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Tuesday Kickoff: PSG target Rooney; Hoffenheim sack manager; and more

WayneRooneyvsNorwich (Getty)

By DAN KARELL

Paris Saint-Germain have made plenty of big money and big exposure signings recently, and they could be preparing for a big one this summer.

Club President Nasser Al-Khelaifi spoke on Monday of his admiration for Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney, who has been subject to transfer speculation since being benched in the second-leg of United’s Champions League tie against Real Madrid.

“He is a great player, one of the best strikers in the world,” Al-Khelaifi told Sky Sports News. “I think everybody would like it to happen.”

Al-Khelaifi made clear that PSG haven’t made an offer for the 27-year-old Englishman, but the president’s comments have increased rumors about Rooney joining Beckham at the Parc des Princes next season. Rooney this season has scored 12 goals and recorded nine assists in 21 Premier League matches.

TSG HOFFENHEIM SACK MANAGER AND SPORTING DIRECTOR

With just one win in their last six matches, Hoffenheim have decided to make a change to try and save their season from relegation, firing manager Marco Kurz and sporting director Andreas Müller, and replacing them with Markus Gisdol.

Gisdol most recently was a coach at FC Schalke, but spent 2009-2011 at Hoffenheim, where he was the reserve team coach. Kurz took over the manager role at the German club in December 2012, but his overall record of two wins, two draws, and six losses was not good enough to keep him in a job.

Hoffenheim currently sit in 17th out of 18th place, five points within the drop zone, with seven matches to go.

QUICK KICKS

FC St. Pauli goalkeeper Philipp Tschauner scored a goal on Monday in injury time on a header off a corner kick to force a draw with Paderborn. (REPORT)

Inter Milan midfielder Estaban Cambiasso will only have to serve a one-match ban for his red card last Saturday against Juventus. (REPORT)

David Beckham hasn’t yet given up on international play, saying he’d welcome a call-up to the national team. (REPORT)

Aston Villa defeated Chelsea 2-0 in the NextGen Series Final. (REPORT)

San Lorenzo goalkeeper Pablo Migliore was arrested as he left the pitch on Sunday for allegedly aiding and abetting a murder suspect. (REPORT)

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What do you make of these reports? Do you see Rooney playing in Paris next season? Do you believe Gisdol can survive the drop?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I wonder if Hodgson will tell Rooney not to leave because France is too far away for the national team manager to follow him.

    Reply
  2. why do clubs do that? they fire a manager once theyre in relegation or near relegation and then the next manager is still stuck in relegation and they fire them eventually too

    Reply
  3. David Beckham hasn’t yet given up on international play, saying he’d welcome a call-up to the national team. (REPORT)

    David, do you even want to be in that locker room? It’s chaos. They let the players run the team and the egos… wow.

    Reply
    • Johnson, I think, would get interest.

      Williams, unfortunately, I don’t have high hopes for a transfer. He just isn’t getting enough playing time or consistency. He needs to stand out more in a league filled with DMs.

      And relegation may be a blessing for Gyau, who should get more consistent playing time with a relegated Hoffenheim, who should be contenders for a bounce back up – only this time with Gyau cemented as an import element of their attack.

      Reply
    • looks like bundesliga2 is in their future… hard to say who stays. I would imagine that Fabin Johnson leaves for a new bundesliga club but Williams and Gyau could become important starters for a second div hoffenheim.. that said, sounds like Gyau wants a new club regardless.

      I would love to see Danny Williams in MLS. Perfect MLS CM, could really make a few good teams into solid playoff/CCL teams.

      Reply
    • Yeah, Hoffenhim is a mess, and a lot of people were calling Andreas Muller a mistake when he was hired last September and that it would end in disaster.

      As for Joe Gyau, his Hoffeneheim contract runs until 2015 and St. Pauli has the option to unilaterally extend his loan an additional year until summer of 2014. Gyau has been quoted in the press saying he is very happy in Hamburg and would like to stay at St. Pauli, while the St. Pauli has indicated they are leaning toward exercising the option. Gyau was very lucky to get out of Hoffenheim when he did, or maybe he was simply smart enough to see that it was a sinking ship and he got the heck out.

      http://www.mopo.de/st-pauli/fc-st–pauli-profi-joseph-claude-gyau–der-raketen–mann,5067040,22191762.html

      Apparently the only player at Hoffenheim whose contract has an escape clause if the team falls to the 2. Bundesliga is goalkeeper Tim Wiese. So if Hoffenheim has wants to make a quick rebound back to the the 1. Bundesliga, like Hertha Berlin is doing this year, then Hoffenheim team management will not let Williams and Fabian leave easily.

      Reply
      • Bundesliga 2 is not such a bad league that it requires players to jump ship unless they are real stars or have a great transfer opportunity. Would it be a financial matter for Hoffenheim?

      • Agree with you on 2. Bundesliga. As for money, short answer, no, would not be a financial problem. The owner is billionaire Dietmar Hopp. A story came out a few weeks ago that he has sunk, I believe, 350 million euros into the team thus far. that said, he might be thinking time to cut back if the team falls.

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietmar_Hopp

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