“Real can sign Maicon for €30 Million”

Real Madrid have been invited by Maicon's agent Antonio Caliendo to table a bid for the Inter Milan's right-back.

The agent's invitation came a day after telling Sky Sport Italia that Maicon's future at the San Siro is in the hands of Inter president Massimo Moratti.

In contrary his previous claim, Caliendo was reported byfcinternews1908.it to have told the Spanish media that Real Madrid can get the player as long as they can put anything between €25-30 million on the table.

"If [Florentino] Perez makes the first move then I think the operation can be closed at €25m-€30m," Caliendo said.

Maicon himself was quoted by Marca of his desire to follow his coach to the Bernabeu.

Man Utd linked with ‘New Kaka’

Manchester United are reported to be interested in a move for Santos prodigy Paulo Henrique, according to The Mirror.

The 20-year-old youngster has been dubbed as 'the new Kaka' and is in the radar of big European clubs like United, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and AC Milan.

Henrique was widely tipped to be included in Brazil's World Cup squad after scoring 11 goals in 20 league appearance for Santos, but failed to make the cut for South Africa.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has mentioned that he will only be adding one or two players to his squad this summer and would prefer to sign players for the future.

The talented player could be exactly what Sir Alex is looking for but the wily manager might not get his man (or boy) as Santos president Alvaro Luis Ribeiro has issued a warning to clubs stating that Henrique is not for sale.

But whether the youngster can resist the lure of Europe's top sides is another story altogether.

Baggies sign Reid

Blackburn Rovers midfielder Steven Reid has joined West Bromwich Albion on a two-year contract.

 

The Republic of Ireland international, who had also been linked with Celtic, spent the final two months of the season on loan with the Baggies helping to win promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt.

He has now agreed to join them for their return to the Barclays Premier League next season.

Reid, 29, will officially join on 1st July after he passed a medical and has the option of a further 12-month extension on his contract.

CONSISTENT PERFORMER

Manager Roberto di Matteo told the official club website: "We are delighted Reidy has decided to rejoin us on a permanent basis.

"He made a big impact last year both on and off the field. He was a consistent performer and also great in the dressing room.

"Having spent the last six years or so in the Premier League he knows the division inside-out and that kind of experience could prove invaluable."

Reid has made a total of 113 Premier League appearances for Blackburn but just four of them came last season and he will now look for a fresh start with the newly-promoted side.

Torres refuses to commit to Liverpool

Fernando Torres has refused to rule out a move away from Liverpool, insisting that he is fully focused on the World Cup.

The Liverpool star man, who is in a race against time to be fit for Spain's opening World Cup match against Switzerland, is expected to be back in training with the national squad.

"The more important thing for me now is the World Cup. My future is the World Cup, we'll see later," Torres told Sky Sports News.

"My future now and hopefully the next two months is Spain and the World Cup, it's nothing later than that."

The Spaniard's agent has recently assured the Liverpool fans that their top scorer will be staying at the club.

However, Torres chose to remain coy over his agent's claims.

"I didn't read anything at all," the hitman said.

Both Torres and his club captain Steven Gerrard have been heavily linked with a move away from Anfield and rumours have it that Real Madrid coach-to-be Jose Mourinho is keen in prying the two Liverpool starlets away from Anfield.

Birmingham seal Zigic deal

Birmingham have finalised the signing of Serbia striker Nikola Zigic on a four-year contract.

Zigic, who is trading Valencia for St Andrew's, is understood to have undergone a medical with the Blues.

The 6ft 8in 29-year-old's fee has not been disclosed but Birmingham are thought to have paid in the region of £6million.

Carragher: I'll play anywhere

Carragher: I'll play anywhere

Jamie Carragher is happy to be England's flexible friend in South Africa this summer.

One of the major reasons why Carragher announced his international retirement three years ago was he became fed up at being repeatedly overlooked to fill one of his favoured centre-half berths when either Rio Ferdinand or John Terry was unavailable.

Instead Carragher either remained on the bench or had to slot in at full-back, moves which led to growing resentment from the Liverpool star and ultimately internal questions about whether he was making a worthwhile contribution.

In deciding to accept Fabio Capello's offer of an international return, Carragher has been happy to put such reservations aside.

He clearly has a huge amount of respect for Capello's coaching ability, enough to accept making a contribution in any area of the field the Italian thinks is required.

"Centre-back is my best position. I think everyone is aware of that," said the 32-year-old.

"But if you look at the squad maybe the manager does see me playing a different position, which is something I will have to adapt to.

"Basically, I will just do whatever the manager says."

Carragher won his 35th cap on Monday night as a half-time substitute for Ferdinand, which gave him a chance to partner another old face returning to the England camp, Ledley King.

However, as Capello looks to manipulate his squad, it is as cover for Liverpool team-mate Glen Johnson at right-back that Carragher's place in South Africa is likely to be earned.

Capello is also aware he could use the defender on the left side, or even in the holding midfield position that Gareth Barry seems unlikely to fill for the Group C opener against the United States in Rustenburg on June 12.

Happily, it seems that particular vacancy will only be open for one game following the positive vibes that came from the scan Barry had on his ankle injury yesterday.

Positive would also be an accurate description of the feeling about Carragher's chances of being among the 23 names Capello unveils as his World Cup squad on June 1.

After all, there would seem little point in the Italian going out of his way to persuade Carragher to return, only to dump him at the first available opportunity.

Not that the player himself is taking anything for granted.

"It's up to the manager," reflected Carragher.

"There is another game against Japan and another week's training. After that we will see."

Carragher could not have wished for a smoother re-entry to the international scene.

A good reception from close friend Steven Gerrard was guaranteed, but Carragher has been delighted at the warmth with which he has been invited back into the fold.

Part of that is due to his declaration that he would only return if he was not taking anyone's place which, with Joleon Lescott and Wes Brown both injured at the back end of the season, he has not done.

There seemed no antagonism either from the Wembley crowd on Monday for the comments he made in his autobiography, which admittedly were more pro-Liverpool than anti-England.

"I thank the crowd for their reception," said Carragher.

"As I said before the game I could understand it if they weren't too happy with my situation but I think they just wanted to get behind the team before the World Cup and send the squad out in good spirits."

Having made his debut in 1999, Carragher has experienced a number of England managers and clearly has not been too impressed with some of the decisions that have been made.

There are no such worries over Capello, who seems to have generated a universal view that he will get more out of this set of individuals, whatever that ends up being, than anyone else could.

"Every manager has his own ideas and different ways of doing things," said Carragher.

"But Fabio's track record speaks for itself. Whatever the manager has done through his career it has proved successful.

"Hopefully it will be that way again."

Rooney: I feel really good

Rooney: I feel really good

England star Wayne Rooney has no intention of protecting himself to ensure he gets to the World Cup in one piece.

Rooney injured his neck during the latter stages of Monday night's friendly win over Mexico at Wembley, sparking yet more concerns about his well-being.

It is only a month ago that Rooney was struck down by ankle and groin injuries that helped wreck Manchester United's bid for Premier League and Champions League glory.

Fabio Capello moved quickly to allay fears about the 24-year-old's latest knock, and Rooney clearly has no intention of wrapping himself in cotton wool to avoid further fitness concerns.

"You have to go into each game and play like you normally do," he said.

"If things happen then hard luck. We'll just have to get on with it.

"It's not pressure. I just try to give my all every time I play.

"I actually feel quite good. I have a bit of a stiff neck but that will be gone in a couple of days."

A more obvious problem is the fact Rooney has scored just once in his last seven games, having bagged 10 in a similar amount of time just before.

Sunday's final friendly with Japan in Graz offers another opportunity for the striker to end that run, and open a gap over Peter Crouch that narrowed to just four when the Tottenham man scored his 21st international goal on Monday night.

Fabregas: World Cup first, Barca later

Fabregas: World Cup first, Barca later

Cesc Fabregas insists he is focusing solely on the World Cup and not on speculation linking him with a move to Barcelona.

Barca are keen to bring Fabregas back to Spain and confirmed they have made initial contact with Arsenal regarding the 23-year-old playmaker, although without yet making an offer.

Fabregas, who was on the Catalan club's books as a youngster before moving to London seven years ago, has also revealed his desire to return to Barca.

However, an imminent resolution to the situation seems unlikely, and Fabregas insists his mind is now set on international matters and not where he will be playing his club football next season.

"I'm very calm. A World Cup is too important to think about other things. I'm 100% focused and recovering from the injury, the only important thing is to form part of this team and play in the World Cup," he said.

"When I play it's always to win and help my team-mates. I will give everything to help Spain be champions."

Fabregas missed the end of the Barclays Premier League season after suffering a cracked bone in his fibula during the Champions League quarter-final first leg clash against Barca on March 31.

However, he said of his recovery: "The feelings couldn't be better after training three days normally. Now it's as if I'm in pre-season, I have heavy legs which is normal at the start."

Fabregas revealed how a valuable discussion with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has allowed him to join the Spain squad with no pressure on his shoulders.

The midfielder is waiting for developments, if they transpire, but will not let the issue of his future trouble him.

Fabregas said: "I talked with Arsene. It was probably the greatest conversation I have had with someone in my life.

"I respect him so much.

"I don't want to say too much about this.

"He told me to concentrate on my football, he told me to concentrate on the World Cup, he told me to leave it in his hands and he will deal with whatever happens in my future.

"And that's what I'm doing, just concentrating on football. It's not up to me anymore.

"It's just now about Arsenal and whoever it has to be, and that's it. I don't want to say anything else.

"I just want to be focused for the World Cup because it's the most important thing. The rest, the future, I'm not interested in the future."

Shakib confirms fixing approach

	Shakib Al Hasan confirmed he was approached by someone wanting information

Bangladesh's captain, Shakib Al Hasan, has confirmed he received an approach from an unknown person whom he believed wanted him to manipulate the result of a one-day international against Ireland.

The incident is believed to have taken place in Dhaka in March 2008, and involved a brief phonecall on the eve of an ODI series against Ireland in which Shakib, who was not captain at the time, was offered "sponsorship" in return for his under-performance.

In accordance with the strict guidelines of the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit, Shakib immediately reported the approach to an Bangladesh Cricket Board official and to Colonel Qaza Noor, the ASCU's regional manager, and never heard from the caller again. Bangladesh had been expected to win the contest, and duly did, by a comfortable 3-0 margin.

"It was a long time ago, probably two-and-a-half years ago, in our home conditions against Ireland," Shakib said on the eve of the first Test against England at Lord's. "I didn't talk to him much because we had a team meeting to go to, so I told him 'I'll talk to you later' and immediately told a member of the board and the ICC guy. They took action and after that he never called me again."

Shakib's revelations come on the same day that theDaily Telegraph revealed that a senior county cricketer was asked to "name his price" to fix the result of televised one-day matches in English domestic cricket, and confirm the fears of the outgoing head of the ASCU, Lord Condon, that the threat of match fixing will never be entirely stamped out, and that it could "spread like a rash" if the game's players and administrators relax their vigilance.

"Cricket probably has the strongest anti-corruption code for players and support staff of any international sport," said Condon. "The modern generation of players know that if they bet on games, underperform for fixing, or even if they don't report an approach that is a disciplinary offence in itself. If we have due reason we can ask for their phone records, and they have to provide them.

"We introduced an education programme so that anyone who wanted to play international cricket had to go through a programme that raised their awareness of who the fixers were, how they fixed, and how they groomed players. That has been very well thought out and very useful, because we now have a generation of players who are supportive of what we are trying to do, and aware of how the fixers operate. They are the providers of the most important intelligence that we get."

Shakib added that the exact nature of the deal that the phone-caller was proposing was never fully revealed. "We didn't have time to discuss all the things, and what I should do," he said. "I took the phone, and from the way he was talking, I thought he might do something, so I told someone. He never exactly told me he wanted me to fix a match, he just told me he wanted to be my sponsor.

"I can't speak for anyone else, but as far as I'm concerned my head wasn't turned at that time," he added. "What I feel is I do not care about the money. I want to play for my country, because that is a great pride for me, and I want to continue to do well for my country. As far as my family is concerned we are settled enough to lead our lives, so I am not concerned about those monies. If I play well for the next ten years, the money will come and I won't have to worry about it."

England's captain, Andrew Strauss, said: "I've never heard or had any reason to suspect that a game I've played in has been fixed in any way. If it is happening, it needs to be stamped out straight away. There's no place for it in any form of cricket, and we've got a duty as players to make sure that if we hear of it, or are approached by someone, we come forward and report it straight away.

"It's the only way of ironing it out. For players to be tempted by taking money is ludicrous in my mind. The authorities are doing everything they can, but there is a huge responsibility on the players to make sure it doesn't take hold and spread."

Modi wants independent panel to hear his case

	Lalit Modi wants Shashank Manohar and N Srinivasan off the panel that will decide on his case

Lalit Modi, the suspended chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL), has asked the BCCI president, Shashank Manohar, and secretary N Srinivasan to remove themselves from all proceedings involving the show cause notice issued to him and to instead constitute an independent panel to adjudicate on the issue. This was communicated in an email - a copy of which is with Cricinfo - sent on Tuesday by Modi to the league's governing council, which also contained a series of allegations over several decisions regarding the IPL.

The mail is effectively Modi's counter to the chargesheet served on him by the BCCI on April 26 - Modi's official reply, which ran into 160 pages and 15,000 pages of supporting evidence, has not yet been made public.

While part of the mail deals with issues mentioned in the chargesheet - including the ownership of the Rajasthan Royals franchise - the bulk of it comprises the alleged involvement of Manohar in the franchise auction process last March and of Srinivasan in the 2010 player auction. It is this involvement, Modi contends, that warranted the absence of both officials from the process that would investigate the charges against him.

Manohar, Modi alleges, was responsible for the controversial decision to scrap the initial opening of tenders for the franchises and went out of his way to entertain former minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor and accept the Kochi bid much after the lapse of deadline.

He denies the allegation that he tried rigging the bids in favour of two business houses for the two new teams added for the fourth edition of the IPL; instead he claims the bids were processed and vetted by the board's corporate lawyers and counsel Akhila Kaushik, appointed on Manohar's recommendation.

He claims Manohar was party to the decision fixing the net worth of the bidder at $1 billion and that he discussed the issue of deposit also with him at the Governing Council meeting on March 7 and got his approval.

He also alleged it was Manohar who pitched in for Tharoor to include the bid of Rendezvous after the deadline had lapsed. "You wanted me to wait till the Kochi bid came from Delhi," Modi writes, adding that Manohar spoke to Tharoor and his secretary several times after he refused to entertain the minister's request for extension of deadline.

Modi has brought up the issue of the controversial IPL TV contract with Sony and MSM, claiming that Manohar was aware of the termination last year of the contract with Sony and the subsequent litigation and eventual settlement. The litigation process was, he claims, supervised by Akhila Kaushik, "who reports directly to you".

Srinivasan, Modi alleged, had been "instrumental in sponsoring complaints" against him and his participation would be "tantamount to him being a judge in his own cause". Modi also said he wanted to cross-examine Srinivasan in the inquiry.

Among the charges levied, Modi said he had "sufficient cause to apprehend bias" on Srinivasan's part and that he had "consistently frustrated and exposed his attempts at misusing his position as Honorary Secretary of the Board, so as to confer a wrongful benefit to his team at the cost and expense of other teams and the BCCI."

Modi alleged that Srinivasan had tried to "alter or propose panel of umpires" officiating in the IPL matches and had circulated an email "directing a panel of umpires handpicked by him". He claimed Srinivasan had attempted to ensure umpires from Chennai or Tamil Nadu stood in his team's matches.

Another charge Modi made against Srinivasan was that he had "consistently pushed tailor-made policies" intended to benefit the Chennai franchise. In support of this charge, Modi cited the proposal of franchises retaining seven players (four Indian, three foreign) for the 2011 season and beyond. Modi's reply to the show cause says Srinivasan tried to get franchises to agree to the proposal and that the "only reason for doing so was to ensure that Chennai Super King retained its players."

Modi also alleged that Srinivasan had tried to ensure Kieron Pollard, who was bought by Mumbai Indians during a silent tiebreaker in the 2010 auction, could not play "by raising some frivolous issues with the West Indian Cricket Board." Modi termed Srinivasan's action a "brazen act of abuse of power".

He claimed Srinivasan had used his power to "alter the auction rules" so that Chennai's purse would be $2 million as opposed to the $1.85 million that was mentioned prior to the auction. "Despite my opposition he used his clout as secretary to pressure the management to accept back-dated player contracts and cancel the contracts of one of his players so that he could have his full purse and thereby have an advantage in the bidding process vis-a-vis other teams."

Regarding the issue of Srinivasan's alleged conflict of interest, raised by former BCCI president AC Muttiah, Modi said "false statements have been made in pleadings filed in Court" to protect the position of Srinivasan.

"In the proceedings filed by Mr. Muttiah, it has been stated by the Honorary Secretary on oath that the Regulation 6.2.4 was amended after an action taken report was filed by the two-member committee consisting of Mr. Shashank Manohar and Mr. Niranjan Shah recommending amendment," Modi said. "I state that no such committee was ever appointed, no recommendation was ever made, no special general body meeting approving such report and such amendment ever took place and hence Mr. Shashank Manohar, Mr. Niranjan Shah - the Vice Chairman - IPL and Mr. N Srinavasan have connived and played not only on the members of the Board but also on the Court."

Howard nomination hits a roadblock

	South Africa and Zimbabwe are leading an initiative to block John Howard's nomination

World cricket is set for a serious political rift over the nomination of John Howard, the former Australian prime minister, as the president-designate of the ICC. The cricket boards of South Africa and Zimbabwe are leading an initiative to block Howard's nomination, while Australia and New Zealand, who jointly nominated him, stand behind their man. Four votes are needed to block Howard's nomination and it is believed that, barring some dramatic late changes, his candidature will not be a formality.

The BCCI's position is expected to play crucial role in the issue. David Morgan, the president of the ICC, is scheduled on Thursday to meet Sharad Pawar, who takes over the presidency next month, and is expected to discuss the matter.

Cricket South Africa has taken up the matter in the strongest of manners, accusing David Morgan, the ICC president, of ignoring the sentiments of an "overwhelming number of ICC directors" who were opposed to Howard's candidature. Morgan has also been accused of making the matter a personal cause.

The ICC follows a policy of regional rotation for its presidency and this year was the turn of Australia and New Zealand. Howard, a career politician and self-declared cricket tragic, beat off a strong challenge from New Zealand Cricket, which favoured John Anderson, a former chairman of the board and a long-time cricket administrator, to win the nomination for the term, which starts from 2012. He was due to serve as vice-president to Pawar for the next two years.

As it turns out, though, a section of the ICC board has strong reservations about Howard. Zimbabwe Cricket has made no secret of its opposition to a man who was so critical of it when he was prime minister and is certain to vote against him if the matter reaches that point.

Morgan has strongly defended his position in an email exchange with Mtutuzeli Nyoka, the CSA president. He is believed to made it clear that he had no personal agenda and that he had acted according to the ICC constitution. He is expected to vigorously defend Nyoka's charge and is understood to have reminded his fellow directors that their job is to act in the best interests of ICC members, and not pursue personal agendas.

Howard, it will be stressed, was selected by New Zealand and Cricket Australia as part of the ICC's constitutional process, and therefore Morgan has not acted unconstitutionally

For the record, the ICC is playing down the issue. "The board has not yet discussed the matter," its chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, told Cricinfo." What you might be hearing might have happened on the sidelines but it was not discussed at the board meeting. The process is that Australia and New Zealand nominate someone, followed by the board considering the nomination before putting it before the annual conference. It is a three-step process.

"It [the opposition to Howard's nomination] is speculative at this moment. We haven't yet faced such a scenario; it has not been blocked as yet, nor even considered."

Asked what would happen if the nomination was rejected, Lorgat said: "We will probably go back and ask (the same region) for another nomination. But that has never happened and what you are saying is speculative."

Meanwhile, Cricket Australia stood firmly behind its man. "We remain rock solid in our support of the nomination," Peter Young, the CA spokesperson, told Cricinfo. "CA and NZC undertook an exhaustive professional process and have come up with a joint nomination that we are convinced is the best possible nomination we could put forward. We will continue to be welded on in our joint support of that nomination. We have made that clear to the ICC in recent weeks."

Australia's position received unqualified backing from New Zealand cricket. "We certainly haven't heard any notification from ICC that there's a problem with that. We're certainly not contemplating any other scenarios than John Howard being our man," Justin Vaughan, the NZC chief executive, said.

"We believe we went through a very robust and thorough process. We believe ICC should accept that and accept the nomination."

The matter may come down to the neutrals and the ECB offered a non-committal comment on the situation. "It's up to New Zealand Cricket and Cricket Australia to nominate a candidate and we as the ECB will await that nomination at the ICC annual conference," an ECB spokesman said.