"and can slot in at right-back if required" - close season transfer banter 2014

don't worry they'll be fed up and gone by next July

does anyone here know anything about romanian football? chicago just signed some dude who's biggest claim to fame is he was almost signed by portsmouth when they were still in the premiership but he also has 50 caps for romania so he can't be completely terrible... can he? I suppose he can, but still.

Conte has resigned :o

Gazzetta dello Sport report on Tuesday evening that Antonio Conte has left Juventus. Conte had three very successful years in charge of the Turin club but there were always reports of discontent over what he thought was the club's wrong approach to the transfer market.

The newspaper says that Conte is angry the club have failed to sign either Juan Cuadrado or Alexis Sanchez and he's not altogether happy with what he'll consider the cheap potential recruitment of Patrice Evra from Manchester United.

Conte is fiercely ambitious and wanted Juventus to be a real European force as well as the best team in Italy. However, finances at the Italian club are not great and haven't improved over the past year. Juventus have done excellently in the transfer market with financial restrictions and provided Conte with an excellent team at a relatively low cost.

Much more pressing than that, at least immediately, is that Gazzetta dello Sport claim Manchester United have raised their offer for Arturo Vidal and agreed terms with Juventus for the transfer.

Roberto Mancini and Massimiliano Allegri are the immediate favourites for the job.

wow

http://i57.tinypic.com/2le30om.jpg

Conte for Italy manager now?

yeah, he looks well up for it

Would be kind of a shame, would love to have seen him at a European top club. But it's not the best time of year in football to quit your managerial job.

damn that's sad

internets saying roma might have pipped them to juan iturbe for €30m too

didnt realise emre can played a lot of last season for leverkusen at left-back

truly the zeitgeist thread

Allegri in

oh dear

couldnt they have got deschamps

Pirlo out then?

David Amoyal @DavidAmoyal · 8m
Juve president Agnelli and Pirlo have a very strong bond, I assume Juve talked to Pirlo prior to appointing Allegri (just my opinion)

One would assume so, yes. But I can't imagine Pirlo being happy serving the guy who deemed him not good enough for Milan.

how many decisions does the manager make at milan?

True

atletico chelsea finally reach agreement for kasmirksi

Are chelsea shopping cech btw? or are they really gonna make either him or courtois mope about in the carling cup for a few rounds?

£20m for a left back who'll be 29 when the season starts is not bad business for Atleti, i guess.

Repeating myself I know but still amazed that with all the LB's being sought nobody has gone in for Rodriguez. Guardian reckons £15m would be enough which when you consider Shaw was twice that (English I know) and LFC have bid £16m for Moreno. I don't get it.

More than anything else I just wish these Vidal to united stories would go the fuck away.

There was some round up of transfer news/speculation in one of the papers this morning and Vidal was linked to 5 or 6 clubs!

I'm trying not to think about it

ins and outs at Barca:

Tello to Porto on loan with an option to buy

Jeremy Mathieu in for 20m. Odd one

Mathieu fee is ridic.

For a 30 yr old! Is that their big defensive signing??

Annoyingly predictable that while all this lunacy goes on Bayern have got Lewandowski and Rode on free transfers, hardly seems fair. Also £50m burning a hole in their deep deep pockets from Mandzukic and Kroos sales.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BsquPTxCQAAb44W.jpg

Looks like Spurs have agreed at £10m fee for Ben Davies. He'll probably still go to Liverpool.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bsq8vKfCQAEy34N.jpg

Speaking of full backs here's a statsbomb piece http://www.statsbomb.com/2014/07/introducing-and-explaining-fullback-radars-sagna-debuchy-lahm-alves-and-more/

P much as expected except that Glen Johnson circa 2009-10 was apparently amazingly good although all I remember from that season (Rafa's last) is LFC being v v bad. Lol at Sascha Reither tho.

There's a bit on there about ashley young if you have the stomach for it number none

snazzy-ass lvg showing moyes how to turn up on the first day

Beijing Red 4 Lyf ‏@Beijingcasuals 1h
WELCOME TO MUFC, DENMARK'S FINEST - @LVG!

DON'T LET ARSEHOLES @officialgiggs OR @RVP TELL YOU WHAT TO DO. ASIA IS COUNTING ON YOU FOR GLORY

can't decide which is worse out of that account and @evilkagawa

def that one

Rumors getting stronger that Valencia, Spurs and Liverpool are after our enfant terrible, Zalaria Bakkali. Asking price approx 8 million. The 18 year old brat played three good matches for PSV, then got rightfully benched, and ever since has been trolling PSV. This charade's been going on for 8 months now. Oh he's good and talented, but thinks he's Cristiano fucking Ronaldo already. Britishes, take him off our hands!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BsvKh_oCcAE0LFI.jpg

Graziano Pellè will let his R'dam barber Ivan Rodrigues fly over every 5 weeks to maintain his formidable coupe.

Ginter has signed for Dortmund £9m or thereabouts. V good signing.

I think r/t/c mentioned it the other day but wtf is going on with Isco? Are RM even going to use him next season? What a waste if so.

reports today that the milan vulture is circling his youthful carcass

if rm go 4-2-3-1 then i guess it's

modric-kroos
bale-james-cron
benzema(or hey why not falcao)

or 4-3-3

modric-alonso-kroos
bale-benzema-cron would james be used in a MF3?

alonso only just signed a new deal so i guess he stays even tho the WC looked like end of days
but khedira, isco. illarmendi, di maria?????

hmm i hope griezmann to spurs isn't real

Enner Valencia has gone to West Ham for approx £15m. Seems quite a lot for a 25-year-old who had never scored more than 13 goals in a season until he moved to Mexico this year but we'll see.

man, that is just a classic World Cup transfer

otm

wonder if michu to napoli (on loan) means that callejon will now go to atleti?

Philipp Lahm has announced his retirement from international football

Looks like Gylfi is off to Palace, which seems like a sensible move.

Pirlo to Spurs rumours starting again, too.

bet he'll be well up for poch's triple training seshes