The latest transfer gossip, rumours and damned lies

Kolo Toure to Manchester City
Not content with prising compassionate striker Manu Adebayor away from the Emirates, the Citizen’s are lining up a £12m bid for Kolo Toure, say The Independent.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: City want to buy a defender? Come on, pull the other one.

Javier Mascherano to Barcelona
While Joan Laporta was welcoming Zlatan Ibrahimovic and trying to kick Samuel Eto’o out of the door, Barca vice president Rafael Yuste confirmed his admiration of the Liverpool midfielder:

“I can confirm that Javier Mascherano is a fantastic player that personally I like a lot. But we have not listed (him).

“We have a lot of players who want to come to Barcelona. Mascherano is a fantastic player,

Russian advises compatriots to double check their contracts

As if Arsene Wenger didn’t have enough to worry about. Now the season is over Andrei Arshavin has finally got round to the business of opening his bank statements, which were possibly lost amongst the plates and Heineken bottles on his kitchen table, and he’s not happy with what he sees:

“I have a problem with my contract. Certain nuances emerged linked to taxation and some other things. As a result, I’m getting less money than I expected.“

Andrei’s main problem seems to be he’s just realised the rate of taxation in Blighty isn’t as comfortable as the 13% he’s used to in Russia.

The most inspired transfer activity of the season

As The Spoiler’s end of season festivities get into full swing, today we look at the best signings of the 2008/09 Premier League campaign. Sorry Wisey, Xisco and Coloccini didn’t make the cut…

Jose Bosingwa (Porto to Chelsea, £16.3m)
Whether Jose Bosingwa (or ‘Boswinga’ if you’re Jamie Redknapp) was officially a Big Phil Scolari signing is a point of contention, but considering the four other members of his inspirational clutch of signings have only racked up 22 starts and three goals between them, we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. However, what can’t be argued against is how seamlessly the full back has slotted into Chelsea’s defence this season, in a role the Blues have previously struggled to fill.

James Beattie (Sheffield Utd to Stoke, £2.5m)
It was fair to assume Beattie’s Premier League days were numbered after a pretty woeful spell at Everton earned him a move down to the Championship with Sheffield United last season. Yet after answering Stoke’s SOS call in the January transfer window, Beatts has signaled his return to the top flight by averaging nearly a goal every other game and contributing to 13 of the 24 points Stoke have picked up since his arrival. Such season-saving form might just be the best £2.5m Tony Pulis has ever spent.

Marouane Fellaini (Standard Liege to Everton, £15m)
Fellaini’s Premier League success isn’t too surprising considering the fact that 32 foreign scouts were in the crowd to watch him play in Liege’s title-winning league match last season. Still, the lanky afro cultivator was pretty much unknown to fans over here until making his mark as the driving force behind a Liege team that by all rights should’ve beaten Liverpool to Champions League qualification at the start of the season. Clocking in with an impressive nine goals and firmly establishing himself as a midfield battler, that £15m price tag everyone laughed at now looks a bit less ridiculous.

Wilson Palacios (Wigan to Tottenham, £12m)
Harry Redknapp’s transfer market dial

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Bayern Munich rubbish claims Chelsea are about to hijack their deal with Zenit for Anatoliy Tymoschuk
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Gianluigi Buffon and Alena Seredova step out
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Pavel Pogrebnyak be trash talkin’ Lancashire club

Since he was a little boy, Andriy Arshavin always dreamed of playing for Barcelona a top four English club, and today one of his former Zenit St Petersburg colleagues has also announced interest of a move to our tiny island.

Pavel Pogrebnyak was linked to Bayern Munich last summer, and a transfer to Blackburn very nearly took place during the January window. Apparently, the only thing that stopped the striker joining the Lancashire club was his sneery attitude:

‘I was puzzled when Zenit general director Maksim Mitrofanov said he was going to talk me into accepting Blackburn’s offer in the winter transfer window.

‘I could only laugh at it. Yes, I dream of playing in England - but I’m not interested in Blackburn who are struggling against relegation.’

Unfortunately, Pogrebnyak’s dream of playing for a big four side may not be realised in the near future: the only other English club to have shown any interest are Bolton.

[Daily Mail via Dirty Tackle]

New Arsenal saviour about to feel the sharp side of British bureaucracy

It appears the Merseyside derby wasn’t the only tedious affair that went into extra time this week. In a Spoiler exclusive, Andrei Arshavin’s agent Dennis Lichter has revealed that the on-off-on-off-on-off-on-off-you-get-the-idea-with-that transfer was not concluded inside the 5pm Premier League deadline.

Speaking to the Spoiler from his Tel Aviv office, Lichter revealed, “It was done by the final whistle. With a little extra time.”

The agent went on to explain that the deal between Arsenal and Arshavin’s club Zenit was concluded by Monday afternoon, but complex stipulations in Arshavin’s contract meant the player was not free to leave Zenit until the following day. Lichter described the deal as, “the most complex I have ever been involved with in my sixteen years.”

As the Premier League meet this afternoon to discuss the deal, there are rumours that Aston Villa could be amongst a host of clubs to protest against the late concluding of the transfer. Lichter said he doesn’t believe Arshavin’s move could be overturned but when asked whether he would be willing to give evidence to the League if there were to be an FA enquiry, he would only say, “we will cross that bridge when we come to it.”

There’s still no official word on Andrei Arshavin

It’s been the most pathetically-drawn-out transfer saga in recent memory, and we’re still waiting for Arsenal to give themselves a chance of finishing in the top four by purchasing Andrei Arshavin.

At the time of writing, the Premier League must still confirm the validity of the transfer, but hopefully this is a formality. Either way, Zenit have cemented their status as the world’s most difficult club to do business with.

Zenit boss Dick Advocaat has promised us Arshavin will be a sensation; someone who will single-handedly turn Arsenal’s season around. But as one BBC 606 commenter said yesterday, “Who needs Arshavin when you have Eboue?” Hmmm.

The latest gossip, rumours and damned lies

A cursory glance at the headlines this morning suggests Garry Cook [pictured above with something very overpriced] and Manchester City have learned nothing from the embarrassing Kaka saga. Several papers claim the Eastlands side have already failed to land David Villa, David Silva and Gianluigi Buffon, while bids are reportedly being lined up for Shay Given (for whom Newcastle want £!4m!), Carlo Cudicini and Thierry Henry. One of the more feasible deals, however, is a reported swap with Chelsea…

Didier Drogba and Robinho switch-a-roo
The Star, The Sun and The Mirror have all noticed that Didier Drogba wants to leave Chelsea, and that Robinho is a little unsettled, so naturally they have put two and two together. Big Phil only has Wayne Bridge’s transfer fee to play with, so will have to offer Le Drog, Alex, Salomon Kalou or Florent Malouda if they want Robinho to come to the club he should have joined several months ago.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: With the amount of players and offers being touted at Manchester City, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether this is real or a fabrication. However, one thing does stand in the way - FIFA rules stipulate that a player must have “just sporting reason” to move to a third club within twelve months. Is “I regret chasing the money and joining an international laughing stock” a “just sporting reason”?

Andrei Arshavin to Arsenal
The quick and efficient transfer of the Zenit star is nearly over, say Sky Sports. Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has said the club will offer absolutely no more than £15m, and insists they maintain a “plenty more fish in the sea” attitude. Hence,