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United and Chelsea Battle For Sergio Ramos

Sergio Ramos

News emerging from Spain is suggesting that Sergio Ramos is looking to leave Real Madrid and play for a club outside of Spain. The 29-year-old is under contract with Real Madrid until 2017, and could end his decade long collaboration with Real and start looking for a new challenge.
The defender has over 120 caps for Spain and has an official buyout clause of €180m (£128m) - a fee which will certainly not be met by any club. However it is thought that both Chelsea and Manchester United believe they can tempt the club by offering around £30m.
Manchester United have responded to Real Madrid’s initial bid of £13m for David de Gea by telling the Spanish club they won't accept anything less than £25m, unless a player is involved in the deal. Madrid are convinced they will eventually sign De Gea, and it seems United might be holding out for Los Blancos to involve Ramos in a potential deal.
The central defender joined Madrid from Sevilla for €27m when he was still a teenager. He has appeared over 400 times for the club, and is the vice-captain. However, negotiations over a new contract have stalled and there is no real indication as to whether or not he will sign a new deal.
The Spaniard is said to be one of Mourinho’s favorites from his time as Real Madrid manager, and the Portuguese man is now set to test Real's resolve with a bid for Ramos. Chelsea would be in with a real chance of signing Ramos due to Mourinho's relationship with the player, their Championship status would also attract the World Cup winning defender.
Sergio Ramos comes to mu

But it must be said that the lure of Manchester United speaks volumes more than that of Chelsea's. If Ramos joined, he would become yet another Spanish player in the squad, in a list that is slowly growing.
Real are known for having little respect for their star players especially after they reach a certain age. No big player has ended his professional career at Santiago Bernabeu if you consider the club’s recent history. Ramos could follow in the footsteps of players like Roberto Carlos and Raul who moved away without being offered the option of finishing their brilliant runs on the pitch where they played the most.

Written by: Niven Marston
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Robin Van Persie ready to battle for Man Utd place




Manchester United's Robin van PersieRobin 

Manchester Utd v Tottenham

Manchester Utd
4/6
Draw
14/5
Tottenham
15/4

Van Persie, who still has another season left on his Old Trafford contract, has been linked with a move to Italian side Lazio after he was spotted in Rome last week, but the Dutch striker claims he is happy and relaxed about his future.
“Am I worried?” Van Persie said, in the Daily Mirror. “No, I’m totally relaxed. I have a contract with this club until 2016.
“Things could change now, but that all depends on Manchester United, not me. Believe me, I’m relaxed – I’m not going to be part of a puppet show.
“In August I’m 32. But I still have the ambition to play for another eight years.
“Playing in the first-team is very important for me. This is why I will probably step down one level when I am 36 or 37. But not now.“In a few years’ time I may have to accept that I will no longer play at the very highest level. I don’t think that moment is coming now. I still feel very, very fit.
Van Persie hopes to play until he is 40
Van Persie hopes to play until he is 40
“Whenever I have been fit at United I was playing in the first team all the time. People talk about my injuries, but I’ve only had one this season.
“I’ve seen too many players quit early. Most of them regret this soon after. I’ve seen those players in the national team and at my own clubs. Even big legends have regretted their retirement. Look at Paul Scholes.
“He did quit the game but he kept training and was missing football so much, because he knew he was still capable of playing at that level.”
source :skysport
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Manchester United keen on signing striker Harry Kane

Harry Kane: Manchester United are interested in signing the Tottenham striker

Harry Kane: Manchester United are interested in signing the Tottenham striker

Manchester United are interested in signing Tottenham striker Harry Kane this summer, according to Sky sources.

United are in the market for a new striker after electing not to buy Radamel Falcao while Robin van Persie's future at the club remains uncertain.

Kane took the Premier League by storm last season as he scored 21 goals and was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year.

Sky Sports News HQ reporter James Cooper was told Kane was not on United's radar last month but the Red Devils have now revised their stance on the Spurs forward.

"It is a search for a striker that now includes Harry Kane and that is interesting," said Cooper.

"Things have changed in the last three or four weeks. He wasn't on Manchester United's radar then but I think he is now.

"He is on the list of possible deals that Manchester United might be tempted into doing this summer.

"What Manchester United are doing is looking at all their options. There certainly has been no bid at the moment between Old Trafford and White Hart Lane and no real negotiations at all.

"But what has shifted is that Manchester United have interest in the player. He is under consideration by Louis van Gaal."

Speaking last month, the 21-year-old made it clear he intends to stay put and build on a breakthrough season under Mauricio Pochettino that saw him make his senior England debut.

"Spurs are a big club and I have a bright future here," Kane said. "I hope to continue scoring goals and doing well with the club."
-skysport
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Who is Roberto Firmino? :




Roberto Firmino: Expected to lead the line for Brazil in Chile

We take a closer look at Hoffenheim and Brazil forward Roberto Firmino as he is linked with a big money move to Manchester United...

Factfile

Name: Roberto Firmino

Age: 23

Position: Midfield/forward

Club: 1899 Hoffenheim

Nation: Brazil (Six appearances, three goals)

What’s his background?

Firmino may have to add more physicality to his game
  Firmino may have to add more physicality to his game

Plucked from the second tier of Brazilian football by Bundesliga mid-table entertainers Hoffenheim, the brace-clad teenager struggled to adapt to foreign climes initially, and it took three seasons for us to see the best of this precocious talent, but it was worth the wait.

Since the start of the 2013-14, Firmino has weighed in with 23 goals and 21 assists in the German top flight, and has attracted interested from several of Europe’s elite clubs, as well as being on Louis van Gaal’s radar.

He was a stand-out performer for Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga this season as he scored seven goals and assisted a further 10 - a total bettered only by Manchester City target Kevin De Bruyne and Werder Bremen's Zlatko Junuzovic.

The 23-year-old has also excelled on the international stage already. As Brazil have looked to bounce back for the Mineirao Massacre at the hands of eventual World Cup champions Germany one year ago, Firmino has offered returning coach Dunga a new lease of life.

Currently in Chile with the Brazil squad at the Copa America, Firmino has been deployed as a false nine by Dunga and has shone in the role - scoring three goals and registering an assist in two starts and four substitute appearances - including the winner in a nonchalant performance in Brazil’s recent victory over Honduras.

What is his style?

Firmino's ambidextrous talents have helped developed his adaptability. Leading the line as a detached striker has been a regular position for his club as well as country, but he is naturally a No 10, while wide forward or even deeper in midfield can also bring out the best in him.

Pace, flamboyance and speed of thought are a given for any fleet-footed boy from Brazil, but it is the 23-year-old’s work-rate that could quickly endear Firmino to the Old Trafford faithful, as well as United’s hard-to-please chieftain.

Confidence is not lacking in his game either, as his 25-yard goal on his full debut from Brazil exemplified. Premier League defences could be in for a rough ride.

Where will he fit at Old Trafford?

Adnan Januzaj: On his way out of Old Trafford?
Adnan Januzaj: On his way out of Old Trafford?

“They are stuffed full of attacking midfielders. They have got the likes of Angel di Maria, Adnan Januzaj and Juan Mata in that role and I think their priorities do lie elsewhere,” Sky Sports News HQ reporter James Cooper said in response to reports a fee had been agreed for Firmino.

But what separates Firmino from the aforementioned trio is the Brazilian’s ability to play as the man furthest forward – with the air of a man who feels comfortable in doing so.

Also, Firmino’s arrival could allow Van Gaal to have the reshuffle many feel he needs. Januzaj looks likely to be made available, even if only temporarily, while Robin van Persie could join Radamel Falcao in seeking pastures new.

What happens now?

Memphis Depay poses with Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal.
Memphis Depay poses with Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal.

Modest fees of £13m or more recently £21.6m have been mentioned, but having paid just 4m euros for Firmino’s services from Figueirense in December 2010, any sale will accrue a hefty profit for Hoffenheim.

If no fee has yet been agreed, his stock could rise further by adding to his goal tally in Chile, as the man who “smelled of goals," as Dunga so eloquently proclaimed, could attract more interest by aiding a Brazilian renaissance.

With Memphis Depay already secured, Van Gaal could have the young, dynamic and workman-like forward line that he craves, and make United a real force to be reckoned with in 2015-16 – and if reports emanating from German are to be believed, that could happen sooner rather than later.
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