Thursday Gossip

by lee1pen Thu Jul 07, 2011 9:02 am

Amid all the chatter about who's coming to City, remember that it's never one-way traffic. But who'll be going? Skysports have their doubts about a move north for Craig Bellamy.
It's not that Bellers wouldn't welcome a change, but they report that "Celtic manager Neil Lennon says Bellamy would have to accept a drop in wages in order to secure a move to Parkhead". Ah.
Here's the situation as they see it: "Bellamy is expected to leave City permanently during the transfer window after spending last season on loan at Cardiff City.
"The Championship club have played down talk of a return for the Wales international, but Celtic do hold an interest in the striker.
"The 31-year-old enjoyed a loan spell with the Bhoys in 2005 and his international team-mate Joe Ledley has urged Bellamy to return to the SPL giants."
But skysports estimate the asking price at £4million and quote Lennon: "It's a remote possibility at the moment, unless some sort of scenario comes up where he could come down a bit on the wages."
One man who won't be heading out is mainstay Gareth Barry, despite a bizarre episode in Italy involving Giorgio De Giorgis, who happens to be Roberto Mancini's agent.
The Guardian says: "City have issued an official rebuttal to claims from Roberto Mancini's agent that Gareth Barry could be used as the bait in a player-plus-cash exchange with Napoli's Ezequiel Lavezzi.
"The Argentinian is among forwards, including Sergio Agüero, who have been discussed behind the scenes. (City) are still evaluating which players to prioritise in the wake of their unsuccessful attempt to sign Alexis Sánchez from Udinese.
"City, therefore, have been taken aback by the comments from Giorgio De Giorgis that they and Napoli have "been negotiating for the past few months" and that "Barry could be used as a makeweight".
Reporter Danny Taylor elicited this response from the Club: "Mr Giorgis is not mandated by the football club to deal with transfers, in or out, at Manchester City. Furthermore, there is no intention to sell Gareth Barry, who remains a valued member of the team."
That's sorted then. In news on transfers that are happening, goal.com reports that "Sporting Lisbon have confirmed they have completed the signing of Parma striker Valeri Bojinov". Nice one, Boji.
Most media outlets help themselves to Stefan Savic's interview on this site following his arrival from Partizan Belgrade yesterday. We'll skip that. You knew what he said before they did.
And on the day after we said our farewells to Mike Doyle, the Times of Malta reports that the Malta branch of the Supporters Club have appointed Carmen Young, widow of another Blues legend Neil Young, as president.