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Manchester City striker Dzeko arrives to complete Roma move
By George Ankers
Aug 7, 2015 01:00:49
The Bosnia-Herzegovina international was left out of a friendly between the two clubs in July due to ongoing negotiations, which look to be nearly at a conclusion
Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko has arrived in Italy to complete his move to Roma.
The Bosnia-Herzegovina international has long been linked with a departure from the Etihad Stadium, having been unable to disldge Sergio Aguero as Manuel Pellegrini's first choice up front.
As revealed by Goal, the Giallorossi stepped up their interest in Dzeko in July, with negotiations prompting him to be left out of the squad for a friendly between the two sides later that month.
Those talks appear to have progressed well as Roma announced the striker's touchdown in the capital on Thursday evening.
Pellegrini has Wilfried Bony still in his squad as support for Aguero despite Dzeko's imminent exit, as well as youngster Jose Pozo and new signing Raheem Sterling, who frequently played up front for Liverpool last season.
The Egpyt international spent the second half of last season on loan at Fiorentina but has now joined the Viola's Serie A rivals
Roma have confirmed the signing of Mohamed Salah on loan from Chelsea with a view to a permanent transfer next summer.
The Egypt international spent the second half of last season on loan at Fiorentina, where he made a massive impact, netting nine times in 26 appearances.
The Viola were under the impression that they had agreed a deal with Chelsea that would see Salah remain at the Artemio Franchi for the 2015-16 with the option to buy next year.
However, the attacker's agent claimed that his client was free to return to Stamford Bridge and then decide where to go next, having already been deemed surplus to requirements by Blues boss Jose Mourinho.
As a result, even though Fiorentina threatened legal action, Salah has now moved to the Stadio Olimpico, with capital club paying an initial €5 million for the right to take the 23-year-old on loan.
“I think Roma are one of the biggest clubs in the world and I'm happy to be in this team," he told the Giallorossi's in-house TV channel.
"I think everybody here has ambition and everybody wants to win the title.
"Everybody will give their best to make the fans happy.”
Allegri: Pogba must prove himself worthy of Juventus No.10
By Mark Doyle
Aug 6, 2015 15:03:17
The Bianconeri have ceded to the midfielder's request to wear the prestigious shirt this season and his boss is now challenging him to become a club icon
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri says that the pressure is on Paul Pogba to prove himself worthy of the club's No.10 jersey.
The France international has been a revelation since joining the Bianconeri from Manchester United in 2012, playing an integral role in three successive Serie A title triumphs, as well as last season's run to the final of the Champions League.
However, Pogba has now taken on Juve's No.10 shirt, following Carlos Tevez's return to Boca Juniors, and Allegri says that the 22-year-old must do justice to a jersey previously worn by club legends such as Omar Sivori, Roberto Baggio and Alessandro Del Piero.
"Paul asked to wear No.10," the Bianconeri boss told reporters on Thursday. "In this sense, he will have the greatest responsibility [of all of Juve's players].
"Wearing this number will not be an easy thing because this jersey has been worn by the great players of Juventus."
Meanwhile, Allegri defended himself against allegations that Juve have mismanaged their players during the summer, given Alvaro Morata, Sami Khedira, Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli have all suffered muscular injures during pre-season.
"I'm sorry about the injuries to but we are calm about the situation and we hope to have them available again soon," the former AC Milan boss added.
"It was necessary to start work on July 20. We had guys that had only stopped playing in June.
"We're talking about footballers, not machines. I understand your alarm, but I'm the coach and the important thing is to be calm."
Given Khedira, recently arrived from Real Madrid, has been ruled out of action, it has been reported that Juve could look to strengthen in midfield before the close of the summer transfer window, while the Italian champions have not given up hope on signing Schalke attacker Julian Draxler.
However, Allegri says that he is solely interested in Saturday's Supercoppa Italiana showdown with Lazio in Beijing.
"There's no sense in speaking about the market at this time because we're only a few days away from our first appointment of the season," he stated.
"It's a delicate moment for us. Our preparations only started 20 days ago.
"We have prepared well in order to reach and obtain this first objective of the season.
"The important thing is to play a good game, which could last 120 minutes. We're in good physical condition, though."
The Argentina international has been made Biancocelesti skipper for the 2015-16 season but he says that his future at the Stadio Olimpico does not depend on him
Lucas Biglia has admitted that he does not know if he will stay at Lazio - even though he has just been made club captain.
The Argentina international joined the Biancocelesti from Anderlecht in 2013 and quickly established himself as a key man at the Stadio Olimpico, playing a key role in last season's surprise third-placed finish in Serie A.
Following Stefano Mauri's departure during the summer, Biglia has now been given the captain's armband for the 2015-16 campaign and will lead Lazio out in Saturday's Supercoppa Italiana showdown with Juventus.
However, Biglia, who has previously been linked with Manchester United, says that his new role does not necessarily mean that he will remain in Rome.
"Will I definitely stay now that I have the armband? I don't know," the midfielder told reporters on Friday.
"The truth is that it doesn't depend on me. For now, though, I'm thinking only of the game tomorrow.
"But the captaincy represents a reward for me and I'm proud of it.
"I will now have more responsibility on the field but I will not change my style of play!"
Biglia is now hoping that his tough tackling can help Lazio upset Italian champions Juventus, who defeated Stefano Pioli's men in the Coppa Italia final in May.
"This trophy is very important for us and it represents a kind of revenge for last season," he added.
"We wanted to win the Coppa Italia but we faced one of the strongest teams in Europe."
The former Italy captain believes the new investment from Bee Taechaubol will inspire the Serie A club back to their lofty heights of old
By Rahul Bali
AC Milan will become a leading light in global football again under Bee Taechaubol, according to former Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro.
The Thai businessman finally confirmed a deal on Sunday which has seen him acquire a 48 per cent stake in the Rossoneri from current president Silvio Berlusconi, for a fee believed to be close to €485 million.
Cannavaro claims he had advised Mr. Bee to purchase Napoli instead but believes, as a Milan fan, he will help to restore the club to their former pre-eminence across the world.
"I first advised Mr. Bee to buy Napoli," he said to Goal. "However, he was a big supporter of AC Milan ever since he was living in Australia. Thanks to Pablo Dana Banker who lives in Dubai, and is also a partner of Global Legends Soccer (GLS), Mr. Bee was introduced to Mr. Berlusconi.
"With Mr. Bee, AC Milan will for sure in a couple of years be the new great of international football."
Cannavaro also stressed he does not see himself as a possible Milan coach in the near future - not least because of the work already being done by Sinisa Mihajlovic.
"I am not interested in being the coach of Milan because I need more experience and the current coach is very strong," added the 2006 World Cup winner.
There has been some bad news from the treatment table for Milan, however, after it was confirmed that M'Baye Niang has suffered a fracture to his right foot.
The French forward has vowed to bounce back quickly, however, taking to Twitter to write: "If you give up once, it can become a habit."
The Slovakian midfielder says he is looking forward to not having to play with his "back to goal" all the time
Marek Hamsik has criticised Rafael Benitez's playing style and insists new Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri is better than the current Real Madrid boss.
Benitez spent two years at the Stadio San Paolo, winning the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana before joining Madrid this summer as Carlo Ancelotti's successor.
And Hamsik has admitted that he did not enjoy the way he had to play under the Spanish coach.
"With the new coach, I have a good relationship," he told Sport. "We often talk about tactics. He is really very picky in that way.
"Compared to the style of football we played under Benitez, he has changed something.
"Why did I find it difficult with Benitez? Last year I played nearly always with my back to the goal, with [Walter] Mazzarri that was not the case."
Sampdoria have completed the signing of striker Antonio Cassano - the 33-year-old returning for a second permanent spell at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
The Italian spent four years at the club, joining permanently in 2008 after a loan spell from Real Madrid, but had been without a club since leaving financially stricken Parma in January.
Cassano terminated his contract with Parma having not been paid wages.
However, he returns to bolster Walter Zenga's forward line, signing a two-year contract ahead of their Serie A opener against Carpi on August 24.
"I'm happy, forza Samp," Cassano said after putting pen to paper.
Cassano scored 41 goals in 115 matches for Sampdoria prior to joining Milan in 2011, with Roma and Inter also among his former clubs.
Massimiliano Allegri believes Paul Pogba has not yet hit his peak and backed the midfielder to get even better at Juventus this season.
The likes of Barcelona and Manchester City are said to be interested in signing Pogba, with the 22-year-old having established himself as one of Europe's best players in recent seasons.
Pogba has been handed the iconic number 10 jersey at Juve this season, and Allegri expects the France international to thrive with the added expectation that brings.
"I think that he has the capability to play as a top player, to understand the flow of the game," said the Juve boss. "Lest we forget that Pogba has played a lot of games for Juventus in the last few years since he arrived.
"He has grown a lot. And this season we expect a leap from him in terms of presence on the pitch so that his team mates can lean on him."
Allegri was speaking after his side secured the Supercoppa Italiana with a 2-0 win over Lazio in Shanghai, with the performance of goalscorer Mario Mandzukic - a close-season arrival from Atletico Madrid - particularly pleasing the head coach.
He added: "I think that Mandzukic is a great player otherwise I would not give my approval to bring him in.
"Apart from his character, I think that he moves very well in attack. Apart from the goal, I think he has also showed some good individual skills for our second goal.
"Its normal that he still needs to know his team mates but I would say that I am very happy about his performance especially because he missed a great chance but then recovered immediately after by scoring the opener."
Balotelli has demons, he just wants to be a celebrity - Di Canio
By Peter McVitie
Aug 10, 2015 23:30:19
The former Lazio star believes the 24-year-old striker will waste his natural talent unless he completely changes his attitude soon
Mario Balotelli has "demons in his brain" and is more interested in being a celebrity than a football player, according to Paolo Di Canio.
The striker's career has been shrowded in controversy from the very beginning, having burned bridges at Inter with Jose Mourinho and Manchester City under Roberto Mancini.
Now he is facing an uncertain future having failed to make an impact at Liverpool last season following a £16 million (€20m) move from AC Milan.
And Di Canio believes the 24-year-old must make some drastic changes to his attitude or else he will waste his natural talents.
"Talking as a manager, my view on football is you need to understand what it means to play with and for your team-mates," the Italian told TalkSport.
“You need to show empathy in good moments and bad moments. It doesn’t look like he is doing this.
"Many managers have tried to change him. Mancini was his father in football but even he now doesn’t want him back at Inter.
"Mourinho understood at the beginning. He is a very good reader of players and he saw that you can't change this guy. Now he is nearly 25, he needs to change himself. He can't rely on other people to help him.
"The demons are in his brain. He is still young, physically he is strong, he is an incredible natural athlete, but he has never used his big potential.
"Sometimes he thinks football is I can keep the ball, show off in some way, and then my team-mates have to run for me. No. Football is sacrifice. Football is to bond with your team-mates. Not off the field in a bar because you are generous. It is being generous on the pitch.
"He has big potential and I hope in my heart for him that he can turn it around, but I presume it will be very difficult because he spends too much time on social network and it seems he uses football to be a celebrity - not the opposite."
The Italy international has taken a dig at those who questioned the Serie A champions could cope with the loss of several key figures
Claudio Marchisio has voiced his delight with Juventus' 2-0 Supercoppa Italiana victory over Lazio, claiming the Scudetto holders have silenced their critics.
The Turin side lost the likes of Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo and Carlos Tevez this summer and a number of pundits suggested that the Bianconeri's cycle of success might be coming to an end.
Hoewever, new signings Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala both netted in the comfortable win over Lazio and Marchisio feels that Massimiliano Allegri's men proved that they remain the team to beat in Serie A.
"There were people out there who thought everything would be much more complicated for us after we lost some important players," Marchisio told Tuttosport.
"Those players who were not at Juventus last season gave the perfect response by scoring both goals.
"The win over Lazio was an important signal to those who claimed our cycle is over. Of course, we are still only at the start of the season, but it has been a positive start.
"We still have room for improvement, but that's only normal. The match against Lazio was a final and finals are all about winning. That was what mattered most."
The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) has delayed making a decision on whether to punish Juventus for alleged crowd violence during their defeat at Torino back in April.
Juve lost the match 2-1 and trouble in the stands saw a paper bomb launched at Torino fans.
Initially handed a two-match closure of the Curva Sud, which was reduced to one, Juve appealed further and sent the case to CONI.
The club maintain they should not be held responsible for the incident as it occurred in Torino's Stadio Olimpico.
On Monday, it was announced that CONI needed more time to investigate the issue, with a hearing set for September 3 to decide whether to punish the club.
Therefore the stadium will be fully open for the visit of Udinese in their first game of the Serie A campaign on August 23.
Jovetic needs time to adapt to Inter, insists Mancini
By Stefan Coerts
Aug 10, 2015 09:46:49
The Nerazzurri boss is confident the Montenegrin will succeed at San Siro but is trying to take the pressure off the attacker
Roberto Mancini believes new signing Stevan Jovetic will need time to find his feet at Inter following his summer move from Manchester City.
The former Fiorentina star recently returned to Serie A after two underwhelming but injury-interrupted seasons at the Etihad and it is now thought that he can resurrect his career back in Italy.
Jovetic hit the ground running at the weekend, netting once in his side's 2-0 friendly win over Athletic Bilbao, but Mancini is calling for calm, arguing that the Montenegrin forward will need time to settle at San Siro.
"Jovetic still needs a bit more time, although he played well," Mancini told the official Inter website.
"We know the sort of player he is and what he can do."
Aside from Jovetic, Inter have also brought in Geoffrey Kondogbia, Miranda and Martin Montoya this summer, yet Mancini admitted that there could be more new arrivals before August 31.
"We're working on it and we hope to end the transfer window as best we can," the former City boss added.
Milan forward M'Baye Niang is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on a fractured metatarsal.
The Frenchman went under the knife to treat the injury to the fifth metatarsal in his right foot.
A Milan statement revealed that Niang will have an X-ray in six weeks' time in order to establish a "more accurate recovery time".
Niang returned to San Siro ahead of the 2015-16 campaign after spending the latter half of last season on loan at fellow Serie A side Genoa, for whom he scored five goals in 14 league appearances.
Roma have allowed mis-firing striker Seydou Doumbia to re-join CSKA Moscow on loan until January.
The Ivory Coast international made the opposite switch in January this year, but only managed two goals in 14 appearances for the Stadio Olimpico club.
A CSKA statement read: "PFC CSKA and AS Roma agreed the loan of Seydou Doumbia today until the end of 2015 with a possibility of prolongation until the end of the season 2015/16.
"Ivorian striker will wear the shirt No 88, which he had prior to leaving PFC CSKA.
"Seydou was included in the Red-Blues' squadlist for the national league and the UEFA Champions League play-offs.
"Welcome back, Seydou!"
Doumbia previously scored 84 goals in 129 CSKA appearances.
Milan deal for Romagnoli ´99.8 per cent´ done, says Galliani
10 August 2015
Milan CEO Adriano Galliani said the club's deal to sign Roma defender Alessio Romagnoli is virtually done.
Sinisa Mihajlovic's Milan have been linked to the Italy under-21 international throughout the transfer window, but the Serie A club have been unable to agree a fee with Roma.
Milan, however, appear set to finally sign the 20-year-old in a deal reportedly worth €30million.
"The deal for Romagnoli is done at 99.8 per cent, a periodic number," Galliani said. "I won't say 99.9 because that's not periodic.
"Everyone is satisfied with the terms. We are very, very, very close. The player has to undergo his medical and Roma are floated on the stock exchange, so they will dictate the timing of announcements."
Roma director Walter Sabatini said via Sky Sport Italia that the agreement will be finalised on Monday.
"We will now ask those responsible for the under-21 side to release him, because he needs to have a medical," Sabatini added.
"I saluted Romagnoli and told him to put himself at the disposal of Milan."
Roma youth product Romagnoli, who tallied 13 league appearances between 2012 and 2015 for the capital club, spent last season on loan at Sampdoria and played 30 Serie A matches.
Dnipro striker Nikola Kalinic has decided to join Serie A outfit Fiorentina, according to his agent Tomislav Erceg.
Paulo Sousa's Fiorentina are on the hunt for a striker after Mario Gomez was loaned to Besiktas for the 2015-16 season and Croatia international Kalinic has emerged as the likeliest new arrival from Ukraine.
In an interview with Firenzeviola, Erceg said: "Nikola wants to come to Florence.
"He's honoured by Fiorentina's interest, and he'd like to play in Serie A next year. It's up to the clubs to find a decisive agreement.
"Our decision has already been made."
Kalinic, who opened the scoring in Dnipro's 3-2 loss to Sevilla in 2014-15 UEFA Europa League final, has scored 37 goals in 86 league appearances since moving to Dnipropetrovsk from Blackburn Rovers in 2011.
Jonathan de Guzman's agent, Fabio Parisi, confirmed the Napoli midfielder is poised to leave Serie A to join Marseille.
De Guzman, 27, has been tipped to link up with Marseille, despite the shock resignation of coach Marcelo Bielsa in France over the weekend, and there were some reports that suggested the Ligue 1 outfit could complete the deal for the Netherlands international as soon as Wednesday.
While Parisi said that timeframe was premature, De Guzman's representative revealed an agreement is close.
"Unless something has happened in the last 30 minutes, I wouldn't say that everything is defined," Parisi told CalcioNapoli24.
"However, it's true, we're negotiating with Marseille and he'll leave Napoli on a permanent basis. [Marseille president Vincent] Labrune wants him regardless of who is the new coach.
"The French club are not the only ones interested in the player.
"How much will he cost? Napoli will make a loss of a few million compared to when he arrived [for a fee of around €6m]."
Chievo have completed the signing of former Juventus winger Simone Pepe on a free transfer.
Pepe spent the past five seasons with Juve after joining from Udinese in 2010, and he has won four Serie A titles and the Coppa Italia during his time in Turin.
However, the 31-year-old has been plagued by injuries in recent years and has made just 14 league appearances in the past three seasons.
The Italy international, who has 23 caps for his country, will now try and rebuild his career with Chievo.
Roma defender Federico Balzaretti has announced his retirement at the age of 33 after failing to recover from a long-term hip injury.
Balzaretti has only made one competitive appearance for the Serie A club since November 2013 after suffering the injury against Sassuolo and underwent surgery in the United States in an attempt to correct the problem.
After a lengthy absence Balzaretti - who won 16 caps for Italy - returned to fitness in April and, after being an unused substitute in nine matches, played the full 90 minutes in Roma's 2-1 defeat to Palermo on the final day of the 2014-15 campaign.
However, the full-back has now been forced to call time on playing days and is set to take up a role working under Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini.
"I am retiring from football," he announced on Wednesday. "Unfortunately the injury I've had is forcing me to hang up my boots. It's been a difficult decision to take, but I can't continue playing the way I want to, at 100 per cent.
"Last year, in my last news conference here, I said I wanted to get back on the field and play one more match for Roma.
"I managed to play 90 more minutes with Roma and I'd like to thank everyone here for making that last dream come true.
"I'm happy to have spent the last few months of the season with this group and am delighted we secured second place."
La Liga newcomers Sporting Gijon have strengthened their forward line ahead of the 2015-16 campaign with the season-long loan signing of Roma forward Antonio Sanabria.
The Barcelona youth product has struggled to break through at Stadio Olimpico since arriving at the club in 2014, only making his debut in February against Cagliari.
With coach Rudi Garcia having added Mohamed Salah and Leandro Paredes to his attacking options, Sanabria's first-team opportunities looked set to be limited in the capital.
Sanabria, 19, will train with his new team-mates on Thursday and could feature in Gijon's final pre-season clash with Villarreal on Saturday.
