David Goodwillie, the Dundee United striker, is in talks with Blackburn after the two clubs agreed a fee of around £2 million (Dh12m) with £800,000 in potential add-ons, Peter Houston, the United manager, has confirmed. Glasgow Rangers have also made a fresh offer for the 22 year old after having earlier bids rejected, but they have not matched the package on the table from Rovers. Goodwillie was left out the squad that beat Herats 1-0 in the Scottish Premier League yesterday, with Houston telling BBC Radio Scotland: "It's no secret Blackburn are interested in him. The clubs have agreed a fee. David Goodwillie is likely to go if he can agree terms."
Sir Alex Ferguson is convinced he has made the right move by spending £18m on 20-year-old goalkeeper David De Gea. The summer signing from Atletico Madrid came through his first significant test in Saturday night's 2-1 win over Barcelona in Washington DC without a problem. The manager opted for the young Spaniard to replace the veteran Edwin van der Sar, after backing off from signing Petr Cech earlier in his career on age grounds. "Replacing Edwin van der Sar is very difficult," Ferguson said. "He was a great goalkeeper. But the benefit we have with De Gea is that he is only 20. The qualities that stood out for us are his great composure and use of the ball."
Harry Redknapp has confirmed his interest in signing the Valencia midfielder Juan Mata. The 23-year-old Spain Under 21 international has been widely linked with a move away from the Mestalla this summer with north London rivals Spurs and Arsenal reportedly leading the chase. Redknapp was quoted on The Guardian's website as saying: "[Mata] is a player that we like. So do Arsenal and so do other clubs. I went to watch him when England Under 21 played Spain and I thought he looked fantastic. The chairman has been dealing with it so where it is I don't know - I don't deal with them transfers. I wouldn't want to say that it isn't happening in case we sign him tomorrow and you all say 'thanks Harry', but he's a player we like."
Yaya Toure has reaffirmed his belief that Manchester City deserve a place in the European elite this season. Toure joined City from the Champions League winners Barcelona last summer and was part of a promising first season that saw Roberto Mancini's side finish fourth in the Premier League. "Last season I was asked to compare City to my former club Barcelona. I responded by saying that I thought City could be as good as Barca one day," he said. "We have a way to go to match those teams but it is our aim. We have shown we can match and beat the best in the Premier League and the next step is to do that in Europe too."
Arsenal were booed by their own fans yesterday after letting another lead slip to surrender the Emirates Cup to New York Red Bulls. As in the 2-2 draw with Boca Juniors, who they had led 2-0, Arsenal were unable to close out a game they had dominated, with substitute Kyle Bartley putting through his own net six minutes from time. That was after Robin van Persie had put the tournament hosts on course for a fourth Emirates Cup success out of five when he nodded home shortly before half time. Arsene Wenger fielded only four players from that game with Juniors.
