Swaps, sackings and signings
Today’s football news from Globet International Sports Betting and the team at BookieLabRat.com.
Arsenal to close deal for Legia Warsaw keeper Fabianski
The Legia Warsaw star, 22, jetted to London for talks and a medical on Thursday. Arsene Wenger wants the 6ft 3in stopper to be Jens Lehmann’s understudy next season and sees him as the long-term Gunners No 1. Fabianski was given permission by Legia to meet Wenger but the transfer terms have not yet been finalised. Fabianski won the Polish title with Legia last season and is seen as a better prospect in his homeland than Manchester United’s Tomasz Kuszczak. He was selected ahead of United No 2 Kuszczak for the World Cup and has four caps.
Mourinho demands Chelsea bomb out Ballack, Shevchenko
The Daily Mail says Mourinho has held showdown talks with Roman Abramovich’s right-hand man Eugene Tenenbaum over the futures of Chelsea stars Ballack and Shevchenko. Tenenbaum, who is now the link man between Mourinho and Abramovich, was called to a meeting with the manager at Chelsea’s training ground with Shevchenko present following another chaotic week at the club. Mourinho wanted Ballack sacked after the Germany midfielder flew to Munich last Friday for an operation on his ankle without the permission of the club, but Tenenbaum is refusing to agree to the manager’s demand. The Chelsea boss is also determined to sell Shevchenko in the summer after the striker apparently aggravated a groin injury hours before the squad flew to Merseyside for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Liverpool. According to club sources, Mourinho is still shocked that Shevchenko, who scored Chelsea’s crucial equaliser in Valencia in the Champions League quarter-final, could miss the club’s biggest game of their season.
Chelsea Sheva swap on for Barcelona’s Eto’o
Should Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich decide to sell Shevchenko, then Barcelona could offer him a way out of Chelsea after accepting that Eto’o will be leaving Spain this summer. Club president Joan Laporta had promised Frank Rijkaard that he would try to bring the Ukrainian to the Nou Camp before his move to the Premiership at the start of this season. Barcelona are now thought to be willing to pay £15million for the 30-year-old, but there is also a possibility of a swap deal including Eto’o. Chelsea chief scout Frank Arnesen has recommended Eto’o to Abramovich, claiming he is the best centre-forward in the world. Abramovich had a £30m offer for the Cameroon international, who has a £75m buy-out clause in his contract, dismissed out of hand by Barcelona last year. Eto’o has had a disappointing season at Barca and his fractured relationship with team-mate Ronaldinho is thought by many within the club to be unsustainable for another season. Laporta’s technical advisors have submitted a detailed dossier on Shevchenko’s potential role as an out-and-out centre forward in a 4-3-3 formation between Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi. Crossing to the Bridge? Samuel Eto’o has been linked in a swap deal with Chelsea for Ukrainian star Andriy Shevchenko. Rijkaard believes the Ukrainian would be a bargain and that Barcelona’s style of play would suit him down to the ground.
Add comment May 5th, 2007