There has been quite some news today as Liverpool’s legendary and much loved defender, Daniel Agger announced his retirement today. The 31-year-old Denmark International had joined the Merseyside club in 2006 from Brondby and went on to make 232 appearances for the Reds, scoring 14 goals. He returned to Brondby in 2014 and made the decision to retire from football after his contract expired this season.
Here are the transfer news and rumours from June 9th.
Serie A
- Former Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini won’t be unemployed for long, as fresh reports coming in from El Mercurio claim that he is to take over the managerial reigns at AC Milan. The Chilean left the Etihad following Pep Guardiola’s appointment by City and is likely to take over the Italian giants once the club’s sale to Chinese investors goes through.
- Lazio forward Keita Baldé Diao has confirmed interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid. The Senegal international is a product of La Masia, Barcelona’s famous academy. “Yes I can confirm the interest of both clubs,” Keita told Senegalese outlet Galsenfoot, “I wouldn’t like to go any further on that question, though. It’s my agent who takes care of those things.”
- Roma are looking to replace Antonio Rudiger with Real Madrid’s Nacho. Rudiger’s injury has dented Giallorossi's transfer strategy, and cannot expect the German back until November. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Roma’ new target is Real Madrid's Nacho, who can play as a central defender and as a full-back, and who has been used very sparingly by Coach Zinedine Zidane. The defender is likely to cost the club around €7-8 million.
English Premier League
- Manchester United have confirmed the contract extension of veteran midfielder Michael Carrick. His new deal will expire in June 2017. Speaking after the announcement, Carrick hailed the importance of the club in his life, who he has been a part of for 10 years now, and has expressed his joy on the opportunity to work under Jose Mourinho.
- Liverpool have joined the race to sign PSG striker Edinson Cavani, according to reports in Tuttomercatoweb.com. The Italian sports daily has also claimed that the Reds may miss on signing the Uruguayan as Atletico Madrid are still favourites to land the striker. The 29-year-old is contracted to the Paris-based club until the summer of 2018.
- Pep Guardiola has no contractual restrictions which can bar him from bringing in players from Bayern Munich to his new club Manchester City, as reported by the Press Association. Bayern’s winger Douglas Costa had earlier stated in an interview with Globo Esporte that "It is something he[Guardiola] has in the contract, a clause that he can't take anyone from Bayern." Sources at City have indicated that this is not the case, and that they are free to do business with the Bavarian giants if they want to.
La Liga
- Atletico Madrid have set their sights on Spanish forward Nolito, as reported by AS. The striker’s future has been a topic of much debate, as Barcelona were also said to be chasing the player, but have been held off by Celta Vigo till now. The club is expecting him to leave this summer and have put a price tag of €18 million, which Luis Enrique has been reluctant to pay, However, the Rojiblancos are willing to meet the forward’s fee and want to seal the deal as soon as possible.
- Paul Pogba could become the newest ‘Galactico’ to sign for Real Madrid, if reports from AS are to be believed in. The Frenchman was earlier said to be on top of Zinedine Zidane’s priority list. Juventus are unlikely to budge for anything less than €100 million for the prolific midfielder, but Real Madrid do have the financial power to meet the huge demand. With the futures of playmakers Isco and James Rodriguez in doubt, the midfielder could be a very good addition to Zidane’s team next season.
- Barcelona are preparing to raise their offer for Las Palmas defender Mauricio Lamas, according to AS. Las Palmas have already rejected a move for the defender made by the Catalan giants, which was reportedly a fee of €4million plus a further €4million in add-ons. As per the reports, Las Palmas will not sell the defender until they receive an offer between €10million and €12million with add-ons.
Rest of Europe
- Former Bayern Munich coach Felix Magath has been appointed the head coach at Shandong Luneng, as confirmed by the Chinese Super League club. The ex-Wolfsburg, Schalke 04 and Fulham manager will take over from Brazilian Mano Menezes, who resigned after not being able to steer the club out of the league’s relegation zone. Magath will reunite with Shandong captain Hao Junmin who has played under him during the 62-year-old’s time at Schalke.
- Celtic have confirmed that striker Anthony Stokes will be leaving the club. The player had been sent out on loan to Hibernian last summer and has scored 77 goals in 192 appearances for the Scottish giants since joining in 2010. An official statement read: "Everyone at Celtic would sincerely like to wish Anthony the very best of success for the future."
