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Bayern Munich have increased their offer for Schalke’s Manuel Neuer to €21 million, according to Bild.

The reported deal would include €18m upfront with a further €3m to be paid in the future. If the Gelsenkirchen outfit and Neuer agreed to the deal, the club could earn a further €7m from performance-related bonuses.

The latest offer comes after Bild reported on April 27 that Bayern had an offer totalling €18m rejected by Schalke.

It is not yet known whether the latest offer will be accepted by the Champions League semi-finalist’s board but the club’s sporting director Horst Heldt found Bayern’s previous offer unacceptable.

“The offer from Bayern was not worth mentioning, not acceptable. It is seriously worth considering keeping the world’s best goalkeeper for another year,” the sporting director told German media last month.

However after Tuesday’s negotiations, Heldt seemed to indicate that a deal may be close, telling Bild: “Yes, we [Schalke and Bayern] had a decent conversation.”

Neuer is likely to play his final Bundesliga game in the blue of Schalke at the weekend when his side travel to Koln.

SOURCE: Goal.com

It seems that despite the fact that Bayern Munich supporters do not want the Schalke keeper to become their number one custodian, banners unfurled at a recent match making that abundantly clear, a move to the Allianz Arena appears increasingly likely.

The talented German international has of course also been linked with a move to Old Trafford, especially after a heroic performance in the first leg of Schalke’s first leg against Man United, and the 25 year old seems destined to end his association with the club he has been a regular for since 2006.

The fee seems a fairly large one but Bayern Munich are keen to bring in a reliable keeper and incoming boss Jupp Heynckes has made it clear he wants Neuer above all others.

Arsene Wenger will have to top Bayern Munich’s £7.8million-a-year offer to Manuel Neuer to have a chance of luring the brilliant FC Schalke goalkeeper to the Emirates.

The Arsenal manager has inquired about the 25-year-old Germany star who, almost single-handedly, kept Manchester United at bay for must of their European Cup semi-final, first leg last week.
But Wenger need not worry about competition from United, whose manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, is looking elsewhere for a successor for Edwin van der Sar.
And Bayern’s fans once again showed their hatred of the German No 1 by displaying anti-Neuer banners in their side’s 4-1 win over Schalke on Saturday.

Neuer angered Bayern fans by mimicking an Oliver Kahn celebration when Schalke won in Munich last year.

SOURCE: Daily Mail

Arsene Wenger has been looking to bring in a new keeper since last summer when the Arsenal boss tried his hardest to take Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer to the Emirates Stadium and the bumbling antics of original first choice starter Manuel Almunia would appear to suggest that the Gunners manager is still looking for an established keeper.

Although Wojciech Szczesny has impressed when called upon the 21 year old is probably a little to raw to be Arsenal’s number one custodian and the likes of Lukasz Fabianski and Vito Mannone are still yet to prove themselves to Wenger and a move for Manuel Neuer may make a great deal of sense.

Many believe the £10m rated German international is high up on Sir Alex Ferguson’s wish-list but the Man United boss appears to be most keen on Atletico Madrid youngster David De Gea and the fact that Bayern Munich’s supporters seem very strongly against a move for the Schalke could lead the Bavarian side to look elsewhere and that could leave the door open to Wenger.

SIR ALEX FERGUSON will make a £24m bid to blow Bayern Munich out of the water and clinch the signing of Manuel Neuer.

Manchester United have been tracking the German No.1 for the past 18 months yet believed the Schalke star had already sealed a move to Bayern.

But Alex Ferguson has learned no deal between Schalke and Munich is in place, and with the German giants unwilling to pay more than £20m he wants to launch one last bid to get his man.

And an offer of £24m could be too much for Bayern to match, leaving Ferguson in pole position to sign the man regarded as one of the world’s best goalkeepers.

Ferguson has courted the 25-year-old for some time, but had resigned himself to going for Atletico Madrid’s David De Gea as a replacement for Edwin van der Sar, thinking Neuer was out of his reach.

SOURCE: Daily Star

There appears to be a lot of speculation that states that Manuel Neuer is a cert to move to Bayern Munich but that may well be wishful thinking on behalf of the Bavarian side as there is a decent chance that the Allianz Arena side will not be competing in the Champions League next term and that would hand the impetus back to Man United in the chase for the 25 year old custodian.

Sir Alex Ferguson is a big admirer of the big Schalke keeper and the performance he put in against Man United in the first leg of their Champions League Semi-Final would have acted as a fantasic advert of his undoubted ability.

With Edwin Van der Sar set to retire and Anders Lindegaard seen as a back up with Pole Tomasz Kuszczak likely to leave the race is on for the Premier League table toppers to find an adequate replacement and moves for David De Gea, Gianluigi Buffon and Pepe Reina appear to have stalled leaving Neuer as the best man available.

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Manchester United will reportedly attempt to use Dimitar Berbatov as leverage in their pursuit of German international keeper Manuel Neuer. Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to use the Premier League’s top-scorer to help tempt Schalke into selling their prized asset.

Ferguson is looking for a keeper to take over from veteran Edwin Van der Sar who is due to hang up his gloves at the end of the season and the Man United boss is a big admirer of 25 year old keeper Neuer who has helped his Bundesliga side to the the Champions League semi-finals.

Berbatov was a big success during his time with Bayer Leverkusen and his consistent goal scoring exploits, 91 goals in five seasons, led to a big money move to Tottenham which in turn led to a £30m move to Man United. Even though the cultured striker is the top scorer in the Premier League he has found himself warming the bench in recent weeks as Ferguson has elected to pair Wayne Rooney with Javier Hernandez with some success.

Schalke have struggled in Bundesliga action this term and are currently in tenth spot and unlikely to secure European football of any sort next season and that has led to increased speculation that £12m rated Neuer will leave the club after five years as a first team regular.

Ralf Ragnick’s side have struggled to find the back of the net in domestic action, only two sides have scored fewer Bundesliga goals, and given that Raul is not getting any younger the short term solution of bringing in Berbatov may well tempt the Schalke boss.

Dimitar Berbatov is currently having his most prolific season in the Premier League so will not be content to warm the bench at the peak of his career and with just one year left on his contract and seemingly no nearer to agreeing a new deal, a move to Bundesliga may be ideal for all concerned.

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp will attempt to bring Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to White Hart Lane this summer.

The Spurs boss wants the 25-year-old to replace Heurelho Gomes, who has made a string of high-profile errors in his time in North London.

The Germany international is out of contract in 2012 and has turned down a new deal offered by the Bundesliga club. Redknapp hopes he can get a cheaper deal than the £21million valuation.

“I have taken this decision without any external influence,” explained Neuer on his club’s website.

“The decision has nothing to do with the change of coach or any other person at another club.

“I have a great deal to thank Schalke and their unique fans for, but I would like to have the opportunity for a change after 20 years’ faithful service to this club.”

Neuer attracted strong interest from Manchester United as a replacement for Edwin van der Sar, but the Red Devils decided to go for Atletico Madrid’s David de Gea.

Schalke are resigned to losing their captain but Redknapp will face strong competition from Bayern Munich.

“As much as it hurts us, we have accepted this development and we respect it,” commented the club’s director of sport Horst Heldt.

“How things develop with Manuel Neuer will emerge in the coming weeks and maybe months, but we are now concentrating on our sporting challenges and the rest will follow in due course.”

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Arsene Wenger is preparing a summer shopping list as he looks to spend significant sums on squad reinforcements as new owner Stan Kroenke looks to back the Arsenal boss in the transfer market. The Arsenal manager has identified three targets he feels he needs in order to strengthen his North London side this summer.

Seemingly the top priority is to bring in a new keeper that he can rely to name as his first team starter and to that end the Frenchman will look to secure German international Manuel Neuer who is rumoured to be ready to leave Schalke after a very poor domestic season, which will result in the Gelsenkirchen side failing to secure European football of any type next term, unless of course Ralf Rangnick’s side can win the Champions League this season.

Wenger is also looking to beef up his defence and has earmarked a move for Ajax centre back Jan Vertonghen, who formed a successful partnership with Thomas Vermalen at the Amsterdam club before his Belgian international team-mate left for the Premier League last season. The centre back area has been a problematic one for Arsenal this season with new signings Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci both failing to inspire confidence.

Finally Arsene Wenger will reportedly look to bring in long term target Karim Benzema and the chances of persuading the French international to leave the Bernabeu this summer depend very much on whether Jose Mourinho looks to bring in another striker, thus confirming to the former Lyon man that he is very much a back up and not a first team regular.

With Robin Van Persie still plagued by injuries and Marouane Chamakh not fulfilling his early promise, Arsenal could well do with more firepower and it seems likely that one of the club’s back up’s, Nicklas Bendtner or Carlos Vela, are likely to be sold.

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Manchester United may be willing to use striker Dimitar Berbatov to help land Schalke keeper Manuel Neuer. Sir Alex Ferguson has set his sights on bringing the German international keeper to Old Trafford and could use his Bulgarian international to help seal the deal.

Ferguson is looking for a keeper to take the mantle from veteran Edwin Van der Sar who is due to hang up his gloves at the end of the season and the Man United boss is a big admirer of 25 year old keeper Neuer who has helped his Bundesliga side to the verge of a Champions League semi-final berth.

Berbatov was a big success during his time with Bayer Leverkusen and his consistent goal scoring exploits, 91 goals in five seasons, led to a big money move to Tottenham which in turn led to a £30m move to Man United. Even though the cultured striker is the top scorer in the Premier League he has found himself warming the bench in recent weeks as Ferguson has elected to pair Wayne Rooney with Javier Hernandez with some success.

Schalke have struggled in Bundesliga action this term and are currently in tenth spot and unlikely to secure European football of any sort next season and that has led to increased speculation that Neuer will leave the club after five years as a first team regular.

Newly appointed boss Ralf Ragnick may well be tempted by such an offer as his Gelsenkirchen side has struggled in front of goal, netting just 33 goals in 28 league matches, only three sides have scored less, and given Berbatov’s previous success in the Bundesliga a swap deal may suit all parties.

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ALEX FERGUSON reckons he can land as many as THREE of his top transfer targets in the summer.
Big changes are expected at Manchester United, with a clutch of players retiring or seeing their contracts end.

And Fergie has insisted the cash will be there for him to bring in top-class replacements during the close season.

He said: “We have certain targets in mind and I think two or three will be fulfilled. There’s no question of that.

“The Glazer family have always been supportive of our desires to improve the team.”

Top of his list is likely to be a goalkeeper, with either Schalke’s Manuel Neuer or Atletico Madrid’s David De Gea in the frame to replace Edwin van der Sar. The Scot is also likely to boost his midfield. Wesley Sneijder, Jack Rodwell and Blackpool’s Charlie Adam are all in the running.

Fergie could look for a new centre-back, too, with Bolton’s Gary Cahill and Thiago Silva of Ac Milan among the group of possibles.

SOURCE: The Sun

This is an interesting list of targets, some of which seem far more realistic than others, and Sir Alex Ferguson does seem to realise that this summer is the right time to make sweeping changes. Given that a number of the Old Trafford squad is nearing the end of their careers, with Edwin Van der Sar and Gary Neville already retired or set to retire and that Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs can have not much left in the tank, it would make sense to bring in more young talent.

Ferguson already began the rebuilding with the captures of Javier Hernandez and Chris Smalling last summer and Owen Hargreaves and Michael Owen are unlikely to be handed new deals and then you have the likes of Rio Ferdinand, who is also getting on a bit and having numerous injury issues.

Of the players listed moves for Wesley Sneijder and Thiago Silva seem unlikely, both are at teams who are on the up, under new management and doing very well indeed in Italy. Some reports earlier in the week seemed to suggest that Atletico Madrid were likely to sell their young keeper De Gea to United and that deal could well still be on.

Bolton centre back Gary Cahill would also be a very effective purchase, but not a cheap one as the Trotters look to cash in on the England international. David Moyes has made statements about Jack Rodwell that would suggest that the Toffees boss is resigned to losing the Everton youngster, but like Owen Coyle, will not sell for anything less than their valuation.

Charlie Adam is being chased by Tottenham and Liverpool but may well see a move to Man United as his dream option. Sir Alex has cleverly moved to confirm that the Glazers will finance deals in the transfer market but I guess the proof will be in the pudding.

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