Transfer Gossip

HLEB TO LEAVE ARSENAL
Alexander Hleb's agent claims the player will leave Arsenal this summer.~

The Belarus midfielder has been linked with a move to Inter Milan, who have expressed an interest in the 27-year-old.

Hleb's agent Nikolai Shpilevski told Belarussian paper Pressball: "Alexander is preparing to make the most important moves of his life.

"He is leaving Arsenal even though they want to offer him a new long-term contract and better conditions. Only time will tell if leaving is the right decision, but there's no way back now. Everything will be cleared up in the next two weeks."

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ADEBAYOR WANTS A LOT MORE MONEY
And there's worse news for the Gunners in The Daily Mail.

Despite Emmanuel Adebayor declaring yesterday that he wants to stay at the club and "is happy at Arsenal", the paper reckons the striker has told Arsene Wenger he will leave unless he is given a pay rise worth £80k a week. The 24-year-old signed a new contract last year that netted him £35k every Friday.


BUT WENGER ENTERS RACE FOR BARRY
There is, though, better news for Arsenal elsewhere.

According to The Daily Telegraph, 'Arsenal are preparing to enter the race to sign Gareth Barry and are also considering a bid for £12 million rated Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani.'

Recognising that his squad is painfully short of central midfielders, Wenger would apparently 'still pursue a move for Aquilani, who impressed the Frenchman during Roma's last-16 Champions League defeat to United in March, even if he was able to steal Barry from under Liverpool's noses.'

The paper says that Wenger has £30m to spend and 'is also planning on buying a left-back to understudy Gael Clichy and a left-winger to provide competition for the injury-prone Tomas Rosicky.' Frankly, that's nonsense. With Armand Traore already understudying Clichy, Wenger has already gone public with his intention of buying a powerful centre-half and, if Hleb does leave, will have to buy a right-winger rather than a left-wing alternative.

Meanwhile, Nicklas Bendtner has rejected a move to Bayern Munich.

"I have heard about these offers from Germany but Nicklas will stay at Arsenal," said Thomas Bendtner, his father. "The only way things could be different was if something unexpected should happen, such as him being moved totally outside of the team, but it's difficult to see that happening as he is playing right now."

The player himself is quoted in the Guardian as saying: "I've always said that Arsenal is my club and that's where I want to play my football. When you look at my season and the way it has developed, I see no reason why I should want to change Arsenal with any other club."


BENITEZ SHORT OF CASH
As F365 concluded yesterday when Rafa Benitez effectively invited Portsmouth to buy Peter Crouch for £15m, the Liverpool manager is short of cash.

That's the gist of a report in The Times which declares: 'Benítez remains in the dark about how much money Liverpool will have to spend this summer because of the lingering uncertainty over the club's ownership, but he hopes to generate more than £25million with an end-of-season clear-out. He is also prepared to listen to offers for Xabi Alonso to raise a further £16million to make up any shortfall in his spending plans.'

(It should be noted, however, that in his press conference yesterday, Benitez denied Barry would be signed as a replacement for Alonso: "He is our player, he has a contract. Barry can play in three different positions, so I don't think we need to worry about this.")

Among those heading to the exit door with Crouch and Alonso will also be Scott Carson - as a possible makeweight in a deal for Gareth Barry - and John Arne Riise. Harry Kewell will be released when his contract expires in the summer.

While Benitez is described as 'confident' of signing Barry, and has the backing of Tom Hicks, The Times suggests that 'Barry may be the only "headline" signing of the summer, unless Benítez is prepared to raise additional funds.'

On an additional note, the paper also states that Sammy Lee 'is considered a prime candidate for a senior role on the coaching staff next season after Alex Miller, the first-team coach, announced that he was leaving Anfield with immediate effect to take over as coach of JEF United Cheba, the Japanese club.'


CROUCH ANGRY WITH RAFA
The twist in the tale is The Sun's claim that Peter Crouch is 'outraged' at Benitez pricing him at £15m.

'He is adamant Liverpool said they would help him engineer a move this summer, as long as he did the business when called on and did not kick up a fuss when left out.
Crouch believes he kept his side of the bargain and believes the extortionate price tag is an insult that will effectively mean seeing out his Anfield contract from the bench. Portsmouth are desperately keen to take the 6ft 7in hitman back to Fratton Park but are not keen to pay much beyond £8m,' the paper reports.

The Independent is even more scathing about the price-tag Benitez has placed on Crouch.

'Benitez's demand appears to price Crouch out of the transfer market and though it might well be an opening negotiating stance it smacked of desperation from a manager who evidently has only one prize asset to sell but wants to bring new talent in,' it declares. 'A less dysfunctional club than Liverpool would not have made the asking price for Crouch, who has one year left on his contract, so prohibitive. But such is the lot of a manager with one co-owner (Tom Hicks) believed to be down to his last £10m and another (George Gillett) desperate to jump ship. It is a predicament which leaves Benitez disinclined to make the sale of Crouch an easy one.'


INTER WANT GERRARD
Elsewhere in The Sun can be found the news that Inter Milan have had a £25m bid for Steven Gerrard rejected.

Someone described as 'a top Inter official' is quoted as saying: "We need to make a big signing for next season and Gerrard was at the centre of our thoughts.

"Liverpool gave us the most emphatic response he was not for sale. We have drawn up a list of alternatives. But if Liverpool decide to sell, Gerrard is our top priority."


HEY BIG SPENDERS
Quick line from The Daily Express, who claim that Spurs will be reaching deep down into their bafflingly deep pockets to find the readies for a certain right-winger.

The chap in question is Mr David Bentley, a move that seems rather implausible given where Bentley started his career.

Still, if Sol Campbell can play for Arsenal...


AND THE REST...
Tottenham hope to beat Newcastle to the signing of Celtic winger Aiden McGeady...Arsenal have targeted Birmingham managing director Karren Brady as their new director of football...West Brom want to sign Radoslaw Majewski from Polish club Groclin...Stoke are leading the chase for Valenciennes defender Abdeslam Ouaddou...Paul Ince and Iain Dowie are the front runners to become the new QPR boss...Liverpool will make a summer move for Sevilla midfielder Seydou Keita...Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart has turned down a new contract with the club...Juventus are poised to make a £15million summer move for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso...Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest want to sign Derby striker Robert Earnshaw...Crystal Palace are leading the chase to sign Colchester winger Mark Yeates...Sunderland boss Roy Keane has no intention or selling striker Kenwyne Jones or goalkeeper Craig Gordon...Heerenveen midfielder Michael Bradley looks set to turn down Blackburn and Everton in order to move to Germany.