LUKA MODRIC HOPES OF REAL MADRID TRANSFER DASHED AS CLUB SAYS 'THEY WON'T PAY 40M'

Manager Andre Villas Boas has previously said that Modric will not move unless their £40million fee is matched.

 He said: "This can be resolved in one of two ways. One is that the teams pay what Tottenham is asking and the other is that the player continues with us next season."

 According to Spanish sources, Real Madrid are unwilling to pay the huge fee set by Tottenham.

 Manager Andre Villas Boas has previously said that Modric will not move unless their £40million fee is matched.

 He said: "This can be resolved in one of two ways. One is that the teams pay what Tottenham is asking and the other is that the player continues with us next season."

 According to sources, Real Madrid are unwilling to pay the huge fee set by Tottenham.

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New Barca deal for Mascherano

Javier Mascherano has officially signed a new contract with Barcelona that will keep him at the Nou Camp until 2016 and increases his buy-out clause to €100 million.

 Argentina international Mascherano joined Barca from Liverpool for €22 million in 2010 and has racked up nearly 100 appearances for the club having been converted from a defensive midfielder into a centre-back.

 "I am very happy that a club as big as this has offered to extend my contract and I can feel relaxed that as long as I do things well, I can stay here for many more years," Mascherano said.

 The 28-year-old, along with Sergio Busquets, is the only player that hasn't missed a single match due to injury since the 2010-11 season and is full of confidence for the coming campaign under a new manager.

 "The leader is now Tito Vilanova and he will try to adapt his footballing tastes to the team, but the important thing is that in most ways, it will be much the same as ever," he said.

 Although the former River Plate, Corinthians and West Ham United player has impressed with his defence qualities at Barcelona, he is yet to score a goal for the club. Meanwhile, Barca captain Carles Puyol has said he wants to stay at the club until he retires - and that there will be no problem in agreeing a new deal with the club.

 Puyol's current contract only runs until next summer but after a difficult few months during which he missed the European Championships due to a knee injury, the 34-year-old defender is desperate to get back onto the field of play for the start of the season.

 He told sports newspaper Marca: "I have always felt very valued by the club, the fans, my teammates and the manager. I can't have any complaints.

 There isn't going to be any problem and the talks are on the right track. "I have changed my idea (about the experience of playing at another club) and now I want to retire here. I will try to do so. I have the will and desire to continue playing if the club wants me. What I don't want though is for me to become a drag, I am very clear on this.

 "It has been a hard summer, I have to train a lot but it has borne fruit. I am happy to be already with the team. I always try to take care of myself as much as possible. I will try to contribute everything to the team, to win everything and then we will see what happens.''

 As part of Puyol's off-season recuperation programme he spent a lot of time training with David Villa as the striker also missed the Euros on his way back from a serious injury suffered in December and Puyol believes Spain's all-time leading international goalscorer is progressing well after nearly eight months out of the game.

 "He looks good, hungry, excited and with a lot of intensity in the training sessions. When you have an injury like this though it is important to not rush back and return in good condition.''

 With Jordi Alba's return to the club the only significant move Barca have made in the transfer market all summer, the major change has come on the sidelines where Tito Vilanova has stepped up to from his role as assistant to succeed Pep Guardiola as manager but Puyol has no doubt Vilanova will bring his own skills to the job. "Here everyone is important.

 Tito is very valued, we believe he will offer us a lot. He will do his job and we will do ours. Here we all pull in the same direction and we all have our part to play.''

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Official : West Ham agree loan fee with Liverpool

West Ham United have agreed a £2m loan fee with Liverpool for Andy Carroll. The season-long deal for the England striker would be with a view to a permanent transfer of £17m, provided West Ham stay in the Premier League.

 However, it is thought the 23-year-old does not wish to leave Liverpool on a permanent basis.

 The Reds turned down a bid from Newcastle to re-sign the player, having bought him from the Magpies for a club record fee of £35m in January 2011.

 Carroll, who scored one goal for his country at Euro 2012, has struggled since his big-money move, having scored just 11 goals in 56 appearances.

 He appears to have become surplus to requirements at Anfield following the arrival of former Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers and the signing of Italian striker Fabio Borini from Roma.

 Newcastle manager Alan Pardew had hoped to bring the former Toon Army favourite back to the club.

 Rodgers had said Liverpool would not consider a loan move for the player, but the Northern Irishman now appears prepared to allow Carroll, 23, to link up with former Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce at Upton Park.

 Carroll had also been linked with a transfer to Italian side AC Milan.

 The striker began his career at Newcastle, spending a season on loan at Preston, before returning to the club and becoming top-scorer in the 2009-10 season as the Magpies returned to the Premier League.

 Carroll collected a League Cup winner's medal with Liverpool last season, starting in the Wembley final against Cardiff City.

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Liverpool Accept Offer For Alberto Aquilani And Close In On Swansea star

Liverpool have accepted an undisclosed offer – believed to be around £7 million – from Fiorentina for midfield misfit Alberto Aquilani.

 The Italian has flown home from the Reds’ pre-season tour of the United States to finalise the move.

 Liverpool boss Brendan Rogers is set to spend to proceeds on Swansea and Team GB star Joe Allen, who is valued at around £15 million.

 Signed for £20 million from Roma by Rafa Benitez, Aquilani never settled on Merseyside and has spent the last two seasons on loan in his native Italy.

 The 28-year-old made just two appearances under Roy Hodgson and none under Kenny Dalglish but Rodgers appeared ready to give the playmaker a fresh start at Anfield.

 But the Northern Irish tactician has been told to sell before he can buy and has accepted a considerable loss on the Italian, who still has two years remaining on his Liverpool contract.

 The Reds are expected to make a formal offer for Allen as soon as Aquilani completes his move to Florence. A clause in Allen’s contract means Liverpool must pay £15 million for the 22-year-old pass-master.

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Chelsea In Talks to Sign £47m Trio as Blues Look to Continue Massive Spending Spree

CHELSEA have not finished spending yet, according to chief executive Ron Gourlay. They have already splashed out nearly £65m since last season, bringing in Eden Hazard, Oscar, Marko Marin and Eden’s brother Thorgan. But the club are now in negotiations to make three more additions.

 “It was clear there were areas where we had to strengthen if the right players became available,” said Gourley. “We’ve done that and are still looking at one or two positions.”

 Indeed it seems that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich means business and is ready to flex his financial muscles further this summer having already brought in three signings this summer.

 Though the West London side did clinch their maiden Champions League triumph the Blues did fall back some 25 points off the Premier League pace and the Chelsea owner will know that in order to make up that gap money must be spent and the three players earmarked by this source all fill areas that could well do with improvement.

 Report believes that Chelsea will launch a £32m bid for Napoli forward Edinson Cavani, a player who the club went up against in European competition last term and a player who has been in a rich vein of form over the past two seasons.

 Perhaps Roberto Di Matteo is looking to find a replacement for Didier Drogba whilst also not being all too sure of how £50m man Fernando Torres will fare in the coming campaign.

 The Uruguayan international has racked up 66 goals over the past two seasons and may well be keen on a move to Stamford Bridge, not least because his Serie A side failed to clinch a Champions League berth and have also offloaded one of his striking team-mates, Ezeqiuel Lavezzi, to PSG.

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Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand charged over Twitter comment

The centre-back is accused of bringing the game into disrepute following a message on the social networking site, in which he referred to Chelsea's Ashley Cole as a "choc-ice".

 The charge is believed to relate to the aftermath of John Terry's race trial, at which he was acquitted, when Ferdinand quoted a tweet calling Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole, who was a witness for the defence, a "choc-ice."

 The term was in reference to Cole's testimony in court, in which he said that he did not hear Terry make a racist comment to Anton Ferdinand, brother of Rio, during the Blues' match against QPR last October at Loftus Road.

 Ferdinand later defended his remark on Twitter, stating: "What I said is not a racist term. It is a type of slang [or] term used by many for someone who is being fake. So there."

 The FA said in a statement: "The allegation is that the player acted in a way which was improper and/or brought the game into disrepute by making comments which included a reference to ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race." Ferdinand will have until Thursday to answer the charge.

 Terry was also charged by the FA with improper conduct last week for the original comments made to Anton Ferdinand, which the Chelsea captain immediately declared that he would contest.

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Man City ease to Malaysia XI victory

Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero starred in Manchester City's 3-1 win over a Malaysia XI in Kuala Lumpur, showing Roberto Mancini there is little reason to fear missing out on signing Robin van Persie this summer.

 Mancini has expressed concern that the Arsenal striker could opt to join Juventus or Manchester United - which prompted Tevez and Aguero to give a reminder of their talents.

 Aguero scored one and assisted two, with Tevez and Adam Johnson also on the score sheet.

 Aguero fired a warning shot when he hit the bar inside the first ten minutes - although he should have done better, as he somehow failed to convert an open goal after Tevez rounded the goalkeeper and laid the ball into his path.

 Argentina international Aguero made up for that miss a few minutes later when he produced a superb opening goal, drifting past a handful of defenders in the penalty box before dinking the ball over goalkeeper Farizal Marlias with the outside of his right foot.

 City were able to get into dangerous areas with ease, often finding space in behind the home defence, and Tevez rifled a left-footed half-volley just wide from inside the penalty area, having been slotted in by a lofted through ball from Aguero.

 Much of the hosts' defending was verging on desperate as City flooded forward, safe in the knowledge their backline had little to deal with. But Mancini's side, for all their dominance of the contest and tenacious attacking, only led by one at the interval.

 They did find a second shortly after the break: Aguero, dropping into midfield, turned and slotted a pass through for Tevez, who hit a left-footed shot across the goalkeeper and into the corner.

 Aguero also made City's third, setting up England international Johnson to volley home, with the goalkeeper static.

 The former Atletico Madrid striker was withdrawn with 20 minutes remaining, having taken the game under his spell from the early stages.

 His exit was the cue for City to take their foot off the gas, and Malaysia XI pulled one back on 86 minutes through Azamuddin Akil. City now have three friendlies left before the Community Shield against Chelsea on August 12.

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