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Friday Evening Ticker: Rossi heading to Fiorentina, Spurs land Holtby, and more

BY MICHAEL KLINE

Fiorentina have confirmed in a statement that they have reached an agreement with Villarreal on a transfer for New Jersey-native Giuseppe Rossi.

Rossi has been out of action since an ACL tear in October of 2011. He returned to training in April of 2012, only to reinjure his right anterior cruciate ligament for the second time in six months.

The Italian international possesses a wide range of passes and strong technical skills. His versatility has made him a highly regarded player despite his unfortunate run of injuries.

The 25-year-old forward will complete his move to Fiorentina for an undisclosed fee, reportedly in the €10m region, following a contractual agreement between player and club.

Here are some more of Friday’s top stories to round out your day:

HOLTBY SET FOR SUMMER MOVE TO TOTTENHAM

Schalke’s midfield star Lewis Holtby is set for a move to Tottenham after the two clubs agreed on a summer move.

Holtby, whose father is English, captains the Germany Under-21 team and is considered one of the top midfield prospects in Europe. Several teams in England were after his services, but Holtby ultimately settled on Spurs.

Holtby’s transfer will be completed in July when he joins the London club.

FERGUSON IRATE OVER TOTTENHAM’S MOVE FOR FRYERS

Sir Alex Ferguson is demanding an investigation into Tottenham’s “manipulation” over the £3m signing of former Manchester United defender Zeki Fryers.

Fryers left Manchester United for Standard Liege at the end of last season for a small fee after speculation of a £6m move to Tottenham subsided. Fryers was on trial with Tottenham over the summer before the club decided not to meet his asking price.

Just months later, Tottenham have had a bid accepted by Standard Liege that is believed to be half the price Manchester United were demanding in the summer.

The 20-year-old left back made a handful of appearances for Standard Liege before managerial changes left him out of favor. He has been brought to Tottenham as cover for Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

CASILLAS BEST GOALKEEPER FOR FIFTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR

The International Federation of Football History and Statistics have named Spain’s captain as the best goalkeeper in the world for a fifth consecutive year.

Iker Casillas beat out fellow keepers Gianluigi Buffon and Petr Cech to capture the award for a record fifth time.

The award, which is voted on by journalists all over the world, has made José Mourinho’s decision to bench the legendary keeper look even more strange.

SNEIJDER CONSIDERING PREMIER LEAGUE MOVE

Speculation has increased regarding Wesley Sneijder’s future at Inter Milan.

The Dutch midfielder has not played for Inter Milan since September, and rumors of his refusal to take a pay cut continue to circulate.

The 28-year old had been linked with a move to Queens Park Rangers following remarks from QPR manager Harry Redknapp, but his agent has since denied such rumors.

Sneijder is still considered to be a top midfielder in Europe, yet his reported wages of near £200,000/week are deterring any possible suitors.

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What do you think of these develoments? See Rossi bouncing back and being a goal-scoring first again? Worried that Holtby’s arrival will spell trouble for Clint Dempsey?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Very important move for Rossi. The guy desperately wants to get back in the picture for the Azzuri. If he is going to play in world cup 2014, getting back to Italy clearly keeps him view of the national team staff week in and week out. Just don’t fix any matches Joe.

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  2. Fergie is out of his mind. So, Tottenham realized that the player wasn’t worth what ManUtd was asking for him…and the team had to settle for a much lower offer from Standard. If he was worth more, some other team would have topped Liege’s offer. If Fergy is suggesting that the kid tanked during his time at Lege to get a cheap transfer to Spurs, then Fergie really is nuts. Players want higher transfer fees because they get a cut. If that’s not what he’s suggesting, then he’s making even less sense.

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    • Fischy, that is not what Fergie is suggesting. He thinks there is a paper trail of emails/phone calls between Tottenham and Standard Liege. Standard Liege buys him for pennies and then sells him to Tottenham at a discount of what United wanted. Standard Liege turns a massive profit and Tottenham get the player at 50% off.

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      • As absurd of an accusation as that is, I’m incredibly amused Sir Alex would feel compelled to ‘cast a stone’.

        He is the last person who should be accusing others of ethics and honor.

  3. I would not be surprised to see Holtby leave Schalke for Tottenham before the end of the month for a token transfer fee. A major screw-up by Schalke not to sell him last August, when they could have probably gotten at least 10 million euros for him. If he stays at Schalke, he would be basically unmotivated and worthless, doing all he can to avoid injury as the move to London in July is contingent on him passing a medical check. He has generally not played well the past two months. Tottenham might be willing to pay 1-2 million to get the move done in January, which is better for Schalke than nothing in July.

    And for all the complaints about Clint Dempsey’s departure from Fulham fans, at least Fulham pocketed a nice transfer fee, which they would not have gotten had Clinton stayed and signed a Bosman in January, plus Clint’s departure ended all the tension between him and Jol. Had Clint stayed it would have been a major distraction, just as it has been the past few months with Holtby preparing for his departure.

    And, finally, no doubt that Holtby has great potential, but I think he should have stayed a couple of more years at Schalke to develop further before making the move to England. I hope he proves me wrong, because when he is playing well he can be exciting. And I don’t see him as competition for Dempsey for a starting spot. I think they could work very well together.

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    • Schalke might feel like they need him to make Champions League though, so that would be their incentive to hold on to him. Will be interesting to see what happens either way.

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  4. “Sir Alex Ferguson is demanding an investigation into Tottenham’s “manipulation” over the £3m signing of former Manchester United defender Zeki Fryers”

    Oh shut up.

    No question, his legendary status as a manager in the sport. However, it’s this type of woe is me bullsh*t that makes me lose all personal respect for him.

    He has no problem being the bully but when he doesn’t get his way, he cries worse than the victims of his tirades.

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  5. What is Rossi’s exact position?

    Polish media have reported that Fiorentina is very close to signing Rafał Wolski from Legia Warszawa. Wolski is probably the top young Polish player right now; but, like Rossi, he has missed much of this past year due to injuries.

    Wolski is a CM/CAM.

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    • Rossi is a forward. At Villareal (before the injury) he was playing with Nilmar as two very mobile forwards who could break beyond defenses with speed or set each other up with good dribbling/passing. Rossi can play in the hole, but still much more of a forward than a midfielder. At least, that’s what I saw when watching him.

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    • Rossi is a striker, Roman. Probably best if playing with a holding striker that he can run off of.

      Oh, and you are certainly knowledgeable of your Poles. Nice to see and learn.

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  6. Great deal for Spurs. Holtby can play behind the striker but, can also play in Dembele’s role when Dembele needs a rest. I really hope Rossi can get back to his best.

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      • Could make Dempsey a better player….

        For all of Tottenham’s accolades, Holtby brings something they may obviously need to get over the perennial “4th in the premiership” hump.

        Clint works hard, he will eventually come into his own plying with a guy who can accentuate his goal-first qualities.

        Look for this to be a great pairing in the final third.

      • Holtby is the replacement for the creativity Modric and Van De Vaart had and Dembele does not.

        He will impact the PT of Scott Parker and Dembele more than Deuce, who Spurs seem to see as more of an outright scorer.

        If Clint does his usual thing he should be fine. I’m sure Jones will tell Holtby all he needs to know about Deuce.

      • Still Dempsey will be there the same time he is where will Dempsey play left mid like said if bale leaves I’m sure he’ll be fine until holtby moves in the summer after in font know

      • “His could also mean Dempsey is the odd man out unless bale is sold”

        How many times before our own fans will stop counting out Dempsey? Have you guys really not learned your lesson yet?

      • I’m not counting him out I’m being realistic i am a huge Dempsey fan but sometimes you have to take off your usmnt googles and realize what really going on all I’m saying Dempsey has to produce on a more consistent level and has been recently but he has to make up for the slow start at the being and I know people will say he didn’t have a preseason but the fans in England don’t care they want to see stats result Dempsey is only now delivering these past 2 months

  7. I read Rossi wont be ready for training until March. Strange that someone would pick him up in the transfer window.

    As far as Holtby, not concerned at all about Dempsey.

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