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Monday Kickoff: Napoli bid for Higuain accepted; Man United make second Fabregas offer; and more

GonzaloHiguainRealMadrid1-AFCBournemouth (Getty)

By DAN KARELL

While Arsenal have stalled on an improved bid for Real Madrid forward Golzalo Higuain, one club has come in and had a bid already accepted for the big striker.

Napoli, now managed by Rafa Benitez, has made use of some of the funds made available after the sale of Edinson Cavani, having a bid of €35 million ($46 million) for Higuain accepted by Real Madrid, according to reports in Italy. Arsenal’s most recent bid of a reported €27 million was rejected by Madrid, who would rather not sell Higuain, though the player wants to leave.

Reports in England state that Higuain has asked for a 48-hour waiting period to give Arsenal time to come back with an improved offer, as it seems that the Argentine international would rather play in the Premier League. Higuain has yet to agree personal terms with Napoli.

If Napoli does sign Higuain, it would be their third signing from Real Madrid this summer after transferring Jose Callejon and Raul Albiol.

Here are some more stories to get your Monday started:

MAN UNITED MAKE SECOND FABREGAS BID

Not being deterred by a rejected first bid, Manchester United have kept up their pursuit for Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

Man United confirmed on Monday that they have lodged a second bid for Fabregas, reported to be worth £30 million ($46 million) plus add-ons, £5 million more than their last bid. Fabregas transferred from Arsenal to Barcelona in 2011 for £25.4 million ($39 million).

The English club are looking for a solid midfielder who can fully take the place of Paul Scholes, who retired for a second time at the end of this past season, and manager David Moyes is hoping that he can succeed with a bid for a top-level player.

Man United have already missed out on signing Thiago, Robert Lewandowski, and potentially Cristiano Ronaldo this summer.

BARCELONA IN TALKS WITH ARGENTINE COACH

After the sudden resignation of Tito Vilanova due to health issues, Barcelona executives have quickly been on the move to sign a new head coach for the coming season.

Already, according to reports in Spain, the Barcelona brass have been talking with Newell’s Old Boys manager Gerardo Martino, who led the Argentine club to a league championship this past spring and a nice run in the Copa Libertadores. In addition, Lionel Messi has been previously quoted saying that he believes Martino is a good manager.

Though no deal is in place, Barcelona are expected to make an announcement on their coaching situation early this week, and reports state that representatives of the club have flown to Buenos Aires to advance the talks.

QUICK KICKS

In their first preseason match of the new season, Real Madrid routed AFC Bournemouth, 6-0, in England. (REPORT)

Tottenham have signed FC Twente winger Nacer Chadli for a reported £7 million. (REPORT)

Former New York Red Bulls midfielder Juninho scored a goal and added an assist in a 3-1 Vasco da Gama victory over Fluminense. (REPORT)

Pepe Reina’s loan move to Napoli in Italy for the rest of the season is in order for Liverpool to get some financial relief, says manager Brendan Rodgers. (REPORT)

Brazilian international Bernard is due in London on Friday for a medical ahead of a proposed transfer to Arsenal. (REPORT)

AC Milan have released their squad numbers for the upcoming season, with new signing Riccardo Saponara taking the No. 8 jersey previously worn by Antonio Nocerino, who moved to No. 23. (REPORT)

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What do you think of these reports? Do you see Higuain ending up at Napoli? Do you see Barcelona selling Fabregas? Who do you see next managing Barcelona?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Another thing to consider re: Spurs and Dempsey – Tottenham is well over the 25 player limit right now. They’re going to have to get rid of some guys regardless of whether or not they buy anyone else. Something to keep an eye on.

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  2. Come on Arsenal. Place your cards (Euros) on the table. Let the dealing get done. Get Higuain so I can order a jersey.

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  3. Pretty sure the whole Higuain deal being completed thing was refuted by Ancelotti shortly after Italian outlets put it out there.

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  4. Let’s pump the breaks on any and every new signing affecting only Dempsey.

    Every new signing is intended to make an impact on your entire roster. Sometimes, these signings are purely to push those you have already on your roster.

    Competition brings out the best in the right players. Dempsey is the kind of player that thrives on this kind of environment. How many times have fans, media and skeptics alike counted out or questioned Dempsey in the past?

    The skepticism and defeated attitudes with every Tottenham story/signing is tiresome.

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  5. Bad news bears for Dempsey–another fast, young winger.

    And Moyes is learning a thing or two about playing with the big boys apparently… this transfer window has been very poor by United.

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    • same thing that the arrival of any new attacker does: makes it harder for dempsey to get minutes (which, traditionally, doesn’t mean sh!t).

      dempsey can play anywhere in the attack, so i guess we’ll keep having this conversation every single time tottenham signs an offensive player.

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      • Chadli can also play anywhere in the attack though, so Clint’s versatility isn’t as big of a factor for Spurs anymore. I think he should start looking to make a move. If Spurs buy a striker, he should definitely leave.

      • wasn’t my point. i was just saying that, because you can’t really narrow dempsey’s role down to any one position, chadli’s transfer doesn’t really mean anything different than any other attacking addition (hell, people were even saying that paulinho’s arrival was bad news for dempsey).

        what spurs need (besides a top-notch striker) is depth, which dempsey can provide. i’ve never been dempsey’s biggest fan, but he always seems to find a place for himself in whatever team he’s on.

      • Well, it does though. Clint had value to Spurs as a jack of all trades, plugger of all holes kind of guy. He had a unique skillset in that sense. Now he’s not quite as unique. Not that Chadli is at all the same kind of player. But he does fit all over AVB’s 4-3-3. It’s going to cut into Dempsey’s playing time. If Spurs buy a striker, it’s hard to see him getting more than a few appearances this year. Their first XI attacking 6 would look like this:

        Bale-striker-Lennon
        Paulinho-Sandro-Dembele

        And then as backups they have:

        Chadli-Defoe/Ade-Townsend
        Holtby-Hudd/Parker/Livermore-Siggurdson

        Even if a couple of those guys get sold, with each new player Spurs buy it gets harder and harder to see how Clint will get much time. A lot of those backups are young and improving while Clint is on the wrong side of 30. If they do buy a striker, he needs to find a better situation.

      • ‘with each new player Spurs buy it gets harder and harder to see how Clint will get much time.’

        yeah, my point was that this statement is obvious and could be said about almost everybody on spurs (not bale lol). i just think it’s too easy for the overly dramatic commenters to say, ‘well, spurs bought this guy–looks like that’s it for dempsey’.

        also, parker is good as gone, and looks increasingly like huddlestone and gylfi will be gone too.

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