Barcelona’s vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu has said that manager Pep Guardiola is close to signing a new contract with the club.
The 39-year-old has won an impressive eight trophies with Barca since succeeding Frank Rijkaard in 2008 including the Champions League in 2009.
Guardiola had reportedly been interested in a move elsewhere, and had also only been willing to sign a one-year extension to his contract last year. However now Bartomeu insists a new contract is ready to be signed.
He told Spanish media: “The coach could soon sign a new deal.
“We had wanted a longer agreement with Pep Guardiola, but it was only decided for one year. Now the coach has opened the door for a longer agreement. This is not a problem because the club is very satisfied with his work.”
As a player, Guardiola came through the youth ranks at Barcelona and played in the first team for 11 years between 1990 and 2001, making 263 appearances in total.
Hercules have secured the season-long loan of Real Madrid’s Royston Drenthe.
The left-sided Dutchman has been with Real since 2007 but has failed to secure himself a regular spot in the starting 11.
Now Primera new boys Hercules hope to strengthen their side with the arrival of Drenthe.
Hercules have been active in the transfer market after being promoted last season, having signed French World Cup winner David Trezeguet from Juventus and Paraguayan forward Nelson Valdez from Borussia Dortmund.
The Alicante side are back in La Liga after 13 years away, having been relegated in the 1996/1997 season.
So that’s that, folks. At least in the English transfer market and at least until January when, come the 31st, fans of clubs ‘on the verge’ will be praying for snow to extend the window a la Arshavin of 2009.
One of the biggest signings of the latter part of the day was Paul Konchesky’s switch from Fulham. The 29-year-old defender follows in the footsteps of former coach Roy Hodgson to work under him once more, this time at Anfield. The four-year player-plus-cash deal signed by Konchesky also means that Liverpool youths Lauri Dalla Valle and Alex Kacanikli will have crossed paths with him while travelling in the opposite direction toward Craven Cottage.
Also heading away from Anfield is defender Emiliano Insua who has joined Galatasaray on a season-long loan, with the option of a permanent deal dependent on performances. Insua, 21, had a successful first season at Liverpool after arriving from Boca Juniors in 2007, but had a bumpier ride of it towards the end of his time under manager Rafa Benitez. He has made 44 appearances for Liverpool in total.
Birmingham City also had an eventful final day of the transfer season, with the additions of midfielder Alexander Hleb and defender Martin Jiranek. Hleb has moved to St Andrews on a season-long loan from Barcelona, after spending the same period of time on loan with Stuttgart last season. The Belarussian signed for Barca in 2008 from Arsenal, where he had made 89 Premier League appearances.
Meanwhile Jiranek has given up the captaincy of Spartak Moscow to come to England and work under Alex McLeish. The 31-year-old has signed a one-year deal.
Over in Serie A, AC Milan have signed Robinho from Manchester City. A four-year deal has been agreed with the Italians and the signing will see the 26-year-old join the strike force of new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato at the San Siro. City enjoyed the services of the striker for a limited period of time after signing him from Real Madrid in 2008, and he was sent out on loan to Santos in January 2010. While the fee has not been disclosed by either club, it has been reported that it was in the region of £22 million.
In other Serie A news, Arsenal full-back Armand Traore has joined Juventus on-loan for the season. The 20-year-old will be looking to find a regular starting place with the Bianconeri, after failing to do so at the Emirates.
These were the biggest moves of the day in Europe in what has been a busy transfer period overall. And to think, there’s only five months until the madness begins once more…
Plenty more news to bring you in edition two of today’s Last-Minute Deals in Europe, on a day in which it seems the managers just can’t stop getting their contracts out.
We begin at The Valley, where the Addicks have re-signed former defender Jonathan Fortune from Sheffield United, where the player had become a free agent. The ink is now drying on a deal keeping him with Charlton Athletic until Christmas, when his fortunes may change (sorry).
Sticking around in the English leagues but headed up to the Premiership and Spurs have signed goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa on-loan from Spartak Moscow. The 31-year-old Croatian has won 80 caps for his country and has kept his nation’s goal in two World Cups and one European Championship.
Meanwhile Wycombe Wanderers have confirmed that winger Matt Phillips has signed for Premiership new boys Blackpool.
The 19-year-old England youth international’s initial fee is £325,000, a figure that will double if the Seasiders manage to maintain their Premiership status next year.
Until recently, Birmingham had been interested in signing their very own Italian in the form of World Cup winner Mauro Camoranesi, but unfortunately for the Blues, Stuttgart have pipped them to the post. The 33-year-old has joined the Bundesliga outfit on a one-year deal, ending his eight-year employment in Italy with Juventus.
In that time, Camoranesi made an impressive 200 appearances for the Old Lady.
Over in France, centre-back Yohan Benalouane has moved to Italian side Cesena on loan from St Etienne. The 23-year-old Frenchman was reportedly set to join Juventus earlier this summer, but will instead spent the year in Italy with Cesena.
Benalouane told Sky Italia: “I’m really happy to be here.” While FootballUtd is glad Yohan is pleased with his move, we’d also like to see a player arrive and bad-mouth his club from the outset. Just for the entertainment factor.
Also in Serie A, Napoli look set to add striker Nicolao Dumitri to their squad after he announced (on Facebook, no less) that he was leaving current club Empoli for I ciucciarelli.
Dumitri Facebooked: “Finally it’s done. It’s the chance of a lifetime. Thanks to Napoli.”
Finally, for now at least, Seydou Keita has signed a new contract with Barcelona that will see him remain at the Camp Nou until 2014. The 30-year-old was on a deal set to run out in 2012, but the Mali international told the official website he was pleased to be extending his stay in Catalunya.
“I’m starting my third year here and have already won everything but I want to continue to win more.”
Ambitious. Stay tuned for more moves all around Europe as that deadline edges ever closer…
In the last day of the transfer season, deals have already been made all over Europe, with a number of hours still on the clock before the window closes at 6pm tonight.
To begin proceedings, Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has joined Schalke from AC Milan in a £10.5 million deal thought to have been prompted by the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the San Siro.
The 27-year-old has so far spent time with PSV Eindhoven, Heerenveen, Ajax and Real Madrid along with the Rossoneri.
In Spain, Valencia have puchased defender Marius Stankevicius from Sampdoria to boost their defence after losing Alexis to Sevilla and Carlos Marchena to Villarreal.
Meanwhile over in Italy, Parma have signed midfielder Antonio Candreva from Udinese on a loan deal. The 23-year-old Italian spent three years with the Bianconeri but has opted for Parma with the option to be signed if the loan goes well.
Candreva spent last term on loan at Juventus where he impressed, but failed to win a permanent contract with them.
Staying with Serie A, Lecce have made an impressive three late-in-the-game signings with the arrivals of Edward Ofere, Andrea Rispoli and Manuel Coppola.
Striker Ofere, 24, arrives in Italy from Swedish side Malmo FF while defender Rispoli has joined on loan from Parma along with midfielder Coppola.
The signings may have been prompted by the side’s faring in the league so far: Lecce lost 4-0 to AC Milan in the opening weekend of Serie A.
In Ligue 1, centre-back Pape Diakhate, long linked with Arsenal, has signed on loan with Lyon from Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev.
French sports newsaper L’Equipe say Lyon have the option to sign the 26-year-old permanently for 8 million euros if the loan goes well.
The Senegalese international spent the second part of the 2009-2010 season on loan at St Etienne having failed to secure himself a regular starting place with Dynamo.
Lyon have been active in the transfer market, with Diakhate becoming their third big summer signing, after the additions of Jimmy Briand (Rennes) and Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux).
Finishing off with the Bundesliga, Hoffenheim have picked up midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson from Reading. The 20-year-old Icelandic international joins on a four-year deal after having spent a successful five years at the Madejski Stadium with Reading.
That rounds up today’s transfer action… so far.
You know the new season has really started when fans start looking forward to seeing a man pull names out of a hat.
Today the groups were decided for the handily-named group stages of the UEFA Champions League 2011.
Barcelona take on Rubin Kazan for the second year in a row, while Real Madrid and AC Milan will also meet again.
Tottenham drew reigning champions Internazionale in their first outing in the tournament, and England meets Scotland with Manchester United taking on Rangers.
Title of ‘Group of Death’ goes to Group G, comprising of AC Milan, Real Madrid, AC Ajax and AJ Auzerre.
Group A
Internazionale
SV Werder Bremen
Tottenham Hotspur FC
FC Twente
Group B
Olympic Lyonnais
Benfica FC
Schalke 04
Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC
Group C
Manchester United FC
Valencia CF
Rangers FC
Bursaspor
Group D
FC Barcelona
Panathanaikos FC
FC Kobenhavn
FC Rubin Kazan
Group E
FC Bayern Munchen
AS Roma
FC Basel
CFR 1907 Cluj
Group F
Chelsea FC
Olympic Marseille
FC Spartak Moscva
MSK Zilina
Group G
AC Milan
Real Madrid CF
AC Ajax
AJ Auxerre
Group H
Arsenal FC
FC Shakhtar Donetsk
SC Braga
FK Partizan
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has confirmed the signing of French defender Sebastien Squillaci.
The 30-year-old has been linked with the Gunners since he pulled out of former club Sevilla’s Champions League qualifier against Braga last week.
Sevilla went on to confirm on their official website that a medical was taking place in London earlier this week, with a view to signing Squillaci.
Wenger said in a press conference today: “We needed a centre-back of quality and experience if possible, and at the right price – he was all of that.
“He is a real defender and is good in the one against one, good in the air, and can score goals on set-pieces as well.”
Squillaci will not play in Arsenal’s Saturday match against Blackburn, but will begin training with the team at their London Colney base tomorrow.
The Frenchman will be eligible to play in the Gunners’ Champions League campaign thanks to pulling out of what would have been his last match with Sevilla, versus Braga.
Liverpool’s Ryan Babel has insisted he has no intention of leaving Anfield and is happy with the club.
The Dutch winger has been linked with a number of clubs over the summer but says he knows of no interest from other teams. The 23-year-old also went on to say he believes he has much left to achieve with the Reds, in spite of persistent rumours linking him with Bundesliga side Wolfsburg .
Babel said: “I am trying to be positive and look forward. I have two years left on my contract and I love Liverpool. I am settled here.
“If I had the feeling I had done everything I can here then, maybe, I would look at something else.
“But I don’t have that feeling at all. I feel I can be important for Liverpool.”
Of the Wolfsburg rumours, Babel added: “I googled it and it said the deal was almost done! I knew nothing about it.”
Babel has had an unsettled time of it since arriving in the Premiership from Ajax in 2007, spending time on the bench despite a good first season with Liverpool.
His fortunes look to be on the up now, however, having scored the winning goal against Trabzonspor in the Europa League qualifier first leg last week. He will be hoping to replicate his form in the second leg away, tonight.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has told Sky Italia that there has been a breakdown in communications between he and boss Pep Guardiola.
Ibrahimovic joined Barcelona last summer and looks set to depart the Camp Nou after only a season with the La Liga champions.
The 28-year-old Swedish international said: “I haven’t spoken to Guardiola for six months.
“I do not know the reason for this, but there are certainly problems. As for Milan, for now, I do not know anything about a possible move, so I will remain a Barcelona player.”
Ibrahimovic joined Barca from Inter Milan in 2009 and could be set to join city rivals AC Milan, with talks reportedly going on over granting the striker a return to Serie A football.
Asked about Ibrahimovic’s comments in a press conference, Guardiola said: “We have no problem of communication. For the good of the club it’s best not to say anything.
“There’s always a reason, but I’m not going to explain it now. I’m very communicative.
“When it’s the right time I’ll give my opinion.”
Ibrahimovic made 29 appearances for Barcelona last season, netting 16 goals in total.
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