Real Madrid President promises 3 more....

Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon told today that coach Schuster is going to be very happy, as he is definitely going to have a team to compete for all the titles. He also said that in the next week or so Madrid would be revealing at least 3 more signings.

Kaka: For some reason the President still fuels the speculation even when Milan and Kaka have clearly mentioned that there is no more to discuss about Real. Madrid President is letting Kaka know that the Spanish champions have been interested in him for at least couple of years and that if the player tells the Italians giants they may re think their stance on him. Calderon must be so desperate with the snub on the reportedly huge 80M advances that he is playing some mind games. He said "Milan does not want to sell and we cannot talk further".

Robben: The President claimed that since Robben has a clear desire to play for Madrid it would not be a problem to complete the transfer and that Madrid would see Robben's dream fulfilled.

Inesta: Inesta has a 60M buy out clause in his contract and there was a rumour a couple of weeks back that Real are ready to pay Barca the 60M to sign Inesta after their bid for Fabregas failed. Well asked about this he said that the coach and the board like Inesta but nothing further.

Well repeatedly questioned on the names of the possible signings Calderon claimed that he is not going to name anyone and that the press would know only few hours before the signing. He said that the rumors spread by the press is blowing up the cost of players. Concluding that Real want the best player but at the minimum cost.

One of the reporters asked him jokingly "So why pay 30M for Pepe, we did not hike up his price". Calderon responded by saying " Have you seen him play?" Well Madrid lost 0-3 to Hannover 96 in Germany and is now in Russia participating in a tournament as a part of the 170 years of Russian railways. The other teams are PSV, AC Milan and hosts Lokhomotiv Moscow. It needs to be seen how Madrid fares here. It should never be the name but it should be the game that matters....

Tevez finally a Man U player

The row between Man U, West Ham and the so called player's agents who hold the financial rights of the player is finally over. FIFA was also brought in to resolve this. Finally the player's agent threatened to take the matter to the courts to get a resolution.

With Tevez all bent upon joining United there was nothing West Ham could have done to keep him at the club. The illegal transactions involved in the signing of Tevez and his national team mate Mascherano on the last day of the transfer window last season resulted in a fine of 5.5M for West Ham. Finally the resolution has been made because West Ham is to be compensated 2M for this deal.

Tevez has started training at Man U and is expected to make a debut soon. Well in my previous blog on who Man U should buy i had made a striker a priority and even mentioned the likes of Tevez. Now here he is, the natural goal scorer will flourish if he can play well alongside Rooney and Ronaldo. Man U have really made their squad stronger to defend their title.

Alan Smith joins New Newcastle

Newcastle coach Big Sam has an idea that he can win with attacking options. He already had the fit and ready Owen, Ameobi and Martins who was impressive last season. He also signed Mark Viduka when the transfer window opened and now he has brought in Alan Smith from Manchester United.

Smith was not getting first team football, and i did mention about him in one of my previous blogs that he needs to move on. He is a decent attacking player who has very few chances to play in that position. It is true that representing Man U is a big honor but not necessarily at the cost of your career. Smith was also played as the holding player in midfield by Ferguson after Keane left. Now with Man U completing the transfer of Tevez, it leaves Smith with less chances.

Newcastle has fought off competition from a host of other clubs to acquire his signature. With the attacking options at Newcastle it needs to be seen if Smith is jumping from the pan to the fire....

Alex almost a Chelsea player

Chelsea has been following the Brazilian Centre back for a year now and Jose Mourinho had claimed that Alex would be the primary player targeted by Chelsea this season.

The burly Brazilian has been given a work permit and pending finalizing personal terms and a medical we would see Alex in a Chelsea jersey next term.

I am a big fan of this stocky defender, as he has that flair that most of his national team mates have, strong in the air and good with standing tackles, the only probable weakness he has is against fast drifting strikers.

Mourinho has identified a strong back up for his back line who struggled with injuries to including their captain Terry. Well Essien filled in as a centre back and did an outstanding job, but obviously Jose wants more choices.

For a player from outside the European Union to play in England, it is required to obtain a Work permit, which has a specific clause that the player in question should have played in at least 70% of the international games that his home country has featured in the past one year. Well Alex's cause was helped with the Copa America in which he almost played in all the games and did a decent job as well.

Strikers in England look out you might actually end up having to go around Terry and Alex. Chelsea fans would definitely be excited with the prospect of a Brazilian in their ranks and Chelsea can use the arrival of Alex to lure another long term interest Dani Alves to Stamford Bridge.

Drenthe Saga rolls on

Royston Drenthe was unheard of outside Holland till Real Madrid's desperation to land a left sided midfielder came upon. The highly rated Dutch U21 international was in the interest of a host of clubs in Europe including Barcelona, Chelsea and Real.

I have been reading about this whole interest and the claims from Drenthe's agent of the player rejecting Real's approaches as the Coach was planning to play Drenthe as a left back. Well the latest in the whole story is that Real has tabled an offer of 12.5M to Feyenoord and that the Dutch champions are holding out for somewhere close to 17M. Now Drenthe's agent is complaining that Feyenoord is putting a block on his client's dream move and the amount his current employers are asking Real is ridiculous. He is surprised at the inability of Feyenoord to strike a deal with Real when most clubs around the world find it easy.

Schuster has claimed publicly that Real desperately need a left sided midfielder. With the Robben offer not materialized yet, Drenthe now claims that he is desperate to join the Spanish Champions.

Well i pulled up some info on the so called next Dutch superstar and looks like in his short professional career he has already had two altercations with two of his former coaches. Well red flag and a flaming red flag. Real have had their hands burnt in the past when they signed Cassano who was famous or rather notorious all across the world with his on going feud with Roma. A player with that kind of a short fuse is going to blow up any time, and he did when he abused Capello on being substituted. After a poor season of almost no games and Arthritis Real would want to offload Cassano but will there be any takers?

Well Real want a Left sided midfielder but is Roston Drenthe worth all this effort & is he the player that Real would call the next Zidane?

Dani Alves wants out of Sevilla

The Brazilian full back has joined Sevilla team back after his Copa America tournament. The versatality of Dani was in full show in the final against Argentina when he was introduced as a right midfielder and scored a smashing goal, the finisher 3rd goal.

His club life has also been off to a great start, after Sevilla successfully defended their UEFA cup and also competing for the leaugue honors for the major part and finally finshed 3rd. Though Sevilla have been silent in the transfer market, they still have an amazing squad to compete for the league and the Champions League.

The highly rated Alves has mentioned today that though he is back training with his club, he is waiting for a deal to be finalized for a move. He said " life of a football player is short and so i need to make the best of mine too". The reported suiters are Chelsea who have openly admitted that they are keen admirers of the Brazilian.

Alves like most of his national counterparts like Cafu and Cicinho is very attack minded. To add to that Dani is also a set piece specialist and is good defensively as well. It was interesting to see his defensive skills put to test against Real's home match against Sevilla when he had to defend the flank against Robinho. For most part of the match Dani got the better of his national team mate.

Chelsea would do really well with an addition like Dani Alves. With the possibility of having Alex at Stamford Bridge, Dani would be excited to accept the multi millions from Roman.

Baptista going nowhere!

AC Milan offered a Loan deal with a buy out option after a year for "the beast", but the Brazilian international Copa America winner has decided to turn down the loan deal. As expected he joined the rest of the team who are in training in Germany.

Baptista claimed that he talked to Schuster and got an assurance that he will be there in his plans for the season. Real would not have been interested for yet another loan deal for the Brazilian as the first loan deal with Arsenal did not go well. The exchange deal fell through and Reyes joined rivals Athletico.

Real have a habit of signing players who may not even fit the squad or playing style and then loaning them out. In the past few seasons there are numerous names such as Woodgate (loaned to Middlesbrough after recovery from injury), Pablo Garcia, Carlos Diogo, Javier Portillo, Roberto Soldado to name a few.

Woodgate completed a permanent switch, so did Portillo. Real have brought back Soldado and loaned out Garcia again.

Real paid a huge sum of money to price out Baptista from Sevilla couple of seasons back. What sense does it make after that to loan him out season after season, paying his salary which is the usual case in a loan deal. Its time this nonsense is stopped. Keeping the squad tight and happy.