QPR ‘to rival Liverpool for Tottenham striker Defoe’
QPR are ready to rival Liverpool for the signing of Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe, according to The People.
Defoe is tipped to leave White Hart Lane this summer and Liverpool were believed to be interested before the Anfield club’s recent sacking of Kenny Dalglish.
It is claimed Rangers boss Mark Hughes wants to form a new-look attack by capturing Defoe and Andy Johnson.
Out-of-contract Fulham forward Johnson is said to be close to moving to Loftus Road, with Hughes keen to offload Jay Bothroyd and DJ Campbell.
The Daily Star on Sunday say Joey Barton could join West Ham, whose manager Sam Allardyce signed him for Newcastle.
Despite recent reports that it could cost QPR around £11m to sack Barton, the Sunday Express suggest he is unlikely to be entitled to any compensation if he is fired and that his most likely destination would be Qatar.
The Sun on Sunday say the R’s are keen to sign Fabio on loan from Manchester United after the defender’s move to Benfica hit a snag.
The People also say Chelsea chiefs will meet with Pep Guardiola’s brother on Monday and believe they can tempt the former Barcelona boss to take over at Stamford Bridge.
It is claimed that the club will tell Guardiola he would be under no pressure to win trophies during his first two seasons in charge.
Roberto Di Matteo is a front runner for the Aston Villa manager’s job, the Sunday Mirror say.
There has been speculation that the Italian, who has a house in the Midlands following his spell as West Brom boss, is interested in taking over at Villa because of the uncertainty surrounding his future at Chelsea.
It is claimed that there is now a strong possibility that he will succeed the sacked Alex McLeish.
The Sunday Mirror also suggest that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is determined to appoint Guardiola even if he has to wait a year, and that Ryan Bertrand is in line for a new contract.
Meanwhile, Fulham are to increase their bid for Huddersfield striker Jordan Rhodes to £5m, according to The People.
It was claimed last week that Fulham had an offer of £3.5m for the Terriers star rejected.
The People also say the Whites have clinched the signings of highly-rated Portuguese teenagers Filipie Cristo and Dinei from Setubal.
And a number of newspapers report comments made by USA boss Jurgen Klinsmann, who suggests American star Clint Dempsey should leave Craven Cottage.
Klinsmann is quoted as saying: “If you play consistently at the highest level then offers will come in. I think everybody is aware of that. His goal is the right goal, – we have often discussed it.
“If he has the opportunity to go to a Champions League team, that’s the crème de la crème of club soccer then you have to do that, with all the respect obviously to Fulham, as he often mentions.
“But you want to play in the biggest club competition in the world and that’s the European Champions League and hopefully something will happen over the next couple of weeks.
“If it doesn’t happen then he has to keep pounding away and knocking at the door.”
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27/05/2012 @ 2:11 pm
Hi Bill
It’s a daily round-up of stories from the papers and not our content.
27/05/2012 @ 11:01 am
The stories that Liverpool were interested in Jermain Defoe last season were just that, Stories. If you actually did your research you would have discovered that Liverpool’s owners have stated on many occasions that they are not interested in players that would have no resale value after a couple of seasons, and 26 is the upper limit, ergo at 30 Jermain Defoe is way too old. The only way he would be taken on by Liverpool would be on a free.
All this is irrelevant anyway as Liverpool do not have any management at present and when they do who is to say the new team would be interested in Jermain Defoe.