Transfers and Rumours Thread

[taz]

Mali midfielder Mohamed Sissoko has joined French side Paris Saint-Germain from Italy's Juventus .

Sissoko, 26, has signed a three-year deal and was presented by PSG coach Leonardo on Thursday afternoon.

For Sissoko, the French outfit are believed to have paid Juventus a figure close to €7m.

Born in France, Sissoko has never played in Ligue 1 - emerging through Auxerre's youth academy but leaving before playing a match.

From 2003, he spent two years with Spanish side Valencia before joining Juventus via Liverfekkin'wankscum.

Sissoko, who missed the end of the Italian season after having knee surgery in March, will be playing under former Milan coach Leonardo.

At Thursday's news conference, Sissoko announced that he aims to establish himself with PSG before considering an international return for Mali.

Having also bought goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu from Palermo, a 24-year-old with two caps for Italy, the moves indicate PSG's determination to establish themselves as a major force following the arrival of Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) as majority shareholders.

The club have now made seven signings this summer, with Nicolas Douchez (Rennes), Kevin Gameiro (Lorient), Milan Bisevac (Valenciennes), Blaise Matuidi (Saint-Etienne) and Jeremy Menez (Roma) already having put pen to paper.

[tonykart]

Lugano and Rossi are good links for us. But, I am still confused as to how the midfield/attack is going to work based on the players we still have in our system. Is Vidal going to be the DM? Is a midfield three of Marchisio, Pirlo and Vidal going to be tactically sufficient enough to cover up for a weak defense?

Lichtsteiner and Zeigler were only slght improvements. They both, however, will allow us to run a more narrow midfield. But, they are both runners and will leave their CBs stranded. If our CM isn't more rigid, we will suffer major problems. We need a DM and a leader at CB.

a winger is a waste of money... we should have kept Giovinco.


----------------- BUFFON

LICHT - LUGANO - CHIELLINI - ZIEGLER

KRASIC - PIRLO - VIDAL - MARCHISIO

------- MATRI - QUAGLIARELLA

^^^^ big whoop.

[tonykart]

4-5 new starters again.

[red]

Looks like Lugano might actually happen.

Apparently his agent met Marotta today.

With Fener looking like being relegated for match fixing, agreeing a fee shouldn't be too difficult.

[red]

And Sissoko has gone to PSG.

7m plus extras if PSG make it into the CL in the next year or two.

[red]

A lot of Vucinic links, too.

[taz]

[taz]

I wonder if Marotta will be looking for a LW. Would like to see a Vargas or a Bastos there because that area needs strengthening. WIth the signing of Lugano as well, then i will be really happy with the squad for the coming season.

[tonykart]

I say my prayers for Lugano's arrival.

[Zoff82]

It would be a deccent signing. If Juve offer 18 mil for a 10 goal/season choke artist like Vucinic, I will not watch this team play. He's going to end up on the bench. How is he valued at this much??

[red]

Vucinic is done for somewhere around 15-18m, depending on what source you read.

His value is what it is because he is a tremendously talented player.

Clearly Juve will have the challenge of trying to get him focused and performing more consistently.

Interestingly, for the Moggi fans, he says signing Vucinic makes more sense for Conte's system than signing Giuseppe Rossi.

He's also spoken positively about signing Pirlo, Vidal, Lichtsteiner and the potential signing of Lugano.

[Zoff82]

Juve got robbed. What a waste of money. There's no magic up front and Juve will pay for this. They're going to rely on play from their midfielders?? They can get man marked out of a game and that would be it. How are they going to play?? Crosses into the middle?? This system won't work against a top 4 team.

[red]

So what if it doesn't work against a top team?

Juve over the last few years have a great record against top sides and it has got them nowhere.

It's about time they focused on a system that allowed them to hoover up points against the weaker teams in the league.

[tonykart]

Vucinic is a good signing. Not great... good. He will be able to share time with Quags who isn't effective or durable enough to handle holding that role alone.

For LM I see us linked with Nani, Bastos and Vargas. Nani is by far the best option, but Vargas and Bastos would be good there as well.

[Bagg10]

Sunday 31 July, 2011
Amauri-Cassano exchange on cards



There are audacious rumours of a swap deal bringing Amauri to Milan and Antonio Cassano to Juventus.
Sky Sport Italia reported the possibility this evening, suggesting the exchange would suit both parties.

The Rossoneri need an alternative to Zlatan Ibrahimovic who is strong in the air, which is Amauri’s specialty.

Cassano has been told he could be released if he wants more regular first-team football in the lead-up to Euro 2012.

A switch to Juventus would not give him Champions League football, but he would provide the Bianconeri with some much-needed creativity.

FantAntonio would also be able to take several different roles in Antonio Conte’s 4-2-4 approach.

It is certainly not the first time that Cassano has been linked with Juve, as over the years he has repeatedly been close to a Turin switch.

He has plenty of other offers on the table, though, including Fiorentina, Genoa and Palermo.

http://www.football-italia.net/jul31x.html

[forzaitalia]

That would be great for Juventus. Less so for Milan.

Why are Milan seemingly keen to get rid of Cassano anyway? Classy player.

[Zoff82]

[red]

Who said I was expecting great things from Vucinic?

15m really doesn't get you a whole lotta player these days.

What the problem with Matri?

He scored 20 goals in Serie A last season. If he repeats that, he'll be doing fine.

[taz]

Mirko Vucinic is officially a Juventus player after the Turin giants completed his swoop from Roma.

The club have announced that the striker, who underwent a medical today, has put pen to paper on a four-year contract with La Signora.

Roma will receive €15m from the Bianconeri for the former Lecce man. That fee will be paid over a three-year period.

Vucinic has been paired with Juve for most of the summer after he asked for a transfer away from the capital city outfit.

Juve made their decisive move after failing in bids to land Atletico Madrid’s Sergio Aguero and Giuseppe Rossi of Villarreal. Aguero has now joined Manchester City.

Vucinic has been at Roma since 2006 and he’s scored 65 goals in 202 appearances, across all competitions, for the Stadio Olimpico side.

[Bagg10]

Monday 1 August, 2011
Quagliarella out, Vargas in?



Fiorentina have told Juventus that they can have Juan Manuel Vargas, but only in return for Fabio Quagliarella.

The 27-year-old has been linked with the Old Lady given their search for a new left-sided midfielder.

It’s understood that the Bianconeri have offered both Jorge Martinez and Leonardo Bonucci to the Viola as part of a possible deal.

Fiorentina, according to La Nazione, are uninterested in those players, but they have shown a desire for former Napoli ace Quagliarella.

The latter, who hasn’t played in Serie A since 6 January because of a knee injury, was signed outright by Juve this summer after spending last term on loan from the Azzurri.

Fiorentina are hoping to tempt the Turin giants to release the Italian international given the club’s likely capture of Roma striker Mirko Vucinic.

http://www.football-italia.net/aug1k.html