Manchester United ready to begin Pedro talks

Pedro: Could move to Manchester United sometime next week

Manchester United will reportedly hold talks with Barcelona this weekend in their bid to beat Liverpool and Chelsea to the signing of forward Pedro.

The Spain international is seen as an ideal replacement for Angel Di Maria, who is rumoured to be closing in on a £45million switch to French giants PSG.

United are due to play Barca in a friendly clash in San Francisco on Saturday evening, hence it would seem the perfect time to open talks over the 27-year-old's potential move to Old Trafford.

Pedro, who has won 51 caps for his country, has a £22million release clause in his contract but United are keen on negotiating that price and will put a payment structure in place that could see the versatile forward complete his move sometime next week.

Louis van Gaal is keen to add to his striking options, following the loss of Robin van Persie to Fenerbahce, and Pedro's ability to play through the middle or out wide is a major factor in LVG's interest. 

Liverpool and Chelsea remain keen, however, but it would seem that United may have stolen a march on their Premier League rivals ahead of the start of the new season.

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Serie C Lupa Castelli consider shock move for Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli

Mario Balotelli: Could be offered a lifeline by Serie C side

Mario Balotelli could be offered the chance to end his Liverpool nightmare - by making a move to ambitious Serie C outfit Lupa Castelli.

Italy striker Balotelli joined the Reds in a £16million deal last summer but failed to settle at Anfield and scored just four goals in all competitions for the club.

Liverpool have signed Christian Benteke and Danny Ings this summer, and with Daniel Sturridge also on their books, they are widely reported to be happy to listen to offers for their Italian misfit.

But with Liverpool so far not finding any suitors for the former AC Milan, Man City and Inter striker, Serie C side Castelli have outlined ambitious plans to sign him on loan.

Speaking to Sky Italiam, Castelli’s club president Marco Amelia said: "Our intention is to bring our friend, Balotelli, here, a player who at this time needs to start afresh because we see that he does not want to play anymore, has fans opposing him and is no longer able to show his quality.

"For Mario, this could be the first step towards cleaning up his act, taking two steps back and showing everyone what he is capable of doing. Six months here would be useful to him to start the path of purification.

"He must regain humility and enthusiasm that allowed him to break into football matters when he was starting out."

Amelia admits a deal for Balotelli looks unlikely, but will still press ahead with plans to ask him.

"It will be difficult, almost impossible, but I will try anyway," he added. "I hope that the importance of the city of Rome and our friendship helps me.

"I’ll try to call Mario Balotelli. On an economic point of view, we’ll see what happens. I think that at this time Mario needs to find the will he needs to compete. It will be tough, it will be almost impossible as it is something that football has never seen, but he could do it.”

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Gossip: Arsenal to beat Liverpool to Reus

Marco Reus: Linked with move to Arsenal

Arsenal will beat Liverpool to Marco Reus, Man City are closing on Kevin de Bruyne and Southampton want James Chester, claim Saturday's papers.

GUNNERS TO MAKE REUS MOVE

Arsenal are set to hijack Liverpool's move for Marco Reus, who looks increasingly likely to leave Borussia Dortmund this summer.

Reus has been linked with a move to Anfield this season with reports in Italy suggesting Liverpool had made an enquiry for the playmaker.

But the Daily Express are reporting that Arsenal, in a story originally published by Tuttomercatoweb, are now ready to move for the midfielder.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is in the market for his marquee signing this summer after landing Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez in previous seasons.

And Arsenal director Lord Harris claims the club are in a position to bring in almost any big name they choose with their £200million transfer kitty, despite Arsene Wenger's denials.

Reus has four years left on his Dortmund contract and would command a fee of around £50million.

DE BRUYNE AGENT SET FOR CITY TALKS

Kevin De Bruyne's agent has flown to England to try and thrash out a deal with Man City for the player.

The Daily Mirror claims that Patrick De Koster has travelled to the UK for follow up talks with Blues director of football Txiki Begiristain.

City have yet to make an official bid for the former Chelsea star, but with Wolfsburg and De Bruyne, in London for the Emirates Cup this weekend, City see it as an ideal chance to press home their interest in the midfielder.

And with their chase of Juventus star Paul Pogba at a stalemate, the Blues want to press on with a deal for De Bruyne, who could cost as much as £60million.

SAINTS JOIN CHESTER CHASE

Southampton boss Ronald Koeman has joined the £10million chase for James Chester - and is ready to battle Everton, Aston Villa, Newcastle, West Brom and Crystal Palace for the Hull defender.

The Daily Mirror claims Saints are in the market for two new centre-backs this summer after missing out to Tottenham Toby Alderweireld and losing Florin Gardos for seven months with a knee injury.

Belgian international Alderweireld, 26, opted for an £11.2million switch to Spurs from Atletico Madrid ahead of joining the south coast outfit on a permanent deal following a successful season on loan at St Mary's.

Romania ace Gardos, 26, won't play again until February after being crocked in Thursday's 3-0 pre-season friendly win over Feyenoord.

That leaves Koeman with Jose Fonte and Maya Yoshida as his only fit and experienced central defenders going into the new campaign.

Chester has forced his way on to Koeman's wish list after delivering a string of impressive performances for the Tigers last term, which earned him a Wales call-up.

Hull chief Steve Bruce is resigned to losing a string of his top stars following the Yorkshire side's relegation to the Championship - and Chester is already a prime target for a host of top-flight predators.

The Warrington-born defender, who can also operate at right-back, was a £300,000 snip from Manchester United four years ago.

But his valuation has soared after two impressive seasons in the top flight with a string of clubs keen to sign him this summer.

Chester, who has a year left on contract at the KC Stadium, is eager to continue plying his trade in the Premier League.

And Hull are reportedly happy to cash in if their asking price is met.

AND THE REST

- PSG expect to leave North America next weekend with £45.9million Angel Di Maria as their player (various)

- QPR boss Chris Ramsey admits it is "unlikely" that top-scorer Charlie Austin will stay at Loftus Road (Daily Mirror)

- Edin Dzeko is heading for the Manchester City exit after manager Manuel Pellegrini revealed why he's not playing the striker (Daily Mirror)

- West Brom have made a £6million bid for Sevilla midfielder Vicente Iborra (Daily Mirror)

- Stoke are struggling to get Dynamo Kiev winger Andriy Yarmolenko to join the club (Daily Mirror)

- Aston Villa are on the verge of a treble swoop for Esteban Cambiasso, Rudy Gestede and Jordan Ayew (The Sun)

- West Brom are set to move for Krasnodar midfielder Charles Kabore (The Sun)

- Wigan will make a £1.5million swoop for Chesterfield winger Sam Clucas (The Sun)

- Zlatan Ibrahimovic has opened the door to a surprise Manchester United switch after admitting he would be happy to work under Louis van Gaal (Daily Mail)

- Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is refusing to give up on his long-term dream of landing Karim Benzema this summer. The Gunners have had an initial enquiry rebuffed (Daily Mail)

- Lyon manager Hubert Fournier has warned suitors that he expects his sought-after France international forward Alexandre Lacazette to remain at the club (Daily Mail)

- Marc Bartra has rubbished suggestions he wants to leave Barcelona and has reiterated his desire to stay at the Nou Camp.

- Newly-promoted Norwich are eyeing ex-Bolton and Sunderland full-back Marcos Alonso.

- Arsenal are hopeful that Theo Walcott could sign a new contract before the start of the season The Independent)

- Newcastle lead the race to land £12million-rated Bordeaux striker Diego Rolan.

- Mohamed Salah is on the verge of a move to Roma after the Italian club reached agreement with Chelsea to take the Egypt winger on loan, at a cost of about £2million, with a view to a £14million move next summer (The Times)

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Brendan Rodgers backs new striker Christian Benteke to be a big hit at Liverpool

Christian Benteke: Joined Liverpool for £32.5m (picture courtesy of Liverpool FC)

Brendan Rodgers has dismissed claims that Christian Benteke doesn't fit into Liverpool's style, saying he'll "get all types of goals" at Anfield.

The Belgian completed a £32.5million move from Aston Villa on Wednesday and despite an impressive return of roughly a goal every other game at the Midlands club, there have been suggestions that Benteke might be ill-suited to the passing game preferred by Rodgers.

The Ulsterman though has no such concerns and has backed his new striker to make a real impact at Anfield.

"There’s a number of qualities that he has and he will only improve in his time at the club," he told the club’s official website.

"I think first and foremost his goals, if you look at his goals record since the time that he’s been in the Premier League he's up there with the best in terms of numbers. So that was very important for us.

"Obviously I've heard and I've seen stuff about the style, 'he won't fit the style of how we play' - I think he'll only complement it and help us."

Rodgers insists that Benteke has all the attributes to enhance Liverpool’s attacking options and thinks he can only get better.

"He’s a big guy but he’s got the attributes that I like in terms of pace and movement and he gets goals, he gets all types of goals," he added.

“He's great in the air, strong, he can hold the game up, he can play on the counter-attack, he can play whenever the team is deep because he can hold the ball up with his physical strength.

“As I said, he's a boy that still is improving in his game so I don’t think there’s any doubt he'll fit our tactical idea of the game and he can be a huge player for us.”

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Jordon Ibe wants starting spot at Liverpool

Jordon Ibe: In acti9on against a Malaysian XI on Friday

Jordon Ibe is hoping he can continue to have an impact in the Liverpool first team after scoring a stunning equaliser in their 1-1 draw with a Malaysia XI.

The Reds fell behind after Patrick 'Ronaldinho' Wleh netted the opener, but Ibe struck a powerful equaliser with his left-foot before the half-hour mark in their pre-season clash.

“I was pleased," Ibe told LFC TV. "The gaffer's been working with me in training to make sure I have an end product and get a shot off.

“I was lucky enough to cut inside and get a shot off and get a goal."

Ibe made 12 Premier League appearances for Liverpool during the second half of last season, and has impressed so far on their pre-season tour.

The 19-year-old has been earmarked as a replacement for Raheem Sterling, but knows the arrival of Danny Ings, Roberto Firmino and Christian Benteke at Anfield means he will have to produce to claim a place in Brendan Rodgers' side.

“In the front three, you need to have an end product so to get assists and goals is important.

“It's good to get them in pre-season, now I want to get them in the Premier League.

“The number one aim for me is to get goals when I get the chance.”

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