guardian.co.uk---West Ham have shown that austerity measures have finally hit football, with even clubs in the top flight forced to cut costs since the full severity of the banking crisis hit. The Hammers' strict new financial controls are such that the club who gave an ageing and under-performing Freddie Ljungberg £6m to just go away right now please in 2008, have given an ageing and under-performing Benni McCarthy just £2m to just go away right now please – a saving of £4m. Much more of this and George Osborne will be down there taking notes.
Stoke have launched a £1.5m move for 30-year-old Turkish man-mountain Servet Cetin. The 6ft 4in Galatasaray centre-half is nicknamed "Ayibogan" which, according to the Mirror, loosely translates as "man who could choke a bear". A man with such a memorable moniker might be best advised not to move to England, whereupon his new teammates would immediately rechristen him "Servo", or "Cetiney", or some-such, and he would in all likelihood never recover from the brain-crushing disappointment of it all.
Manchester City news, then, and Carlos Tevez has emerged as Internazionale's prime summer target, with the Italians willing to offer another Argentinian striker, Diego Milito, plus a load of money in a player-plus-cash deal valued at £30m. And Shaun Wright-Phillips says that apprentices should still be forced to clean first-team players' footwear. "It should still happen because it lets them know that they haven't quite made it yet," he said, as he frantically buffed Gareth Barry's boot.
Arsenal midfielder Denilson has begged £25m Chelsea target Willian to join them instead if he decides to leave Shakhtar Donetsk this summer. "We need match-winners at Arsenal," he said, stating the bleedin' obvious. "I've spoken to him and told him that he could be a success with us." And the 22-year-old might have a chance of moving to the Emirates too, if only he were a tenth of the price and still only 12. Chelsea, meanwhile, are also sniffing around Udinese's £35m-rated Alexis Sanchez, having held preliminary talks with the player's representatives last week, though Manchester City are ready to provide financially-muscled competition.
Rumours were sweeping Spain last night that Manchester United had had a €20m (£17.8m) bid accepted for the Atletico Madrid goalkeeperDavid De Gea, though the club's chief executive insisted that no deal would be done, and furthermore that it wouldn't be before the player's €25m buy-out clause is met, or the summer, or indeed both. "At the end of the season we'll see if he goes or stays," he stonewalled. In other Spain-based news, Bolton have taken a fancy to Espanyol forward Pablo Daniel Osvaldo.
Football-related criminal activity update: Police hunting the criminal who set fire to Andy Carroll's car as it sat in Kevin Nolan's driveway have arrested a man at Newcastle airport. And it has been revealed thatDiego Maradona's 1986 World Cup golden ball, awarded after he was named player of the tournament, was stolen by a mafia clan, melted down and turned into gold bars. "I tried to get it back but it was not possible, it had been melted," said captured mafia supremo Salvatore Lo Russo. "I did give him back four watches that had been stolen, but one of them was not his so he gave it back to me."
Gerard Houllier, who brought the 28-year-old to Lyon in the first place, now wants to sign the Swedish midfielder Kim Kallstrom (pronounced Shell-strerm, Swedish fact-fans) for Aston Villa, with a fee of £6m mooted. Shell-strerm could move into the house of his international team-mate Sebastian Larsson, who seems certain to be leaving Birmingham in a bit of a huff after his agent sniffed that "the new owners have no feelings for Sebastian".
Gareth Barry's 15-year-old nephew Bradley Barry has signed a scholarship deal with Championship new-boys and Uncle Gaz's alma mater, Brighton. Though we have no idea what he looks like the Mill would guess that Bradley is the chap in this picture who looks exactly so much like his Uncle Gaz it's actually unbelievable.
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