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The Something Gossip

CHELSEA BID BIG FOR ROBINHO
Chelsea's bid for Robinho is believed to amount to almost £20m - but they may have to produce another £5m if they are to bring the Brazilian to Stamford Bridge.

The club announced on their website on Thursday night that they had ' made an offer to Real Madrid for the transfer of Robinho.' It's understood that Chelsea have bid £19.75m for the forward and their unusual decision to go public with their approach would seemingly indicate they are confident of getting their man.

However, according to The Independent, 'Chelsea's negotiations with Madrid could be protracted with Wagner Ribeiro, Robinho's agent, understood to be holding out for a fee closer to £25 million.'

Real are also under pressure from their fans not to sell Robinho after failing in their interminable attempt to prise Cristiano Ronaldo out of Manchester United's grasp. Yet, by offering Robinho in part-exchange for Ronaldo, the club have alienated the player and the 24-year-old has welcomed Chelsea's interest. "It would be a dream for me to work with Scolari, who is one of the best coaches in the world," he said. "I have always spoken highly of him and he has always spoken highly of me, since well before he was at Chelsea."


BARRY CONCERNED AT LIVERPOOL DELAY
Gareth Barry is reportedly ready to pull the plug on his propose move to Liverpool unless a deal is concluded in the next eight days.

With the new Premiership season looming, The Times claims that Barry is, understandably, worried that his long-anticipated transfer has still not been concluded. Liverpool's first bid for the midfielder was made in May and over a week has passed since Martin O'Neill reluctantly announced that Barry could leave so long as Liverpool met his £18m valuation. Yet, far from signalling the end of the saga, Liverpool's failure to contact Villa since then has raised fresh doubts about their ability to conclude the deal.

'Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, has been waiting patiently for Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr to produce the cash promised to him last week, but that has yet to materialise amid rumours that the club's American owners have run into more financial difficulties, claims that were strenuously denied yesterday,' The Times declares.

The sale of Xabi Alonso would have financed the purchase of Barry but the Spaniard's exit cannot be sanctioned following an injury to Steven Gerrard. With Javier Mascherano on Olympics duty, Alonso will be required for next week's Champions League qualifier in Belgium. After also ruling out the sale of either Yossi Benanyoun or Dirk Kuyt, Benitez's hopes of raising the money required to recruit Barry will thus be dependent on selling Jermaine Pennant and Andriy Voronin.

The good news for Benitez is that Liverpool's transfer kitty currently contains around £10m. The bad is that he has yet to receive a single offer for either player and, according to The Times, an 'increasingly concerned Barry is not willing to wait much longer.'


ARSHAVIN HAS AGREED SPURS TERMS
Interesting words from Andrei Arshavin have just this second vaulted into the F365 inbox.

The gist is that he's already agreed terms with Spurs, and the only piffling detail to sort out now is the fee between Zenit and Tottenham.

More on this one here.

In other news from our Spurs desk, Magic Juande has refused to rule out selling Dimitar Berbatov.

It's all go down at the Lane, and you can read more on that one here.


VILLA SIGN TWO FULL-BACKS
Aston Villa have completed the signing of Middlesbrough right-back Luke Young and Reading left-back Nicky Shorey.

Both players sealed their moves to Villa Park on Thursday as Villa boss Martin O'Neill bolstered his defensive options ahead of the new season.

Former Tottenham and Charlton defender Young, 29, has seven England caps but has not featured for the national team since a friendly against Argentina in November 2005.


KABOUL TO VILLA AFTER ALL?
Cripes. The Younes Kaboul transfer saga seems to have taken another left turn this morning, if you believe what you read in The Daily Star.

First he was going to Sunderland. Then it was Aston Villa. Then it was Sunderland again. Then Portsmouth.

And now The Daily Star reckons Villa - giddy from the purchase of two other distinctly average defenders are back in the driving seat with a £6million bid.

The paper reckons O'Neill will complete the second 'victory' over 'Arry Redknapp in a week, having beaten him to the scribble of Shorey.


HOYTE TO REPLACE YOUNG?
Having chuckled to themselves as they trousered the £5million for Young, Middlesbrough will celebrate by spunking £3million of that on another mediocre full-back.

That will be in the shape of Justin Hoyte if The Daily Mirror is to be believed, proving that Arsene Wenger can not only get good money for the good prospects he has developed, but old rope too.


DOYLE FOR SUNDERLAND?
Sunderland need striker. Roy Keane is Irish. Reading were relegated last season. Kevin Doyle is pretty good.

You can see how The Daily Mail made that connection, but whether there really is anything in the rumour that he will spend £4million on his countryman is currently unclear.

They are also counting out the pennies to bid £7million for Benni McCarthy, which the Mail thinks may well happen.


KEGGY UNHAPPY SMITH IS LEAVING
It's hard to believe that he is worth the fuss but Alan Smith could spark another confrontation between Newcastle owner Mike Ashley and Kevin Keegan.

Smith has been granted permission by Ashley to hold talks with Everton about a cut-price move to Goodison Park but The Daily Mail claims that Keegan is adamant the player should not be allowed to leave as he doesn't have another fit forward in his squad.


EVERTON ALSO WAIT ON MOUTINHO
It will hardly please Everton fans to learn that, after months of waiting for a new arrival, their first signing of the summer is set to be Smith.

But after selling Andy Johnson to Fulham for over £10m, David Moyes now has some money to spend and he's expected to make another bid for Portuguese midfielder Joao Moutinho. The Guardian says that 'Talks are ongoing with Sporting Lisbon and a new offer of around £13m, a club record, is on the table.'


AND THE REST...
Coventry have signed former Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison on a two-year deal...Middlesbrough will step up their bid to land Reading midfielder James Harper after Julio Arca was ruled out for up to two months...Abdoulaye Meite is heading to West Brom in a £2.5million deal...Celtic boss Gordon Strachan is making a £2.5million bid for Portsmouth midfielder Sean Davis - to put some new flair into the SPL champions...Blackburn boss Paul Ince is ready to sign Ghanaian midfield dynamo Anthony Annan in a £1.5million deal - but faces disappointment in his move for MK Dons skipper Keith Andrews...Crystal Palace supremo Simon Jordan has pulled the plug on Ben Watson's £2million move to Nottingham Forest because he wants the money up front...Manchester United starlet Lee Martin is in a transfer tug-of-war between Birmingham City and Nottingham Forest. Martin has been told he can go on loan for the season...Aston Villa and Everton have both set their sights on signing Manchester City midfielder Michael Johnson...Tottenham are expected to complete a £6.8million deal for Manchester City's Vedran Corluka.