£58m Fabregas - Aguero No Go - De Gea Deal Done

Yes, your suspicions from the headline are true - another summer, and more rumours concerning the Arsenal captains future. Will he stay, will he go? Well the answer to that is almost impossible to know, with pretty much the same rumours being thrown about - namely, the one that Barcelona will return in an attempt to persuade the Spaniard away from Arsenal.

This time, Manchester City are involved, just like they are with every other possible player they can be, with Mancini reported to be ready to offer an unbelievable £58 million, according to The People. Of course any deal would need the support of the Abu Dhabi group which owns the club, and apparently, Mancini has that backing for this particular move.

With City's money, absolutely any player can be linked to them at any price and be a believable rumour, so this rumour - although potentially rubbish is, with City's audacity and money is certainly believable - though I cannot see Fabregas wanting to go to City. 


He wants to play football, and preferably at Barcelona. That dream of his has however been stalled for a while by Arsenal, and now Barcelona are the ones stalling, with the Barcelona director of football saying of the proposed Fabregas deal:

"Right now, everything is dead regarding a transfer."

That certainly will please Arsenal fans, who no doubt would despise seeing their captain leave the club, especially to the side who have been a massive pain for the past few summers.

Moving on to Sergio Aguero, and only yesterday, I said on the blog that he had announced his desire to leave Athletico Madrid. The situation however was made slightly awkward when his club said today that he would be going nowhere, with Madrid ready to force the Argentinian to honour his contract:

"We are not going to change our thinking. We will not sell or trade for Aguero. If anyone wants to know something new, ask him directly."

"There is no getting around it. El Kun has a signed contract. He has shown his desire to leave, but we say the same thing. We do not want to sell. We respect his decision, but he also has to respect ours. He has a commitment to us."

"In his recent statements I heard him say he had no intention of leaving. I do not know how we will address this issue, but this is not the end of the world.''

And as Athletico fight to keep hold of one star, they have conceded defeat on another, David de Gea. Manchester United will apparently announce the signing of him on Monday - two days after the Champions League final. 

Guillem Balague said that a deal between the clubs was struck two months ago, but now De Gea has finally agreed to a deal - initially reluctant to leave his home club. Sir Alex Ferguson said at Gary Neville's testimonial match:

"We’ve been working on it for quite a while. We identified him quite a while back as one we should go for." 

"He’s a young goalkeeper, very quick, good composure, presence and an oustanding replacement for van der Sar." 

We were looking for someone with the same types of qualities. One great quality Edwin always had was his composure and organisational ability. David De Gea is very similar that way.”

£18.3 million has apparently sealed the deal for United, who have now replaced Edwin van der Sar, how successfully is another matter, and will be found out next season. He has though, a tough job in replacing the big Dutchman who is universally popular at Old Trafford.

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"Active Arsenal" - Aguero on the Move - CL Countdown

Arsenal will be having a "very active" summer transfer market according to the manager Arsene Wenger. The window hasn't even opened yet, but apparently Arsenal have already signed Ricardo Alvarez in a pre-contract agreement from the Argentinian club Vélez Sársfield.

Add that to countless other rumours circulating, linking Arsenal to players such as Bolton's Gary Cahill, Blackburns Chris Samba and PSG's Mamadou Sakho, and you see a pattern developing. Defenders are the priority, and Wenger, although cauious with how much he spends, said:

"The market will be hyperactive because everyone believes financial fair play will happen soon," Wenger said, referring to Uefa's tighter regulations on club spending. "So we are quickly doing the last buying before the stores will be closed. And for the first time for a while, I will be very active, too."

Arsenal may well be saying goodbye to Nicklas Bendtner, whose father, Thomas, confirmed his son wants to leave the club: "Nicklas has made his decision and told Arsenal: he wants to leave the club." Arsenal are quoting the figure of £8.7 million for anyone interested in his services, with Bayern Munich said to be interested in the confident 23 year-old striker.

A player whom Arsenal would no doubt love to have leading their line is Diego Maradona's son-in-law, Sergio Aguero of Athletico Madrid. He is of Athletico for now, as he recently confirmed like Bendtner that he will be looking for a new club in the summer. I suspect he would cost too much for Arsenal anyway, but the 22 year-old is not short of admirers.

Liverpool, City and Chelsea have all been linked to him - and they are only from the Premier League. Real Madrid are apparently early favourites for the Argentinians signature. He is a fine finisher, scoring 20 League goals this season for Athletico, while assisting 2. Aguero said:

"I said long ago that when I wanted to go, I would say so publicly. And the time has come."

"So I keep to my word and here I am. I find it hard to leave Atletico. It hurts and saddens me. I've thought long and hard and I am convinced that I must be true to myself."

"I do not think I put a ceiling on the ability to keep learning, to keep growing. After five intense years, this stage for me personally is over and I have to give way to a new one."

"I'm about to turn 23 and I have everything before me. Suffice it to say that this is not an economic issue but strictly a sporting one. So I want to clearly express my appreciation to the club for the efforts they have made for giving me a salary that equates with the largest clubs in the world."

Meanwhile, the biggest game of the year is fast approaching, as Manchester United and Barcelona prepare for their Champions League final at Wembley. In light of recent off-field events however, regarding Ryan Giggs, Sir Alex Ferguson was said to be "beside himself with anger" at the alleged revelations.

Some said that Giggs feared for his place in the Champions League starting line up for United, but the Daily Mail have just reported that Giggs will in fact start the massive game. United could win their fourth Champions League trophy - Sir Alex's third, and these sorts of distraction are most unwelcome.

Hopefully, Giggs will continue to do what he has done for his long, fruitful career, and be fully professional throughout, to set an example as always to his fellow players. United will have a supremely tough test on Saturday, and they need all the togetherness and quality they can muster.

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Latest on Stekelenburg

Maarten Stekelenburg is just one of many goalkeepers who have been linked to Manchester United and Arsenal this season, with Ferguson still looking for his Edwin van der sar replacement, and Wenger apparently keen to find a strong, solid, experienced 'keeper for Arsenal. Ron Jansen, the Ajax player' agent however confirmed that there have been no bids for his client. 

"There's nothing going on at the moment. 

"There hasn't been any contact with Italian teams or with other foreign teams. With no team at all. Whether he prefers to move to a foreign league? I can't confirm anything at the moment."

"There's still the possibility that he'll sign a contract extension with Ajax, too."

David De Gea is still a possibility for United, though a transfer fee for the young Atheltico prospect would be significantly larger than that of Stekelenburg, which is perhaps why Arsenal are linked so prominently with the 28 year-old.

It seems far more likely that Stekelenburg will leave for Arsenal than to United, as the player has already effectively admitted that if Arsenal make a move, he will leave Ajax for them:

"If Arsenal make an offer, I will leave Holland."

Much depends on Arsene Wenger's eagerness to pay money for a new goalkeeper, and with various other sides such as Juventus circling Stekelenburg, there will be fierce competition come the summer. If the Dutchman dies decide to leave for Arsenal, it leaves United still hunting for a goalkeeper. Manuel Neuer is off the list, with him apparently adamant about joining Bayern Munich, while David De Gea is still very much undecided about his future, as he is reluctant to leave his boyhood club as he is settled nicely in Madrid.

De Gea has been told to "renew or leave" Athletico, and, as was reported on DBSFootball in April, United's back-up plan to De Gea is the Sporting Lisbon 23 year-old goalkeeper, Rui Patricio who has been watched by United's goalkeeping coach, Eric Steele.

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Almunia Out of Arsenal, Adler In for United

Goalkeepers look set for moves in this January's transfer window for both Arsenal and Manchester United, with Almunia seemingly on his way out Arsenal, while German stopper, Rene Adler may be on his way to Manchester United as Ferguson prepares for life without Edwin van der sar.

Firstly, with Almunia. The 33 year-old Spaniard has fallen out of favour in the Arsenal team, and is now the third choice goalkeeper, with Wojciech Szczesny and Lukas Fabianski ahead of him in the pecking order. Galatasaray, Athletico Madrid and Malaga have all been rumoured to be interested in Almunia, and Wenger appears to admit that the former Arsenal number ones situation is far from secure, as when asked whether he will leave said:

"There is a small chance. Yes, I have had a chat with him, but nothing is decided. We are in no-man's land at the moment on that front."

After conceding three goals against West Brom in Arsenals 3 - 2 loss back in late September, Almunia has not played as much as he would have liked. A move away to a club that could guarantee him first team football, and a club that could put up with a few errors now and then, will be a team Almunia would jump a the chance of joining.

Arsenal's title rivals, Manchester United also have a goalkeeping situation on their hands as Edwin van der sar is set for retirement at the end of the season. Anders Lindegaard has already been signed, and Ben Amos has been sent on loan for experience, while Tomasz Kuszczak has more or less threatened to leave unless he is made the number one keeper. This is probably unlikely, and Sir Alex Ferguson knows that. He want a more experienced, top quality goalkeeper, and Rene Adler is reportedly on of the names on his shortlist.

Before the January transfe window, Fergusonclaimed he wouldn't be bringing any new faces to Old Trafford. He has now changed his mind, and said:

"I'd like to get one player in during the transfer window if I could."

25 year-old German goalkeeper Rene Adler has not been shy about expressing his love for Manchester United. He has a clause in his contract which states that if United are to bid £15 million, his current club, Bayer Leverkuen must let him go. Adler was a fan of United as a child, and Peter Schmeichel was his idol:

"I have told the Leverkusen board that I am not willing to discuss any new contract until April. The board of the club are aware of the special clause in my contract.

"As a kid, my friends were interested in cartoons, MTV and German TV programmes, but I was the only interested in one person - Peter Schmeichel - who was in goal for Manchester United."

"I thought he was fantastic and loved every minute he was on TV with United. My whole bedroom was full of Schmeichel posters and United things"

Who better to have at your club than a quality player that has dreamed of playing for your team as a child? There will be no question of his comitmn to the club, especially as he went to the trouble of creating the unusual get-out clause.

Brave Fulham Lose out in Final

A heart thumping final.

Fulham have achieved a massive feat to reach the final. But their hearts were broken by a Diego Forlan goal late in extra time. A cruel blow to a brave, passionate team punching well above their weight.

I don't think Fulham will be able to achieve a final again for a while. Nor do I think Roy Hodgson will stay on as manager. He can do no more. He has taken them as far as a small club can go.

Their excellent performances this season especially in Europe has made teams think very hard about how to win and their amazing fight has feared teams into defeat. But to win a final was too much.

It could have gone either way in the match, and it was very close, reflected in the tight scoreline. But the lucky Madrid took the trophy, and the Fulham fans, players and team were distraught.