West Bromwich Albion
Manager Alan Irvine insisted Georgios Samaras’ experience can be vital to West Brom as they closed in on the striker.
The former Celtic hitman, who left the club in the summer, is expected to hold talks with the West Brom over a free transfer.
Irvine has confirmed Albion’s interest and believes the 29-year-old Greek, who helped his country to the last-16 of the World Cup this year, would be a major asset.
He said: “The picture of Georgios Samaras would be somebody who has played extremely well in some very big games over the last few years, for Greece and for Celtic.
“He looks like the type of player who can help us but we have to have a lot of different options on the go and that is what we have at this moment.
“He’s a player we’re aware of. He’s a player who’s been on our list and we’ve enquired about but nothing is done. We’ve got some lists that have been extremely long, got shorter and then got longer again. He is on that list of players we’re making enquiries about.”
Irvine is looking to beef up his forward line after the Baggies scored just 43 goals and beat the drop by three points last season.
Striker Brown Ideye signed for a club record £10 million (Dh60.9m) from Dynamo Kiev in July, and could make his debut in Saturday’s English Premier League trip to Southampton – but Irvine is still after more options up front.
He said: “We need some attacking players in the wide areas and we’re looking for a striker. If we can get those players it will complete the squad. We’ve dealt with the shortages at the back. We’re well covered in midfield.
“I feel one more striker gives us more flexibility and we definitely need to address wide areas.
“We’re looking everywhere for players. The fact is that we’ve looked at so many players – I only see the tip of the iceberg because those looking at recruitment are looking all over, in this country and worldwide.”
Irvine does not expect to sell any of his squad before the transfer deadline, including defender Craig Dawson after West Brom rejected three bids from Burnley.
He added: “There is nothing happening at the moment, nobody is coming for our players at the moment and hopefully that will remain the case.”
Southampton
Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino can put away his cheque-book because the message is loud and clear – Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin is not for sale. At any price.
Former Saints manager Pochettino has been interested in the French international for some weeks, looking to bring the midfielder to Tottenham.
Bids ranging from £12-16m have been widely reported, with speculation most recently centering on a swap deal with England winger Andros Townsend heading the other way as part of the arrangement.
But while Southampton may be keen on Townsend as an impact player at St Mary’s to boost their firepower, Schneiderlin is central to manager Ronald Koeman’s plans and will be going nowhere, as part of a deal or otherwise, the Dutchman said.
“For us the rumours about him have gone away,” Koeman told reporters on Thursday when asked about the persistent talk of Schneiderlin’s exit.
“He played a fantastic match for us against Liverpool, and how he has acted is fantastic.”
Tottenham’s interest in Schneiderlin came during something of an exodus at Southampton, when first team stars Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Luke Shaw all left – the first three for the deeper pockets of Liverpool and Shaw to Manchester United.
The churn of players seemed to unsettle Schneiderlin but with Koeman now at the Southampton helm, the Frenchman would now appear locked into the Saints set-up for another season.
“He showed his qualities last Sunday and we are happy to have him in our squad,” Koeman said.
“Nothing depends on offers (for Schneiderlin) because he will stay in Southampton.”
Koeman’s insistence on Schneiderlin staying on the south coast does not necessarily spell the end of moves to bring Townsend to St Mary’s however.
“Everything is possible,” the Dutchman smiled, when quizzed about the possibility of a move for the speedy 23-year-old.
Southampton, beaten 2-1 at Liverpool in their season-opener on Sunday, welcome West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
QPR
Premier League new-boys QPR signed Chile forward Eduardo Vargas on a season-long loan from Italian club Napoli on Thursday.
Vargas attracted interest from several top teams after helping Chile to the knockout stages of the World Cup, but QPR manager Harry Redknapp has persuaded him to move to Loftus Road.
“Eduardo is a quality player. He’s sharp, he’s bright, and he’s very lively on and off the ball,” Redknapp said.
“He can play as a number nine, he can play in behind, he can play wide, he’s very versatile.”
The deal for Vargas comes 24 hours after Dutch midfielder Leroy Fer completed his move to QPR from Norwich for £8m.
Both signings will bolster a QPR side that suffered a disappointing 1-0 home defeat against Hull on the opening day of the Premier League season following their promotion via the Championship play-offs in May.
Crystal Palace
Keith Millen will spearhead Crystal Palace’s transfer window recruitment drive in the wake of sporting director Iain Moody’s resignation.
Caretaker manager Millen will lead Palace for the second week running in Saturday’s home Premier League clash with West Ham.
Moody resigned on Thursday amid an FA investigation into allegations of racist, sexist and homophobic text messages he exchanged with Malky Mackay when the pair worked at Cardiff City.
Cardiff handed the FA a dossier of evidence which ultimately ruled Mackay out of the Palace job, vacant after Tony Pulis quit Selhurst Park on the eve of the season.
Moody’s departure leaves a recruitment chasm, which Croydon-born Millen is determined to fill as he continues to battle for the full-time manager’s role.
“It will go through me really now,” said Millen of Palace’s transfer plans with the September 1 transfer window closure fast approaching.
“I’ve asked the scouting department to have a meeting with me today, to discuss the names that we feel we can bring in.
“I’ll speak to the chairman then.
“The process has got to be ongoing, and if we do appoint a manager, we can say ‘this is what’s out there, this is what we think we need’, and then hopefully it will be the new manager’s final decision.”
Montpellier
Benjamin Stambouli, who has been linked with a move to the Premier League, has been left out of Montpellier’s squad for this weekend’s Ligue 1 clash with Metz.
“It is difficult to prepare for a match when you are worried about making a potentially career-making decision,” Montpellier coach Rolland Courbis said, explaining why the 24-year-old midfielder would not feature at the Stade de la Mosson.
“In any case, insisting on playing Stambouli when he is on his way out of the club would send a message to the other players.”
Stambouli, who played both of Montpellier’s opening two Ligue 1 games this season, has a year remaining on his contract at the southern club.
French media reports have linked the player with a move to Premier League side Swansea City, who have already recruited France striker Bafetimbi Gomis this summer.
Italian outfit Fiorentina are also keen, with both clubs having made offers close to Montpellier’s asking price of EU€5m (Dh24.4m).
Stambouli was a regular in the Montpellier team that won the Ligue 1 title in 2012 and is a contender to be called up by France coach Didier Deschamps for next month’s friendly at home to Spain.
Newcastle United
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has admitted the club is closely monitoring the transfer market amid speculation that they could yet receive a substantial bid for key midfielder Cheick Tiote.
Pardew has no desire to see the 28-year-old Ivory Coast international, who has three years remaining on his contract, leave St James’ Park this summer and indeed is planning to welcome him back to training after a hamstring injury next week and subsequently, into his starting line-up.
However, having seen striker Andy Carroll sold to Liverpool for an eye-watering £35m in January 2011 within weeks of his arrival on Tyneside, he knows he can never say never.
Asked if there is a contingency plan in place, Pardew said: “Yes. I’ve got the Andy Carroll experience here, and that’s one of the benefits of being here for four years.
“But I never think that you can be safe with a player if you’re not in the Champions League. Even if you’re in it, now there are clubs who can go and poach from there, which has been proven in this window.
“You’ve got to be on your toes at all times and I have to say, I think we have been, this year in particular, really on the button on transfers.
“I’ve seen some inflated prices this week and that’s worrying with nine days to go.”
Western Sydney Wanderers
Nigerian defender Seyi Adeleke has signed a one-year deal with Western Sydney Wanderers for the next Australian A-League season, the club said on Friday.
The 22-year-old left-back comes to Australia from Italian club Lazio. He has also spent time on loan with FC Biel-Bienne in Switzerland.
Wanderers chief executive John Tsatsimas said Adeleke’s signing completes the club’s foreign player contingent for the new season, which starts in October.
“Adeleke is young, has a strong football pedigree and will significantly add to our roster,” Tsatsimas said.
The Wanderers have also signed Dutch international winger Romeo Castelen and Brazilian midfielder Vitor Saba as their foreign imports.
The Wanderers currently hold a 1-0 edge after one leg of their quarter-final tie with Chinese holders Guangzhou Evergrande in the Asian Champions League.
Newcastle Jets
Australian A-League side Newcastle Jets are being sold by the group owned by financially-troubled mining magnate Nathan Tinkler.
Hunter Sports Group, which currently owns the team’s license to play in the A-League, announced its intention to sell in a statement Friday.
Hunter Sports Group said it will “continue to underwrite the club and day-to-day operations will continue as normal until the completion of the sale.”
Jets chief executive Robbie Middleby said the club would operate as usual pending the sale.
Middleby said the club will “continue to execute our plans in preparation for the 2014/15 season. We look forward to securing new owners and moving forward with this new chapter.”
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