Morning all,
we spoke yesterday about how Arsene Wenger was keen to do his transfer business quickly this summer. He obviously wants to get players in as quickly as possible, to integrate them well during pre-season so they’re nice and settled before the season starts.
Despite saying he didn’t want to lose any players it’s fairly obvious that one or two will be leaving – and one in particular could have a big impact on our summer. Emmanuel Adebayor never won back the fans after his ridiculous behaviour last summer and, at the end of the season he pretty much put the final nail in the coffin of his Arsenal career with the whining, pathetic interview on BBC’s Football Focus.
His last campaign certainly won’t have increased his value but he’s probably still got enough stock to merit a fairly hefty transfer fee which would obviously free up funds for Arsene to spend elsewhere. This morning’s Mirror claims we’ve offered Adebayor to both Milan and Inter after his agent hinted he’d like to work with Carlo Ancelotti, the new Chelsea manager.
Adebayor’s agent, Stephane Courbis, confirmed the interest of one club but sent out rather mixed messages about the player’s availabilty. He said:
It’s a given fact that Carlo Ancelotti likes the player seeing that last year he tried to sign him for Milan, although Chelsea have not contacted us. This doesn’t mean Ade is for sale to resolve Arsenal’s economic problems. I spoke with Arsene Wenger this morning and he told me nothing of the kind.
Nor would he. Telling an agent something like immediately weakens your hand, especially if you’re trying to move the player on in a hurry. He can just sit and wait until the final moments of the transfer window and that, of course, would suit him, not us. Courbis went on:
We have not received any calls, not from Milan or Ancelotti. Another team has contacted us, but I cannot say anything, it’s a very important team.
‘I cannot say anything’, he says, quite obviously not not saying anything. Anyway, that there’s some interest is promising and while I do understand the reluctance to sell to Chelsea I have to say if they came in with the right kind of money I’d sell. If they don’t buy Adebayor they’ll buy someone else and the someone else could easily be a far better player. Better the devil you know, and all that.
Milan’s interest may be revived, according to The Times, after their attempts to sign Wolfsburg’s Edin Dzeko look to be floundering.
Whatever happens, wherever he ends up – and I don’t not see him at Arsenal next season – I hope it’s sorted quickly and efficiently and it doesn’t turn into one of those tedious summer-long dramas. The business that’s done has to be done to suit Arsenal and not the player.
One man who could take advantage of Adebayor’s departure is Nicklas Bendtner and Arsene Wenger has been talking him up, saying:
When Nicklas is really switched on and focused, he is a handful for any defence in the world. He has shown that in the second part of the season. People forget how young he is, but I am sure he has won many people over in the second half of the season.
He is still only 21 and last season ended up with a very respectable total of 15 goals in all competitions. The season before that he got himself 11, with far fewer appearances. So the boy knows where the goal is, that’s for sure. The key part of what Arsene Wenger is saying is about him being focussed, and there was definitely an improvement in the second part of the season. Hopefully the kick up the arse he got after the Burnley game in the Carling Cup has got him back on the right track.
Last summer were linked with Swiss midfieder Gokhan Inler and his name has cropped up again this time. If I recall correctly the Udinese player was quite dismissive of Arsenal’s efforts to sign him last time around so I’m not going to shed any tears if this, as it seems, appears to be little more than a rehash of last year’s stories.
The Manchester Evening News says, very briefly, that Man City want to continue their pursuit of Kolo Toure.
Finally for today, something to put a smile on your face – Phil Brown to face an FA charge for his behaviour after the FA Cup game against Hull. Hahahaha, suck it up, you fake-tan wearing, used car salesman looking, headset wearing, shit-goatee sporting, sit your players down on the pitch to give them a teamtalk to make yourself look good in front of your own fans but instead make yourself look like the complete and utter cunt you are, CUNT.
I hope he gets sentenced to death (although I’m not quite sure that’s within the remit of the suits at Soho Square).
Till tomorrow!
