Zenit St Petersburg coach Andre Villas-Boas told reporters his club has ruled out a move for Colombian Radamel Falcao.
Falcao, who has struggled for playing time at Chelsea, is hoping to cut short his loan from parent club Monaco, with Zenit a possible destination, reports said.
But Villas-Boas, formerly of Chelsea, said: “No I haven’t had a conversation with Jose Mourinho. The player belongs to Chelsea, on loan from Monaco.
“We tried to bring him here in at the start of the season but due to the limitations we can’t bring Falcao now... his salary is immense so the move is impossible.”
Juve linked with move for Zuniga
Juventus are seeking to strengthen their defensive line for the rest of the season with the loan signing of Juan Camilo Zuniga from Napoli in January.
Sportitalia website yesterday said Juventus are ready to let Daniele Rugani join Napoli in an exchange deal involving Colombian Zuniga who can play at right-back, a position where the Italy champions badly need to fill with Stephan Lichsteiner facing a long lay-off after surgery.
Central defender Rugani joined Juve from Empoli in summer but has managed only one appearance this season.
Bayern hunting for striker Kane
Bayern Munich want Tottenham’s Harry Kane to join their fold next season, reports in the UK said yesterday.
Kane, 22, is also on Manchester United’s radar and manager Louis van Gaal is urging the club owners to seek Kane’s signature as early as the next transfer window in January.
Tottenham will not let Kane go lightly and are rating their star player at £50 million.
However, the transfer fee is not discouraging Bayern who have entered the race for the England striker.
The Bundesliga champions want to add more star players to their team and their chief scouts have already watched Kane in action several times this season.
Foxes’ philosophy
Riyad Mahrez has urged Leicester to keep their swashbuckling style if they want to upset the odds.
The winger helped the Foxes move up to third in the Premier League standings with a 3-2 win at West Brom on Saturday.
Mahrez hit two second-half goals as Claudio Ranieri’s side came from behind, with Jamie Vardy also scoring for the eighth game in a row.
“I am really enjoying playing in this team,” Mahrez said
“We are playing attacking football, not staying behind (the ball) and that’s the mark of the team.
“We have to keep going like this. Everyone is happy – the team, the players and the city.”
Enrique pleased with ‘complete’ display
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique hailed a “complete” performance from his side after they picked up a hard-fought 2-0 win at Getafe.
Luis Suarez and Neymar scored either side of half-time to give Barca a win that keeps them level on points with Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Enrique said: “The aim was to play a complete game at a ground which we often find it difficult to play at. We had the game under control but it wasn’t easy.”
Although the Barca coach still had to make do without Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano, Luis Enrique was able to welcome back Sergi Roberto after 10 days out with a hip injury, and Andres Iniesta, who recovered from a hamstring problem.
Lucas praises ref
Lucas praised the performance of referee Mark Clattenburg in Liverpool’s 3-1 win at Chelsea after being the subject of Jose Mourinho’s fury.
Mourinho declined to say so due to his ongoing disciplinary disputes with the FA, but the under-pressure Blues boss intimated he felt the Brazil midfielder should have been sent off for a second yellow card with the game level at 1-1.
“(It) will be talked about. It’s normal, especially when you lose a game,” Lucas said.
“Sometimes in my position you make fouls, more to stop the game. I think it was a good decision from the referee, he controlled the game very well.”
Stance at Allianz
Defender Gabriel has warned Bayern Munich that Arsenal have no intention of sitting back when they head to the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.
The Gunners kickstarted their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 win over the German giants in London a fortnight ago. However, the statistics show Arsenal had only 31% of the ball as the Bundesliga side dictated much of the encounter.
But, centre-back Gabriel stressed Arsenal will not be on the defensive in Bavaria.
“When we play away, we also have to have a slightly different outlook, but that doesn’t mean we will spend the whole game defending,” Gabriel said.
“We are a big team, we are Arsenal and we need to attack because we need the result.”