SOCCER NEWS ROUND-UP:BARCELONA ARE to submit an increased offer, worth about €37 million, for Emmanuel Adebayor after Arsenal privately conceded they were prepared to sell the unsettled Togo striker if the price was right.
An initial offer of about €30 million from the Catalan club was rejected this week because the Gunners are determined to secure a fee that reflects the value of a player who cost them only €5.3 million from Monaco 18 months ago but has improved immeasurably under Arsene Wenger.
Adebayor has been a revelation since moving to England and scored 30 goals in all competitions last season as Arsenal remained in contention for the Premier League title and European Cup before running out of steam in the last three months of the campaign.
Wenger was initially resistant to interest from Milan and Barcelona but he has grown weary of the mixed messages he has received from Adebayor and the 24-year-old striker's agent, Stephane Courbis, with Adebayor veering from pledging his future to the club one minute to suggesting it would be better for all parties if he were allowed to move on the next. He earns around €44,000 a week at the Emirates and has been keen to secure a more lucrative deal.
Arsenal had been prepared to enter into negotiations but it appears the Togo forward has now burned his bridges with the club. That will pave the way for a move to Camp Nou - Milan having hinted they could not afford the player - but, even though Arsenal's price will soon be met, the timing of the deal will depend on how swiftly the Gunners lure a replacement. Wenger's first choice is believed to be Blackburn Rovers' Roque Santa Cruz, who impressed during a prolific first season in the Premier League, but Manchester United have also expressed a tentative interest in the Paraguayan.
The new Rovers manager, Paul Ince, will resist attempts to lure Santa Cruz away and expects both the striker and David Bentley, the subject of interest from Tottenham Hotspur, to report back for pre-season training on Monday. But the Lancashire club are realistic and a substantial offer for the forward would be likely to secure him for Arsenal.
Wenger is understood to be disappointed by Adebayor's attitude and recognises there is no value in retaining the services of a player who feels his future does not lie at the Emirates.
Manchester United, meanwhile, are insisting no decision has yet been made as to whether Cristiano Ronaldo will need surgery on his right ankle.
Reports have suggested the Portugal winger could be out for up to six weeks. But United, who issued a statement last night about Ronaldo's injury, are baffled by those comments.
A club spokesman reiterated: "Procedures are in place to seek specialist advice, in order to finalise the treatment plan as soon as possible."
On Wednesday night they had stated: "Manchester United medical staff met with the medical team from the Portuguese FA and Cristiano Ronaldo in Lisbon today regarding the ongoing treatment of his injured right ankle.
"As a result, further specialist advice is being sought and an announcement will be made on any action in due course."
Should it be decided an operation is required, it could have a major impact over the Madeira-born winger's fitness for the start of the new season.
That in turn may determine how far Real Madrid are willing to push their attempts to lure him away from Old Trafford.
Ronaldo is not due back in England for another fortnight and manager Alex Ferguson is yet to speak to him about the large number of statements from Madrid - which went unchecked by the player - during Euro 2008.
Eventually, United grew so sick of Real's advances that they reported the matter to Fifa, although the world governing body subsequently rejected it. Ronaldo refused to comment on his future when he returned to Portugal after a break in Italy.
France coach Raymond Domenech will remain in charge of the national team despite their poor performance at Euro 2008. Domenech's side were knocked out in the group stage which prompted a meeting of the French Football Federation's (FFF) Federal Council in Paris yesterday.
A statement on the FFF's website, fff.fr, read: "Jean-Pierre Escalettes of the federal committee can confirm that Raymond Domenech will continue as France's national team coach as the team prepare to qualify for the 2010 World Cup."
Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano has been named in Argentina's Olympic squad. Manager Rafael Benitez had expressed concerns about losing such an important player for up to a month from late July and had hoped Mascherano, as an over-age player, would opt not to compete.
But the 24-year-old has been named in Sergio Batista's 18-man party along with other high-profile players such as Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Juan Roman Riquelme.
It means Mascherano will miss the start of the English Premier League and both legs of the Champions League third-round qualifier on August 12th and 27th.
Guardian Service
