Obertan Agrees to Leave United

Manchester United are close to selling their young French winger, Gabriel Obertan to Newcastle in a £3 million deal.

The 22 year-old, who signed for United in 2009 after Cristiano Ronaldo had left for Real Madrid, has found it difficult to establish a starting spot and has rarely impressed at Old Trafford.

He was relatively unknown before his £3 million move to United, and after two seasons with only 28 appearances and one goal in total, as well as a bunch of reserve games in which he seemed a lot more comfortable, Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to say goodbye.

Few will be shedding a tear at the thought of Obertan departing United, but most at the club will wish him well for the future at a club whose fans may give him more time and exert less pressure or immediate expectation on an inexperienced, young, potential talent.

According to the Mail, the player has agreed a five year deal at Newcastle after discussing personal terms with Newcastle, with United expecting to recoup the fee paid for him in 2009.

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Nasri Has "Agreed to Leave" Arsenal

After all of the speculation surrounding Samir Nasri and his Arsenal future, it is the Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, who has given probably the most insight into what is actually going on with the French midfielder's status. Sir Alex claimed that he thought it unlikely that Nasri would be joining Manchester United because the Arsenal play maker had agreed to leave for another club.

The Manchester United manager, who was speaking about a possible Paul Scholes replacement, admitted that Nasri could remain at Arsenal because of the stance that Wenger has taken on the matter - refusing to let Nasri leave the club. Ferguson said:

"I don't think he is coming to United. That is all I can tell you. I think that he has agreed to go somewhere else. That is his decision. He is the manager. If he stands by that decision, it is a brave one. I don't know if the [Arsenal] directors will enjoy that one, but it is possible. Maybe he will have to stay."

The club that have "agreed" to acquire Nasri's services will now become the subject of much debate, and there are certainly enough clubs who it could possibly be, with the Arsenal  man being linked to City and Chelsea, as well as moves to Italy. It will be noted that Manchester United are not entirely out of the race, as Ferguson didn't say explicitly that United's chances were over, though even if he did, some would suggest he would be playing mind games and misleading the media.

Samir Nasri may not be Scholes's replacement, but Sir Alex Ferguson hasn't given up on finding the man who will be, calling on the possibility of a youth player coming through who could eventually step into the midfielder's shoes. However, the United manager did say that whoever United are to bring in - and they are looking - it would only be a step down from Scholes:

"It is impossible to get another Paul Scholes. But if we get a player along similar lines in terms of the quality of his passing and vision, we would have to do something." 

"The difficulty is, if you picked the best four midfield players in the world, Scholes would be there with Xavi and Andrés Iniesta. Then you could take a pick from somewhere else. It is a loss. How do we overcome it? The next few weeks could help us in that respect. Someone could emerge out of the youth team and we carry on."

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Tevez looking to leave Man City

Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez has declared that he wants to leave the club this summer due to family reasons.

The Argentina international submitted a transfer request in December, before performing a U-turn and pledging his commitment to the club following talks.

His long-term future remained the subject of intense speculation but manager Roberto Mancini remained confident that the player would stay.

Mancini stated over the weekend that he planned to keep Tevez after a proposed swap deal with Inter Milan for Samuel Eto'o fell through.

Tevez has never made a secret of the fact that he misses his children, who have been living with their mother back in Argentina, and he wants to put their interests first.

"It is with great regret that I have to inform Manchester City of my wish to leave the club," he said in a statement.

"I would like to state that I have great respect for the club, its supporters and the owner, Sheikh Mansour, who has been nothing other than respectful to me.

"I hope that the people understand the difficult circumstances I have been living under the past 12 months, in regards to my family.

"Living without my children in Manchester has been incredibly challenging for me.

"Everything I do, I do for my daughters, Katie and Florencia. I need to be closer to them and to spend more time with them.

"I need them to be happy because my life is about them now. I need to be in a place where they can adapt.

"Being captain of Manchester City, qualifying for the Champions League, winning the FA Cup and finishing as top-scorer last season has made me very proud.

"I hope that most of the City fans will understand that I have given them my all on the pitch and that my dedication to the City cause has been 100% on the pitch.

"I hope I have done my bit to help City continue their progress towards their ambition to be champions of England and to advance in the Champions League.

"I have no doubt that the players and management of City will achieve great success in the future."

Tevez is currently on international duty with Argentina at Copa America.



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Emmanuel Eboue to Leave? - Djourou Wants Reward

While Arsenal battle to keep hold of one of their vital play makers, Samir Nasri, another player, who can be considered a little less important in terms of Arsenal's future challenge for trophies, Emmanuel Eboue may be on his way out of the Emirates.

Newly promoted Queens Park Rangers manager, Neil Warnock is said to be interested in bringing the Ivorian to Loftus Road. The 28 year old's experience and versatility at the top level of English football could prove crucial in QPR's fight for survival next season, and Eboue, who has proved a useful squad member at Arsenal may be a player forced out of Arsenal as a result of Wenger's busy summer of transfers.

A sale would add to Arsenal's spending power in the market - not by much, but surely enough to add to the transfer kitty that Wenger has been so reluctant to use over the past few years. QPR would offer Eboue the chance to stay in London rather than relocate to a foreign country where he has been linked to Roma in Italy.

Eboue would add his athleticism, tireless attitude and versatility to QPR as well as his enthusiasm and comical personality - often seen as the joker of the Arsenal side off the pitch. On the pitch however, he can be equally as comical with sometimes unpredictable errors and mistakes which have often proven costly for Arsenal over the seven seasons he has been there.

Meanwhile, Johan Djourou, Arsenal's Swiss defender has tried to get his team mates and manager inspired and prepared for next season where he hopes to reward the patient Arsenal fans with success. On the back of the 2 - 2 draw with England he said:

"Obviously, now we want to do better as a team and as individuals to get something. I think that the fans deserve and the manager deserves something. We need to get better, get stronger, and really prepare well for next season."

When questioned about Arsenal's busy summer ahead, and what impact the possible new recruits may bring, Djourou was less certain but insisted that new players and competition for places is always good:

"I don't know - that's for the manager to answer. I think competition is always good. That pushes you in your position. When you want to make a team better, you have to have a good squad. I think that we had a good squad but if players with experience or different players can bring quality, they're welcome." 

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Downing Will Leave Villa For Arsenal or Liverpool

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Stewart Downing, the Aston Villa left winger will leave the club this summer. He has not explicitly said so in public as yet, but has rather dropped a major hint that he will look for a new club soon by saying that he will not be signing a new contract at Aston Villa at the moment because he is at a "major crossroad" in his career.

My sources, whom I believe to be very much in the know, say that in private, he is looking for the exit door this summer, and that Arsenal and Liverpool are interested in signing him - particularly the latter. Kenny Dalglish is a big fan of the England international, and the Liverpool manager apparently got in contact with Downing a few weeks ago. Downing said:

"Martin O'Neill, left and that was strange. He was one of the main reasons why I went to Villa. It was difficult when he left, everything changed. It took some getting used to, but credit to the new manager (Gerard Houllier) he led the team through a very good run in the end and I have enjoyed being such a big part of the team."

"I know the club are keen for me to extend my contract as I only have two years left on my deal and that my agent (Struan Marshall) had a recent meeting with our chief executive (Paul Faulkner). However, I am 26 and at a major crossroads in my career so I won't be committing to a new deal at the moment."

However, a major factor that may swing in Arsenal's direction is Downing's desire to play Champions League football. The 26 year-old added: "The most important thing is to play football, but I do want to play in the Champions League at some point."

While Liverpool have failed to even reach the Europa League, Arsenal have secured a qualifying place in the Champions League, and this is a qualifying place which they surely must be favourites to progress through. If Downing wants immediate Champions League football, then Arsenal would be his choice between the two clubs. But, with Liverpool's new manager and new signings, he could either join immediately and help them to a Champions League spot next season, or ride out another year of his 2 year Aston Villa contract and join Liverpool next summer.

In other transfer news, Liverpool are close to signing Wigan's James McCarthy for £10 million while Arsenal's Gael Clichy looks set to leave on the cheap due to his expiring contract in a £5 million deal to Bayern Munich. Arsenal are also once interested in signing long term target Chris Samba for £10 million from Blackburn.

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Tell me what you think!Follow DBSFootball on Twitterhttp://twitter.com/DBSFootballandFollow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/7DanTheMan

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Perotti to leave Sevilla

Diego Perotti will leave Sevilla this summer, according to reports in Spain.



The Argentine winger has been linked with a number of clubs in England, and reports suggest that a decision has been made that will see the 22-year-old leave.



Sevilla have valued the midfielder at €16million and having confirmed a deal for Hamburg's Germany international Piotr Trochowski, they are prepared to let him go.



Trochowski is due to move to Sevilla on a Bosman transfer, his agent confirmed earlier this month



"Piotr will sign a four-year contract with Sevilla," Roman Grill told Bild.




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