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Santos Star Neymar Still with Club…for Now
So everybody wants a piece of the goal-scoring phenom Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, more easily: Neymar. He’s a speedy, quick footed attacker who is of course a whiney brash little thing seeing that he’s all of 18 yrs-old. Playing alongside Robinho and Ganso has certainly helped him this year, but he is the type of player who would surely excel in any system that could feed him the ball 35 yrds out, as he’s quite capable of dribbling through the remainder of the defense from that point.
Clubs have lined up to get him, with Real, Chelsea, West Ham, Man City, and Barça among the suitors (yes, the Hammers don’t exactly fit with the level, but they do (try) and play possession football and are generally easy on the eye, though they lost often last season). Chelsea have felt the first sting of rejection, as their €20M offer was dismissed.
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Fulham: Jol Problems?
Trouble brewing for Fulham, as Martin Jol’s club Ajax don’t look like they’ll release their manager without a fight (perhaps you remember him from his run at Spurs). From Fulham’s Cheif Executive Alastair Mackintosh as reported by ESPN soccernet:
“There have been quotes attributed to Martin Jol in the Dutch media suggesting he has changed his mind and wants to stay, but that is not our understanding of the situation and we believe the quotes are ambiguous. We feel Martin still wishes to join Fulham.
“However, Ajax refuse to even discuss compensation and are clearly using this window of opportunity to try to persuade Martin to change his mind. There is the possibility that Martin could walk out on Ajax, but there are talks ongoing and there is the hope that everything could be settled amicably.”
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The Balotelli Effect
A move by Mario Balotelli, the high-strung striker at Inter, could see a number of subsequent movements among heavyweight sides. If the 19 yr-old product of Ghanian immigrants moves to Man City, it would free up funds for Inter coach Benitez to buy his old holding midfielder Javier Mascherano, or possibly the Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko (also on City’s radar) from Wolfsburg. The Balotelli deal is waiting for Robinho to move on, and Bellamy is sure to head off as well.
And now it seems that Chelsea are in the mix too:
Chelsea’s No 1 priority remains Torres, but the Spain striker feels loyalty to the Reds and would be keen to stay if the club show signs of being competitive once more. The Blues have also previously tracked Atletico Madrid’s Sergio Aguero and Alexandre Pato of AC Milan, but Ancelotti recently admitted his admiration for Balotelli. ‘It’s difficult to find a young player with this quality,’ said Ancelotti. ‘Even England struggles to find a player at this level.’
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Sal Zizzo: Back to MLS
23 yr-old midfielder Sal Zizzo has impressed in US youth sides, but didn’t have a great time at Hannover 86 after getting limited play, then tearing his ACL. He’ll be thrown into the weighted lottery tomorrow, meaning his most likely destinations are Kansas City or D.C., though in either case he’ll need to get his fitness back up before making any real impact.
“…the Wizards won a similar weighted lottery with teenage prospect Luis Gil. However, Gil wanted to play within a 20 hour drive of the Pacific Ocean, so his rights were traded to Real Salt Lake. And KC missed out on the next big thing in MLS.”
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Cole to ‘Pool, Mascherano to Inter?
Joe Cole is headed north to Anfield in a deal that sees him making £90,000 a week for the next four years. Not a bad haul, and he’ll probably get to play some too after falling out of favor down in London town. A nice signing for Hodgson, who is currently fretting over attempts at his holding midfielder, Javier Mascherano. Seems the old gaffer wants to bring the Argentine down to Milan. Hodgson is clearly anxious, even if he says he’s keeping cool:
Hodgson has placed a call to Mascherano, but has not heard anything back.
“He doesn’t need to make contact with me,” said Hodgson. “I’ve made contact with him telling him I’m looking forward to seeing him in training when he returns from his holiday but I did make the point in the voicemail that I didn’t expect him to contact me.
“I just wanted him to know that I had been in touch and that I was thinking of him. I didn’t ask him to call me back. I don’t have a lot to say to him, to be honest, other than ‘welcome back’.”
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Chicago Fire Sign Nery Castillo
26 year old attacker Nery Castillo (aka “the Brow” is moving from Greece to Chicago under the DP rule. He had a run around at Man City a couple years back, but broke a shoulder, lost all his playing time, and went back to Greece and Olympiakos, where he’d played the previous 7 seasons. He did well there, too:
Castillo made his professional debut at age 16 with Greek club Olympiakos FC in 2000. Castillo tallied 30 goals and played in 105 games for Olympiakos from 2000 to 2007, winning four Greek Super League Championships and two Greek Cups.
He’s a versatile attacker who can operate on the wings or in center, though he’s not entirely fit these days. Don’t get too used to him, fans. If he can find his form and fitness again he’ll be back in Europe for certain.
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The Capello Index
Better go check out this rating system (The Capello Index) that bares the England manager’s name before it’s taken down forever. It has nothing to do with Capello, and the man isn’t happy about it at all. The site only launched today, and may be gone tomorrow. And from the Guardian:
The England manager declared himself “angry” after the ratings were published in his name without his permission. “I did not authorise this and am angry the index was published,” Capello said in a statement released to Press Association Sport.