Liverpool
Emre Can has courage and charisma and will make things happen at Liverpool, manager Brendan Rodgers said on Thursday after the German Under 21 international became his third major close-season signing.
The five-times European champions confirmed the arrival of the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder, having agreed a deal in principle last month to bring him to the Premier League.
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The 20-year-old Can follows England World Cup pair Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana in joining the Anfield club, who finished second to Manchester City last season.
“Emre is an exciting young talent and I’m delighted he’s chosen Liverpool for the next phase of his development and growth as a player,” Rodgers told the club website
“He has recognised we are a club that improves and nurtures exciting, ambitious players and I’m looking forward to seeing him take those next steps forward for us.
“He has many of the attributes we look for; charisma on the football pitch and courage to want the ball and make things happen.”
Can, who was born in Frankfurt and has Turkish ancestry, scored three goals in 29 Bundesliga appearances last term.
He is able to take up several roles but wants to establish himself as a playmaker.
“It definitely is an advantage to play a number of positions because I can help the team in many different ways,” he said.
“However, I have stated this before and I would like to mention it again, I see myself as a central midfielder, that is where I feel most comfortable. But, at the end of the day, the manager knows best where to play me.”
Monaco
Former Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes will not be joining Monaco this summer as he continues to work his way back from a serious knee injury, the Ligue 1 club announced Thursday.
Valdes, 32, left Barcelona at the end of last season, having spent his whole career at the Catalan club, and had been in discussions over a move to the Ligue 1 side, who are hoping to challenge Paris Saint-Germain for the title this term.
“I confirm that we’ve been in contact and had negotiations with him and his entourage...but he is injured and won’t sign for Monaco,” said Monaco vice-president, Vadim Vasilyev.
Valdes, who has been capped 20 times by Spain, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in March and underwent surgery which ruled him out of the rest of the season as well as the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Monaco defenders Ricardo Carvalho and Eric Abidal have extended their contracts by one year until the end of the 2014-15 season, the Ligue 1 club said on Thursday.
Portuguese Carvalho and Frenchman Abidal, who helped the principality club reach second place in Ligue 1 this season, were not part of their country’s squad at the World Cup finals in Brazil.
Galatasaray
Former Italy manager Cesare Prandelli is set to take over at Istanbul giants Galatasaray following his resignation after a poor World Cup campaign, the Turkish club said on Thursday.
“We will announce the official signing in one or two days. Our coach will be in charge of the team on Monday and kick off the season with our players,” Galatasaray president Unal Aysal was quoted as saying by Galatasaray TV.
“I can absolutely promise our fans a Turkish league title this year,” Aysal said, describing Prandelli as “brave, diligent, self-disciplined and hungry for success”.
The Turkish league kicks off at the end of August with Galatasaray seeking to overcome eternal Istanbul rivals and last season’s champions Fenerbahce.
With Fenerbahce disqualified due to a match-fixing scandal, Galatasaray are taking Turkey’s automatic Champions League spot for 2014-2015 as last year’s runners-up.
Prandelli, 56, oversaw Italy’s failed World Cup campaign in Brazil which started promisingly with victory over England but ended in a first round exit.
Sporting Braga
Portuguese top-tier club Sporting Braga submitted a formal offer to Fujairah for their young midfielder, Mohammed Khalfan.
Khalfan, 21, is the son of former UAE international Ali Khalfan and turned heads with his performances in the Fujairah midfield last season.
He scored six goals in Division One to help his team gain promotion to the Arabian Gulf League (AGL).
However, despite his progress, the Braga approach came as a shock to the youngster.
“I am really surprised to receive an offer to play in Europe,” Khalfan said. “It is really exciting and every player dreams of playing in the top leagues in Europe. So I hope the negotiations will be completed successfully and I will be able to play in the Portuguese league.”
Officials at Fujairah confirmed the offer for Khalfan, and Sultan Al Shara, a member of the club’s board of directors, is confident there could be a positive outcome.
“We are studying the proposal seriously, and I think we are leaning towards accepting the offer in the coming days, though we know how badly we will need Khalfan’s services in the professional league,” Al Shara said, without revealing the financial aspects of the offer.
“We are not thinking about the value of the contract, especially since the player is keen to play in a European league and experience with a professional team, a team with a rich tradition.”
Ajman, meanwhile, have signed goalkeeper Motaz Abdullah on a one-year deal, giving the veteran another season in the AGL.
Abdullah, 39, started his career at Al Ain 1998 and won the 2007 Gulf Cup with the national team before moving to Al Wahda in 2009. He moved to promoted club Al Shaab in 2012, but the Sharjah club were relegated last season.
Former Al Nasr and Al Jazira manager Walter Zenga is Serbia’s first choice to take over as manager for Euro 2016 qualifying.
“We spoke to Zenga for several hours on Saturday but I still can’t say whether we are close to a deal,” FA chief Tomislav Karazdic said yesterday. “Zenga wants to come back to Europe and make an impact here, and in the next few weeks, we will know whether we will be able to recruit him.”
Interim coach Ljubinko Drulovic has been in charge of the team since February after taking over from Sinisa Mihajlovic.
– Ahmed Rizvi
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