Transfer Gossip

TOTTENHAM SET THEIR HART ON ARSENAL FAN
Arsenal fan Joe Hart could be on his way to North London...with Tottenham.

The Manchester City keeper, who was reputedly in the Arsenal end when the Gunners travelled to Anfield for their Champions League quarter-final last month, is apparently being sought by Juande Ramos as the successor to Weakest Link Paul Robinson.

'Spurs manager Juande Ramos sees Hart, who was called up to Fabio Capello's England squad this week, as the best-value prospect in the country and wants him to form the foundation to Tottenham's attempt to break into the top four next season,' the Daily Mail reports. Robinson will be used as a makeweight - no jokes please - and could head north while Hart moves south.

'Former England keeper Robinson, 28, has also attracted attention from Middlesbrough and Aston Villa but he is interested in the revolution that is taking place at City, with big-money signings still promised by controversial owner Thaksin Shinawatra,' the newspaper claims.


OH, AND DAVID BENTLEY...
According to The Sun, 'Juande Ramos is ready to launch a £15million raid for Blackburn winger David Bentley' after the England man refused to sign a new contract extension at Ewood Park.

Bentley has made it pretty clear that his future probably lies at a bigger club than Blackburn, with Liverpool and ManYoo both linked. But would he leave Blackburn for Tottenham's offer of UEFA Cup football?


BERBATOV OR VILLA OR GOMEZ TO REPLACE DROGBA
Not only does Didier Drogba want to leave Chelsea at the end of the season but Chelsea would be happy to see him leave. That's the impression fostered by a report in The Times which claims that 'while Avram Grant, the Chelsea first-team coach, is happy with Drogba's contribution on the pitch, others at the club have tired of his attitude, shown by inconsistent performances and frequent threats to leave, and will let him go if they receive a suitable bid this summer.'

But who would replace him?

Glad you asked that because that's precisely the question The Times attempts to answer this somewhat overcast morning. Apparently, 'Mario Gómez, of VfB Stuttgart, has been identified as a potential leader of the line [with] Frank Arnesen, the Chelsea director of scouting and youth development, advocating a move for the 21-year-old Germany player of Spanish descent, but Grant would prefer a more creative striker, such as Dimitar Berbatov.

'David Villa is another long-term target, albeit in the role of second striker, which would necessitate Nicolas Anelka playing farther forward, and the Spain player indicated yesterday that he is ready to leave Valencia after a poor season during which they only narrowly avoided relegation.'


HLEB TO MOVE TO 'CALMER' MILAN OR MADRID?
So Alex Hleb won't be buying out his contract at Arsenal but he remains determined to leave London. Why? Because, to quote his agent, "Alexander is just tired of the noisy and chaotic life in the British capital and feels like living in calmer surroundings."

Transfer Gossip thus expects him to reject a double-your-pay offer from Inter Milan and send a come-and-get-me plea to Wigan.

That said, the cynics amongst you know might notice that the aforementioned agent, Mr Shpilevski to you and I, has also been busy telling another Belarusian newspaper: "If any clubs want to add Hleb to their ranks then they should hold talks with Arsenal. Nobody is hiding the fact that a player of Hleb's class is of interest to all teams, including Barcelona and Real Madrid."

Transfer Gossip doesn't get out much but we are fairly certain that both Barcelona and Madrid are big cities.


IS BEN ARFA ON HIS WAY?
There's probably nothing to it other than that the player himself has told a French newspaper that "we have spoken about Arsenal", but The Indy says that the player the Gunners are expected to sign 'soon' is Lyons' Hatem Ben Arfa.

True, it is fair to say that Arfa is the 'most likely arrival' but that's because nobody else has said anything about joining the Gunners and no-one knows what Arsene Wenger is planning.

Anyway, just so you know, The Indy describes Ben Arfa as 'a 21-year-old of Tunisian descent who can also play as a central striker' and remarks: 'Arsenal know that Lyons are a notoriously difficult club to negotiate with and that Ben Arfa's public declaration may be a bargaining tool for his own ends, but an offer of more than £11m is likely to succeed. It would also be a statement of intent from the club who have been angered by suggestions that they are strapped for cash in the transfer market.'

Actually, there's been no suggestion that they are 'strapped for cash', merely that they will only have around £25m to spend. There's a difference - just as there's a big difference between £25m and the £50m every other club seems to be putting at their manager's disposal.


KEANO'S TARGETS NAMED
Roy Keane will be handed a £50million warchest by Sunderland this summer - a story you can read about here.

So where's the money gonna go?

According to the Daily Telegraph, 'Among Keane's targets could be the Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan, a former Manchester United team-mate; Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell, whose £50,000-a-week wage demands could prove a hurdle; Jonny Evans, the £7 million-rated United defender; and Celtic winger Aiden McGeady, who could cost £10 million.'


BORO STILL WANT SMITH
Gareth Southgate hasn't been deterred by Alan Smith's abysmal form since moving to Newcastle - who only began to play half-decently when he was dropped - and is reportedly preparing to make another attempt to sign the (former?) England striker.

Boro made a £6m bid for Smith last summer, only to be out-muscled by Newcastle. A lucky escape, some might say, given that Smith scored precisely zero goals last season. But, if the Guardian is to be believed, he is back 'on Middlesbrough's shopping list and with Kevin Keegan having been told he needs to generate a certain amount of transfer revenue at Newcastle this summer, the forward could be poised to swap Tyneside for the Riverside.'

Rangers are also supposed to be interested in acquiring his services but, quite rightly, are not keen on paying him £62k a week.


AND THE REST
Birmingham keeper Maik Taylor will snub Liverpool to sign a new deal at St Andrews...Blackpool will make a new move for Aberdeen striker Lee Miller...Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is ready to make an unlikely move for Portsmouth midfielder Pedro Mendes...Wigan boss Steve Bruce is planning a £3million raid on his former club Birmingham for French midfielder Olivier Kapo...Nicky Shorey will lead a mass exodus from relegated Reading by joining Newcastle in a cut-price £2.5million deal...Robert Earnshaw is in talks over a £2.5million move from Derby to Nottingham Forest...Juventus believe they have won the race for Middlesbrough's Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer who becomes a free agent this summer...Tottenham Hotspur's clear-out of players began yesterday as the club considered an approach for Lee Young Pyo from PSV.