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Monday Kickoff: Inter eyeing Fabregas, Ronaldo injured and more

Cesc Fabregas (ISIphotos.com)

Just when you thought it was safe to assume Cesc Fabregas would stay with Arsenal this season, now comes word that a new team has replaced Barcelona as the top team looking to buy him.

Inter Milan is reportedly set to offer £32.5million for the Spanish international in a late move that seems unlikely to succeed given Arsenal's consistent reluctance to part with its captain.

The interest is just part of a late transfer window rumor mill that has also rekindled a potential Maicon to Real Madrid move. With Wednesday's transfer deadline looming there could still be some major moves made by top clubs looking to strengthen their squads.

Here are some other stories to get your Monday going:

RONALDO INJURED IN OPENER

Cristiano Ronaldo will miss a handful of key matches after being ruled out for three weeks due to an ankle injury suffered in Real Madrid's season-opening draw against Mallorca.

Ronaldo is expected to miss Portugal's upcoming European qualifiers, as well as Real Madrid's UEFA Champions League opener against Ajax.

His injury should open the door for newly-signed Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Ozil, who did not start in Real Madrid's opener.

ZLATAN RIPS PEP ON WAY TO MILAN

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is heading to AC Milan in a loan deal that should end his disappointing tenure with Barcelona and the Swedish striker wasted no time blaming Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola for everything that went wrong.

"I only had problems with one person (Guardiola)," Ibrahimovic told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I got on great with my team-mates and I want to take this opportunity to say that I had a great relationship with both the club and the fans."

Ibrahimovic provides a major boost to an AC Milan attack that already features Brazilians Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato, as well as strikers Marco Borriello and Filippo Inzaghi, one of which may still move before the end of the transfer window given the crowded forward line (Borriello is reportedly on his way to Juventus on loan).

AC Milan may not be done shopping, with reports out of Italy suggesting the club is making a late move for Robinho.

FREE KICKS

Japan has hired a new manager, Alberto Zaccheroni.

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What do you think of these developments? Can't see Arsenal selling Fabregas this late in the window? Looking forward to seeing Ozil get his chance with Real Madrid? Think Ibrahimovic can recapture his scoring touch with AC Milan?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Why link to transfer stories from the Daily Mail? Most of the soccer stuff they publish is simply made up. I think SBI should have higher standards than a tabloid paper.

    (SBI-There aren’t many English publications that don’t have some level of questionable transfer stuff, but the Mail has just as much quality transfer content as anyone else, and besides, the above story came out of Italy, not a Mail-created story.)

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  2. He isn’t entirely wrong. Fans go a bit far when they sat Landon will be the savior of Everton and is all they need to be in top 4 as has been posted here many times. He isn’t good enough to be the man for Everton but clearly they could use him and would be glad to have him.

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  3. Maybe, but he’s still top 10…I’d replace gomez and tevez with forlan and higuain..eto’o is overrated imo and messi isn’t a striker. The way Pato played yesterday puts him up there too. Either way Zlatan is still one of the best.

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  4. dammit madrid. they actually played a decent game. but for whatever reason, higuain just couldn’t put the ball in the net. that, coupled with the stellar play from the mallorca keeper.

    so CR and Kaka are both out now. great.

    good news is Ozil will certainly see the field now. i’m still very curious with the lineup JM put out there though. had a few question marks for me…

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  5. Wow. You should maybe take off your “I don’t actually watch soccer or, for that matter, know anything about it at all” glasses.

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  6. O/T but what do you guys think about Sweden’s chances in qualifying? Elmander is playing well again like he was in 06-07. Toivonen is on FIRE. Berg is very talented and probably a super-sub. Martin Olsson is getting better everyday at Blackburn. Viktor Elm is very underrated but getting his name known.

    Can Zlatan lead the team and be the man they always wanted or will he always fail to live up to Henrik Larsson?

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  7. Let’s see Barca will have Villa, Messi and Pedro and AC will have Ronaldinho, Zlatan, Pato.

    what are the lineups for Inter and RM suspected to be this season?

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  8. Ibrahimovich to Barca was great news especially to Swedes. But why did they arrange for it in the first place? Eto’o always scored more goals than Ibrahimovich. Plus it would take time for him to settle. But I guess heck even EJ would score goals if Messi was assisting on them.

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  9. Ronaldinho probably played his best overall game in two years this weekend, a creative and energetic masterpiece, and one of those games that reminds you that Ronny at his best is the best in the world. I can’t stand Zlatan, but Milan will be a very, very dangerous team with him and an in-form and motivated Ronaldinho.

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  10. I think if anything Landon’s loan to Everton proved that the situation needs to be right for him to thrive. He was needed at the time due to injuries and he filled the role required. He had full support of the manager and his teammates immediately and it showed.

    If anything I think he will be careful about making a move and will not force one until it is the right situation like the Everton move was and that is only if he actually wants to go back to Europe permenantly which has always been debatable.

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  11. Zlatan’s attitude sucks. His talent is obvious but he doesn’t have the mentall strength to be a to be a top striker. He was terrible against his old team in the champs semis. His poor play and Iniesta’s absense were why Barca lost and Pep’s reluctance to go for a second away goal in the first leg.

    The guy’s reputation as a big game flop has been well-vetted, and it’s true.

    I had all the hopes in the world for him at Barca, I thought his talent could take them to another level, a big, strong, dynamic player w/ ability in the air, ability to hold the ball up for the little barca wizards to run in around him.

    But he failed miserably and I am happy to see him go, Good RIDDANCE.

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  12. In my opinion, us USMNT soccer fans need to take a step back and not assume we know what is best for Landon Donovan. For all we know, and based on his past career decisions, Donovan wants to play in the MLS. Based on his World Cup performance, playing in the MLS, coupled with an off-season loan move to the EPL, has allowed him to improve as a player. I too would like to see him move to a bigger club, but we cannot assume that is what Donovan wants.

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  13. Zlatan is 1 of the top 10 strikers in the world :

    Villa, Drogba, Torres, Rooney, Zlatan, Fabiano, Tevez, Gomez, Dzeko, Milito.

    would anyone change him out for any others?

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  14. I wouldn’t call Zlatan’s time with Barca disappointing…the guy was pretty darn good, with a bit of a dry patch.

    Somehow, he took a lot of blame for Barca crashing out to inter. That was a team failure that happened in Milan, mostly defensive.

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  15. Can we please declare a moratorium on the phrase “Take off your _______ glasses,” when referring to accusing someone of bias? It is played out.

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  16. Why do these teams keep making offers for Fabregas? He is a club captain and Arsenal is one of the big teams. I’d understand if he was on a mid-to-bottom table club.

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  17. Trophies and maybe a less physical league to keep from being injured all the time. I think he should stay with Arsenal personally. He would be a nice addition for Inter or Barcelona but neither actually is filling a need by getting him. He would never get to play as much or as big of a role as he has at Arsenal.

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  18. Have you all seen this news about MLS and Adidas signing a new 8 year deal (til 2018). Basically, Adidas and MLS have a contract that did not need to get renewed for a few years, but all of a sudden Adidas is pitching and signing this deal to bridge the youth programs in the US. Isn’t this what Klinsmann was mentioning not too long ago? I think we have our new coach, just my hypothesis. Ives, any word?

    http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/5511821/adidas-mls-sign-8-year-sponsorship-contract

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  19. After watching that miserable performance against Aston Villa this past weekend, David Moyes can sell Pienaar and Yakubu to raise money for Donovan. They sure looked like they can use LD.

    Personally, I don’t think Pienaar is coming back to Everton. Moyes may sell after the transfer window closes because then he won’t lose Pienaar’s service until Jan 1 2011. By then, LD may return for loan stint or permanently. (or other transfer arrivals)

    But then, this is just my wishful thinking.

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  20. yea its all landons fault they lost to the islanders and wizards, the dude sucks, had a terrible world cup, terrible spell with everon last year, and all the players and coaches at everton dont even like him…

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  21. Supposedly Man U offered Carrick + 10 million for Jack Rodwell… Given Moyes’ reluctance to sell the kid, I doubt this would go through, but that 10 million could be enticing

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  22. Landycakes couldn’t beat PR Islanders or KC Wizards. Is he really worth more than $10 Million? He is a guy that can play a specific role but not somebody you build a team around.

    Take off the red, white and blue glasses and you will see the truth.

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