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Real Madrid have made Steven Gerrard their No.1 transfer target – and believe they can land the Kop superstar for £30million.

Spanish giants Real have been plunged into shock by their Champions League last-16 defeat by Lyon and see Gerrard as the man to make them tick.

Their pursuit of the England star will rock Liverpool fans, who now face the nightmare scenario of losing their talisman AND star striker Fernando Torres.

For Spaniard Torres last night refused to commit his future to the Anfield club before demanding that boss Rafa Benitez sign FIVE new players in the summer.

A year ago Real would have had little chance of prising Gerrard away from Merseyside but Liverpool’s season is in tatters and they are unlikely to qualify for the Champions League next term.

He signed a four-year £140,000-a-week contract only last summer but will now be tempted to join ex-Kop team-mate Xabi Alonso at the Bernabeu, where he has long been admired by fans and officials alike.

Real president Florentino Perez – instigator of the club’s Galactico policy – splashed out £200m last summer on Alonso, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo and after the Champions League exit has signalled he is ready to spend big again…with Gerrard top priority.

News of Real’s interest will also put question marks over the Anfield future of Torres, who has warned Liverpool they need to spend big or face another season of disappointment.

He said: “If we don’t sign new players, what’s the point of finishing fourth only to fight for fourth again? “I want to fight to win the Champions League and the Premier League. We need four or five players of the highest level if we are to compete. They have to be better than what we’ve got.”

Those words are the clearest indication yet that Torres is becoming disillusioned with life on Merseyside .

He said: “I am very happy here and people have treated me like I’m one of them but I’m going to think about my future. I hope it’s here – these fans deserve success.

“I owe this club a lot and I’m proud to form part of its history. In a few years I don’t know how many clubs I’ll have played for but I’m sure one of the ones I’ll be most proud of is Liverpool.” (The People)

Clearly it would be unwise to believe every single report circulating about a potential nightmare scenario of Liverpool losing Anfield heroes Steven Gerrard AND Fernando Torres, but is there any chance either could really leave the club this summer?

The quote from El Nino is a tad worrying though surely.

“In a few years I don’t know how many clubs I’ll have played for”

Clearly the intimation is that the former Atletico Madrid man could well consider leaving the Merseyside outfit. Rafa Benitez is surely set to leave the club in the summer, especially if he doesn’t secure the guaranteed top four spot he promised and surely Liverpool fans are getting increasingly annoyed at the manner his side seem to perform.

The latest two run outs, at Wigan and Lille, showed a team with very little grit or ability and perhaps more worryingly there seemed to be a distinct lack of spirit shown by those Rafa had picked. Could it all be getting too much for the likes of Gerrard and Torres who may feel the burden of expectation getting too much for them.

So could Real Madrid be a real possibility for either star player? Well Fernando Torres played for their city rivals but many players have ran out for both sides and the rivalry between Atletico and Real is not in the same league as the one between Barcelona and the Bernabeu side.

Personally I don’t see either player leaving in the summer but can you imagine if the Anfield side failed to quality for the Champions League next term and then they start next term in a similar manner to this one, can any Liverpool fan put his hand on his heart and say he honestly wouldn’t be worried about either of their prized assets thinking twice about staying put?

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Its a move that has been spoke about for the best part of three years but now more than ever is the right time to be thinking of making David Silva an offer he can’t refuse. Rafa Benitez is hanging on by his fingernails at Anfield and if he does manage to secure Champions League football next season and in doing so remain in his post as Liverpool boss then he should do all he can to scrape together enough cash to snap up the Valencia playmaker.

For to long now the Merseyside outfit has had a problem with creativity in their midfield. To much onus has been placed on Steven Gerrard to make things happen and the pressure on the Liverpool captain is all to obvious. Yossi Benayoun offers another option to link midfield to attack but the Israeli is a player who Rafa Benitez doesn’t appear to value too highly and Silva would be an option in a different league to the former West Ham man.

The arrival of Alberto Aquilani hasn’t really worked and whether that is because he wasn’t the right player or whether he hasn’t been given enough of a chance to prove himself the club still has the same issue to resolve. There is a distinct lack of natural width at the club and those who are out and out wingers have never really done enough to justify their continued employment at the club.

Ryan Babel and Albert Riera are possibly two of the most infuriating players to watch in the Premier League. Both players have undoubted skill and ability but they both consistently make the wrong decisions and flatter to deceive far too often. Neither player has really delivered during their time at Anfield and if Benitez can sell one or indeed both, then he will at least have some more cash to play with.

Valencia will almost certainly have to offload one or all of their attacking trio, David Villa, David Silva and Juan Mata, in order to stave of a financial crisis that threatens to engulf the club. David Silva has already made pleasing noises about a potential move to Liverpool and the fact the club has so many of his international teammates obviously helps matters.

I think the player himself would be very keen on such a move and there is nothing to be lost by registering an interest and if possible making a bid and this summer is the time to do it.

YNWA

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PSG defender Mamadou Sakho has the Premiership’s biggest clubs monitoring his progress ahead of the summer market.

French sources say Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal are all keeping tabs on the France U21 captain.

Sakho is happy at PSG, but the 20 year-old has this week attracted a firm approach from Valencia to PSG to open negotiations – which is expected to kickoff an auction involving the Premiership trio. (Tribal Football)

So the age old question of whether we need another centre back at White Hart Lane is back on the agenda. The £12m rated PSG man is a damn fine prospect and we do of course have injury issues with Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate but I think Harry Redknapp has other defenders in mind, such as Danish international Simon Kjaer who has a great grounding of experience in Serie A and in my view a far more pleasing option to make a move for.

Tottenham Hotspur chairman, Daniel Levy, is having a hard time looking for a new sponsor for their shirt for their 2010/2011 kits. Their contract with Mansion expires with the 2009/2010 kits.

Charles Sale reports in the Daily Mail:

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy will have to reduce radically his ambition to find a £10million-a-year shirt sponsor for next season in a crowded market – with Premier League rivals Sunderland, Fulham and Aston Villa also looking for more realistically priced backing.”

Levy is heading the search mission as secretary John Alexander is going to Manchester United at the end of the season and commercial chief Paul Barber has moved to Canada to join the MLS newcomer Vancouver Whitecaps.

Levy is hoping that the Spurs boss Harry Redknapp leads the club to a Champions League spot or FA Cup glory to enhance the chances of a lucrative sponsorship deal. (Soccerlens)

Clearly in the current financial climate money is tight everywhere so I don’t think this issue is one that only affects Tottenham. Many clubs are having problems getting the sums of money they used to from prospective shirt sponsors. Lets face it if we do manage to break into the Champions League picture we would be entering a whole new ball game in terms of financial packages we could entice.

There is so much money in football right now but all of it is stacked on one side of the scales and whilst being in the Premier League gives us a huge cash boost being in the top four puts us in another sphere thus showing just how crucial the next couple of months will be for Tottenham.

Talking of which we have another must win game on the cards at home to Blackburn Rovers. Liverpool’s defeat at Wigan helped us no end and we must the make the most of this game against a side who really have nothing to play for, likewise our trip to Stoke City the following week. Both sides are not in relegation battles and these are the best teams to play at this stage of the season rather than being up against sides fighting for their Premier League survival, let our defeats against Wolves be a testament to this fact.

WHL Frank

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According to the Spanish daily ‘Sport’, Real Madrid will look to soften the blow of this week’s Champions League exit by launching a bid to lure Wayne Rooney from Manchester United .

Real Madrid were knocked out of the Champions League by Lyon in midweek which has led to a torrent of criticism for Real in sections of the Spanish media. According to ‘Sport’, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez will not “question the validity of the transfer policy” of big money signings and will instead “try to disguise the European ridicule and minimize its impact to the fans” by placating them with Rooney’s signature.

Rooney has been in outstanding form this season, scoring 30 goals in all competitions already and ‘Sport’ comments that “the Manchester United striker is without doubt one of the best players in the world.” Real Madrid successfully captured Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United last summer for a world record fee and reportedly will now look towards Old Trafford again.

Real Madrid will have been disappointed by last summer’s addition to their strike force, Frenchman Karim Benzema . In addition, ‘Sport’ claims that despite his good form, Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain has never been a favourite of Real Madrid chief Perez.

Although ‘Sport’ acknowledges that luring Rooney “does not seem easy”, they note that Real Madrid have previously succeeded in capturing Manchester United stars Ronaldo and David Beckham. (IMScouting)

Given the history between Real Madrid and the Old Trafford outfit it is clearly very unlikely that Sir Alex would even consider any bid for Manchester United’s prized asset and even if the bid was the reported £100m+ even the Glazers wouldn’t be foolish enough to cash in on Wayne Rooney.

The La Liga side was dumped out of the Champions League and as a result the clubs owners are desperately trying to appease their fanbase with another big name signing and the likes of Franck Ribery and Rooney loom large but Florentino Perez may as well just stick to bagging Bayern Munich’s Frenchman because he really hasn’t a hope in hell of getting the England striker.

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Reports are claiming that Tottenham’s Adel Taarabt was watched by Juventus and Barcelona scouts on Tuesday night.
The Moroccan ace was inspirational in loan side QPR’s 2-0 win over Plymouth, which moved boss Neil Warnock to later claim that he was the right manager to get the best out of his mercurial talent.

Taarabt is in the last 18 months of his White Hart Lane contract and looks set to be moved on by Spurs manager Harry Redknapp who grew frustrated with him last season. (Eat Sleep Sport)

20 year old Moroccan Adel Taarabt had such an astounding start to his White Hart Lane career that no one could have predicted that by early 2010 he would find himself farmed out on a season long loan to a Championship outfit with seemingly no chance of a way back into the Tottenham first team picture, but nonetheless that is where we are.

Having burst onto the scene with two great cameo appearances against West Ham and Chelsea Adel suffered as the north London side stuttered from one manager to another and Harry Redknapp effectively ended any hope of the attacker making it at Spurs when he allowed him to start his second spell at Loftus Road, where he has been a big success.

It’s a little surprising to see Juventus are showing an interest in the youngster but perhaps they see something in Taarabt that Harry doesn’t. Either way I would imagine that Redknapp would take any decent offer that is made by the Serie A outfit or anyone else. The player himself appears very keen to end his White Hart Lane nightmare and perhaps he would flourish in Italy or else prove that the Tottenham boss was right to allow him to leave the club.

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Roma, the club with more front than Margate, are reported to be eyeing another Arsenal ace. As the First Post reported yesterday, the Serie A side despatched their “dealmaker” Daniele Prade to London earlier in the week with the aim of persuading defender William Gallas to sign along the dotted line for next season. It now appears that Prade, who sat in awe in the Emirates as Arsenal crushed Porto 5-0 in the Champions League, is trying to lure Gallas’s Gunners’ teammate, Emmanuel Eboue, to Roma instead.

Gallas has apparently cooled on the possibility of joining run-of-the-mill Roma – whose only European silverware was their Inter-Cities Fair Cup’ triumph of 1961 – after Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger reached out a hand of friendship to his fellow Frenchman. “I am not concerned,” Wenger replied when asked if he thought the 32-year-old Gallas would leave at the end of the season after his four-year spell at the Emirates. “He is under contract until the 30th of June. We have not found an agreement yet. I meet his agents again next Thursday and we will try to find a solution. I feel I have to respect both parties and not to come out about the details of negotiations. William is speaking to us and our desire is to keep him here. I think he wants to stay here.”

So with Gallas likely to remain a Gunner, Italian daily Gazetta dello Sport is reporting that Roma have ordered Daniele the dealmaker to turn his attention to Eboue. The paper says Roma “are attracted by the versatility” of Eboue, who can not only play in defence or midfield, but who can also score stunning goals as he showed on Tuesday when he netted Arsenal’s fourth against poor Porto.

The 26-year-old Ivorian international joined Arsenal in 2004 and has grown in stature ever since thanks to Wenger, the man Eboue refers to as “the daddy”. Not surprisingly, Eboue’s agent, Franjo Vranjkovic, has been quick to address the rumours, saying: “It isn’t true that Emmanuel is close to Roma. He is happy in England, he has a nice role. I don’t understand why this news has spread in Italy.” (First Post)

Roma, must like Juventus, appear to be very interested in raiding Arsenal for any player who may consider leaving the Emirates but the Serie A side may find that Arsene Wenger is not keen on losing either of the Stadio Olimpico targets.

With William Gallas hoping for a change of heart and contract policy from the Gunners boss and Emmanuel Eboue performing well when called upon, it seems neither player would be keen on making a swap from the Premier League to Roma even though in the Ivorian’s case, they could offer regular first team football.

The 27 year old utility player has come a long way since his barracking from the Arsenal faithful who felt he wasn’t putting enough effort or ability when selected and now even though not a regular starter Eboue offers the north London club a solid option in a number of positions and as such will not be someone the club would want to lose.

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JOE COLE will quit Chelsea on a free transfer this summer.

England midfielder Joe Cole seems almost certain to join title rivals Manchester United after the Stamford Bridge club humiliated him with the offer of a one-year contract and a 40 per cent pay cut.

Cole is out of contract at the end of the season and had been hoping to sign a long-term deal to stay at Chelsea.

He was stunned when chairman Bruce Buck offered a 12-month deal with a one-year option – even though he is still only 28 and regarded as one of the most talented players in the Premier League.

Cole has made it clear he will not accept such a short-term package, with wages of £36,000 a week.

Such a deal would leave him earning a fraction of what England team-mates John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole are on.

The decision to offer such a poor deal was made by Roman Abramovich and effectively means Chelsea are happy to lose Cole without netting a fee.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has rated Cole ever since he burst on to the scene as a teenager at West Ham .

Starsport understands United would be ready to offer a three-year deal.

Cole would have no worries about moving to the North-West with wife Carly and their new baby, due later this month.

Manchester City are willing to offer £80,000 a week , while Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp is also interested in signing Cole. (Daily Star)

Joe Cole has some tough decisions to make this summer, clearly decisions we would all love to be greeted with ourselves, but nonetheless the Chelsea man is in a bit of a pickle. The former West Ham midfielder is not happy with how much playing time he is getting at Stamford Bridge and even though Carlo Ancelotti insists the England man has a future at the club he then offers him a contract that appears to be one that they knew would be turned down.

Cole appears to want to stick it out at the club he has won two Premier League titles with but also knows that at 28 he needs to be playing football regularly, not least if he wants to get back into the England reckoning. Then you have Manchester United who apparently also want to offer the Chelsea man a contract all of their own then there is a potential offer on the table from Manchester City to consider.

Clearly at Eastlands he would be most likely to get a regular first team run and probably the biggest paycheck however he may find himself out of the Champions League picture and that may be a bitter pill he won’t be keen on swallowing.

After being out injured for such a long stretch Joe Cole has struggled to get a sustained run in the Chelsea team and therefore hasn’t been able to properly prove to both Ancelotti and Capello just what a talent he still is. In many ways this summer can’t come quick enough and no doubt he will be offered many lucrative deals and it will take some thinking before Cole signs what could potentially be the last big deal of his footballing career.

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Brazilian whizzkid Sandro Ranieri is preparing himself for his £6milion summer move to Tottenham – by learning English.

Sandro, who turns 21 next Monday, was pictured in a Brazilian newspaper reading an English dictionary while on a club flight with Internacionale to Ecuador for a Copa Libertadores game.

Internacionale have already held talks with Tottenham and the clubs have agreed a deal for this summer and Sandro says he is determined not to let the language barrier get in the way of being a success at White Hart Lane.

Sandro said: “I need to be prepared for my new challenge in Europe and it’s always better to know the language and understand the orders properly.

“I’ve been learning for a month and by the summer I hope that I will be well advanced with the language.

“To play in Europe and in the Premier League, you want to be as successful as possible and I want to give myself the best chance.” (Daily Mirror)

Harry Redknapp has been close to netting the Brazilian defensive midfielder for some time but this report, and others, seem to believe that Sandro is finally about to agree a deal to bring the 20 year old to White Hart Lane. The Tottenham boss has been lamenting his lack of central midfield options in recent weeks and it appears that the Internacional man is about make a move to give the Spurs boss options for the future.

The two clubs appear to have agreed a deal to seal the deal that is substantially lower than the original £14m quoted by the Brazilian club. Sandro has now been capped at full international level and has a great future ahead of him and has been likened to former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira.

The rangy youngster has a great ability to break up opponent attacks and is also adept at driving his team onwards at speed. He could be just what Tottenham needs in the long term and if the deal is secured at the price quoted then the White Hart Lane side will have a bargain buy on their hands.

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Wilson Palacios has stunned Tottenham by admitting that he hopes to join Real Madrid in the future.

The combative midfielder has been a revelation in the England since arriving in the Premier League back in 2007.

Spells at Birmingham and Wigan allowed him to forge a reputation as one of the finest exponents of the holding role in European football.

Such progress earned him a £12million switch to Spurs in January 2009, and he has continued to shine at White Hart Lane.
The 25-year-old, who is heading to this summer’s World Cup with Honduras, is not planning to stick around in North London, though, as he has set his sights on the very top of the game.

He admits he would relish the opportunity to test himself in Spain at some point in his career, preferably with capital giants Real.

“I am really happy at Tottenham but I will continue working for a future move to a bigger club,” Palacios said in The Sun.

“I would love to play for Real Madrid. (Sky Sports)

Whilst its true that too much will be made of Wilson’s comments, they are nonetheless a little worrying and I would be interested to hear how Harry Redknapp deals with the Honduran. There is no doubting that Palacios has been a White Hart Lane stalwart since he arrived from Wigan. He has marshaled the midfield brilliantly and has become one of the most important players in out line up but stating quite publicly that he is in many ways using Tottenham as a stepping stone is a little presumptuous and could be seen as more than a little demeaning to the club.

Clearly any move would be further down the line but either way its not the wisest thing to reveal in an interview, not least when that interview is with a salacious tabloid like The Sun. The 25 year old is now one of the best holding midfielders in the Premier League and I have no doubt that many clubs would love to snap him up from us and making such a statement will only serve to build up speculation and that will not help the player or the club in the long run.

What do my fellow Spurs fans think about Wilson’s comments?

WHL Frank

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