by TRAVIS CLARK
Former Arsenal standout Patrick Vieira may very well be on his way back to the Premier League. And if rumors become reality, the French International could wind up playing at Eastlands under Roberto Mancini. Manchester City is expected to spend heavily in January, with the addition of Vieira look like a real possibility.
Vieira has played his last game for Inter, according to coach Jose Mourinho, and is in need of a new club if he hopes to take part in the World Cup this summer. He's appeared sparingly for Inter this season, and the 33-year-old faces an uphill battle to make Raymond Domenech's French squad in South Africa. The latest rumors have Manchester City as his likely destination to join up with old manager Mancini.
City's newest manager was Vieira's boss when he arrived at Inter from Juventus in 2006, and is looking to bring in reinforcements to his old club. Concerns linger about Vieira's age, and his ability to cope with the speed of the Premier League — not to mention the injury problems that have recently plagued the Frenchman.
Here are a few other transfer stories from around Europe:
Vidic United future uncertain
Real Madrid are lining up another swoop for a Manchester United star. This time, it's hulking central defender Nemanja Vidic who might swap Old Trafford for the Spanish capital. However, while Vidic's agent recently ruled out a January move, there are rumors that the Serbian defender had a falling out with Sir Alex Ferguson and may be eager to move on in the summer, if not sooner.
City close in on Kazan defender
Despite recently announcing a loss of close to £100 millions pounds, Manchester City will no doubt splash money out the cash in January. Along with Vieira, Mancini's has Rubin Kazan left back Cristian Ansaldi in his sights. An Argentinian international, Ansaldi would be a welcome boost for a back line that has looked a little beleaguered this season. The 23-year-old, while solid for Kazan, is a long shot for Diego Maradona's World Cup squad, with just a single cap to his name.
Birmingham bid for Babel
Ryan Babel, Liverpool's struggling Dutch winger, could be on the move to Birmingham. The club has made a bid for the youngster in an effort to bolster their squad and secure another season in the English top flight. Babel indicated that he would prefer to stay and fight for a spot in Liverpool, but very well may be a casualty of Liverpool's debt, as Rafa Benitez tries to fund other purchases during January.
Ribery hints at Bayern stay
The future of French winger Franck Ribery in Germany became a bit clearer recently Bayern Munich star is under contract until 2011, but had failed to commit to the club, making a move this year much likelier. Reports that Ribery may sign an extension, a move that would rule out a switch in 2010. However, it remains to be seen if the Bavarian giants can convince him to sign on for a few more years.
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What do you think of Vieira's possible return to England? Will Vidic stay or go? Think Ansaldi is a good buy for Mancini? Is Babel leaving Liverpool? Will Bayern keep Ribery around for longer?
Share your thoughts below.
everybody cool it on the “City have too much Money” talk and regarding them “buying” Vieira – it is an 18 month loan deal – they do need another midfielder, although we will see if Vieira can still mix it up in the Premiership…
Cortisone shots not enough for you?
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I wish Becks would play as hard for the Galaxy as he does for AC Milan.
also any news on arsenal and lacina traore?
so yes, that is very worrying. Caicedo, while not the most consistent forward ive ever seen, is certainly capable of the sublime moments you need from a striker.
although, and i hate to reference wikipedia, looks like caicedo may have signed for malaga?
screw debt
Massive debt?? its only 250 million, thats nothing compared to united,The problem with liverpool is that they don’t make enough money, the size of their squad and the ridiculous transfers they’ve paid out have come to bite them, everyone blames the owners but look at benitez for 20 million he could have bought 3 to 4 players that would give them more depth and cover for gerrard and torres, but he didn’t. there are several things liverpool could do to erradicate the situation they are in but its hard to do in england because everyone is worried about the legacy of Liverpool football club and not the business of liverpool.
ummm, chances are he has very little of that Xabi $$ to use. They’re in a massive debt, and in case you haven’t noticed, otuside of aquiliani, they haven’t been buyers in the market, but rather sellers.
Haha… that would be legit. Sad though, because it would never happen…
does anyone know exactly how much liverpool is in debt? and what about this van nistelrooy rumor of him going to liverpool is that xabi transfer money burning a hole in rafa’s pocket?
Viera will be bought to play in the final 20 minutes of a game when City are up 1-0 and need the added iron. He’s barely a 90 minuter and with the EPL at a faster pace, he won’t be expected to play a full game often. City have too much money to blow and buying a super-sub player like Viera is a good move for them.
They are looking to bring in the young Ecuadorian Felipe Caicedo who is on loan at Sporting in Portugal from Man City.
Ribery had better not go to Madrid. That would be disgusting. As for Viera, why not invest in an up and coming defensive midfielder? Not sure this guy is going to be more than a quick fix. But then, I’m not an Arabian oil baron, so I can’t say much.
I’m willing to bet that Viera will go to Man City through the end of the 2011 season, and then will finish his career in MLS, the same way Yuri Djorkaeff did a few years ago. He has stated that he would like to play in MLS before he retires.
Ribery to DC United. Everyone chip in to help make it happen.
I heard Mancini was after Ivan Cordoba not Viera. Did he change his mind or is he getting both?
Viera is old and slow and will never be able to keep up with the pace of the Premier League, Serie A is full of slower, older players like himself. That said, come to DC!
therein lies the scary part. might be better to have the devil you know in VoH, though i doubt a top striker is looking to join phil brown and the hull city hindenberg
how do you figure? Cousin has made 3 appearances this season. Despite Jozy’s struggles, he’s clearly rated higher than Cousin by Brown.
This is still an interesting development, with Cousin getting loaned out, and VoH potentially joining him, you’d have to wonder who Hull are looking to bring in.
The Vieira to Man City talk has been ongoing for the past few weeks. Lyon took a pass on him. He’s not playing for France this summer, so it doesn’t matter where he ends up and how much he plays, he’s not getting called back into the national team and amen to it.
The rumor is that Bayern has dropped their asking price to 45M-50M. Who knows what’s going on with their handling of Ribery. Since Toni left, the experiment is over and they’ve lost tons of money on it. Serves them right.
Luv the transfer season. Makes better reading than the Enquirer at times.
Daniel Cousin is getting loaned out from Hull. This will help with Altidores playing time.
Bayern want a ridiculous price for Ribery or else he would have been sold last summer. If i remember correctly it was in the 60-80M Euro range
If I was Bayern, I would sell Ribery. He’ll leave in 2011 for free.