by Gunnerz » Mon May 31, 2010 2:02 pm
за хэдэн шуум англи хэлээр тавьчихъя
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MARK SCHWARZER: I'm happy with life at Fulham has played down reports linking him with a move across London from Fulham to Arsenal. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is in the market for a new keeper after a string of high-profile errors from Manuel Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski last season. But Schwarzer, currently preparing with Australia ahead of the World Cup in South Africa, insists he is happy with life at Craven Cottage.
I'm happy with life at Fulham
The 37-year-old said: "I haven't heard anything other than what's been said or written in the papers, so it's purely speculative at the moment. I've got another year left on my contract at Fulham and I've really enjoyed my time at the club. I'm enjoying it and I see my future at the moment with Fulham. I don't see anything changing unless someone tells me otherwise."
Arsenal ready to move for Lorient centre-back Laurent Koscielny this week
Arsenal could move for Lorient centre-back Laurent Koscielny within the week. French sources claim that the Gunners are gearing up to make their move on the 24-year-old, who has become an integral part of Lorient’s back four this season. The Ligue 1 outfit are thought to be reluctant to part with their star defender, who has made 35 league appearances this season, but a bid in the region of £8million would be too much to resist. Arsene Wenger has previously stated that he wants the majority of his transfer dealing concluded before the World Cup, and with doubt still hanging over the futures of Sol Campbell and William Gallas, an official move for Koscielny may just be days away.
Arsenal bid for French centre-back Koscielny rejected
According to French daily L’equipe, Arsenal have had a bid turned down for Lorient defender Laurent Koscielny. The 24-year-old joined Lorient last summer from Tours for around £1.2million and impressed in 35 appearances last season, scoring three goals and helping Lorient to an impressive seventh position in the table. Having started his career playing in several positions, Koscielny has established himself as a commanding defender.
L’equipe reports that Arsenal offered almost 5 million Euros for Koscielny, but this bid was rejected by Lorient president Loic Fery, who is holding out for a fee of around 8 million Euros. It is thought that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has a summer war chest at his disposal and will particularly target a centre-back. Although Thomas Vermaelen impressed in his first season for the Gunners, there are doubts over the Arsenal futures of aging defenders Sol Campbell , William Gallas and Mikael Silvestre.
Arsene Wenger is set to make £10million defender Pape Malickou Diakhate the first new signing of his Arsenal revolution. The experienced Dinamo Kiev centre-back is the Senegalese vice-captain and a player that the Arsenal boss has tracked for more than two years. Wenger has already captured striker Marouane Chamakh from Bordeaux on a free transfer, but the move for Diakhate signals the Frenchman's intention to finally give in to calls to loosen the purse strings at the Emirates. It is also the first step towards strengthening an Arsenal backline whose frailties were ruthlessly exposed in the Champions League by Barcelona and in the Premier League by Spurs, Wigan and Blackburn over the past three weeks. Diakhate, who stands at 6ft, is currently on loan at St Etienne but will return to his parent club at the end of the season when he is expected to move to London permanently. Should that happen the 25-year-old defender, described as "aggressive, strong and quick" will team up with Thomas Vermaelan at the heart of the Gunners' defence.
Arsenal are not the only club to have followed Diakhate with Liverpool, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Chelsea all linked with a move for the defender over the past two seasons. Wenger insisted only last week that he would move to finalise his summer spending before the World Cup in June. William Gallas is refusing to sign a new deal at the Emirates as he is only being offered a one-year deal while Roma, Paris Saint Germain and Juventus are prepared to offer him two. Fulham's Brede Hangeland is also said to be on the Wenger radar, with Sol Campbell set to be offered a one-year deal as cover. And Wenger has been linked with a bid for Borussia Dortmund's rising Serbian star Neven Subotic. The Bundesliga club, however, insist any club interested in the 21-year-old would have to arrive with "two truckloads of cash" and Wenger maintains he is now looking for experienced players anyway. Not only does Diakhate have Champions League experience, he played against the Gunners for Kiev two years ago. The versatile six-footer can also play at left-back and as a defensive midfielder. He holds an EU passport having come through the ranks at French club Nancy.
Sagna: Diakhate would be a great signing for Arsenal
Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna believes that £10million-rated star Pape Malickou Diakhate would be an excellent signing for the club. MirrorFootball revealed on May 5 that the 25-year-old Dinamo Kiev centre-back is set to become the Gunners' first defensive signing this summer as Arsene Wenger revamps his backline. Versatile Diakhate can also play at left-back, left-midfield and defensive midfield. He has Champions League experience having played against the Gunners for Kiev two years ago and he has an EU passport having come through the ranks at French club Nancy.
Right-back Sagna said: "I know him. He is Senegalese like me and plays for the national team. He played for Nancy in France so I played against him a few times. I have met him a few times and he is a very good guy and a very good player. He is very dangerous at set-pieces. I don't know what the plan is for next year. We are all waiting to see what the manager does but Malickou he would be very welcome in our team."
The Kiev star is back in the Ukraine after six months on loan at French club St Etienne. Sunderland boss Steve Bruce, however, has entered the race to sign him while Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is also said to be keen. But Arsenal are understood to be in pole position with out-of-contract Sol Campbell a target for Celtic and William Gallas almost certain to quit the club for either Paris St Germain or Roma this summer.
Wenger targets Toon's Taylor
Arsene Wenger is ready to tempt Newcastle with a £5million bid to land much-coveted defender Steven Taylor. Arsenal have jumped to the front of the queue in the battle to land Taylor as Wenger faces up to the prospect of losing several central defenders this summer. Sunday Mirror Sport understands that Arsenal are now favourites to land the former England Under-21 skipper, despite strong interest from Premier League champions Chelsea, Aston Villa and Everton.
The Arsenal manager has been told that if Cesc Fabregas moves to Barcelona this summer all the kitty can be used for team strengthening and he has made central defence his priority. Taylor has been highly recommended to Wenger by Gunners legend Tony Adams, who hadhim on loan as a youngster at Wycombe. Wenger needs to bring in more English players to meet UEFA’s new quota and Bolton centre-back Gary Cahill is also on his radar.
But Bolton are asking about £14m for Cahilll, while Taylor, who is approaching the final year of his Newcastle contract, will come for just over a third of that asking price. Wenger wants to build his central defence and will allow Swiss centre-back Philippe Senderos to leave. Sol Campbell has yet to agree a proposed one-year deal, while both Mikael Silvestre and William Gallas are both free agents at the end of June. But the good news for Arsene Wenger is that Gunners chairman Peter Hill-Wood has said that all the money the Gunners get for their skipper can be reinvested in players.
The rest of the article contains other transfer speculation.
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