Evans move confirmed

Confirmation of the move following the news yesterday that a fee had been agreed.

Sheffield United boss Kevin Blackwell on Evans:

“He’s a young striker and we are delighted to have won the race for him because there was significant interest in him from two Premiership clubs and two from the Championship,” he told sufc.co.uk.

“We think the lad has a bright future. He is still maturing, still learning the game, so there is more developmental mileage in him which will benefit this club in the long term as well.

“With plenty of first-team experience for City in the UEFA Cup last season he is an exciting prospect and City were reluctant to let him go.”

Evans fee agreed with Sheffield United

From Sky Sports:

Sheffield United have agreed a fee with Manchester City for Ched Evans, Sky Sports News understands.

The Blades have been targeting the Wales international all summer and they finally look to have got their man.

Whilst Evans featured a number of times last season (making sixteen appearances), our attack was a problem area during 2008/09, and while he put in plenty of work (often in a lone role), Evans did look to lack the necessary quality to be a long-term Premier League striker.

It is a good move both for Sheffield United, who get a player with a proven record at Championship level (and also with Wales), and for Evans himself, who will be playing regularly after falling well down the pecking order this summer.

Interestingly, Sky Sports are suggesting the fee is 'in the region of' £3 million - which is more than I thought we would ultimately get for him.

Evans bid rejected

CITY have turned down a £1.5m bid from Sheffield United for 20-year-old striker Ched Evans.

The Wales international was expected to be one of the victims of the cull which manager Mark Hughes is planning - to make room for his summer signings.

But City's rejection of the bid from the Championship play-off finalists is a sign of intent that they will not let their Academy success stories go for peanuts.

>>MEN.

I'd be surprised if the fee itself was the issue with any potential move as I think £1.5 million is more or less in the region of what we could command for Evans.

Does it indicate a future for Evans at the club? Again, I would be surprised as despite him making a number of appearances last season he did appear to fall down the pecking order with Caicedo earning favour during the run in.

The likelihood as well is that certainly one, possibly two top level forwards will arrive during the summer and some younger Academy forwards nipping at his heels so I don't see that Evans, for all his industry and physical presence (clearly an asset for Hughes) getting much opportunity. Whilst he has not had a consistent run in the side, I don't think he quite has the quality that is required - certainly not in playing a lone striker role.

Perhaps Hughes is mindful that the Sturridge situation is still in limbo, and perhaps unwilling to let Evans leave quite yet with that being unresolved.

Evans set for exit?

CARDIFF are aiming to beat Celtic to the signature of City youngster Ched Evans.

Bluebirds chief executive Peter Ridsdale claims he is battling it out with the Scottish champions to land Wales striker Evans, 20.

Ridsdale hopes Evans' Welsh heritage will see him snub a move to Scotland in favour of a return home.

>>MEN.

Although Evans has featured on occasion this season, in truth he doesn't appear ready to be a regular contributor - if he will ultimately be at all.

That said, if he did depart on a permanent basis it would be disappointing given his young age, and any fee we received would be minimal at best. But equally I'm not convinced a loan would benefit either the player or ourselves given he has proved himself at that level on loan at Norwich last season.

Far preferable to keep him at the club and let him work and develop his game under the guise of Hughes and his staff, plus learning far more from the players at the club than he would out on loan in the Championship.

Evans continues to make his mark

Ched Evans admitted this week he 'didn't know where Iceland was' but in Reykjavik, the teenage striker showed he certainly knows where the goal is.

The rookie Manchester City striker's stunning winner with his first touch in international football was enough to secure a win for Wales over Iceland.

Evans' moment of magic, a deft back-heel flick on the stroke of half-time, lit up an otherwise average friendly.

Wales earned their fourth successive clean sheet in a third straight win.

>>bbc.co.uk

I must confess to not having seen Evans play as yet (like most fans I imagine), but he is certainly creating a buzz this season and has scored goals at every level he has played at - be it Wales under-21's, Norwich and now the Wales senior side.

I recall Sven commenting that he has a knack of 'scoring goals', which may sound an obvious trait for a striker to have but is something that not all strikers have a natural ability to do.

With the likes of Samaras, Mpenza, Dickov definitely out of the door and Bianchi and Corradi likely to exit as well there is some space being created for the likes of Evans and also Daniel Sturridge to stake a claim.

Another reason why it may be a shame if Eriksson does go, in that we would lose his knowledge of the squad (in particular the young players) that he has garnered over the course of this season.

Deadline day news

Manchester City goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson has turned down a move to Galatasaray, having previously expressed a wish to join the Turkish club.

Isaksson had been hoping to leave City before the close of the transfer window to safeguard his position in Sweden's Euro 2008 squad.

He has lost out to Joe Hart to be City's No.1 and admitted a desire to finalise a switch to Galatasaray in order to play regularly.

But City's first-team coach Tord Grip has confirmed that Isaksson does not want to join Galatasaray on loan.

"Andreas is probably staying here, it now looks that way," City's Tord Grip told Sportbladet.

"I am at the training complex and he is here today.

"He is able to go on loan to Galatasaray and get a game.

"But that is what he doesn't want to do and we cannot do much more."

>>Sky Sports.

Ched Evans will stay on loan at Norwich until the end of the season, after the club reached an agreement with Manchester City.

His 'emergency loan' spell was due to end on February 26, with Man City able to recall him from Wednesday, but now

Evans, 19, has scored four goals in 12 apperances for Norwich, his first being within just two minutes of his City debut; his most recent the winner against Southampton on Tuesday night.

>>Norwich Evening News.

OUSMANE Dabo has left City to rejoin Lazio - where he will link up with Rolando Bianchi.

The French midfielder failed to make a Premier League appearance under Sven-Goran Eriksson, getting his only game for the Swede in the Carling Cup win at Bristol City in August.

Dabo struggled to make an impact after Stuart Pearce brought him to Eastlands from Lazio in June 2006.

And the 30-year-old had become increasingly frustrated by his lack of opportunities under Eriksson's management.

"I'm the only player in the first-team squad who hasn't been given a chance this season," he said earlier this month.

"After a while, it gets so ridiculous that it becomes laughable."

>>MEN.

Of the three moves above, the only one that surprised me was the Isaksson one given that it was widely believed both the player and club were happy for him to move during the window after Joe Hart was established as the number 1, but it may well have been that the Swede was after a permanent move rather than just a short term deal.

The Evans move is a sensible one given the return to fitness of Danny Sturridge along with the the strides that Valeri Bojinov has made to get back on the pitch and will allow him to gain some decent experience at a place where he seemingly enjoys playing.

With just over four hours to go before the window shuts, all eyes will now be on the two moves (Benjani and Caciedo) which have been heavily rumoured for the past couple of days but have (as yet) still to be announced - although I would be surprised if they weren't completed before the deadline passes.

I'll update this post through the evening as soon as any deals are confirmed, and if anyone hears of any deals (rumoured or confirmed), feel free to post up.

UPDATE:

West Brom have completed the permanent signing of Ishmael Miller from Manchester City for an undisclosed fee.

The Championship leaders have exercised the option to buy the striker before January 31 - a clause Albion inserted in the deal which brought Miller to The Hawthorns on a season-long loan in August.

Miller, 20, has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract, which includes an extra year's option in the club's favour.

>> Sporting Life.

No news of the fee involved, but I confess I wasn't aware of the clause inserted into the loan contract. A good move for Miller this, moving to a side who look a good bet for promotion to the Premier League. Kudos to Sven as well for getting him under a new contract at the beginning of the season which would have increased his value.

Although he has performed well for West Brom this season, I don't (as I've written before) believe he quite has what it takes to make it at the club and lacks the technical ability to quite make it at the highest level.

Whilst no official confirmation from the club has yet, FC Basel's website is reporting the transfer of Caceido has been completed. Worth checking out for the translation.

UPDATE:

Inter have confirmed that Roberto Mancini’s son Filippo will be spending the rest of the season on loan at Manchester City.

The player has been on trial with the Eastlands based club since last week and he has impressed Sven Goran Eriksson.

The 17 year old made his debut for the Nerazzurri in the Coppa Italia just days before arriving in Manchester.

A statement on the club’s official website reads:

“Filippo Mancini will be playing in England for Manchester City.”

>>Setanta Sports.

UPDATE:

The MEN is reporting that Paul Dickov has joined Blackpool on loan until the end of the season, and still suggests the Benjani move could be completed - with Jermain Defoe set for a move to Portsmouth as his replacement.

UPDATE:

The transfer window is now closed, and no confirmation of the Benjani (or Defoe) moves. That's not to say it won't happen though as an announcement could still come through that the deals were completed by midnight.

If the Benjani move has not gone through, it will be interesting to see the reason why, but we'll know one way or the other tomorrow morning.

UPDATE:

Manchester City have confirmed that the proposed transfer of Portsmouth striker Benjani to the Blues was unsuccessful.

City spokesman Paul Tyrrell said, "Due to the late arrival of the player in Manchester we were unable to complete the transfer."

>>mcfc.co.uk

A very short statement from the club, and one that strikes as a bit of an administrative mess more than anything. Perhaps more will come out later today as to exactly why the deal didn't get done but given I wasn't entirely convinced of the merits of signing him it may well be a blessing, but I'll post something more in depth regarding the transfer deadline hopefully later today.

Duo loaned out

Two players leaving the club today with Ched Evans returning to Norwich on loan following his recent spell and Matt Mills heading back to Doncaster, where he also had a previous spell on loan.

Both players though appear to be heading in different places at the club with Evans very much on the rise, earning praise at both club and Welsh under-21 level this season and impressing at Carrow Road recently.

Mills however, appears to be playing for a future away from the club as his career has barely took off at the club and appears to way down the pecking order following his move a couple of seasons ago from Southampton where he was a highly touted prospect.

Things have not developed as hoped though, and whilst he has seen plenty of 'home grown' youngsters get (and seize) their chance, he has never stuck after the limited opportunities he has had and realistically appears to have no real future at the club.

Evans joins Norwich on loan

Norwich are set to sign Manchester City striker Ched Evans on loan until January.

The Canaries are putting the finishing touches to the deal, which would see the 18-year-old stay at Carrow Road until New Year's Day.

The Wales Under 21 international, who has made just one senior appearance for City, is expected to become Glenn Roeder's fourth signing later this week.

He is hoping his time with Norwich will help him break into Sven Goran Eriksson's side on his return to Eastlands.

"It's a good opportunity to play in the Championship and play a good level of football," Evans told Norwich's official website.

"It's a great challenge. I've been looking at the games and there haven't been many goals, so I'm looking forward to coming, hopefully scoring some goals and getting them off the bottom.

"If I can go out on loan and do well then hopefully I can break into Man City's first team.

"If I do well at Norwich it gives me every chance."

-Sky Sports.

For the most part, Evans was not on the radar much the past couple of seasons as the more high profile pair of Etuhu and Sturridge took the plaudits and headlines.

However, for those that have seen him say he has the key attribute of just being able to score goals - and he has certainly come to prominence this season both at club level with Eriksson in particular singling him out for praise, and also international level where he is scoring goals for fun with the Welsh under-21 side.

Another good move by the club and he joins the growing band of youngsters on loan getting a taste of first team action at a good standard.

Dunne scoops Supporters Club Player of the year

In news that really should have been making the headlines, but will be relegated to a couple of column inches in the wake of Barton-gate, Richard Dunne has again been named as Player of the year by the official supporters club.

Dunne wins the honour for the third consecutive season (itself a record?), and is joined in the roll of honour by Micah Richards who won the Young Player of the year award and Ched Evans who was named Most Promising Academy player.