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The Mad Cat Gossip
BARRY FOR ARSENAL?
Arsenal could take advantage of all Liverpool's dilly-dallying about over Gareth Barry and come in with an 11th-hour bid. Liverpool and Villa reportedly spent all of Friday talking about Barry's valuation, with the latter still unwilling to accept anything less than £18m and Liverpool offering nothing more than £15m and Steve Finnan.
And according to The Sun, 'Gunners boss Arsene Wenger declared his own interest in midweek and Arsenal officials have contacted Villa to find out the latest position'.
The Gunners are in dire need of midfield reinforcements with Mathieu Flamini already gone and Gilberto Silva likely to exit within the next few days. They could offer cash plus former Villa target Justin Hoyte for Barry, who has set his heart on a Liverpool switch but could be diverted towards London and the promise of Champions League football.
STILL KEANE ON ROBBIE
Like a boy at a school disco, The Times says that 'Liverpool have been receiving mixed signals from Tottenham about Keane', but what seems certain is that Rafa Benitez is keen on the stiker and the departures of Peter Crouch and Danny Guthrie - coupled with the imminent exit of Scott Carson to somewhere glamorous like Stoke or West Brom - have been allowed with half an eye on paying for the Irishman.
'Much as Barry has made clear his desire to move to Anfield, so Benítez's hopes of luring Keane may hinge on the player's determination to seek a move,' say The Times, who seem to have temporarily forgotten that Barry's desire to move has not actually got him that far.
Anyway, Spurs are going to want close to £20m. But we expect Liverpool to offer £17.5m (£11m (Crouch) + £2.5m (Guthrie) + £4m (Carson)).
PENNANT TO ROVERS?
Actually, maybe Liverpool will be able to scrape the cash together for Keane. The fire sale could continue with Jermaine Pennant set to be a target for Paul Ince, who will have to admit sooner or later that David Bentley is likely to end up at Villa or Spurs. Pennant is an obvious replacement as long as Ince can show him who is the Guv'nor.
MANYOO IN BERBA BID
It's in all the papers so we're inclined to believe that ManYoo have finally made an official bid for Dimitar Berbatov somewhere in the region of £20m. Spurs have made it clear that the price is £30m but there is some suggestion that £25m plus players (Louis Saha is the name that keeps popping up) could persuade them to sell a player who clearly does not fancy another season at White Hart Lane.
Tottenham would use at least some of the money to buy Espanyol striker Luis Garcia and the rest to try and tempt Blackburn to sell them David Bentley.
AND THE REST
Michael Owen is set to start contract talks with Newcastle next week...AC Milan have opened talks with Chelsea to try and bring Andrei Shevchenko back to Italy...USA international goalkeeper Brad Guzan is set to become Aston Villa's second summer signing...Wigan are stepping up their efforts to sign Everton striker Andy Johnson...Stuttgart are close to signing Tottenham midfielder Kevin Prinve Boateng for £3million...West Ham are close to signing Lazio midfielder Valon Behrami...Arsenal are finalising personal terms with Werder Bremen midfielder Amaury Bischoff...Sunderland midfielder Dickson Etuhu is attracting interest from Wigan...QPR are lining up a shock swoop for Real Madrid defender Michel Salgado...
Hull are set to sign Portsmouth midfielder Sean Davis for £2.25million...Tottenham keeper Paul Robinson has ruled out a season-long move to West Brom...Wigan are set to make a surprise £3.5million swoop for Middlesbrough midfielder Lee Cattermole...Crystal Palace want to sign Luton striker Calvin Andrew...QPR have offered £250,000 plus striker Daniel Nardiello to Blackpool in a bid to sign defender Kaspars Gorkks...West Brom are considering a £2million move for Charlton striker Marcus Bent...Hull want to sign Tottenham defender Ricardo Rocha on a season-long loan...Stoke want to sign Reading striker Dave Kitson for £4million...Tottenham are lining up a move for Ghana striker Eric Bekoe.
