Odemwingie Not Going To Be Sold Unless A Team Overbids

According to Christopher Lepkowski at the Birmingham Mail, West Bromwich do not plan on selling top striker Peter Odemwingie unless they receive a monster offer. Manager Roy Hodgson said,

“He’s a good player and we would like to keep him here … Whether we receive any offers or not, who can say? But I’m not sure there’s an awful lot of money around … Certainly we wouldn’t be looking to get rid of him so it would have to be the type of offer you can’t refuse and we know what top front players cost in the market.

“I’m not suggesting £50 million (paid by Chelsea for Fernando Torres) but they certainly cost top money, so it would be a question of what teams are out there with that sort of money to spend and whether Peter Odemwingie is the type of player they are looking for, so there are a lots of ifs and buts.

“I don’t take a lot of notice of the Juventus thing. Any agent in the world can always drum up an Italian club … When I was at Inter there wasn’t a day that went by when there weren’t 10 players we were supposedly signing … It would have run into thousands over two years.

“When I hear about Juventus I just shrug my shoulders. If you’re an English journalists thinking ‘who can I link him with?’ Inter and Juventus are always good bets … Peter seems perfectly happy here and he’s a joy to work and I think he has enjoyed his time here … I don’t think he’s looking to take the first opportunity to get out of the club.”

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Arsenal Are Not Going To Make A Move For On-Loan Wigan Goalkeeper

Emirates boss linked with move for DW Stadium keeper but this should be an April’s fool.

          Skysports.com understands that Arsenal have joined the race to land Bolton’s Ali Al Habsi.

The Oman international is currently on a season-long loan with Wigan, where at times he has performed heroics for Roberto Martinez’s side.

His arrival has seen England international Chris Kirkland relegated from the No.1 spot at the DW Stadium, and his performances have been attracting attention from across Europe.

Bolton rate the 29-year-old very highly and would be loath to lose him, but they already have the excellent Jussi Jaaskelainen as their first choice.

But skysports.com understands that Arsenal are now very much in the reckoning.

Al Habsi had a world-class game for Wigan at Arsenal in the 3-0 defeat in January when he produced a string of top-class saves.

Arsene Wenger has since been keeping a close check on Al Habsi’s progress and is now seriously considering making a move to add him to his goalkeeping ranks.

Source: Sky Sports

If this story has any truth in it, which it very well may not, Arsene Wenger deserves to be shot.

This transfer move is indefensible.

Why on earth would Monsieur Wenger buy Ali A Habsi when he constantly reiterates his confidence in his current goalkeepers.

At the moment, Arsenal have a crisis in goal but that is because three keepers are injured, not because they are rubbish.

Wojciech Szczesny, Lukasz Fabianksi and Vito Mannone are all highly-rated by the club and fans.

And at their ages of 20, 25 and 23 respectively they could be in the squad for a very long time.

The only criticism one may have is that they lack experience of playing at the top level over a long period and have never won a major trophy between them.

But Szczesny looked far from nervous when he was repelling wave after wave of Barcelona attacks.

So why would Arsenal go for Al Habsi? He has not played in the Premier League very long and he has not won anything in this country.

Jens Lehmann is on a short-term contract and Manuel Almunia should finally be sold in the summer so an experienced keeper could be an option.

Gianluigi Buffon is tipped to be on the Gunners radar and that makes more sense.

Nothing against Al Habsi because he is a fine shot-stopper.

I was at the game Sky Sports mention when he was ‘world class’. He was not!

He made some good saves but the Arsenal attack missed a lot of chances and should have done better with a lot of them.

Credit to Al Habsi for making the saves but he still conceded three. Hardly world class.

And if he really was that good, Owen Coyle would never let him go.

Either Sky are trying to make an April fool of us or Wenger has truly lost his marbles.

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Juventus Likely Not Going To Sign Aquilani- Agent Thinks Different

UPDATE: According to The Independent, the agent of Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani believes Juventus will permanently sign his client. Franco Zavaglia said,

“Juve has the priority and I don’t think they will let him escape … On 30 June Juventus will be able to buy Aquilani and they should act now … They could sign him by making three to four delayed payments, a system which was established last summer. The agreement between Liverpool and Juventus is already there, it all depends on the willingness of Juventus. I think Aquilani will stay at Juventus and there will not be any obstacles.”

February 23rd, 2011: According to the Daily Post, Juventus are currently not interested in signing Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani, who is at Juventus on loan, to a permanent basis. Sporting director Alessio Secco said,

“In my opinion, aside from the injury he suffered, Juventus will opt to sign Quagliarella from Napoli … It’s true that he’s coming off a rather serious injury, but in the end I think that his abilities as a player are not up for discussion and that Juventus will do everything to sign him.

“Instead, I think it’ll be hard to see Juventus sign Aquilani. The player hasn’t given the quality necessary to help the Bianconeri make that jump in class.

“Aside from the game against Lecce (a 2-0 defeat) on Sunday, in which the entire team played in a mediocre fashion, I think that Aquilani hasn’t had a great season and that signing him for €16m seems a very exaggerated figure.”

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Kyle Walker Is Going Nowhere Says Tottenham Manager

White Hart Lane boss wants highly-rated youngster back at the club after Villa Park loan spell.

Tottenham Hotspur defender Kyle Walker will return to the club next season after his loan spell at Aston Villa, according to his manager.

The 20-year-old is having a remarkable second-half of the season at Villa Park culminating in his call-up to the England squad for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales and the friendly with Ghana.

His success has inevitably led to speculation linking him with a move away from White Hart Lane, with Gerard Houllier keen to make him a permanent signing.

But Spurs boss Harry Redknapp insists Walker will challenge Alan Hutton and Vedran Corluka for a place in the first-team next season.

“Kyle will be back here for sure, he’s still learning and got miles to learn but he is a talent, a real prospect,” Redknapp said.

“He has got all the attributes to be an England right-back of the future. He’ll come back here and push for a place.”

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Newcastle Not Going After Connor Wickham, To Sign 2 Players

According to Luke Edwards at The Journal, Newcastle are not going to go after Ipswich Town youngster Connor Wickham this summer. It is reported that the club feels that his asking price is too high and that he may not be ready for the Premier League just yet.

Edwards also mentions that Newcastle have agreed to deals for two international players although it remains to be seen whether one is a striker to replace the recently sold Andy Carroll.

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Juventus Likely Not Going To Sign Aquilani- Agent Thinks Different

UPDATE: According to The Independent, the agent of Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani believes Juventus will permanently sign his client. Franco Zavaglia said,

“Juve has the priority and I don’t think they will let him escape … On 30 June Juventus will be able to buy Aquilani and they should act now … They could sign him by making three to four delayed payments, a system which was established last summer. The agreement between Liverpool and Juventus is already there, it all depends on the willingness of Juventus. I think Aquilani will stay at Juventus and there will not be any obstacles.”

February 23rd, 2011: According to the Daily Post, Juventus are currently not interested in signing Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani, who is at Juventus on loan, to a permanent basis. Sporting director Alessio Secco said,

“In my opinion, aside from the injury he suffered, Juventus will opt to sign Quagliarella from Napoli … It’s true that he’s coming off a rather serious injury, but in the end I think that his abilities as a player are not up for discussion and that Juventus will do everything to sign him.

“Instead, I think it’ll be hard to see Juventus sign Aquilani. The player hasn’t given the quality necessary to help the Bianconeri make that jump in class.

“Aside from the game against Lecce (a 2-0 defeat) on Sunday, in which the entire team played in a mediocre fashion, I think that Aquilani hasn’t had a great season and that signing him for €16m seems a very exaggerated figure.”

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