Transfer Talk: Tevez Tug of War Nearing Conclusion, Kaka Accidentally Joins Real

By: Daryl | August 4th, 2007

C Tevez free man The neverending nightmare tug o’ war that is Carlos Tevez‘ move to Manchester United finally looks like it could be over. It’s all been settled out of court with West Ham receiving a paltry £2 million (but avoiding legal complications) and Man Utd getting a talented Argentine striker. Still seems a little murky to me. This Telegraph article states Tevez joins United on a “two year loan deal, which is worth £5 million a year to Tevez’s owners, MSI and Just Sports Inc, and £5 million a year to the player in wages.”

But if United are loaning Tevez from MSI/Just Sports Inc, then doesn’t that sound suspiciously like third-party ownership? Seems there’s a distinction between ownership of the player’s registration and ownership of the “economic rights” and all concerned would rather let that go than delve any deeper into this big smelly can of worms.

In other, more straightforward, transfer news…

Chelsea’s Lassana Diarra looks all set to move to Arsenal. Haven’t seen too much of Diarra, and Chelsea used him as an emergency right back last season instead of his preferred defensive midfield position. But if Arsene Wenger wants him, he must be at least half decent.

Yakubu’s long-mooted return to Portsmouth from Middlesbrough could happen if Harry Redknapp is prepared to let Gary O’Neill go in the other direction. We all know about the Yak, but Gary O’Neill is a underrated by most, and I don’t see Redknapp letting him go.

The Real Madrid want Arjen Robben story keeps going. To be honest I’m losing interest. My guess is that Chelsea are prepared to let him go, for a price, and Madrid are haggling. Word is that they also want Michael Ballack, and if I was Jose I’d let him go just to thin out a crowded midfield.

The Portuguese exodus looks set to continue, as Everton have put in a big £11 million bid for Porto’s Argentine midfielder Luis Gonzalez. They’ll be fighting both Lyon and Juventus for his signature. Everton also fancy Wigan’s Leighton Baines and have put in a £5 million bid, though Lyon and Juve aren’t interested in English left backs.

Everton raised some of that money by selling James Beattie to relegated (if they’ve accepted it now) Sheffield United. This confirms two things I already knew. 1) James Beattie is a Championship player. 2) Everton should never have paid £6 million for him in the first place. Good news is that Beattie will join fellow news signing Billy Sharp and those who follow such things will expect The Blades to be back in the Prem before you can say “welcome back Bryan Robson” and we can all look forward to a dramatic grudge match vs West Ham United.

Alex, the Brazilian center half who left London in a huff over work permit problems, will be back with a smile on his face after Chelsea successfully appealed the decision. He could be joined at Stamford Bridge by fellow Brazilian Dani Alves, though Sevilla want a hefty £20 million for the adventurous right backs services. Is it me, or is the Premiership starting to fill with Brazilians again? Clubs were burned by the likes of Emerson (the bad one) Branco (the fat one) and Kleberson (the worst new Roy Keane ever.) And the less said about Roque Junior’s spell at Leeds the better. But with guys like Anderson, Denilson, Alex, and maybe Alvez, we could be seeing some quality Brazilian action on English shores again.

Real Madrid’s dream of signing Kaka nearly came true in Russia recently. While in Moscow for the pre-season Russian Railway Cup a confused Kaka, Cafu and Rino Gattuso accidentally climbed aboard the Real coach instead of the Milan one.