Johnson set for exit?

Nothing firm, but a report last night suggests the midfielder could be heading out of the club.

The Times's 'window watch' speculates he could be part of a deal to bring Scott Parker to the club:

West Ham United were in talks last night to sell Matthew Etherington to Stoke City and are considering Manchester City’s revised offer for Scott Parker, which includes Michael Johnson moving in the opposite direction.

City have offered about £4 million plus the England Under-21 midfield player, who signed a new five-year contract in September, when he was attracting interest from Everton and Arsenal. Johnson, 20, gained recognition for the form that he showed at the start of last season but a pelvic injury has restricted him to eight appearances this campaign. West Ham turned down City’s initial £15 million combined bid for Parker and Craig Bellamy last week.

Given that the Johnson (along with Petrov of course) is a key component from the success of last season that we are sorely missing this time around, such a move would represent terrible business and I imagine not do Hughes any favours whatsoever with the majority of fans.

He is a huge talent and that role bridging the defensive midfield (Kompany) and attacking aspects (Ireland, Wright-Phillips) is precisely the player that we actually need, rather than be looking to ship out.

There have been plenty of whispers about Johnson's off-field 'activities', but given he is just 20 years old with a potentially big career in front of him, to give him away plus £4 million for Scott Parker (as useful a signing as he would be) would be folly - not to mention a very risky move from Hughes, who, with the lack of additions so far this window is seeing opinion against him increase further.

Trio of bids rejected

Blackburn have rejected a bid in excess of £12m from Manchester City for striker Roque Santa Cruz.

City manager Mark Hughes said he is still keen to sign the 27-year-old Paraguay international, who signed a new contract at Rovers in August.

"We made a bid in the region of £12m in the summer and it (the new bid) is significantly higher than that."

>>bbc sport.

Blackburn also confirmed this on their site, and in addition it seems that our double bid for Scott Parker and Craig Bellamy was rejected by West Ham:

"It's documented that we made an enquiry about Bellamy as well (as Parker). We made a double bid and that was rejected - we haven't gone back to the table but we may well do."

It's probably not a huge surprise initial bids for these players have been turned down, given that clubs will surely be trying to squeeze as much out of us as possible given our financial position. I have no doubt that should Hughes want these players badly enough, then he will go back with an improved bid (as he confirmed in respect of Santa Cruz).

What is a little concerning though is these transfers are now being played out in public. There was plenty of concern at the lack of impact being made in the transfer market this January, so is it the case that Hughes has issued this statement as a way of quelling the growing frustration?

Either way, it is not good practice to conduct transfers in such a way and they inevitably do become drawn out affairs which indicate it could be towards the latter part of the window that deals are concluded.

Far better to keep all negotiations and progress behind closed doors and only confirm transfers as and when they have been completed.

Previous posts:

• Roque Santa Cruz
• Scott Parker
• Craig Bellamy

Barton heading to Newcastle

Sky Sports News understands that Joey Barton will sign for
Newcastle United on Monday - assuming that captain Scott Parker completes his
own move to West Ham.
Sam Allardyce has instigated a transfer merry-go-round
since arriving on Tyneside and, having opted to allow Parker to return to
London, is on the brink of signing Manchester City's controversial midfielder
Barton. -

Sky Sports

It appears that Barton will arrive as Scott Parker departs St. James' Park for West Ham, bringing a disappointing end to his City career.

It was inevitable that he was on his way out of the club, and the only thankful bit of news is that we appear to have received the £5.5 million 'asking price' as stipulated in his contract. Hopefully, once the takeover business has been resolved, this money will be earmarked for his replacement - something that will be sorely needed.

Second Bellamy bid rejected

WEST Ham have turned down an improved Manchester City bid for striker Craig Bellamy.

The Hammers are believed to have spurned a £9million deal for the Wales international, after refusing the Blues' initial bid last week - when they also would not entertain an attempt to sign midfielder Scott Parker.

Hammers' chief exexcutive Scott Duxbury has reaffirmed that the club does not have to sell its best players, and backed his words by turning down City's latest attempt to reinforce their squad ahead of the January 31 transfer deadline.

>>MEN.

The bid was believed to be £9 million, and we now see ourselves faced with the same dilemna as we do for Roque Santa Cruz.

West Ham offloaded some fringe players at the back end of last week, presumably in a bid to avoid having to sell the likes of Bellamy and Scott Parker.

It is a difficult decision we now face with certain negotiations. What looks apparant is that clubs are attempting to continue negotiations as far down the transfer window as possible, in the hope that we will be forced to pay way over the odds.

What is clear to me though is that in some respects, we are dealing from a position of strength given that there appears to be no other clubs with a genuine interest in either player. With that in mind, are we best standing firm as if the clubs do want (need) to sell they themselves will run out of time if they want to complete a deal by the end of January?

Parker and Santa Cruz set to arrive

A couple of reports have emerged this evening suggesting that in the early part of this week we should tie up a further two deals, with Roque Santa Cruz and Scott Parker arriving at the club.

Sky Sports suggests Parker will arrive for a fee of £12 million:

Sky Sports has learnt that Parker has already engaged with City officials over personal terms and will substantially improve his current deal of £70,000 per week should the move be pushed through.

Whilst Roque Santa Cruz will arrive for £18 million plus the out of favour Tal Ben Haim, according to The Guardian, which also suggests rumoured interest in Kolo Toure, Craig Bellamy, Shay Given and Jermain Defoe - but we are unlikely to land all our reported targets:

City are also willing to swell the bank accounts of a number of other players, notably Craig Bellamy of West Ham, Jermain Defoe of Portsmouth, Arsenal's Kolo Touré and the Newcastle United goalkeeper Shay Given. There are, however, complications in each case. City are not entirely confident West Ham will agree to sell them two of their best players at once, so that might rule out Bellamy. If so, that would prompt City to accelerate their interest in Defoe even though it is known he would rather rejoin Tottenham Hotspur. Portsmouth want a fee of around £20m, which would be no problem to City but has created difficulties for Spurs.

After the debacle of Saturday's exit when Hughes was critical of elements of the squad, it was likely that interest in any targets would be swiftly followed up. It is interesting that Ben Haim's name was included in the report of the Santa Cruz signing - particularly as it stated that he was not brought to the club on the say so of Hughes.

Given the form of both Dunne and Richards this season, there has been a great opportunity for him to have won one of the positions at the back, yet when he has figured he has looked equally ill at ease.

One thing it does suggest though is that by sanctioning further deals it seems clear that Hughes is going nowhere and appears very much to have the support of those in charge for the long term.

Senna cool on move, Hughes targeting Parker?

"I don't know anything about a transfer to Manchester City," he told the Spanish sports paper Marca. "I have only read the same stories that you have and I have no idea where these stories have come from. Everyone in football knows how much money Manchester City have but all I can say is that I want to concentrate on Villarreal and do the best I can for the team. What I can tell you is that what I have read about me going to Manchester City has surprised me."

>>guardian.co.uk

Given Villareal are heavily involved both in La Liga and Champions League contention, Senna's reluctance to move at this stage is understandable, but by doing so could miss out on a move altogether if Hughes focuses on alternative targets.

This perhaps makes a move for Scott Parker more likely with The Times reporting news of an increased bid from ourselves. Given news this morning regarding West Ham's financial problems and announcement they would consider offers for players then it is not hard to deduce that if Hughes wants Parker, the chances are high that he will land him.

Would Parker be a good fit for what Hughes is looking to build though? He is a useful player, neat and tidy but for me, not physical or dynamic enough to fit into the midfield Hughes is looking to build behind the attacking threat we possess - although on the plus side, he is familiar with the Premier League which appears to be a point Hughes is placing a degree of emphasis on.

Bid for Hammers pair?

West Ham United have rejected a £15m bid from Manchester City to sign both Craig Bellamy and Scott Parker. The Premier League club insist that neither player is for sale and have also moved to hold talks with Matthew Upson's representatives to spell out their intention to hold on to the England international who is also attracting intense interest with the transfer window set to open.

>>independent.co.uk

How reliable the story is we don't know, but the name of Bellamy is not a surprise given the speculation that has surrounded him. As one of the comments in the Blackburn thread mentioned, he was also left out of yesterdays victory over Stoke (after returning to goalscoring form the day before). UPDATE - He didn't play due to suspension.

I really don't see how Bellamy improves our line up. If Hughes continues with the 4-2-3-1 line-up I just don't see where he fits in. He cannot operate as a lone striker, but perhaps Hughes is looking at playing him in a wider role?

Something else to bear in mind is the return of Bojinov. Hopefully injury free, playing in a similar role to that of Bellamy, he is a far better option.

Parker is an interesting one. We do need to upgrade that defensive midfield area and Parker is a useful player. He gets the job done and appears to have rebuilt his career somewhat after spells at Chelsea and Newcastle. If we cannot grab Marcos Senna, then he may well be a useful pick up.

Tuesday round up - the terrible trio and a quiet day on the transfer front

A fairly quiet day in relation to some of the headlines we have been making of late, with very little in the way of new transfer news but there are a couple of snippets worth noting:

• The Mail suggests that we are set to offer Scott Parker up to £100,000 to make the move from West Ham, but mentions that wages could be behind some of the unrest in the squad at present.
• We are reported by The Telegraph to have tabled of bid of approximately £24 million for Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure. An ideal candidate for the midfield role we so desperately crave, and our hope of signing him stems from our ability to potentially double his current wage. Guillem Balague confirms that whilst contact has been made with the club, no bid has been made.

Elsewhere in the news, a couple of articles today following on from the recent reports of squad unrest. This piece in The Guardian identifies the three 'rebels' within the squad as Elano, Jo and Ben Haim - something backed up here in The Telegraph, but interesting (and surprisingly?) states that this will not likely have any effect on Robinho, who labelled Elano as 'a brother' but is reported to be a backer of Hughes:

Hughes retains the support of the board and the vast majority of the squad, including Robinho, despite his desire to ship out two of the former Real Madrid man's fellow Brazilians.

And finally, The Guardian also follows up on the difficulties Hughes is experiencing in trying to stamp his own mark on the squad, although it is largely made up of comments and quotes previosuly reported.

West Ham preview

We received a boost this week with the signing of Vincent Kompany, although his clearance hasn't arrived in time for him to line-up tomorrow, and are the reports of our financial meltdown a thing of the past with us now being linked with Thierry Henry.

It doesn't help ahead of tomorrow though with Bojinov joining Benjani and Darius Vassell on the sidelines and Olympic bronze winning Jo not available until next week. Richard Dunne completes his suspension ahead of what is going to be a crucial week for us with two tricky league games and the UEFA return in Denmark sandwiched in between.

Said Mark Hughes ahead of tomorrow:

"West Ham got off to a good start last weekend and we are expecting an open enough game. From my point of view, I am looking for us to be nice and solid defensively with that platform and understanding that allows us to go on the front-foot and dictate to the opposition."

All very positive and upbeat, but how much that will reflect reality given that confidence levels may not be too high and with a potentially restless crowd in attendance.

West Ham hope to have striker Dean Ashton (calf) and midfielder Scott Parker (thigh) fit for the game. Defender Anton Ferdinand - still involved in a 'will he, won't he' move to Sunderland remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, as does Wales forward Craig Bellamy.

Kieron Dyer (broken leg), Jonathan Spector (hip), George McCartney (virus), Danny Gabbidon (stomach), James Tompkins (leg) and James Collins (knee) are still out.

The Hammers cleared the decks to a degree over the summer and look a stronger proposition than they did this time last year (when we dispatched them on opening day).

We played out a couple of tight games at Eastlands over the course of a few days in January and I don't see any reason for tomorrow to pan out any differently with goals not likely to be in abundance.

We of course go in with concerns in all departments, although I expect the defence to bounce back from last weeks disappointment.

Unless Rolando Bianchi receives a call from purgatory (and he has been named in the squad), it will necessitate an inexperienced strike force which will likely see Hughes again adopt the a 4-4-1-1 line-up to allow Elano a more advanced role in support.

I'm sure both sides will be happy to come away with a point from the game, and feel that a 1-1 draw is the likeliest outcome from match-up.

Third Bellamy bid rejected

West Ham have rejected a third bid from Manchester City for striker Craig Bellamy, BBC Sport understands.

On Monday West Ham turned down an improved £9m offer for the 29-year-old Welshman with the new bid again higher.

City are keen to bring both Bellamy and team-mate Scott Parker to Eastlands but have so far failed to land either.

>>BBC Sport.

At what point do you draw a line under this and move on?

It seems that they really do not want to sell, or we are going to have to go in with an offer that so in excess of his true value that they cannot turn it down.

Either way, a decision needs to be made before this borders on the farcical.

• Previous Bellamy transfer posts.
  

West Ham prediction

The first of a tricky pair of games in the space of five days against the Hammers with both contests having a great deal at stake given our defeat last weekend at Everton.

However, first up is a reprise of our FA Cup quarter final clash of two years ago for the right to travel to Bramhall Lane in round four.

Both sides I expect to field full-strength sides (injuries permitting) as both Sven and Alan Curbishley have indicated a desire to do well in the competition.

Team wise Michael Johnson (abdominal strain) and Emile Mpenza (hamstring) are both ruled out through injury, but for the Hammers captain Lucas Neill is expected to be available after a hamstring injury. However, Scott Parker (knee), Nolberto Solano (groin), Bobby Zamora (knee) and Craig Bellamy (abdominal) are all out still out for the Hammers.

This one is really tough to call, a view shared by the opposition camp, and West Ham have a formidable record at this stage - having not been beaten since 1999/2000 at this stage and only seen four defeats in twenty-four seasons.

Our home record is superb this season (Tottenham aside) and Sven may have delivered a little rocket following his displeasure at the manner of the defeat at Everton, which I feel may be enough to spark a victory - but it may well go the full distance, and will not feature many goals.

The days best City links 01/16/2009

• Kaka and Manchester City: three days that shook the football world | Manchester City - Times Online

  tags: Football, City

• Goal.com - Manchester City - Manchester City Switch Target From Scott Parker To Nigel De Jong

  tags: City

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.