Ince Turns Down Cardiff City

Tom Ince had originally agreed personal terms with Cardiff City after Blackpool had accepted a bid for the youngster. Ince has been rumoured with a return to the Premier League for quite some time with Liverpool in the running to re-sign the player they let go two years ago.

Tom and his Father Paul Ince, the current manager of Blackpool gave the following reasoning for his decision. 

“Having agreed a fee with Blackpool FC towards the end of June and with the

player and agent happy with personal terms offered, Blackpool manager and

Thomas’ father Paul confirmed on Friday that, due to the recent birth of Thomas’

first child this week, the player didn’t want to leave his family or the Seasiders at this stage of his life.”

Malkay MacKay seemed to think the move was perfectly in shape and that the deal wasn’t far from being completed.

“I can only say from the chat we had, we had a very amicable, friendly chat and they asked me a lot of questions about where his career could go forward, where I see him in terms of the type of player he is and what’s going on here,” Mackay said.

“He was certainly very impressed by the stadium, training ground and the city in general during our conversation and the plans for Cardiff City going forward.”

Tom Ince is now expected to stay in Blackpool for another season and re-consider his future at the end of the 2013/2014 season.

Kondogbia wanted by Arsenal

Sevilla may soon be receiving a sneaky bid from Arsenal for midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia. Arsenal have let it known this summer that they have the intention of spending big and bringing the club back to it’s invincible status it once had. Arsene Wenger has already been scouting a whole array of players from all over the world. At one point it seemed they were going to secure a deal to sign Real Madrid attacker Gonzalo Higuain. They haven’t kept quiet about their desire to ‘bring Fabregas home‘ and they have also been audaciously bidding for Luis Suarez. Let’s not forget the fact they said Wayne Rooney was a target as well.

Next in line for a speculative cross hair to be placed on them is Geoffrey Kondogbia. The versatile 20-year-old can play as a holding midfielder, centre back and even a left back. Kondogbia currently plays his club football for Sevilla in La liga mainly being utilised in a defensive midfield role.

He has sprung into the lime light as of late when he was selected for the French U20 national side in the World Cup held in Turkey. He opened the scoring for his side in the first game against Ghana. Then scored the next goal for his nation in the following match.

Real Madrid have also shown interest in the young Frenchman but seem to of turned their attention to Asier Illarramendi. Sevilla who failed to qualify for European competition last term are now facing the prospect of losing some of their best players. Arsene Wenger is hoping that the promise of Champions League football could be enough to tempt Kondogbia to the Emirates.

Wanyama signs for Southampton

Victor Wanyama has been linked with a move away from Scottish Champions Celtic for quite some time and

 has finally completed and inevitable move to the Premier League. It seemed at one point he may be

 tempted abroad because of certain tax laws he would be able to evade.

The 22-year-old Nigerian midfielder has completed a deal that cost the Saints a whopping £12m which 

matches their record transfer fee. The Saints last summer bought Gaston Ramirez for the same price. 

The Nigerian burst onto the scene in what can be considered a successful Champions League tournament

 for Celtic. The Celts beat Barcelona 2-1 at Celtic park with Wanyama opening the scoring in the 21st

 minute.

Wanyama has only been at Celtic for two seasons but has played in 91 matches for the club, scoring 13

 times. Neil Lennon and Celtic were desperate not to let the Nigerian leave but have made a profit of £11m

 as they originally paid £900,000 for his signature.

Wanyama is the second major signing for the Saints this summer as the south coast club already

 wrapped up a deal for Dejan Lovren.

Mourinho admits Rooney Admiration

Jose Mourinho has sent further fireworks into the Manchester United camp by publicly admitting his admiration of Red Devils striker Wayne Rooney. With a lot of dignity and respect from the Chelsea manager, as you would expect he made the following comments.

“It’s a tricky question because I cannot speak about players from other teams.

“But you know me, it’s not my kind of character to speak with a bit of hypocrisy and I always say what I think.

“He is a player I like very much but I can say no more than that. Being fast and direct, I like that, but he’s a Manchester United player.”

Wayne Rooney who has recently left Manchester United’s preseason tour with a hamstring injury has still yet to publicly speak about his future. Sir Alex Ferguson announced live on television that Wayne Rooney had indeed asked to leave the club for a second time in three years.

David Moyes during his first press conference made it very clear that Wayne Rooney was not for sale at any price, that he was enjoying his time and Manchester United and looked happy to be there. There is still a lot of other clubs interested in the England International with Real Madrid known to be keeping track of the forwards status. As well as Arsenal, who have admitted they could afford Rooney if they believed he was a right player for the club.

Steven Gerrard will sign another 2 year deal for Liverpool

Discussions between Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre and Steven Gerrard’s agent have been ongoing since the end of last season. The club are now announcing they have reached an agreement and Gerrard will sign within the next 24 hours.

Steven Gerrard who can quite easily be labeled the current day ‘Mr Liverpool’ has been at Anfield now for 14 seasons. He started his career in 1998-99 season where he burst onto the scene as a youngster and one of the biggest prospects in English Football history. Gerrard has made 629 starts for the club and 102 for England.

Gerrard who currently stands eighth on the all time appearances list for Liverpool will be chasing down those above him, such as Tommy Smith, Phil Neal and even Ian Rush. As far as goal scoring records go, he has a long way to go. He currently stands seventh on the all time top scorers list having surpassed Michael Owen this season and is now chasing down Kenny Dalglish who is currently 13 goals ahead of the Liverpudlian. It is an almost impossible task to chase down that of Ian Rush and Gerrard currently stands a massive 186 goals behind. Comparing Gerrard to Strikers is far from a fair comparison and Gerrard does hold the record for the highest goal scoring midfielder in Liverpool Footballing history.

Gerrard has sucessfully helped Liverpool to 11 club honours, including two FA Cups, three League Cups, two Community Shields and the unforgettable Champions League in 2004-05. He has also recieved the bronze award for the Balon d’Or and has won thirty five other personal awards throughout his career.

Manchester United but a bid in for Cesc Fabregas

David Moyes and Manchester United have registered their offical intrest in former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas with an offical £25m bid. Having recently missed out on Thiago, another Barcelona player they believe to of been scouting they have stepped up the pace for their next target.

Fabregas has said more than once that he is happy at the Nou Camp and that he feels his future lies with Barcelona even though the fans have struggled to take admiration in his work. Arsenal are believed to have first refusal on their former captain and could launch a bid themselves. Arsenal have been linked with a move for Fabregas on more than one occasionthis season and would destroy Manchester United’s hopes of signing him if they wish to invoke a bidding war.

Fabregas have been with Barcelona for two seasons now and has had a tough time. Even though last season, he created 50 goal scoring opportunities when Kagawa, Cleverley and Nani only created 49 between them. Manchester United are in desperate need of reinforcements in midfield ever since the departure of Paul Scholes who hung up the boots at the end of last season.

BBC and Sky Sports news can confirm that a bid has been made. BBC believe the bid is around the £25m mark where as Sky believe they have stretched to the £35m mark. 

A fun fact: Fabregas and Robin Van Persie have the same agent. Make of that what you wish.ngage their interest elsewhere.