Bastos wants permanent Schalke move; Eredivisie giants keen on Arsenal starlet

Bastos wants permanent Schalke move

Lyon winger Michel Bastos has made it clear that he does not plan to return to Stade Gerland when his loan deal at Schalke comes to an end.

The Brazilian midfielder joined the Miners on loan in the January transfer window after none of the interested clubs were ready to meet Lyon’s asking price.

Bastos has since impressed at Veltins Arena and he is hoping to finally leave Lyon on permanent basis.

“I’d rather Schalke bought me from Lyon,” the highly rated midfielder confessed to Sport Bild. “I would like to remain at the club for a long time”

However, it appears the Bundesliga side don’t have the means to buy out the player’s contract but they instead plan to loan him for another season.

“We want to loan Bastos for another year, that’s for sure,” Schalke general manager Horst Heldt was quoted as saying.

Michel Bastos arrived at Veltins Arena as a replacement for Ibrahim Afellay and he went on to score 4 goals in 10 competitive appearances for the Miners.

Eredivisie giants keen on Arsenal starlet

Dutch sides PSV Eindhoven and Twente are showing interest in Arsenal youngster Kyle Ebecilio, according to Algemeen Dagblad.

The player’s youth contract at the Emirates is due to expire at the end of the campaign, which has alerted the interested clubs.

Ebecilio has been offered a new one-year deal by the Gunners, according to the agency representing the player.

“Kyle has been offered a one-year contract in London,” P4P Sports Group representative was quoted as saying in Algemeen Dagblad.

“But, there is plenty of interest from the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. We will not reveal the names of the clubs, but these are big clubs. Kyle will make his decision this month.”

PSV Eindhoven and Twente are reportedly keen to lure the talented midfielder to Dutch Eredivisie, but they face stiff competition from other interested sides.

Ebecilio has largely impressed playing for Arsenal reserves and the Under-18s since arriving from Feyenoord in 2010, so it is quite surprising that the Gunners haven’t done more to tie the player down to a long-term contract.

Portuguese hotshot set for City trial

Portuguese newspaper A Bola has learned that Leiria youngster Diogo Izata was invited for a trial by Manchester City.

The Citizens have been alerted of the player’s potential a while back and they had an opportunity to watch him in action at an Under-16 tournament held in France.

Manchester City scouts were quite happy with the midfielder’s showings and have invited him for a week-long trial.

Izata, 16, travels to Eastlands on Monday and he will have an opportunity to persuade the Citizens to offer him a long-term contract.

The talented footballer has yet to be handed a senior debut at UD Leiria, but he has made a total of five appearances for Portugal Under-16 side.

Manchester City had established a good relationship with the Portuguese club when Cameroonian player Guirlain Kuate moved to Etihad Stadium last summer.

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