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Napoli are interested in signing Chelsea midfielder Raul Meireles and will make a bid for him after the culmination of Euro 2012 according to Mirror Football.

The box-to-box man is currently on international duty in Ukraine and Poland, and has been a part of the Iberian side that have made the competition semi-finals.

Meireles moved to the Stamford Bridge club last summer from Premier League rivals Liverpool, but has been used in a squad rotation system since Roberto Di Matteo took over from the midfielder’s countryman Andre Villas Boas.

With the Blues on the offensive in the transfer market a number of players have been linked with an exit from the west London club, with Meireles’ role at the Champions League winning outfit unclear.

Napoli have cash to spend and are weighing up a £8 million offer, and the San Paolo club’s president Aurelio Di Laurentiis is thought to have contact the Portuguese man’s agent.

The Blues midfielder has declined to elaborate on his club future however, stating that he is concentrating on Portugal’s Euro 2012 campaign for the time being.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Reports gathering pace from both The Daily Mail and the Mirror suggest that Robbie Keane will become a Leicester City player within the next 48 hours.

If Keane signs for the Championship club, it will represent Sven-Goran Eriksson’s biggest capture of the summer at the club, and is hoping to convince the Republic of Ireland international to take a step down in division by offering a lucrative salary in order to get his man.

Leicester have now targeted Keane in response to their failure to sign another Republic of Ireland international striker, Shane Long, who instead chose to join West Brom earlier this week in a £7 million deal. They have also had three bids rejected by Bristol City for their forward, Nicky Maynard. Eriksson, who has already signed 11 players during this close-season, still feels they need to bring in a proven goalscorer: ‘I always said if we can get a striker with a good goal-scoring record, we are going to try. If there is a proven striker who can score 20 goals, then we will work hard to bring him in’.

Robbie Keane is now thought to be that man and an initial bid of around £3 million has been made. Although the transfer fee seems low, Tottenham are looking to reduce their already high wage bill and allowing Keane to leave would reduce that figure significantly.

If Keane moves, Leicester represent his 9th professional club – alongside Wolves, Coventry, Inter Milan, Tottenham, Liverpool, Celtic (loan) and West Ham (loan), amassing nearly £80 million in total transfer fees paid for his signature.

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AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri has predicted a tough encounter when his side visits Catania on Saturday in the Serie A.

Despite being placed at opposite ends of the table, Allegri knows to expect a heated battle at the Stadio Angelo Massimino as the hosts – who are just three points clear of the relegation zone – scrap for maximum points.

With two draws from their past three Serie A matches, Allegri will be desperate for a win against Catania to extend his side’s four-point lead on top of the league.

“I believe this is going to be a messy match because they have had a couple of negative results and will surely be playing an intense match at a fast pace,” Allegri said.

“It’s a team made up of several Argentinean players so it is difficult to play against them.”

“We should do a good job and remain focused for the whole 95 or 100 minutes. Most of all we should be extra careful and focus only on the match. We have important skills and important substitutions.”

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“For the last four games we have played once every three days and it is possible to be a bit tired. But we should make sure we put in a good performance.”

Allianz Your Cover Insurance are giving two teenagers (14-16) a once in a lifetime opportunity to head over the Munich for a week long training camp with FC Bayern Munich.

In August 2012, Allianz will host the fourth international Allianz Junior Football Camp in Munich. Teenagers from 14 to 16 years will get the once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet stars of FC Bayern Munich, participate in a professional football practice with official coaches of the club, visit the city of Munich and watch a match of FC Bayern Munich live at the Allianz Arena.

This unique camp experience will be a fantastic and unforgettable event for every participant. Teenagers have the opportunity to meet other passionate footballers from all over the world. We will further encourage this exchange between different countries (e.g. mixed groups during football training sessions).

Camp participants will enjoy an exciting program:

Practice with FC Bayern Munich coaches: Meet FC Bayern stars Allianz Arena tour FC Bayern match Sightseeing tour 5-aside tournament Intercultural activities (e.g. Farewell Party)

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All you need to do to apply is to submit a picture to the Facebook app of your favourite footballing moment, memory, experience plus a maximum of 100 words explaining why that moment was so special.

An FA accredited referee will judge which 5 entrants are the best, then they’ll be put to a public vote and use those votes to help decide on who should be put through to Munich.

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You can enter the through the app on the Facebook page OR directly through via this link.

If you know any young talented football fans who’d like to represent the UK over in Germany for a week, share this link and get them entering!

Juventus signing Mirko Vucinic said his new employers’ reputation as a Serie A powerhouse lured him to Turin.The Montenegro international joined from Italian top-flight rivals Roma for a fee of 15 million euros, and the 27-year-old striker said his mind was made up as soon as he found out about Juve’s interest.

“Roma was at the end of a cycle and now I’m here (at Juventus), in the most loved and best-known Italian team throughout the whole world,” Vucinic said.

“The name of the team is enough, as I’ve already said before. Juventus is the most famous team, the best known and the one Italians love most, so when my agent said the word, ‘Juventus’, I had no doubts about it.”

Despite finish last season in seventh spot – some 24 points from champions AC Milan – and not having won a domestic title since 2003, Vucinic said Juventus should always be considered a threat to win the Scudetto.

“Our position in the championship is the Juventus position: we are a great team and I’m not saying anything new, you already know that very well. We are a great team, made to win,” he said.

Vucinic also expressed his delight at getting to work with Juventus boss Antonio Conte at the Juventus Arena.

“I already know my team-mates, I’ve played against them many times, so let’s say they are kind of friends already,” he said.

“Antonio Conte didn’t call me until I had signed the contract. He phoned me after the signature and the impression he gave me was excellent.”

Sven Goran Eriksson has failed in his latest attempt to add to his Leicester City squad as Manchester United goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak rejected a move to the Walkers Stadium. Sven wanted to take Kuszczak on loan after Man United indicated that they would be happy to do a deal, but the Polish goalkeeper had other ideas.

Eriksson told The Sun that “Tomasz doesn’t want to come to us”, with the 28-year-old determined to fight for his place at Old Trafford. Kuszczak is currently Manchester United’s number two in between the sticks, with Edwin van der Sar ahead of him in the pecking order. The experienced Dutchman is set to retire in the summer, giving the Pole his best chance to get an extended run in the first team.

Capped six times by Poland, Kuszczak’s future at Old Trafford is far from certain. The fact that Sir Alex Ferguson was happy to see the back of the Pole, at least in the short term, will be worrying for Tomasz. When you add in the recent addition of Anders Lindegaard, it would seem that Fergie does not see Kuszczak as the long term successor to van der Sar.

As far as Leicester and Eriksson are concerned, they will have to turn their attentions elsewhere as they attempt to complete a return to the Premier League. Currently 13th in the Championship, Leicester are just two wins away from the playoff and with the addition of Everton striker Yakubu on loan and other high profile signings, will think that gap can be overturned in the final months of the season.

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Well who said the off-season was boring and it’s been another busy week at Sixfields. First up the news that the stadium expansion is set to be given the go-ahead and secondly the Bosman signing of Alex Nicholls from Walsall.

I will start with the expansion of Sixfields Stadium as it has been confirmed this week by council officials that we are two weeks away from signing an agreement to extend Sixfields and the surrounding areas.

This has been a long drawn out process that seems to have been talked about for years and the council in this town have seemed more concerned with the plans for the town centre rather than trying to make our local football team a priority. The current plans including making the stadium up to around a 15,000 capacity and will also incorporate more hospitality facilities including executive boxes. The surrounding areas will also be developed with a hotel and casino being mentioned.

I believe for the future of this football club we have needed this to bring more revenue in, and fair play to the Chairman Mr Cardoza he could have so easily given up on these plans and moved on but he has stuck to the task and now it finally appears that his hard work is starting to pay off. Hopefully our council took a look at all the work that has happened at Franchise FC down the road and saw what could be done with the right support, and I have no doubt that we will be overtaking them soon as long as this proposal does finally go through.

I have nothing but praise for Mr Cardoza he has ploughed a lot of money into the football club for little return and now finally the town’s councillors are helping him with his vision in hopefully turning us into a Championship team.

More news on the pitch now and we have signed Alex Nicholls from Walsall on a free transfer. He has made over 200 appearances for the Saddlers scoring 24 goals, most of which in League 1. He was offered new terms at Bescot Stadium but turned them down along with a host of other clubs to make the move to Sixfields Stadium. Nicholls can play on the wing or as the second front man, he has pace to burn, and judging from what a lot of Walsall fans are saying they are sorry to see him go. The minority have also said it depends which Nicholls turns up on his good days he can be good but on bad ones they are saying he need not have bothered playing. However I am going to reserve judgment on him until I have seen him for myself as he has the potential after finishing as the second leading scorer at Walsall last season with seven goals, one behind John Macken.

Last week’s new signing Clive Platt has this week spoken about why he turned down life at Coventry for a two-year deal at Sixfields.  He explained that the draw of working with ADB again was to good an offer to miss out on, and that a transitional period at Coventry and their goals didn’t meet his ambitions. He also admitted that Boothroyd’s aim for next season was promotion and that he can’t wait to be part of a team that is going to be going all out to get into League 1 as the manager will not expect much less. I just hope we finish higher than last season and if we can get promotion that will be an added bonus.

I am now excited about the new season as the team is beginning to take shape and Aidy Boothroyd has said there are more signings to come. However we must remain patient and if they continue to be as good as the two we have signed so far things are looking up.  Just please make sure one of them is Clarke Carlisle if possible.

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Up The Cobblers!!

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Many of us like to think of ourselves as great football managers who could do a better job than a lot of those in the world of football. This is purely down to our exploits in management games like Championship Manager. Being good in the virtual world doesn’t automatically translate to the real world though, just ask some virtual stars who fell by the wayside when it came to stepping on the pitch.

Cited as a decisive factor in over 30 divorce cases, the addictive Championship Manager (later Football Manager) series successfully managed to develop a cult status amongst football fans the world over. Aside from its groundbreaking eschewal of graphics in favour of text, the series gained infamy for its ability to predict the promising futures of top players before they became famous, having foreseen the development of the likes of Fernando Torres and Wayne Rooney years before the pair gained widespread notoriety.

However, the series is equally as infamous for its ability to unearth duds. The following cult heroes are indicative of when Championship Manager has gotten it wrong, as all of these virtual sensations have found footballing success elusive…

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Click on the image below to see some of Championship Manager’s cult heroes

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Compiled by Zarif Rasul

Alan Pardew has stressed that he did not agree to become manager at Newcastle before Chris Hughton lost his job.

Hughton was sacked by the club on Monday whilst Pardew was unveiled as his replacement on Thursday.

However, this three day delay has done little to douse rumours that Pardew had been lined up before Hughton had got the boot.

Speaking after the Magpies' 3-1 success against Liverpool on Saturday, Pardew insisted that this was not the case.

"That was never true," he explained.

"In terms of myself, I never really had any contact about this job or any other job. It's a weird situation."

In the wake of owner Mike Ashley's shock decision to replace Hughton, Joey Barton admitted that the managerial upheaval was a 'shame'.

This is something which Pardew admits he understands.

He said:"One hundred per cent, and we talked about it afterwards. I have worked with Chris and he can feel very, very unfortunate that he is not sitting here now.

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"But we all know this game is not easy and can be cruel at times. I had a very similar issue at Southampton."

Pardew got off to a perfect start by beating Liverpool but this will do little to stop critics from scrutinising his performance at the club.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Didier Drogba has announced that he is set to leave Chelsea this summer after 8 years at the club. Drogba has won three Premier League titles, four FA Cup trophies and has scored 157 goals for Chelsea, so is Fernando Torres ready to step up to the mark?

Didier Drogba confirmed his faith in Fernando Torres to fill the void and help Chelsea continue their success. Having only scored 7 times for Chelsea since his £50m transfer last January from Liverpool, many critics have slated Torres for his lack of achievement of the Blues.

Drogba was a significant ingredient to the Chelsea first team against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on Saturday. He assisted in Chelsea’s lifting of the title by scoring an equaliser in the 88th minute and scoring the deciding penalty to win Chelsea the title. Whereas Torres was left to watch from the bench and revealed his disappointment in not given the opportunity.

With Drogba’s news of leaving the club, it gives Torres the opportunity to step out of Drogba’s shadow and become the foremost strike force for Chelsea. Evidence of his capabilities to fill Drogba’s boots was proven during his period at Liverpool scoring over 20 goals every season in all competitions for the Reds. This was furthermore apparent during 2008 Euros when Torres displayed his scoring ability scoring the winning goal for Spain against Germany in the final servicing his country to victory.

‘When you talk about the Premier League you talk about a lot of players with quality so it’s not easy to pick one, by the is amongst the best’’ – Rafael Benitez 2009

Three years later and many people would read this quote and laugh due to his lack of success at Chelsea even though he was previously considered one of the top players of the Premier League. Although only scoring 7 goals so far for the Blues, the goals have been coming more regularly recently scoring a hat-trick against Queens Park Rangers in April which is a promising sign that he is prepared to step up to the mark.

However, now there will be a lot of expectation from the club, the fans and the critics for his performance to improve and to be demanded into scoring on a regular basis for Chelsea. This therefore places a lot of pressure on the Spaniard which could determine his performance to come.

Torres has shown in previous years that his capability to score goals in inevitable. Whilst at Chelsea he has always been over shadowed by the dominant strike force that is Didier Drogba, yet upon his exit of the club reveals the oppourtunity for Fernando Torres to step up into the limelight.

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If you think Torres has got it in him, Tweet me @gmileham.

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