Football News

Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri says he will not stand in Georgio Chiellini's way if the Italy Under-21 captain wants to leave the Serie B champions and join Manchester City.

The Citizens have been linked with a £7m move for the powerful defender after signing Martin Petrov from Atletico Madrid.

"He is an important player, but if he does want to leave then we surely won't keep him against his will," Ranieri said.

"It will depend on him, Manchester City and Juventus."

Rossi keen on Napoli transfer

Manchester United striker Giuseppe Rossi is ready for a return to Serie A and will try his luck at Napoli, despite interest from Parma and Juventus.

"Giuseppe would be more than happy to play for Napoli," agent Federico Pastorello told the News of the World.

"He cares more about the future and the atmosphere surrounding the team than about money. In any case, he is worth around 10 million euros."

The U-21 international was a sensation during his six-month loan spell at Parma last season, scoring seven Serie A goals in 19 appearances to rescue them from relegation.

Pato favours Milan switch

Alexandre Pato revealed that his heart is set for a move to Milan despite interest from Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid.

The U-20 midfielder is lighting up the transfer market and has already been labelled the new Kaka at the age of 17.

"Milan are flying over to Brazil to sign me? That is fantastic," he told Spanish newspaper AS.

"I won't be meeting with their representatives unless Internacional and my agent Gilmar Veloz give me the go ahead. All I can do is wait and hope."

It's reported that Milan official Leonardo will fly to Porto Alegre today for negotiations with his club Internacional.

Reggina sign Iceland midfielder

Reggina have officially signed Iceland international midfielder Emile Halfredsson, the Serie A club said.

The 23-year-old left-footed midfielder has put pen to paper on a four-year contract and arrives from Lyn Oslo.

Halfredsson has seven international caps to his name and last season scored eight goals in 24 appearances for Norwegian club Malmoe.

He is expected in Reggio Calabria for a medical today.

Inter to hold onto Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be offered the chance to prolong his stay at Inter until 2012 provided he does not ask the Italian champions for a pay rise.

The Swedish forward had an excellent season for Inter in the last campaign, scoring 15 goals in 27 games and was a pivotal figure in the record-breaking Scudetto triumph.

"We could soon extend Ibrahimovic's contract by another two years, hopefully with the same financial package of the current deal," technical director Marco Branca told Gazzetta dello Sport.

Le Guen admits Makelele interest

Paris Saint Germain coach Paul Le Guen has confirmed his interest in Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele.

Makelele's future at the Premier League club has been the subject of speculation all summer as he has yet to agree a new deal.

The France international has admitted he is unsure about his future at Chelsea with the experienced midfielder not guaranteed a place in Jose Mourinho's star-studded line-up.

"I have been following Claude Makelele evolution for 15 or 20 years," Le Guen told L'Equipe. "It is difficult to say if he will join us this summer but I will do everything I can to bring him over here."

Benfica close in on Adu

Benfica are closing in on the capture of United States striker Freddy Adu, Portuguese media reported yesterday.

The Lisbon giants are set to hold talks with the Real Salt Lake youngster after reportedly agreeing a £1.35m deal with MLS.

Negotiations are believed to be advanced between the parties and now Benfica are hoping to agree terms with the Ghana-born starlet.

Despite Benfica's interest, Adu insists he will not be rushing his decision to join Benfica.

"I don't want to rush my decision, because it's my life," Adu said.

"I'm just letting my agent talk to them and just work out the logistics and take care of that end of it."

Reyes on his way to Atletico

Jose Antonio Reyes is set for a move to Atletico Madrid, according to reports in Spain.

Spanish daily Marca reported that Arsenal and Atletico have agreed a fee of 12 million euros, and the move will be wrapped up at the start of this week.

Reyes spent last season on loan at Atletico's rivals Real, where he won the Primera Liga and reportedly hoped to stay permanently.

Ghaly set to join Birmingham

Steve Bruce expects Hossam Ghaly to sign for Birmingham today but he is resigned to missing out on striker Mido despite agreeing a £6 million fee with Tottenham.

"We're talking to Hossam and we hope that by Monday (today) he will be added to the squad. However, the deal with Mido looks off. It's fair to say our chances are less than 50-50, we hope we can pull it off, but it's nothing to do with finances."

Bruce was keen to sign Egypt striker Mido to bolster his forward line which includes Garry O'Connor, Cameron Jerome, Rowan Vine and Mikael Forssell.