Manchester United & Chelsea chase Inter’s Wesley Sneijder

Wesley Sneijder has undoubtedly been one of the best players in the world over the past two years, leading Inter to a historic treble in 2010 and his native Dutch to the World Cup Final in South Africa.

Therefore it’s fair to say that a transfer of one of the best players in the world would be the biggest transfer in the summer.
Inter’s president has admitted that Sir Alex Ferguson has contacted him as to the Dutchman’s availability, with Chelsea also said to have expressed interest in the midfielder.
Sneijder would obviously be a great addition for either club; £40m has been mentioned as a potential price tag on Inter’s main man, like all Interista worldwide i want to see him stay with the Nerazzurri but reports are suggesting he’s had enough of Italian football and has got his eye on a move to the English Premiership.

So according to Mirror Football website Sneijder’s ready to move to England but as it’s an English website i can’t guarantee how true it is, let’s hope it isn’t true as losing Sneijder would be a massive blow for Inter as he is one of the most important players in our squad and in my mind he could only be replaced by Messi, Ronaldo or Kaka as he is up there with these great midfielders of our time.

Report by Mirror Football

Wesley Sneijder has offered the first indication he is ready to listen to Manchester United’s overtures.

And that could pave the way for a record-breaking bid by the Premier League club, as manager Sir Alex Ferguson looks for the final piece in his latest Old Trafford jigsaw.

The world renowned Dutch international midfielder snubbed a move by United last season, insisting he preferred instead to stay with reigning European champions Inter Milan.

That was a real blow to Ferguson, who had targeted the 26-year-old World Cup star as the last – and most valuable – big-money player he will bring to Old Trafford.

The United boss was so determined to land Sneijder that when he failed he had no viable alternative, so decided not to make any significant summer signing.

The Mirror understands the classy Dutch midfielder has now decided the time is right to move on from the rigid constraints of Italian football and try the Premier League, which he has always admitted was a lure for him.

Sneijder signed a new deal with Inter only last summer when he turned down United’s offer, but sources close to the player have made clear his desire to reconsider his situation at the end of the season.

United have been made aware of the player’s intentions, and have already been encouraged to make an offer serious enough to persuade cash-strapped Inter to sell.

Inter’s president, Massimo Moratti, said only last week that he is determined not to sell to the English club, but if the Holland international remains determined to go and the fee is high enough, he will have few options but to relent.

Ferguson, for his part, has identified midfield as the key area to strengthening his current squad, which has a remarkably young average age, and real, exciting potential.

He has more than a dozen players under the age of 25 with significant first-team experience but wants more bite in midfield and more creativity going forward.

Sneijder is now widely regarded as the best in the world at the latter, and would be an exciting addition to a forward line that already boasts Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez, Dimitar Berbatov, Nani and Antonio Valencia.

Ferguson also wants a mobile, combative, more defensively-minded midfielder, and has made clear his admiration for Everton’s exciting youngster Jack Rodwell.

But Sneijder is undoubtedly his number one target, and the latest news from Italy will only encourage the United boss to step up his efforts to land the midfielder as a long-term replacement for Paul Scholes.

The Glazer family, United’s American owners, have already sanctioned a significant summer outlay. The Red Devils could be willing to smash their transfer record – the near-£31million fee that brought Berbatov to the club.

The key will be the Dutchman’s desire to taste English football, and he has indicated that he is determined to now do that, after spending two years in the tactically constrained limitations of Serie A.

Champions League Quarter Finals & Semi Final Draw

So the Champions league quarter finals have been drawn and decided, Inter have drawn Shalke 04 in the Quarter finals with the winner facing Celsea or Man Utd in the Semis. What do you think of the draw? Are you going to watch your favourite team? Get all your Champions League match tickets by following the link above. See below for the full draws & my predictions.

Full Quarter Final Draw

Real Madrid (Spain)	v	Tottenham Hotspur (England)
Chelsea (England)	v	Manchester United (England)
Barcelona (Spain)	v	Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
Inter Milan (Italy)	v	Schalke 04 (Germany)

The first legs will be played on April 5/6 and the returns on April 12/13.

The semi-final draw:

Inter Milan or Schalke v Chelsea or Manchester United
Real Madrid or Tottenham Hotspur against Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk

My Predictions

Real Madrid v Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham have been fantastic in Europe this season but i really can’t see them having what it takes to beat Mourinho & Real Madrid, that said though i think they will make the Spaniards work for the victory with the final score after both legs being 3-2

Chelsea v Manchester UnitedThis one will be a tricky one to call as both teams haven’t had the best form this season but both are capable of scoring at any point in a game. I think Utd will edge this one with a final score after both legs of 2-2 with Utd taking the away goal rule.

Barcelona v Shakhtar DonetskThis is an easy one to predict and i’m going to go for a Barcelona inspired bloodbath with the final score being 5-0

Inter Milan v Schalke

Then last but not least the most important game of the draw, in my opinion this should be a walk over for the Nerazzurri as long as they don’t do anything stupid with the final score being 3-1 to Inter.

So if my predictions are correct we’ll be looking at an exciting semi final line up of Barcelona v Real Madrid & Inter v Man Utd then i’m going to put my neck on the line and say the final will be Inter v Barcelona.

Inter eye up summer move for Carlos Tevez as Diego Milito replacment

In the last week there have been rumours of Genoa wanting to re-sign Inters treble winning hero Diego Milito after he has spent most of this season on the sidelines due to ongoing injuries. As sad as i’d be to see Milito leave Inter it has to be said that when he has played this season he’s been no where near as influential as he was last season and rumours that are flying around today make this that little bit more bearable as reports suggest that President Moratti has got his eye on Manchester City’s want away captain Carlos Tevez.

According to Corriere dello Sport, Italian giants Inter are ready to make their move for the City captain, who they see as a replacement for Diego Milito, when the transfer window reopens in June. Both Inter president Massimo Moratti and manager Leonardo are big fans of Tevez and are well aware that the Argentine is unsettled at Eastlands.
Corriere dello Sport says Inter intermediaries have already made contact with Tevez’s representatives to register their interest. Of course if this deal goes ahead then Inter will forget about making a move for Udinese’s star Alexis Sanchez, though they face a tough fight for Tevez’s signiture as Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona are all reported to be monitoring the 27 year old’s status at Eastlands. That being said Inter coach Leonardo is hopeful of luring the former Manchester United forward away from the Premier League, and linking him up with our strike force of Eto’o and Pazzini.
City won’t let him go easily though as last month they were reported to be ready to increase Tevez’s weekly wage to nearly £300,000-a-week as they look to keep him at the club, with officials at the City of Manchester Stadium weary that the former West Ham player will again listen to his closest advisor, Kia Joorabchian, and seek a move at the end of the current campaign.

According to Sky Italia, Inter Milan are also still chasing Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Luka Modric despite the Premier League club’s insistence their pint-sized schemer is not for sale.
The diminutive Croatian has been one of the outstanding performers in England’s top tier this season, and as a result both Manchester United and Chelsea have been strongly linked with the 25-year-old.
Tottenham reportedly value their star playmaker at £50 million in an effort to deter the former Dinamo Zagreb star’s mounting list of admirers, but Sky Italia intimate Inter Milan remain interested in the midfielder, who has already earned 44 caps for the national side. This is a stupendous amount of money for Inter so it adds weight to the rumours that Wesley Sneijder will be moving to one of the top Premiership sides in the summer, hopefully this is just rumour as i would rather see Sneijder stay than be replaced by Modric.
Last month it was reported Sir Alex Ferguson wanted to bring Modric to Old Trafford as a long term successor to veteran Paul Scholes, while Chelsea were credited with an interest in the January transfer market, although neither club are likely to sanction offers that would appease Spurs into selling a player that has been instrumental in their impressive season to date.

As is always the case with rumours at this stage of the season it remains to be seen if any of these reported potential transfers will materialise by June but it does show that Inter are definitely in the market for a big money signing this year.

Inter looking to strengthen attacking line up in the summer

As the season runs in the summer transfer rumours are starting already with reports linking Inter with two of the most sought after strikers in the world.

Ganso

Brazilian starlet Ganso has been attracting attention from a host of Europe’s elite clubs, but one stands out above the others as the much sought after Santos starlet has revealed that he is honoured that Inter are reportedly monitoring his progress.

The Nerazzurri are not the only side credited with an interest in the young Brazilian, with the likes of Milan, Chelsea and Olympique Lyon all thought to be wrestling for the playmaker’s signature.

Discussing the potential of a possible move to Inter, Ganso told Globo Esporte: “It’s great to hear that a club like Inter are interested in signing me. They’re one of the biggest clubs in the world and have a lot of Brazilians in their squad.

“It’s not like I’m already dreaming about playing for Inter, but it would be pretty nice. It’d be great to play alongside Samuel Eto’o and set him up in front of the goal.”

The Brazilian international also went on to reveal that he is close to signing a contract extension with his current employers Santos.

However, the deal will include a lower sell on clause should a move to one of Europe’s elite materialize.

Alexis Sanchez

Inter are set to battle Barcelona and Chelsea for Udinese winger Alexis Sanchez.

The Chile international, who impressed at last year’s World Cup, was watched by a representative of Chelsea as he scored four goals against Palermo in the 7-0 victory last Sunday.

And Udinese have confirmed they have revealed that they have received a bid of £29.7million for the player.

Manchester United are also monitoring Sanchez ahead of a summer tussle for his services.

Udinese’s chairman Franco Soldati said: ‘Sanchez is of interest of British and Italian teams. Somebody has already offered (for Alexis Sanchez) a figure close to 30-35 million euros but I cannot say by whom (we have received it).’

His agent, Fernando Felicevich, flew from Chile to Udine for a meeting with club owner Giampaolo Pozzo and president Franco Soldati to study the best approach for both parties.

Speculation rose about him joining Inter when Sanchez and Felicevich were in Milan together on Tuesday but it was for a sponsorship appearance.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti knows Sanchez from his time at AC Milan. Apart from Florent Malouda on the left Chelsea have little natural width and Ancelotti would like more balance with a natural right sided attacker.

Both of these players would make excellent additions to the Inter squad, if all the recent rumours concerning Inter’s possible summer signings are anything to go by we can expect some big things come the start of next season

- Posted by Nerazzurri Outlaw

Inter & Chelsea keep tabs on Kaka as Real look to cut their losses

Chelsea and Inter Milan have been put on red alert after reports emerged that Real Madrid are ready to offload Kaka in the summer.
Speculation has intensified of late that Los Blancos are prepared to cut their losses on the Brazilian playmaker who has endured a frustrating time at the Santiago Bernabeu since arriving in a £58million (Dh345m) deal from AC Milan in 2009.

Blighted by numerous injuries and poor form, the 28-year-old has looked a shadow of the player who swept all before him to capture the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2008.
And such has been his fall from grace, with the Samba star looking a little overweight since he returned from his lengthy injury lay off last month, he is no longer certain of a regular starting place in Jose Mourinho’s starting XI.
The ‘Special One’ still favours the attacking triumvirate of Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria behind a lone frontman of either Karim Benzema and Emmanuel Adebayor for the big games, as was the case for Real’s 1-1 draw with Lyon in the Champions League last week.
However, Kaka’s stock still remains high throughout Europe with Chelsea and Inter expressing their interest in the star over the past 18 months.
Indeed, should Carlo Ancelotti remain at Stamford Bridge beyond the summer a switch to west London may be in the offing, with the two men known to have remained close following their stint together at AC Milan.
Kaka played a pivotal role in helping the Rossoneri to their seventh European Cup success when they beat Liverpool 2-1 in the final under Ancelotti in 2007 – a period in time when he was arguably at the peak of his powers.
A potential swap deal with the increasingly disillusioned Didier Drogba, who has lost his place to new recruit Fernando Torres recently, has also been mooted with Mourinho remaining a big fan of the Ivorian hitman.
Inter meanwhile, were linked with a move for Kaka during the January transfer window with president Massimo Moratti admitting a deal for the Milan legend“could be a good idea.”
The arrival of fellow Brazilian Leonardo as manager may also help sway Kaka’s decision, given that he also held close ties with the Rossoneri having both played for and managed the club prior to diffecting to their arch rivals at the turn of the year.
Leonardo is a confirmed admirer of his compatriot while Moratti would undoubtedly love to get one over his old foe Silvio Berlusconi if the opportunity presented itself.
Indeed, a return to Milan cannot be ruled out, although with the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Antonio Cassano, Robinho and Alexandre Pato already on the books, it would appear unlikely.
Whatever the case may be, it appears that Kaka’s stay in the Spanish capital will be a brief daliance and a very costly one at that for Real.

As much as it would be nice to get one over AC Milan by signing Kaka i think it is very unlikely that he’ll sign for Inter as he has a good relationship with Ancelotti and a swap deal for Drogba (Who was one of Mourinho’s signings at Chelsea) is much more likely, plus i don’t think that there’s a need for him at Inter, we need to strengthen our midfield in the summer but Leonardo needs to look at bringing in world class wingers over another central player.
- Posted by Nerazzurri Outlaw

Location:Madrid