EPL Rumour Mill: Xabi Alonso on The Brink?

by Jonathan Naylor (Columnist)

6 comments

529 reads

May 11, 2008

Share this Story

  • Email to a friend
  • Print this article
  • Send to Facebook
  • Send to Digg

Currently UnEdited

This article has not been edited yet.

World Football, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Portsmouth, Real Madrid, Nicolas Anelka , Xabi Alonso , Sol Campbell , John Arne Riise, English Premier League, Breaking News, Breaking News, Niko Kranjcar (Portsmouth)

With the Arsenal exodus in full swing, Liverpool are also set to change a considerable amount of first team personnel. Serial injury artist Harry Kewell did not want to take a substantial pay cut and will be moving on.

Also, John Arne Riise has been placed on the transfer list following a poor season. Peter Crouch has also had a £15m price-tag slapped on his considerable frame.

Perhaps most disappointingly for Liverpool fans, midfield maestro Xabi Alonso has been mooted around a number of clubs, with perennial courters Real Madrid expressing an interest. Having just become a father and wanting to raise his child in Spain, it would come as no surprise to see him leaving Anfield this summer.

Another interesting rumour from La Liga is the alleged movements of England veteran Sol Campbell. With Villarreal showing interest, we could see an Englishman lining up for a foreign side next year, something of a collectors' item.

Another at Fratton Park subject to speculation is unsung hero Niko Kranjcar. With Arsenal and Liverpool sniffing around the Croatian playmaker, he could well follow Campbell out the door.

It seems that Chelsea and Manchester United just can't get enough of Portuguese talent. With both clubs scrambling for full back Jose Bosingwa, reports suggest that Chelsea have finally won the race with a £15.9m bid.

The long and protracted transfer of Ronaldinho to AC Milan finally seems to be coming to a close. With the Brazilian wizard announcing to his Barca teammates that a deal has been struck, he is either on his way to Italy, or at least absolutely determined to leave the Catalan giants.

A shock arrival at the Stadium of Light could be Atletico Madrid's high flying forward Diego Forlan. Roy Keane has made his interest public and, with the Man United connection, could force a deal through. Should Atletico qualify for the Champions League, however, the transfer could become slightly more difficult.

Here's one final sensational story. Sunday's papers are full of the reports that Nicolas Anelka is set to leave Chelsea, having only joined them four months ago. The man with more clubs than Tiger Woods could be calling time early on yet another stint at a major club, with no shortage of prospective buyers. 

 

Do you have any transfer rumours? Please post them below.

Comments (6) Add a comment »

  1. Great review of the weekends rumours Jonathan.

    Liverpool wanting James Milner was one along with a shock move by Manchester United for Michael Owen!!!

    1. Cheers Andrew - I did just hear the Owen rumour but I'm desperate to believe that it isn't so!

  2. I hope that the Michael Owen rumour isn't true. I had heard that Man Utd and Ajax had agreed a £21.5 million deal for Klass Jan Huntelaar. I hope that's true. I've been raving about him for four years! It's taken long enough.

    I quite liked your teaser. You sift through the rumours so we don't have to. Subtle but brilliant.
    Great article mate.

    1. cheers man-glad you enjoyed it. Huntelaar could do for United what van Nistelrooy did when he came in - worrying prospect for the rest of the league!

  3. Excellent synopsis of the goings "on & off" as the curtain descends on a nail-biting season Jon. Surprised you missed transfer rumour late yesterday, emanating from Milan of their intention, regardless of cost to lure Stephen Gerard from Anfield. According to reports Rafa was jumping about "like a cat on a hot tin roof", steam bursting from his nostrils, but at the same time cogitating on the fact that "MONEY TALKS"

  4. It would make sense for Xabi to return home (to Spain, not Madrid) at this point. He has just had a child and all of the rumors linking Gareth Barry to an Anfield move but I can not see this happening until January or the following summer. I'm not sure that the CM spot will be deep enough with Lucas and Mascherano gone for the olympics. I know it's only a 10 day tournament but they will probably end up missing a 4 games with pre-training, flight back/adjustment time. I do not think that Rafa would allow there to be just 2 central midfielders for a couple of league games and possibly a champions league game or two. If one gets hurt it could seriously hurt Liverpools hopeful title challenge next year.

Write a new comment


Edit this Article Article History