Transfer Rumours, Obafemi Martins to Arsenal, Ramires to Chelsea
The rumours and gossip surrounding transfers is a world in itself. Away from the playing field, transfer rumours are fuelled by the media, fans and fantasy dreams of people who would like to see the best players play at their clubs. Of course, most of the times, rumours are just that, rumours with no shred of evidence to support the idea doing the rounds. Obafemi Martins of Newcastle United is the perfect example to cite in the making up of rumours, which may add two and two together but will not be grounded in reality at all.
Martins was rumoured in successive transfer windows to be moving to Arsenal with the London based club side looking to fill the boots left by legendary striker Thierry Henry. It made perfect sense and given that Martins would not have broken Arsenal's bank, it seemed like the perfect Arsene Wenger buy. Yet there was no grain of truth to these rumours at all.
Some of the rumours doing the rounds in this summer's transfer window may fall under this category. Given that, it must also be remembered that every piece of gossip might also have a bit of truth behind it. With these caveats in mind, we can look at the range of gossip doing the rounds in the English Premier League.
Liverpool are rumoured to become big spenders if and when the bid of Chinese billionaire Kenny Huang becomes successful. With a successful bid, Roy Hodgson has been reassured that he can target any player that he wants.
Meanwhile, defending league champions Chelsea are finally closing in on the player renowned for his indefatigable stamina. According to reports, Brazilian World Cup midfielder, Ramires is on the verge of making a moving to Stamford Bridge in a deal thought to be around 22 million euros. The 23-year old earlier pleaded with his Portuguese club, Benfica to let him go so he could fulfil his dream of playing with some one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Harry Redknapp, the manager of Tottenham Hotspurs is reportedly keen to bolster his striking options ahead of their maiden Champions League journey. Towards this end, he has been looking at a number of choices including Welsh striker Craig Bellamy and Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. In the case of Huntelaar, Redknapp is prepared to let go of Giovani dos Santos in order to fund the deal. He is even prepared to shunt England beanpole, Peter Crouch, out of White Hart Lane in order to bring in more reinforcements.
Bellamy is also being courted by Fulham’s new boss, Mark Hughes, who was the one who brought him to Manchester City in his previous stint. Even before that, Hughes has managed the firebrand striker in the Welsh national side. Hughes is looking to boost his options by also looking at Paraguayan striker, Roque Santa Cruz, who has been unable to make the required impact at Eastlands due to a spate of injuries. It was Hughes again, who had made the move for the South American when he was at the helm of the blue club of Manchester.
Arsenal continue to look for another central defender as well as a goalkeeper to add to their ranks while the Cesc Fabregas saga shows no sign of winding down just yet. Manchester United has been quiet this summer and their only real target could be German midfielder Mesut Ozil, who made a huge splash at the recently concluded World Cup in South Africa.
West Ham insists that their England stars Rob Green, Carlton Cole and Scott Parker will not be sold at any cost because they are integral towards building the future of the club.
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