Blackburn http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Phil-Jones-c29903 close to completing Manchester United move
Blackburn Rovers revealed they are determined to retain the services of 27-year-old defender Chris Samba for at least another season.
Samba has been linked with a move to English Premier League rivals http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429, with the Gunners wanting to bring the Congolese footballer to the Emirates Stadium.
However, the Blackburn Rovers owner Anuradha Desai said the club wanted to keep the 27-year-old defender for next season.
She said she was aware of the player’s desire to make a move to Arsenal, but at the same time hoped he would be happy to stay at Ewood Park.
Desai said while speaking to reporters:
“We don't want to let Chris go. I'm confident that we can keep him and I hope he'll stay.
I know he has an ambition to play for Arsenal but I hope we can keep him for another year at least and prove our own ambition.”
Samba transferred to Blackburn Rovers in the January transfer window of the 2006-2007 season for a fee of £450,000 from German side http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Hertha-BSC-c39521.
In his four and a half seasons with the English Premier League side, Samba has gone on to make 167 appearances in all competitions and has scored 16 goals, providing 6 assists.
While Blackburn are keeping Samba until next season, they have agreed to part ways with Manchester United target Phil Jones.
The 19-year-old defender has been linked strongly with a move to Old Trafford in the summer transfer window.
Even though Blackburn Rovers weren’t initially prepared to part ways with the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749 under-21 international, they have no agreed to let the player go.
Desai held talks with Blackburn manager Steve Kean and they decided to let the youngster complete his dream move to Manchester United without taking legal action against the Red Devils, whom they felt had spoken to the player before they were given permission.
Desai said she felt the player would unfairly suffer if action was taken against Manchester United, which is why she had agreed to the £20.5 million deal for the Englishman.
Desai said:
“I was ready to take Manchester United on, ready to go to a tribunal if that's what it led to. But we spoke at length to Steve Kean and we knew Phil wanted to go to United.”
She continued:
“We concluded that the person who would be most damaged by a delay and legal action was Phil. That wasn't fair on him.”
In wake of these allegations, Manchester United along with the player’s agent have denied the claims by Blackburn Rovers.
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