Ignazio Abate signs AC Milan contract extension

Ignazio Abate: In action last season

Italy defender Ignazio Abate has ended speculation over his future by signing a new four-year deal with AC Milan.

Abate was out of contract at the end of the month but he will now stay at the San Siro until 2019.

The 28-year-old right-back, who came through the youth ranks with Milan, had been linked with moves to Manchester United and Liverpool.

Abate made his senior debut for the Rossoneri in 2003 and at 17 years and 27 days, set the record as the youngest Milan player to ever play in the Champions League.

He was loaned out for five years to various clubs before returning to Milan in 2009 and played a key role in helping the club win their 18th Scudetto two years later.

The 28-year-old has made over 150 appearances for Milan and won 20 international caps.

“The club announce that Ignazio Abate has prolonged his contract until 30 June, 2019,” Milan confirmed on their website

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Reds target Montoya to leave Barca

Martin Montoya: Set to leave Barcelona

Martin Montoya is set to leave Barcelona this summer, with Sevilla ready to fight Liverpool for the right-back's signature.

Montoya made 10 starts in all competitions this season for Treble winners Barca but the right-sided 24-year-old's future at the Nou Camp appears bleak following developments over recent days.

Dani Alves performed a U-turn after the Champions League final to sign a new contract at Barca, while the signing of Aleix Vidal from Sevilla was confirmed on Monday.

Vidal cannot be registered until January when Barca's transfer ban end, but Marca reports that Montoya, who was persuaded not to leave the Nou Camp last winter, will make a swift exit from the club he joined as an eight-year-old.

Liverpool have been tracking the defender as a possible replacement for the departing Glen Johnson, but Sevilla are also understood to be lining up a move for Montoya to replace Vidal.

Barcelona-born Montoya has a contract at the Nou Camp until 2018.

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Zenden open to Liverpool role

Bolo Zenden: Would pack his bags for Liverpool

Former Liverpool winger Bolo Zenden would be willing to return to Anfield this summer as part of Brendan Rodgers' backroom team.

The Reds are on the hunt for a new assistant manager and first-team coach after Colin Pascoe and Mike Marsh were sacked last week following a review of Liverpool's season by chairman Tom Werner and FSG executive Mike Gordon.

Rafael Benítez's former assistant Pako Ayestaran, Sami Hyypia and ex-Manchester United first-team coach Rene Meulensteen are reported to have been considered for roles on Rodgers' coaching team, but Zenden is open to a return to the club he made 47 appearances for between 2005 and 2007.

"I keep all options open for the new season," the 38-year-old told De Telegraaf. "I always enjoyed my time in the Premier League."

Zenden, a former winger with 54 Holland caps, worked as an assistant to Benitez during the Spaniard's brief reign as Chelsea's interim manager in 2013. He has since been working with PSV Eindhoven's Under-19s alongside his role as a TV pundit.

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Mancini doubts Kovacic move

Mateo Kovacic: Wanted by Liverpool

Roberto Mancini believes Mateo Kovacic will stay at Inter Milan this summer, despite interest in the Croatia midfielder from Liverpool.

The Reds have been linked with a move for the 21-year-old, with reports in his homeland claiming personal terms had already been agreed.

Inter were said to have already rejected an offer from Liverpool in the region of £15million, and though the Nerrazzuri were understood to be open to a possible player-plus-cash deal, boss Mancini currently believes Kovacic will remain in Milan.

"At the moment there's nothing, I think he'll stay," the coach told Sky Sport Italia.

"I don't think we'll sell our top players, I don't think that's a risk."

Mancini believes Kovacic has great potential, which is certain to appeal to Brendan Rodgers and the Liverpool hierarchy.

"He'll become a champion," Mancini said. "Of course, he's still lacking some things, but he's improved a lot, and I think that's showed."

See what Kovacic could bring Liverpool...

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Raheem Sterling and Charlie Austin among most likely to move, according to study

Charlie Austin is the most likely player to move in Europe, according to a study

QPR’s Charlie Austin is the most likely player in Europe to move clubs this summer, while Raheem Sterling is third in a list published by the Football Observatory.

The team of statisticians are from a research group in the International Centre for Sports Studies which was founded in 1995 as a joint-venture between FIFA and the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. The Football Observatory was established in 2005 and has carried out studies for both FIFA and UEFA.

Their most recent report looks at players from the top five leagues in Europe that could be set for the exit door.

It also predicts the fee clubs can expect to receive, and they have an 80% success rate according to the data compiled by the statisticians over the last two transfer windows. The most valuable player in the list this time round is Sterling who is priced up at an eye-watering £60m.

Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette could very well be moving in to Liverpool this summer. It would be viewed as a marquee signing and a £28.6m fee is attached.

Nathaniel Clyne is another player that could be heading to Anfield but Liverpool would have to considerably increase their £10m offer to at least £15.2m to get their man.

Alexis Sanchez is valued at a healthy £55m and despite just finishing his first season with Arsenal he is ranked a surprisingly high 41 in the list.

Yannick Ferreira Carrasco, someone Sanchez will be familiar with after he helped Monaco dump Arsenal out of the Champions League, is 47th and could move for £16m.

Antoine Griezmann and Miralem Pjanic both feature outside the top 70, but their parent clubs could very well command £47m for the former and £25.4m for the latter if they do move on.

Griezmann has been linked with a move to Chelsea and Pjanic has attracted admiring glances from a number of Premier League suitors.

Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Manchester United have all been allied with an interest in Ilkay Gundogan and he could be set to move from Borussia Dortmund, according to this study and his ranking of eighth.

United have also been linked with a player closer to home in Harry Kane and he sits in 47th position with a predicted transfer fee of £42.9m.

Philippe Coutinho, Saido Berahino and Europa League sensation Carlos Bacca all take their respective positions in the top 100, albeit outside the top 30.

Players with one remaining year on their contracts are heavily represented as teams look to receive a fee to avoid the situation of a Bosman ruling transfer.

The study shows the greatest transfer probability is often for players from recently relegated clubs but this does not mean high profile players will be exempt from big money moves.

The Football Observatory’s top 50 players most likely to move:

1. Charlie Austin (QPR) £8.1m

2. Albin Ekdal (Cagliari) £2.7m

3. Raheem Sterling (Liverpool) £60m

4. Jose Mauri (Parma) £2.8m

5. Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon) £28.6m

6. Raphael Guerreiro (Lorient) £6.4m

7. Alberto Paloschi (Chievo) £3.7m

8. Ilkay Gundogan (Dortmund) £13.5m

9. Daniel Wass (Evian TG) £1.6m

10. Elias Kachunga (Paderborn) £1.5m

11. Tomer Hemed (Almería) £1m

12. Fabián Orellana (Celta Vigo) £3.8m

13. Romain Metanire (Metz) £0.8m

14. Bouna Sarr (Metz) £1.1m

15. Nabil Fekir (Lyon) £20.8m

16. Jordan Ayew (Lorient) £10.5m

17. Gregoire Defrel (Cesena) £4.8m

18. Oliver Sorg (Freiburg) £1.6m

19. Shinji Okazaki (Mainz) £2.8m

20. Raul Bobadilla (Augsburg) £2.8m

21. Roberto Firmino (Hoffenheim) £16m

22. Christian Gentner (Stuttgart) £1.5m

23. Adrien Thomasson (Evian TG) £1.1m

24. Wissam Ben Yedder (Toulouse) £6m

25. Pablo Chavarría (Lens) £0.7m

26. Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli) £27.4m

27. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Dortmund) £11.6m

28. Tom Huddlestone (Hull City) £3.7m

29. Franco Di Santo (Werder Bremen) £5.7m

30. Jonathan Schmid (Freiburg) £2.8m

31. Kevin Mirallas (Everton) £5.3m

32. Branimir Hrgota (M’gladbach) £3.1m

33. Pablo Sarabia (Getafe) £3m

34. Vladimír Darida (Freiburg) £4.4m

35. Stefano Okaka (Sampdoria) £4.6m

36. Saido Berahino (WBA) £16.6m

37. Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) £55m

38. Elseid Hysaj (Empoli) £4.1m

39. Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan) £20.9m

40. Johannes Geis (Mainz) £5.4m

41. Martín Caceres (Juventus) £1.7m

42. Wylan Cyprien (Lens) £1.7m

43. Uwe Hünemeier (Paderborn) £0.7m

44. Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull City) £2.3m

45. Yannick Ferreira Carrasco (Monaco) £16m

46. Roman Neustadter (Schalke) £3.3m

47. Harry Kane (Tottenham) £42.9m

48. Ryad Boudebouz (Bastia) £2.1m

49. Graziano Pelle (Southampton) £11.6m

50. Andreas Weimann (Aston Villa) £2.9m

Notable other players in the top 100 players most likely to move this summer:

51. Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool) £40.6m

69. Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton) £15.2m

74. Joao Moutinho (Monaco) £7.9m

80. Miralem Pjanic (Roma) £25.4m

88. Carlos Bacca (Sevilla) £16.5m

91. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) £47.5m

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