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Transfers - Gossip Shop: Stoke in for Scholes

Eurosport - Fri, 29 May 18:48:00 2009

As Gossip Shop prepares for retirement, Paul Scholes could be set for a sensational exit from Manchester United after Stoke allegedly expressed an interest in the former England playmaker.

FOOTBALL Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes after the Champions League final defeat to Barcelona in Rome. Scholes, 34, has been linked with a surprise move to Stoke City. - 0

Scholes, who turns 35 later this year, is frustrated by a lack of first-team opportunities and was only on the bench for the Champions League final.

"Not playing every week is an adjustment you don't like making," Scholes said in the Daily Mail. "You train all week, and you want to play games."

Were Scholes to leave, it would come as something of a bombshell for United fans, who have always thought that the one-club man would only countenance leaving for boyhood heroes Oldham.

But Scholes is nothing if not realistic and, knowing his legs are fading, he is considering a route into management and starts his coaching qualifications this summer.

"I would have thought that next season will be my last one," he continued. "After that, I would not rule out management. Let's see how the coaching goes first."

And this is where Stoke would come in, according to The Mail.

Eager to add some quality to his midfield of massive bruisers, boss Tony Pulis wants Scholes for a season, with a view to coaching while learning the management ropes at the Britannia.

It would suit Scholes logistically, as he would not have to move from his Moors home, and professionally, both in the short and long-term. But, vitally, it is not Oldham.

Other United stars tipped to leave are, of course, Carlos Tevez , and somewhat more languid striker Dimitar Berbatov.

Furthermore, United's inability to match Barcelona in midfield could signal changes, with Michael Carrick, Anderson, Ryan Giggs and Ji-Sung Park shown up for being no more than 'pretty good' as opposed to Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Lionel Messi's 'bl**dy marvellous'.

Some of the names bandied about - Michael Essien, Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso, Cesc Fabregas - are not options in the short-term, but an intriguing prospect is Yaya Toure.

Shunned by Arsene Wenger despite Kolo's recommendation, the younger of the Ivorian brothers is hard, fast and skilful. But he is also very, very good, as shown in his effortless conversion to centre-half in the build-up to the biggest game of his career.

Tevez, meanwhile, could oddly be the man that allows Sir Alex Ferguson to bring in some midfield steel.

Liverpool are top of the queue to sign him, but at £25m his purchase would rule out a bid for Gareth Barry unless Mascherano or Alonso were allowed to leave.

Whether the Reds would countenance the sale of a key midfielder to their bitter rivals is open to debate, but if Tevez joins it would be somewhat hypocritical of Rafael Benitez to stand in anyone's way.

A final edition of GS would not be complete without an obligatory Cristiano Ronaldo rumour. But, ever the maverick, GS has been decided that Ronaldo is one man who will be staying at Old Trafford, despite The Sun's insistence that he is due to hand in a transfer request.

The Portuguese heart-throb seemed to be playing for himself in the Champions League final, which may have put Real Madrid off making a £70 million bid.

Franck Ribery, however, would cost around half that and is eager to leave Bayern Munich, what with FC Hollywood being a bit alpha male for the shy winger.

That would annoy Chelsea, who - despite having no manager - were preparing to bring in the Frenchman for the constantly-crocked Joe Cole.

Anyway, the Blues would be better served by looking to bring in defensive cover and a good, young striker to fill the boots of the soon-to-depart Didier Drogba.

Converted left winger Yuri Zhirkov of CSKA Moscow would work as both back-up to full-back Ashley Cole and as a viable alternative to Florent Malouda.

Reports emerged that the Russia star had agreed to join Chelsea, who dismissed it as "paper talk", just how GS likes it.

On a striking tip, Lyon's Karim Benzema and Atletico Madrid's Sergio Aguero score goals for fun (both, eerily, have just over 40 in just over 110 appearances for their clubs) and are frighteningly young at 21 and 20 respectively.

Chelsea will have to splash some cash on those two, but Drogba and Malouda would both be amenable to part-exchange deals if the new manager at Stamford Bridge decides to dispense with their services.

With Liverpool edging closer to Tevez, a move for Barry (who, honestly, would add little to an already excellent midfield) is looking less likely.

Arsenal, however, would love to have a man who can tie his own shoelaces, and could use some of the cash Wenger has allegedly been promised to fund a bid for the England international.

Wenger really should have spent the £4.5m Yaya Toure cost when he joined Monaco from Olympiacos after a failed trial with the Gunners, or even the £6m shelled out by Barca a year later. Barry, meanwhile, would cost at least £12m.

So, this is the end of the Shop, ordered to the knackers' yard after one libel suit too many.

Stay tuned, though, as the unfounded gossip and baseless rumour will continue in an all-new format starting on Monday.

Eurosport

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  1. HEY SCOUSE HATER WATCH THIS SPANISH F***ER IT MIGHT BE­ FAT RAFA THE SPANISH WAITER HES MISSING TALKIN ABOUT­ MAN UTD RAFAS ON THE BLOG THE FAT T**T

    From WAYNE, on Fri 29 May 11:57PM

  2. THIS NOB BARCELONE KICK ARSE IS IT RC-ALCOCK OR WHAT­ THE DIRTY BUMMER SHIRT LIFTIN TURED
    BURGULAR.
    GLORY­ GLORY MAN UTD

    From WAYNE, on Fri 29 May 11:47PM

  3. wayne alcock as not got a @#$% he is a sex change freak­ with no balls ha ha ha

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Fri 29 May 11:32PM

  4. well said wayne and save some for me and scouse hater­ and assassin as we f==king hate the pillocks as much as­ you nuke the scummy @#$%-s ha ha ha see you later chaps­ wayne and scouse hater legends laters boys

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Fri 29 May 11:31PM

  5. man u lost cause of bad team selection, thats all. if­ the right team had been picked barca would get­ battered. barca are a good team, but man u are a great­ team.

    From N, on Fri 29 May 11:31PM

  6. AND tomorrow night after everton get thumped they will­ all be chelsea fans

    From anthony h, on Fri 29 May 11:29PM

  7. im off scouse hater we saw the gimps off pal mission­ accomplished leave mr bacelona to his devices talking­ to himself the dumbass cos he is getting no response­ from us laters pal peace

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Fri 29 May 11:28PM

  8. were is foeyp the scumbag if i Ever see the turd i will­ give him one to the guts then when he doubles over in­ pain
    two upper cuts to the face breakin both eye­ sockets the scouse t**t,this nig** igwe.g i would just­ kick is face in.
    newarkymca another bummer boy of­ al-@#$%.macpando the nig** boy all scumbag turds just­ break there faces
    and not forgettin RC-ALCOCK i would­ make him suffer over the football season break whats­ that ten weeks i would start by cuttin is nob off from­ the bellend bit by bit
    GLOOOOORY GLOOOOORY MAN UTD

    From WAYNE, on Fri 29 May 11:25PM

  9. Typical Liverpool fans, cant get any joy from your team­ winning so get it from Utd losing. You bottled the­ league and you know it, Rafa knows it and the players­ know it. We didnt play well all season but still we won­ it. For the third time in a row. For the second time in­ ten years. Got to the CL final. Won the carling cup.­ Your right to be happy. Absolute s**t year by our­ standards.

    Gerrard wont be able to help ye punch­ above your weight for much longer. Torres is class but­ will always have trouble with his hamstrings because of­ the way he plays. Something Utds backroom staff learned­ to prevent back in the 90's.

    Utd today are not as­ good as the teams from the nineties. Ferguson is going­ against himself and accomodating too many soft players­ for Europe. Personally I blame Querioz's influence­ for that.

    What Ronaldo did on the touchline that time­ was a disgrace. Ferguson of old would have sold him­ that week. Tevez's behavior the last few weeks has­ also been a disgrace. Another footballer to prove you­ don't need to be clever to have talent. Again­ Ferguson of old wouldn't have accepted that.

    Who­ has been the best player for Utd? Vidic. Old school­ player. Punch him he punches you back, problem solved­ & drama over. Need to concentrate the scouts on­ eastern european. Thats where the next pool of top­ players are going to come from. After our academy of­ course.

    From Ger, on Fri 29 May 11:22PM

  10. good luck to everton tomorrow i hope you win the fa cup­ and piss the trophyless scummers down the road off bet­ they jump on your glory too like barcas bunch of­ turncoat cowards cant support scumpool cos they aint­ won f==kall for 3 seasons

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Fri 29 May 11:21PM

  11. go on scouse-hater rid the world of scummy vermin it­ will be a better place no more scummers on yahoo how­ good would that be ha ha ha ha nuke em

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Fri 29 May 11:17PM

  12. darren m got sorted out today by ian m a united fan he­ put darren m in a box and blown his pathetic arguments­ to bits ha ha he dissapeared with his tail between his­ legs ha ha well done ian m a new red hero who sent the­ pillock packing lmao it was hilarious as darren m­ thinks he is witty funny and intelligent but he got­ took to the cleaners ha ha ha oh he is a schitzo who­ signs out and comes back as susan m his sister and bigs­ his comments up ha ha ha he keeps it in the family what­ a dingler

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Fri 29 May 11:15PM

  13. if i was the leader in korea i would sanction nukeing­ scouseland to rid the world of sewer rats now that­ would be awesome boom boom ha ha ha ha ha i hope the­ nuke hits alcock right in the smarmy knobs face ha ha­ he would be better looking then the ugly @#$% ha ha ha

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Fri 29 May 11:08PM

  14. i would love to meet rc_alcock as i would get great­ enjoyment from gouging his eye out and stamping on his­ small nuts i would cut his head off and feed it to the­ pigs but they would probably refuse cos its full of­ aids and h.i.v ohh he makes me angry ha ha ha ha in­ your dreams knobjockey you bore me silly you­ turdburglar your a t-w-a-t of the highest order you­ clown

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Fri 29 May 11:04PM

  15. all scousers are suddenly barca fans its the only way­ of getting any glory how sad dirty turncoat scumbags­ deserting there own team who have won nothing for 3­ years in a row where as we have won loads in the last 3­ years so we stick with our own team

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Fri 29 May 10:58PM

  16. barcelona kicked is rc_alcock rentboy slack arse lover­ of paul o grady the dirty vermin as got aids and as not­ told his clients so now all the sailors on albert dock­ are walking dead men thru the scummer rc_alcock aka­ numerous other ids what a scummy @#$% he is ha ha ha ha

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Fri 29 May 10:55PM

  17. scouse-hater lets give the scummers abuse mate f==king­ vermin the id stealers are about rc_alcock and his­ merry band of rentboy ids wish he would hurry up and­ die of aids the sewer rat ha ha ha

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Fri 29 May 10:53PM

  18. hey daz rc-alcock as nicked my old ID the dirty thief­ my dog died and he dug it up and he bummed it the dirty­ scouse bindipin tured burglar.
    gloooory gloooory man­ utd

    From WAYNE, on Fri 29 May 10:52PM

  19. haydnprobert history is gone its about now not­ yesterday its all you have so i can understand why its­ so important cos you aint won anything for 3 years i am­ not bothered about what united won years ago its gone­ but you arseholes hang on to it like its the be all and­ end all of your life if you dont win anything in a­ season then its a wasted year in my book cos what are­ the teams competing for its medals and trophies and the­ sooner you realise that and put your history in the­ past where it belongs you might present us with a­ challenge but for a scouser to let go of there history­ is like asking them to stop robbing it aint gonna­ happen is it

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Fri 29 May 10:50PM

  20. Please, please, please Paul Scholes protect your legacy­ as one of the EPL's all-time great pros and DO NOT­ sign for this mug team who will be fighting relegation­ next season.

    From cameron w, on Fri 29 May 10:46PM
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