Live transfers

Rate it!

22 votes

Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic loves it in the North West.

We know this because last summer he vehemently denied reports claiming that he said the best thing about the city was "the timetable at the railway station, where trains leave for other, less rainy cities," and "in the future, I would like to test myself in another top league. I'm thinking of Spain. At least there will be no reason to complain about the weather".

Well, according to the Daily Mail, he may soon get the chance to prove how little the weather means to him when Barcelona make a bid for the giant Serb defender.

Internazionale are also interested, but club official Silvano Martina is not optimistic, and said: "He loves it in Manchester and Italian clubs cannot afford to buy him, nor can Spanish ones for that matter. He is European and club world champion, why would he want to leave? Every other destination would be a step down."

The Mail reckons that one reason for Vidic choosing to leave could be his wife Ana, who is apparently hankering for that place in the sun that Vidic most definitely is not.

Moving on from a player of the year nominee to a stick-on for villain of 2009, The Guardian reports that there is no shortage of takers for outgoing Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton.

A senior club source told the paper: "There are a number of clubs interested in him. He has played his last game for the club. Alan Shearer has the board's full backing on this matter. Joey's behaviour was disgraceful and utterly unacceptable. He has run out of chances at this football club."

No surprises for guessing that Sam Allardyce, the man who ushered in Barton's reign of terror on Tyneside, wants to take him under his wing once more at Blackburn Rovers, or that the equally rugged Stoke, Bolton and Portsmouth are keeping abreast of the situation.

The Daily Telegraph brings some worrying news for West Ham fans. The Hammers are currently lying seventh in the Premier League, a position that would earn them a place in next season's inaugural UEFA Europa League.

However, the club's financial turmoil may deny Gianfranco Zola's side a European campaign next season, as uncertainty over the club's ownership and their failure to declare their accounts means that - as it stands - they do not meet criteria required for a UEFA club licence.

After missing the initial April 30 deadline, West Ham have until the end of this month to satisfy the conditions required for their right to field a weakened team in the quarter-finals.

French left-back Aly Cissokho has again declared Tottenham Hotspur are after him, perhaps in a bid to secure a better contract just a few months after joining Porto from Vitoria Setubal.

Cissokho said: "I know there are big clubs looking at me, and Tottenham is one of them and that is fine. We will just wait until the end of the season and then see."

Also at Spurs, teenage show-pony Adel Taarabt insists he is leaving Spurs at the end of the season, to the disappointment of almost no one.

He said: "I'm going to leave Tottenham during the summer no matter what. They can't give me what I want, so my departure is inevitable. I need time on the pitch. At my age I can't wait any longer - I just want to play - and that is why I agreed to join QPR in March.

"They want to buy me, and have made Spurs an offer for me. My agent has a meeting with Spurs' management in a week's time."

Meanwhile, France U21 defender Dorian Dervite (who he?) is also set to leave White Hart Lane.

Nwankwo Kanu is mulling over a move to Perth Glory, while a trio of Ghanaians could be arriving this summer: Fulham are weighing up a bid for Al-Ittifaq striker Prince Tagoe, while Stoke are looking at Hoffenheim midfielder Isaac Vorsah and Hearts of Oak striker Godwin Bonsu.

Tony Mabert / Eurosport