Fulham, Spurs, Milan & Celtic To Fight It Out For Croatian International

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Tottenham Hotspur are set to battle it out with Premier League rivals Fulham along with AC Milan and Celtic for Croatian International goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa, who id due to face Spurs when they play Spartak Moscow in the UEFA Cup on Thursday.

29-year-old Pletikosa is the subject of interest of all four clubs, according to the keeper’s agent Mark Naletilic. With Naletilic also revealing that while enquiries have been made no firm offer has been made for Pletikosa, who is valued at £6.5million by Spartak.



“There are several interested clubs, but we are still at an early stage,” he told sportskenovosti.hr.

“Fulham is certainly among them, but the club have not yet submitted an official bid. Everything will depend on the price.

“Spartak are pleased with him, but they will not make things complicated if a real opportunity presents itself. Russians behave in the market, if a good offer arrives they do not stand in a player’s way.”

Naletilic went on to declare the interest from Celtic, while claiming that Tottenham were keen on Pletikosa to replace Heurelho Gomes, who has made a string of high-profile errors since his summer move to White Hart Lane from PSV Eindhoven.

Along with the interest from the Rossoneri, who while not dismissing a move to the San Siro highlighted the problem of the Serie A side having too many players from outside the EU in their squad.

“Contacts with Celtic are there from before, while Tottenham are interested due to the bad form of Heurelho Gomes,” he added.

“Milan also seek a goalkeeping solution, but there could be perhaps the problem of too many players from outside the EU. Everything is possible.”

Arsenal To Swoop For Brazilian International?

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is considering a January bid for Brazilian International striker Alexandre Pato at Serie A giants AC Milan, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

Wenger is eager to get the Gunners faltering Premier League challenge back on track and is understood to have funds available in January to bring fresh faces to the Emirates Stadium after a meeting with new Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis on Friday.



19-year-old Pato is believed to be on the list of potential targets for the boss of the North London club, with Emmanuel Adebayor struggling with injuries this term and Nicklas Bendtner failing to impress in the Premiership this season. Although Wenger expects Croatian International Eduardo to return to first team action in the near future, Wenger is keen to add another forward to bolster the frontline at the Emirates.

Pato has been at the San Siro since signing from Brazilian side Internacional in 2007 and had been linked with Arsenal before joining the Rossoneri. Pato has scored 13 goals in 37 appearances for Milan during his time at the Italian club, but it remains to be seen if Milan, are willing to let him leave Italy for England in January or whether Wenger will have to wait until the summer to land the Brazilian starlet.

Agent: I Don't Know If Agger Will Stay At Liverpool

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Liverpool defender Daniel Agger, who is a target for European powerhouses AC Milan and Real Madrid in the January transfer window is edging closer to leaving Anfield after his agent Per Steffensen claimed that he didn’t know whether the Danish International would see out the remaining 18 months of his contract at the Merseyside club.

23-year-old Agger has always maintained that he is happy at the Premier League club, despite speculation linking the Danish central-defender with a move to the Bernabeu or the San Siro in January. However, while Agger has been a regular starter for Reds manager Rafa Benitez recently due to the injury to Martin Skrtel. It remains to be seen if he can hold on to his place, when Skrtel returns from injury, which the Slovakian defender is expected to do in a couple of weeks time.

Add to this reports that talks on a new deal for Agger at Liverpool have stalled and the Rossoneri vice-president Adriano Galliani declaring on Wednesday that a defender will be arriving at Milan in January, with Agger very much in their thoughts and the Danes future at Anfield looks less certain.

“We are going to sign a new defender in January, there's is no doubt about that," Galliani told Denmark's tipsbladet.dk.

“We have kept a frequent eye on Agger and his situation at Liverpool and have of course noticed the problems that Agger and Liverpool have on agreeing on a new contract.”

With Agger’s agent now refusing to comment on the situation regarding the former Brondby players new deal at Liverpool and conceding that he does not know if his client will remain at the Premiership club. A move away from Merseyside is looking ever more likely, with Milan the likely destination.

Steffensen said: “He still has 18 months left on his Liverpool contract, that is a fact.

“It’s not only up to Daniel. He has said he is happy at Liverpool but there are always two parties.

“I don't know if he will stay.”

Milan Set To Miss Out As Juventus On Verge Of Signing Gallas From Arsenal

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Former Arsenal captain William Gallas is edging closer to a switch to Serie A, with Juventus director of sport Alessio Secco flying into London to thrash out a deal with new Gunners chief executive Ivan Gazidis, according to the Daily Mail.

Juve coach Claudio Ranieri knows all about 31-year-old Gallas, having signed the French International from Ligue 1 side Marseille in 2001, while the Italian was in charge at Chelsea. Reports in Italy claim that Secco met Gazidis at Chelsea’s Champions League match against Cluj at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday to finalise a deal to make the Frenchman a La Vecchia Signora player.

Gallas is widely expected to leave the Emirates Stadium in January, having been stripped of the captaincy at the Premier League club by manager Arsene Wenger after an outburst in the media criticising his team mates at the North London club.

While it would appear that Juventus are leading the race to sign Gallas, Serie A, rivals AC Milan are also reportedly interested in the defender, with the Rossoneri keen to bring Gallas to the San Siro. Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti has identified Gallas as the man to replace veteran defenders Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta, who are both coming to the end of distinguished football careers at Milan.

Arsenal's Fabregas: Move To Italy? Only To Milan

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Serie A giants AC Milan, who have been linked with a move for Spanish International Cesc Fabregas in recent reports, will be pleased to hear the Arsenal midfielder reveal that if he were to leave the Emirates Stadium for Italy. It would have to be to the San Siro to join the Rossoneri.

Gunners captain Fabregas has always maintained that he is happy at the Premier League club under manager Arsene Wenger, but continues to be the subject of speculation. La Liga powerhouses Real Madrid and former club Barcelona are keen to bring the midfielder back to Spain along with Milan, who see the 21-year-old Spaniard as the perfect player to inject some youth into an ageing midfield at the San Siro.

Fabregas has now revealed that should he ever leave the North London club for Italy then the only option for the EURO 2008 winner would be Milan.

“I would undoubtedly pick the Rossoneri,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I think they are the Italian side that play the best football. I mean, there are several strong outfits in Serie A, such as Inter, Juventus and Roma, but they seem too much dependent on their star players.

“They run into trouble as soon as these are out injured. On the other hand, Milan lean on the group and their organization. I feel this is a winning mentality and a philosophy that I approve of.”

Fabregas has also revealed that he would have preferred Spain to meet Italy in the final of EURO 2008 as opposed to their quarter-final clash in which Fabregas scored the winning penalty against the World Cup holders.

“I think we met the Azzurri too early,” he smiled, “I would have preferred to face them in the final.

“Either way, I believe Italian fans can be happy: you lifted the World Cup and we just hoisted the European trophy. Do you fancy a swap?”

Milan Dismiss Link With Arsenal's Gallas

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Serie A giants AC Milan have moved quickly to quell reports that they are preparing to launch a January bid for Arsenal defender William Gallas.

31-year-old Gallas’ future at the Emirates Stadium has become shrouded in doubt after being stripped of the captaincy at the Gunners by manager Arsene Wenger after comments the French International made to the media last week.

Gallas was subsequently dropped from the Arsenal team that lost 3-0 to Manchester City at the Eastlands Stadium in the Premier League last Saturday. However, Gallas was restored to the starting line-up for Arsenal’s 1-0 Champions League win against Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday and was praised by his performance by Wenger.

The Frenchman’s agent has already declared that Gallas does not wish to leave the North London club, with reports recently linking the defender with a move back to France.

Reports earlier on Wednesday have linked the Rossoneri with a January bid to take Gallas to the San Siro, but Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has rejected the reports and insisted that there will be no new arrivals at Milan in January. Instead Galliani declared that Milan’s focus is on their UEFA Cup clash with Premiership club Portsmouth on Thursday and continuing their recent form in Europe is what mattered most.

“Gallas? We won't be making any signings in January and we are only thinking about tomorrow's Uefa Cup clash,” Galliani claimed on Datasport.it.

“What matters now is that we continue our form in Europe after picking up six points in the last two games,” he added.

“There will be changes in the team tomorrow night, but every player in our squad is important and so I don't think we will struggle on the pitch.”