are struggling to come up with the funds to meet the Italians’ valuation of £30 million for the player. Real boss Mourinho is desperate to bring the player with him to the Bernabeu but club president Florentino Perez is understood to want to draw a line under the club’s spending after seeing rivals Barcelona experiencing financial collapse recently. Maicon has also changed his tune last week after claiming that he might choose to stay with Inter this summer.

Manchester United To Bid £25m For Mesut Ozil Ahead Of Rivals

Manchester United are set to move one step ahead of their rivals by putting in a £25 million bid for Germany star Mesut Ozil. The Old Trafford outfit are eager to get a big signing on board after failure to wrap up any deals this summer so far due to financial restrictions, but it is believed that manager Sir Alex Ferguson is confident of signing the Werder Bremen playmaker.

Ozil was pivotal in Germany’s sensational semi final run in the 2010 World Cup finals and has been hailed by many critics as the new face of German football dominance, being born of Turkish descent but choosing to don the Deutschland national colours.

The midfielder has garnered rave reviews from all quarters with his impressive displays for his national side and Arsenal have been closely linked to the player this summer as manager Arsene Wenger seeks to replace wantaway midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

However, Ferguson is determined to hijack the deal and believes that Ozil will be a perfect replacement for aging veteran Paul Scholes, who has signed only an additional year to his current contract and could retire at the end of the next Premier League season.

United had their priority target Wesley Sneijder reject their advances after the Inter Milan and Netherlands star announced that his heart was with his present Serie A side and is not seeking to move elsewhere. The Red Devils have thus decided to stick to their new policy of youth talent by opting for Ozil who is still in his early 20s.

Ozil has a year left on his current contract, so unless the Bundesliga club can convince the playmaker to extend his deal, they may have to consider any big money offer for the player now before the German international can walk away as a free agent next summer.

Real Madrid Plan £110m Swoop For Wayne Rooney And Steven Gerrard

Real Madrid are set to test the resolve of Manchester United and Liverpool to hold on to their top stars with a £110 million bid for Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard. New Real boss Jose Mourinho has made public his admiration for both England internationals and would like both players to join him in his Bernabeu revolution.

Gerrard was previously a key transfer target for Mourinho during his Chelsea days although the Liverpool icon ultimately chose to stay at Anfield, while the Portuguese coach said in a recent interview that signing Rooney would be a dream for him and Real, although he confessed that United were unlikely to part with their star striker.

But that is not stopping the La Liga giants from flashing the cash at both clubs who are known to be steeped in debt and facing a growing financial burden during to escalating interest payments on their loans. United have already struggled to compete in the transfer market this summer, having to pull out of several deals for Sir Alex Ferguson’s preferred players due to prices which were understood to be beyond their budget.

Liverpool have no money to speak of in terms of buying top players from Europe and the American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett will find the cash from a Gerrard sale to be useful in servicing their debt.

Real will now put aside £80 million of the £110 million for Rooney while the other £30 million would go to Liverpool in exchange for their captain Gerrard. According to the report in the Daily Star, Real have also asked Cristiano Ronaldo to convince Rooney of the benefits of a move to La Liga.

The La Liga giants are also interested in United’s defender Nemanja Vidic and reports have claimed that they have offered Karim Benzema plus cash in order to entice Ferguson into agreeing to the deal.

However, with Rooney frequently insisting that he has no interest in leaving Old Trafford nor English football, Real are likely to have to settle for Gerrard as a more possible target.

Manchester United Preparing €30m Bid For Karim Benzema

Manchester Untied are set to offer €30 million (£24.7 million) for Real Madrid’s French striker Karim Benzema as Sir Alex Ferguson continues his search for the one “big signing” that he promised the club’s fans this summer.

Spanish daily Marca revealed that United are in the final stages of making official their bid for the striker as Real Madrid prepare to consider the merits of the offer before making a decision whether to release one of their Galactico signings from last summer.

The Red Devils have yet to make any major signings this summer although Ferguson has been adding to the club’s swelling youth ranks with great potential including the likes of Mexican international Javier Hernandez – who impressed in the 2010 World Cup finals – and just earlier this week, the capture of Norther Ireland Under 17 captain Luke McCullough. But the United boss knows that he needs to improve the quality of his senior squad and Benzema’s capture would also help to alleviate some of the pressure and workload of chief striker Wayne Rooney.

Benzema was also previous a target for Ferguson in the past when he starred for Lyon, but United could not match the financial power of Real when the La Liga giants went in for the striker last summer, paying the Ligue One club €35 million for the player.

However, the move has failed to live up to its billing and Benzema has struggled to settle in Spain, leading to his exclusion from the France World Cup 2010 squad.

The 22-year-old could now be hoping to rebuild his career at Old Trafford and with Real considering a move for Arsenal striker Robin van Persie, Benzema’s days at the Bernabeu could be numbered.

If the French striker were to arrive at United, it could also spell the end of a pay as you play contract for Michael Owen. The former England international saw his attempts to revive his career last season ended prematurely by another hamstring injury and Ferguson could be ready to end his experiment with Hernandez waiting in the wings.

Manchester United to Sign Karim Benzema

Manchester United is now reportedly planning to sign Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema who did not have a successful debut season with the Spanish giants. Following his frustrating performances last season, Real Madrid is now ready to offload him and has reportedly valuated him at €30 million.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is reportedly going to sell two under-performed players Dimitar Berbatov and Anderson in the summer transfer market, and thus, arranging funds for Benzema deal.

After joining the Red Devils in 2008 from Tottenham Hotspur, Dimitar Berbatov has remained a shadow of his own self. In May 2010, the Bulgarian announced his retirement from international football so that he can concentrate more on his club career. In the last two years, Berbatov could never cement his place in the United starting line up.

Brazilian attacking midfielder Anderson is another player who failed to live up to the expectation at Manchester United. Since his move to Old Trafford from Porto in 2007, Anderson could earn only 55 Premier League appearances in 3 seasons and found the opposition net just once. Most of his appearances were substitute and it is pretty much clear that he failed to flourish his potential.

So, it is not a surprise that Manchester United is going to sell the duo to increase their transfer kitty, but the question is if Karim Benzema would be the right man to replace Berbatov.

The France international himself was struggling for form at Bernabe throughout the last season. He signed for Real Madrid for a €35 million transfer fees last summer. Now, after scoring 9 goals in 32 appearances last season, he is being valued in the region of €30 million.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, is interested to involve Manchester United’s Serbian center back Nemanja Vidic in a swap deal for Benzema. However, it seems less likely that Ferguson would let Vidic move to Spain when Rio Ferdinand is getting older and there is no one of similar quality around to replace Ferdinand.

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