barry for liverpool?

It would appear that Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry's days at Villa Park are now numbered.

His agent Alex Black, told the BBC that Barry has plans to play Champions League football next season. He has apparently informed Villa boss Martin O'Neill and it now looks certain that Liverpool will continue with their barely disguised interest in the England man.

O'Neill will still be desperate to keep Barry but it will be difficult if the player has come to a decision. O'Neill has been critical of Liverpool's interest, but it looks as though he might lose out.

Liverpool are keen to partner Barry in midfield with his England colleague Steven Gerrard and have declared their interest publicly, much to O'Neill's fury.

It was reported that Liverpool had a previous bid of £12million rejected by Villa who are said to be looking for at least £15million.

The asking price could just prove to be a problem for the Anfield Club as Rafa Benitez has gone public on his club's website to say that money will be tighter than he had hoped. Presumably this as a result of the childish and embarrassing feud between the owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

"If we had a lot of money to spend it would obviously be better," Benitez said, "But if we don't, it doesn't matter.

"It is not about buying the most expensive players, it is about buying the right players and we can sell some players to get the others we need. We have the spine of the team and we just need others in other positions."

barcelona confirm clear out

New Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has announced his arrival by confirming that the big three of Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto'o and Deco are free to leave the Camp Nou as none of them form part of his plans.

In something of a surprise, Guardiola confirmed that he was looking to buy a new striker to partner Thierry Henry. Many people had thought that Henry may be on his way out of the club after an unimpressive first season during which he became a target for some of the fans.

He has continued to disappoint in Euro 2008 (written prior to the France v Italy game!) and hasn't really produced the goods for a couple of seasons.

Guardiola said, "We will look at the possibility of bringing in a winger, but if we don't that's fine. The priority is a number nine, we need one to complement Henry and Bojan. I want the three to feel like first-team starters."

It is rumoured that midfielder Deco could join his Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari when he becomes the boss at Chelsea next season, while Ronaldinho has been linked with Milan, Chelsea and surprisingly, even Manchester City.

Cameroon international striker Samuel Eto'o has also been linked with a move to Milan, but has many admirers in the Premier League, with Tottenham thought to be leading the chase if they lose Dimitar Berbatov.

Although all of this is just rumour at the moment it is impossible that any of three superstars would be unable to find another high profile club.

Guardiola has made it clear that from next season this will be his team and that he is not afraid to make big decisions. The position of these three players is untenable at the club and they have no choice but to move on.

unlucky cr7?

The tiresome Ronaldo saga rumbles on with the player undergoing surgery on his ankle today with reports suggesting that he could be out of action for up to six weeks, this on the very day that Real Madrid's unofficial press organ Marca predicted that Ronaldo would become their player. It hasn't happened and it seems unlikely that it will happen this summer with United refusing to (publicly at any rate) admit there's any chance of Ronaldo being allowed to join the Spanish club.

Ramón Calderón, the Real Madrid president tried to mount a brown-nosing charm offensive at the weekend when claiming that Manchester are "friends" of Madrid. Oh really? No surprise that the forgetful one never mentioned the fact that the Reds have reported Real to FIFA for alleged tapping.

The Spanish club have been stirring it nicely from the sidelines, though they have by and large been quite clever when allowing the press to do their bidding for them. Clearly this strategy has failed, because Calderón is now publicly being quoted on the matter, today he has told United that they should be proud that Real want our star player. Does Ramón Calderón realise how dumb this sounds? It's a bit like lobbing a hand-grenade into your neighbour’s garden and then shouting over the garden fence "we are still your friends".

It sounds like Ramón Calderón has become desperate to capture Ronaldo this summer, his club have been sending out very clear messages of intent to their supporters, hinting that it was only a matter of time before the player signed. However, it is looking increasingly likely that Calderón's clumsy big-footed attempts to walk all over United have failed, hence his stupid comments today.

Ramón Calderón and his god awful club need to understand that United are a massive club who do not take kindly to their star players being poached. There is a way of doing things, but as Fergie said recently, Real believe that they can ride roughshod over all. Let us hope that in this case it turns out to be unlucky number seven for Real Madrid and that Ronaldo reaffirms his commitment to United soon

Riise to roma???

Liverpool's long serving left-back John Arne Riise is believed to be discussing a possible 6m euros (£4.75m) move to Serie A side AS Roma.

The AS Roma website states that the club have been given permission by Rafa Benitez to discuss personal terms with the 27-year-old Norwiegan international player.

Riise has been with the Anfield club for nearly seven years and has played his part in winning the FA Cup, League Cup and, of course, the Champions League.

Liverpool are refusing to comment on any transfer rumours but this one would seem to have some substance as Riise was generally second choice to Brazilian full back Fabio Aurelio last season who has established himself as the club's first choice left-back.

Riise has long been a target for AS Roma and with Liverpool unlikely to want him as first choice, they may well be happy to take the money.

Riise has been a great servant for Liverpool and has scored some spectacular goals. A magnificent strike against Manchester United at Anfield some years ago springs to mind. Unfortunately, he may well be remembered more for the goal he scored at the wrong end in this season's Champions League semi-final against Chelsea that may well have ultimately cost his side a place a in the final.

For such a great and loyal player it would be a shame to bow out on such a low.

berbatov to mu???

According the player's agent, Manchester United want to sign Dimitar Berbatov this summer, just like we reportedly wanted to sign him in 2006 before he moved to Spurs. So after two relatively successful seasons playing for the North London club, it seems that the Red Devils have rekindled their interest in the Bulgarian. It actually beggars belief that Berbatov chose Spurs over United, given Tottenham's lack of success over the last 20 years.

While there's question marks about the Bulgarian's choice of clubs, there's even more questions about his suitability to lead United's attack. Many observers say that he's more than a bit lazy, added to which there's been suggestions that he's prone to sulking - nothing particularly unique where footballers are concerned.

But what of his playing attributes, what exactly would Berbatov bring to the United squad that we don't already have? Certainly not pace - the Bulgarian would probably come third in a sprint with Rooney and Tevez. What Berbatov does well though is link the play around the penalty area, he's probably the best in the business in this respect, but Rooney also excels in this area.

When comparing United's existing strikers, Berbatov probably has more presence given his stature and he's certainly much more composed than Saha, for whom the exit door will surely beckon once the Bulgarian is signed.

Like Cantona before him Berbatov has that ability to find that killer pass, and like Eric he should thrive at Old Trafford, especially in the Premier League, but it will be interesting to see how well the Bulgarain does in Europe.

The only major stumbling block is the fee, quite why United should go beyond £20m is hard to justify, given that no other European club is likely to come anywhere near that valuation. Spurs, being Spurs will try to fleece the Reds and let us not forget them letting it be known via sources they'd have accepted a lot less for Carrick once the deal had been done for £18m....

Potential line-up and food for thought for Fergie on selection issues:

.................... Van der Sarr...............

Gary Neville (Brown).....Rio.....Vidic.......Evra

Ronaldo (Nani)...Hargreaves (Carrick).....Anderson (scholes)......Tevez (Giggs)

.............Berbatov (Manucho).......Rooney

That team has the potential to win the lot again next season.

totenham

The news that Tottenham have agreed a deal with PSV Eindhoven to sign goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, subject to personal terms, a medical and a work permit seems to be further proof that Juande Ramos is looking to turn Tottenham into serious top four contenders next season.

Gomes is Ramos's third big signing in the close season after the capture of Mexico international Giovani Dos Santos from Barcelona and Croatian midfielder Luka Modric.

Gomes has a fine pedigree and at the age of just twenty-seven, has several years ahead of him at the top level. He has played for Brazil and helped PSV to the Dutch title last season conceding only 24 league goals.

He is already well known to Tottenham fans as his penalty save from Jermain Jenas penalty played a significant part in their exit from Europe.

It seems likely that this signing will signal the departure of Paul Robinson from Tottenham after a nightmare couple of years. Gomes will not have been signed to sit on the bench.

I know exciting times have been promised and then not materialised several times at White Hart Lane over the years, but I really do think that there could be some great times ahead. These are three quality signings and Juande Ramos is not a man who will accept anything other than success.

Unless Arsenal start to bring in some quality, they may just have to keep a wary on eye on their nearest neighbours over the coming months

rafa ambitions

You have to begin to question the ambition Liverpool are displaying so far during this close season. Their main target seems to be Gareth Barry, an excellent player, but one to improve them sufficiently to win the Premier League? It has now been announced that they are hoping to complete the signing of Udinese full-back Andrea Dossena next week. Dossena has just one cap for Italy and again, is not the star player that the Liverpool fans may have been expecting to arrive. Dossena will be seen as a replacement for John Arne Riise who signed for Roma earlier this month. Chief Executive Rick Parry took the opportunity to praise the contribution of the Norwegian defender over the last seven years. "He worked hard and never gave us a minute's trouble. The fans will remember that powerful shot of his that brought them to their feet on many occasions. We had a good chat about his time here and he wants to thank the fans for the support he was given down the years. He secured Champions League and FA Cup success at Anfield and also helped us win the Worthington Cup and two European Super Cups." The fact that Dossena will become manager Rafael Benitez's second signing of the summer following the arrival of Swiss full-back Phillip Degen on a free transfer, doesn't seem to send the message that Liverpool are preparing to launch a real challenge to the supremacy established by Chelsea and Manchester United. Of course, there could be some big names to come. The Anfield faithful will be hoping so.

lovely crouch

It would appear that Peter Crouch is on his way to Portsmouth from Liverpool. This is a wonderful signing for the South Coast club who will be looking to push on from last year's FA Cup win.

The deal is believed to be worth between nine and eleven million pounds, depending on which newspaper you read, but is definitely well short of Rafa Benitez's original valuation of the lanky front man at fifteen million.

Crouch scored eleven goals for Liverpool last season in a year when he only started nine games. His overall record at the club of forty goals in one hundred and thirty five appearances is good. Despite being unable to convince Benitez that he was worth a starting role in his side, Crouch remained a very dangerous substitute to bring on and was popular with the Liverpool faithful.

At Portsmouth, Crouch will be playing alongside his occasional England partner Jermaine Defoe. The two of them will have a great opportunity to forge an effective partnership that it will be hard for Fabio Capello to ignore when he selects his sides for the World Cup qualifiers.

The two men will provide a formidable strike-force for Premier League defences to worry about and Portsmouth could easily be challenging for a European place again.

Crouch has scored goals wherever he has been and his record of fourteen goals in twenty-eight appearances for England bears comparison to any other striker. He has been a little unlucky to be left out of things over the past few months but if this move goes ahead, he will have the perfect opportunity to show everyone just how good he is

who next?.....LAMPARD

It appears that one of the worst kept secrets of the summer seems to be heading towards a resolution. Inter have actually made an official offer for Frank Lampard.

Discussions will take place over personal terms and Scolari claims that Lampard wants to stay at Chelsea, but there seems to be every likelihood that Lampard will actually be heading to the San Siro to reunite with Jose Mourinho.

I wouldn't blame Lamps for heading to Italy. He was a great player for West Ham but was booed and jeered by their fans. He has been a wonderful servant to England but was disgracefully booed and jeered by England fans.

He always seems to me to be a likable, hard working and dedicated player who is a decent role model. I have never been able to understand why he seems to be so unpopular.

Maybe the Inter fans will appreciate what he will bring to their team. The Chelsea fans love him, rightly so. He has been an integral part of their side during the most successful period of their history.

It will be a shame to see a talent like Frank Lampard leaving the Premier League but I don't blame him for considering it, and if he goes, I wish him the very best of luck.

sidwel to aston villa

Aston Villa appear to have agreed to sign Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell in a £5million deal subject to him passing a medical.

Villa boss Martin O'Neill now expects the signing of a player he has long admired to be completed within the next couple of days. Sidwell would seem to be a straight replacement for Gareth Barry, who seems destined to end up at Liverpool.

Sidwell, the twenty-five year old midfielder, failed to establish himself at Chelsea after moving from Reading on a free transfer last summer.

Sidwell played a big role in Reading gaining promotion to the top flight for the first time two years ago, but he rejected a new contract that summer and left Reading on a free transfer to move to Chelsea in 2007.

Martin O'Neill has been talking about who might skipper his Villa team this season if Barry does leave and he has given a huge hint that it might be Martin Laursen. "There are a number of people on the list and Martin Laursen would certainly be one of the names I'd be thinking about. He was terrific last season. There are a number of people who would want it but there are a number of people who are on my list who might not want it. I haven't discussed it yet. There are quite a few candidates at the club and perhaps others not yet at the club so that's something I'll look at further down the line."

It could be that Sidwell could walk into the skippers role.

Come on Villa fans, would Sidwell be a decent replacement for Gareth Barry?

ADEBAYOR

Is Emmanuel Adebayor leaving Arsenal to go to Milan or not? This saga is worse than the Lampard to Inter or Ronaldo to Real Madrid fiascos. I am beginning to not care whether he goes or not and I reckon a lot of Arsenal fans are beginning to feel that way as well.

First of all the player said he wanted to go and then he made it clear he was staying and wanted to stay. Well, it was clear for a few minutes because when he was asked again just a few minutes later he said he didn't know whether he was staying or going.

First of all Arsenal said that the player was not for sale and that he wasn't going anywhere. Then Milan claimed that he had been offered to them. Arsenal again said that he wasn't going and slapped a thirty-five million pound price tag on him.

That price was too rich for Milan and their interest seemed to cool. As a result, it is now reported that Arsenal have halved the asking price!

How much of this is media speculation, how much of this is rumour stirred up by Adebayor's agent, how much of this is simply made up and how much of this is true, we shall never know. What I do know is that this is yet another prolonged transfer that is leaving a sour taste in everybody's mouth. If he is to stay at Arsenal how can the Arsenal fans continue to see him as a hero?

I don't know how Fifa and Uefa can repair the damage that is being done to the game but they need to act very quickly to ensure that we don't have another summer like this one in relation to murky and seedy transfer dealings.