Tevez will not come at the expense of Sneijder say Inter Milan

A look at the football leagues across Europe

Italy

Inter Milan have confirmed they have held talks with Manchester City, but not regarding the possible sale of Wesley Sneijder.

The Italian giants have reportedly joined the race to sign the City striker Carlos Tevez, who is a target of AC Milan.

Reports in England claimed Sneijder could be included as part of the deal to bring Tevez to Inter in the winter transfer window.

A statement from Inter read: "Regarding reports from the British media, Inter Milan technical director Marco Branca wishes to underline and clarify the situation immediately that there were no discussions whatsoever regarding Wesley Sneijder during our meeting with representatives of Manchester City."

Sneijder recently claimed he was "90 per cent certain" he would stay at Inter this season.

Germany: Robben all for staying at Munich
Arjen Robben says he would be keen on extending his contract with Bayern Munich when it expires next year. The Dutch forward has missed much of the current campaign due to injury, but is now working his way back to full fitness during the Bundesliga's winter break and he was on target in a training match on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters after that game, which also marked Bastian Schweinsteiger’s first appearance since the midfielder broke a collarbone last November, Robben made it clear that he would be happy to negotiate a new deal with the club. “The club knows what I think about it,” he is quoted as saying by Kicker magazine.

“I feel very happy here and I have a great relationship with people here. At the moment, I cannot see any reason why I should leave.”

Robben’s contract still has 18 months left to run, but he expects to sit down and discuss a new deal in the near future. “It will certainly be discussed in the coming months,” he said. “If it is not January, then it will be February or March.”

Meanwhile, Borussia Monchengladbach hope they have found the man to replace Marco Reus, who will move to Borussia Dortmund next summer, by signing the Finland international Alexander Ring on loan from HJK Helsinki.

Barcelona: Player's plea to Guardiola to think long-term
Sergio Busquets, the Barcelona midfielder, has called for his coach, Pep Guardiola, to take a leaf out of Sir Alex Ferguson's book and commit his long-term future to the reigning Spanish and European champions ahead of tomorrow's return to Primera Liga action at Espanyol.

Guardiola, who has won 13 trophies with Barca, has been surprisingly reticent to commit his future to the club, however, preferring instead to sign one-year contracts.

“I hope he stays here for a long time,” Busquets said. “Not only for the good of this team, but for the good of the club.

“It would be great if he were a Ferguson-type of manager.”

Guardiola has been touted as an eventual successor to the Manchester United manager when the Scot's Old Trafford tenure comes to an end.


Holland: McClaren finds ambition at Twente
Steve McClaren, the former England manager, revealed FC Twente's ambition persuaded him to relaunch his career back in Holland.

The 50 year old returned to the club he guided to the 2009/10 Eredivisie title three months after stepping down as the Nottingham Forest manager following a frustrating spell at the City Ground.

McClaren said: “I know the club very well. I know the people, I know the fans, I know the team and it’s coming back into an environment in which I know.

“I came back because of the ambition of the people, the ambition of the club.

“It was a good opportunity at Forest, but I wasn’t given the tools to do the job. I was not given what I was promised, so that was unfortunate that I had to leave there.

“I was just waiting for an opportunity with ambitious people. I know the people I’m going to work with and I see a team that I can develop.”

"I like it. It's a good one with good balance and a good core, but with good young players, which is still competing at the top and challenging for the title. Then there's fans. I've spoken to some English people who came here for the Fulham [Europa League] game and they couldn't believe the atmosphere in this stadium. They said it was a unique atmosphere."

Scotland: Coach rejects Edu move
Ally McCoist, the Glasgow Rangers manager, has confirmed the club have rejected a bid for Maurice Edu from Sochaux.

The French side revealed the American midfielder is high on their wanted list this month. However, McCoist insists they are nowhere near matching the Scottish champions’ valuation of the player.

He said: “We rejected a bid from Sochaux for Maurice Edu and I can tell you that I want Maurice Edu to sign a new contract rather than go anywhere.

“I genuinely don’t know [if they will come back in]. What I would say is the bid that they put in was so far away that I would be very surprised if they came back in.”

McCoist is also determined to retain the services of Sasa Papac, following reports the left-back is set to quit when his contract expires at the end of the season. He said: “I won’t let that go without a fight. Sasa is just a top player.”