The Sports Pages
Big-spending Manchester City are in talks to add another signing to another signing to their ever-growing ranks, with the Eastlands club targeting £30m-rated Brazilian midfielder Ramires (Daily Mirror). Ramires, who is believed to be rated at around £30m by his Portuguese club, is sought as a second-choice after negotiations have Aston Villa over midfielder James Milner have stalled.
In additional Man City news, the club are apparently on the verge of signing Inter Milan forward Mario Balotelli for £23m (Daily Mail), though Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will apparently rule out any possibility of leaving Spanish champs Barcelona to join him (The Sun)
Meanwhile, Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko is ready for a season-long loan move to Portuguese.side Sporting Lisbon (Daily Mail), with Real Madrid striker Raul seen as an ideal replacement (The Sun). Madrid legend Raul is available on a free transfer and has caught Spurs boss Harry Redknapp’s attention after Seville striker Luis Fabiano had rejected a move to London.
Finally, Jose Mourinho is apparently looking to complete a move for Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho (Daily Mirror), who the Portugese boss has managed under both Chelsea and Porto. With persisting rumours of an Ashley Cole bid, it appears Mourinho is prioritising Real Madrid’s defence, and not looking too far in doing so.
