Del Piero offered a new deal; Milan to rescue Balotelli from City

Del Piero offered a new deal

Juventus have opened talks with club legend Alessandro Del Piero over a contract extension to his current deal.

With Del Piero’s current contract expiring at the end of the season, the club officials are eager to keep hold of their star player and are ready to offer him a one-year rolling contract.

Juventus sporting director Beppe Marotta had previously hinted at the possibility of Del Piero leaving at the end of the season but things have changed and the Bianconeri now want to keep the forward at Olimpico.

However, since Marotta and Del Neri are looking to reinforce the attacking department in January, it remains to be seen whether Del Piero would be prepared to play second fiddle at Juve.

The players has expressed his desire to play for Juve at the new stadium and the club officials are prepared to grant him that wish provided he accepts a pay cut when signing a new contract.

[Source: La Gazzetta dello Sport]

Milan to rescue Balotelli from City

AC Milan are ready to pounce for Manchester City unsettled star Mario Balotelli, who watched the Rossoneri beat Inter last night at Giuseppe Meazza.

The Italian forward picked up an injury at the start of his career at Eastlands and has so far failed to justify the money invested in him.

Balotelli, who had confessed to being a Milan fan, attended the derby game at Giuseppe Meazza last night, sparking speculation of his possible transfer to Milan.

The club’s vice president Adriano Galliani has confessed that he would like to see Balotelli at Milan one day, and with the player clearly unhappy at City, the Rossoneri could make an offer for the Italy international in January.

After signing Ibrahimovic and Robinho last summer, Milan have set their sights on yet another big name signing and nobody should be surprised if Silvio Berlusconi succeeds in bringing Balotelli to San Siro.

[Source: Daily Mail]

Arsenal target expected to sign a new deal

Fulham boss Mark Hughes believes keeper Mark Schwarzer is close to signing a new deal despite interest from Arsenal.

The Australia international has attracted a lot of attention since making his move to Fulham and he was on the verge of joining Arsenal in the summer, but Mark Hughes believes he’ll be able to hold on to the 38-year-old goalie.

“The saves he made today – that’s the quality of the keeper we’ve got and that’s why we’re working so hard to keep him here.

“If we’re going to be successful, we need a quality keeper and that’s certainly what Mark is. He knows what we provide and knows the environment very well. He’s not just got good players on the field of play, but a huge support staff behind him.

“He knows that the environment which has been created at Fulham is second to none. When you get to the latter stage of a career you have to be able to recover well and have all the up-to-date information in terms of recovery.

“What Mark has got is a real presence. With all the top keepers they have a presence and that permeates towards their team-mates.”

Having never played for a Top 4 side before, Schwarzer could jump at the chance to join Arsenal, although everything will depend on whether Fulham would be prepared to let him go.

[Source: The Sun]

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