Chelsea demand £2m fee for Ba loan to Arsenal

The London rivals are in talks about the Senegal striker moving to the Emirates Stadium for this season, with a medical at London Colney reserved for Monday evening

Chelsea have slapped a £2 million-plus loan fee on Arsenal target Demba Ba.

The London rivals are in talks about the Senegal striker moving to the Emirates Stadium for the rest of the season on loan, having made an initial enquiry on Sunday.

Arsenal have earmarked a medical at their London Colney training headquarters on Monday evening if a deal can be closed.

The transfer is likely to hinge upon the Gunners' willingness to pay the loan fee that Chelsea are demanding for a player who has found himself out of favour under new manager Jose Mourinho.However, Roma have cooled their interest in Ba and have now made a move for Juventus striker Fabio Quagliarella. Sources have told Goal that Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini has flown to Serie A's headquarters in Milan for talks about capturing the 30-year-old before Monday's transfer deadline.

This could give Arsenal a free run at landing Ba, who is their main striker focus in the final hours of the window.

The 28-year-old forward has not even made the bench for Chelsea's last two fixtures, despite being fully fit, and slipped even further down the pecking order when the Blues signed Samuel Eto'o.

With Fernando Torres and Romelu Lukaku also at Stamford Bridge, Ba is unlikely to feature much this season and Chelsea can trim their wage bill by loaning out the forward.

Arsenal had an interest in signing Ba permanently in January when he was at Newcastle but were concerned about his history of knee trouble.

Arsene Wenger wants proven backup for Olivier Giroud, who has begun the season in outstanding form.

The Arsenal manager has failed in a series of bids to land a new forward on a permanent deal this summer and has now adjusted his sights to a loan deal.

Hofmann set to sign Dortmund extension

BVB have confirmed the talented midfielder is on the verge of signing a new deal at Signal Iduna Park

Borussia Dortmund have offered Jonas Hofmann a new contract, according to sporting director Michael Zorc.

The 21-year-old, whose current deal will expire in 2015, has scored one goal and provided four assists in three Bundesliga matches and one DFB-Pokal encounter so far this season.

Zorc, who is impressed by the youngster's abilities, confirmed that the club are in advanced negotiations with the player's agent over a new deal.

"We are currently in talks," the 50-year-old told Kicker.

"It's superb that he made a step forward in his development so quickly. In fact he didn't just take one, but two steps forward."

Hofmann joined Jurgen Klopp's side from the Hoffenheim reserves in 2011 and has recently earned his first cap for the Germany Under-21 team under Horst Hrubesch.

Bale reveals Ronaldo was major factor in Madrid move

The Wales international has nothing but praise for the prolific attacker and has stressed that his hefty price tag will not affect him

Gareth Bale has stated that the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid was one of the reasons why he joined the Liga giants and added that he's looking forward to playing alongside the Portugal star.

The 24-year-old signed a six-year deal with the Blancos on Monday to complete his €100 million move from Tottenham and he's keen to team up with the former Manchester United star. 

"For me Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the world," Bale said at a press conference. "His presence played a big part in my decision to join Madrid. It will be an honour to play alongside him.

"What about penalties and free-kicks? Ronaldo is the boss here at Madrid. Let's see what he says.

"I don't need to help Ronaldo to be the best in the world - he has already shown it."

The Welshman then went on to stress that his hefty price-tag does not put any extra pressure on him and added that he's determined to help Madrid win silverware.

"The transfer fee is not something that affects me. It's something between Madrid and Spurs. It only brings extra pressure if I want it to. 

"The biggest pressure here is to help Madrid win trophies. I want to win silverware here and help the club win the Champions League."

Bale could make his official Madrid debut away against Villarreal on September 13 after the international break.

Juventus sign wonderkid Berardi as Marrone leaves

The Serie A champions have snapped up the Italy Under-19 star, while the holding midfielder has moved to Sassuolo as part of the deal

Juventus have signed Domenico Berardi from Sassuolo while Luca Marrone moves in the opposite direction, both in co-ownership deals.

The Serie A champions had been keeping tabs on the 19-year-old for a while and have now purchased 50 per cent of the attacker's economical rights.

Berardi came through the ranks of the Sassuolo youth academy and had developed into a key player at the Serie A side since making his official first team debut.

He netted 11 goals in 37 appearances last term to help Sassuolo win promotion to Italy's top flight, thus attracting the interest of a number of clubs.

Manchester United had also been linked with the Italy Under-19 star, but Juventus have now won the race for his signature.

Meanwhile, the 23-year-old Marrone will continue his career at Sassuolo after failing to secure regular first-team action at Juve.

The holding midfielder, who can also feature in defence, made 10 league appearances last term, but he has moved away due to the stiff competition for places at the Bianconeri.

Milan loan Petagna to Sampdoria

The Genoa-based club have confirmed they have secured the services of the talented attacker on a temporary basis

Sampdoria have announced the signing of striker Andrea Petagna from AC Milan on a season-long loan basis.

The 18-year-old, who came through the club's youth system, made his professional debut for the Rossoneriin a Champions League group match against Zenit St Petersburg on December 4, 2012, which his team lost 1-0.

He was included in the senior squad full-time at the beginning of this campaign and played his first Serie A match on August 24 against Hellas Verona, where Massimilano Allegri's men were handed a 2-1 defeat.

"I spoke with [Antonio] Nocerino and [Giampaolo] Pazzini," Petagna told Tuttomercatoweb. "They both advised me to choose Sampdoria.

"They spoke well of boss Delio Rossi and I'm really happy. Now I want to feature as much as I can with the Doria jersey."

Ozil undergoes Arsenal medical after agreeing personal terms

The Gunners have agreed a club-record €47 million fee for the Germany international and will complete the deal when formalities are completed


Mesut Ozil is undergoing an Arsenal medical in Germany after agreeing personal terms with the club, Goalcan reveal. 

The Gunners have agreed a €47 million fee with Real Madrid for the Germany international and are confident of completing the deal before Monday night’s 11pm transfer deadline.

Sources have told Goal that Arsenal’s record-breaking move is “very close to being agreed” amid reports of late interest from Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain.

Arsene Wenger will have to smash his wage structure to land Ozil, and as Goal exclusively revealed, senior club officials have been in detailed negotiations with the player’s representatives since Sunday evening.

Ozil is due to meet up with the Germany squad ahead of the World Cup qualifiers this weekend but should have no problem being given dispensation from the national team to have a medical.

It is expected that it would take place at Arsenal's London Colney headquarters but it is understood there is the facility for it to happen in Germany.

As revealed by Goal, goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano has already had a medical, which he passed on Monday morning, and has agreed the terms of a season-long loan from Palermo. Arsenal are also working on a loan deal for Chelsea striker Demba Ba and are still in the running to capture Angel Di Maria, also from Real, for €30m.

The Londoners are most confident of pushing through the Ozil deal, which would more than double their record transfer outlay, after holding high-level talks with Real in recent days.

Wenger turned his attention to Real Madrid’s battery of elite attackers after it became increasingly clear that Gareth Bale was set for a world-record £86m move to Spain.

The Gunners tabled a €30m bid for Di Maria last week and are still waiting to hear from Real if it has been accepted. The Argentine winger has begun the season in impressive form and is reluctant to cut his ties with the Bernabeu.

However, Ozil was left on the bench for Real’s 3-1 win on Sunday after being substituted during the 1-0 win at Granada six days previously, which he reacted to by storming down the tunnel and onto the team bus.

Asked about overlooking Ozil in favour of Di Maria on Sunday, Ancelotti said: “It’s to be expected that he’s not happy. I don’t like players who are happy to be on the bench. It was a football decision to play Di Maria, who is playing well and with great intensity".

Benzema agent dismisses Arsenal links again

The striker's agent dismissed suggestions of a move away from the Bernabeu, with the Gunners believed to be interested in the forward as well as Angel Di Maria & Mesut Ozil

Karim Benzema's agent Karim Djaziri has again insisted that the striker will not leave Real Madrid to joinArsenal, and says he wants to stay the Santiago Bernabeu.

The France international's representative had previously insisted he was not interested in leaving Los Blancos, after Goal had revealed the Gunners' interest in the forward and in winger Angel Di Maria.
"Nothing has changed," Djaziri told BBC Sport. "Karim isn’t joining Arsenal or anybody else. He’s staying at Real Madrid. 

"In any case, he’s joined up with the France team today, and I doubt they’d even allow him to leave to discuss a move."

Arsenal are in advanced talks over a €47 million move for Mesut Ozil, with Carlo Ancelotti's side looking to raise money through player sales following the acquisition of Gareth Bale.

And the former AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain manager had on Saturday hinted at problems with Benzema's attitude.

"Today one thing was very clear. Benzema was whistled a bit, while Di Maria was applauded by whole stadium," Ancelotti told reporters.

"The fans look closely at the players. It's a very clear sign for everyone that hard work is applauded."