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Luis Fabiano has come out today and told the world that he would like nothing more than to join Tottenham this summer (despite previously dismissing a move a few weeks back) claiming that the North London outfit are a smaller team than Sevilla…does he have no shame?

The Brazilian has attracted many top clubs this summer after producing good performances in the World Cup finals in South Africa earlier this month.

Manchester United, Milan and of course Spurs all expressed their interest in acquiring the striker’s services, after he made it clear that he will be leaving Spain during the summer window. However, with his favoured moves to both Milan and United now looking remote as the days go by, the Brazilian has made a dramatic u-turn and opted for a move to Whit Hart Lane instead. Speaking to ESPN today, the striker stated:

“I must admit it’s only in the last few weeks I have understood just how big Spurs’ ambition is.”

You can’t help but burst out with laughter after reading the striker comments, especially after dismissing the move to Spurs altogether. A few months ago he slated Spurs and their ambitions, now the 29-year-old is praising them because other interests have cooled down. Harry Redknapp will not mind this of course, all the Englishman is concerned about is bringing in the right faces for the club this summer and Fabiano is possibly one of them. Redknapp pinpointed the striker as a possible target this summer which could help the club in their European adventures and of course domestic competitions.

In regards to Fabiano’s latest comments, it’s clear to see that players in today’s modern game have no shame. Footballers love to tout themselves from club to club even if they have already slated or belittled an interested club one week, and want to join them the next. Javier Mascherano is a fine example of a player that does this on a weekly basis. The midfielder is constantly yapping on about how he would love to play for Barcelona or Inter Milan this upcoming season but struggles to remember that he is in fact a Liverpool player. Arsenal’s Andrey Arshavin is another example of a player that clearly wants a move away from the North London outfit, and the only way he’s going to get it is by praising other clubs in the process. Emmanuel Adebayor was also tipped to make a move to A.C Milan before he signed for money-bags Manchester City last season.

Luis Fabiano isn’t the only shameful footballer that has ever readjusted his appraisal of a club in order for a move; in fact it has become somewhat of a trend these days, as shown by the examples above. Fabiano couldn’t obtain his preferred move to either United or Milan this season, so is now settling for second best, which in this case is Spurs. The simple truth is footballers will do anything and everything in order to get what they want, even if it means looking like a complete idiot which Fabiano looks right now.

What do you guys think of players touting for moves?

Follow me on Twitter – http://twitter.com/TMer4kl1

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Click on image to see a gallery of the BEST BABES at the World Cup this summer

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Chelsea, still smarting over their embarrassing defeat at home to Arsenal last week, travel to relegation threatened Blackburn with boss Steve Kean expected to bear the brunt of more fan protests.

Rovers were seconds away from beating Norwich at Carrow Road last week only to see a farcical penalty las awarded against Steven N’Zonzi at the death with Grant Holt scoring to send them home with one point instead of three. Their performance warranted more than what they eventually got but being pegged back after leading 3-1 and being on the end of poor refereeing decisions is part and parcel of life at the bottom. Kean must feel the whole world is against him at the moment with several thousand Blackburn fans continuing to remind him of their displeasure over his tenure as boss. Despite his critics being a touch on the harsh side their anger could be justified with the fact they’ve won just one Premier League game all season and just three in the 24 they’ve played since January. The fact is that they continue to leak goals at an alarming rate despite a defence possessing Christopher Samba, Ryan Nelsen and summer signing Scott Dann who could be in for a second relegation in successive seasons after he went down with Birmingham in the last campaign. Coming up a gainst a Chelsea side desperate to bounce back after two defeats on the trot isn’t ideal for Kean and another defeat will surely force the clubs Indian owners to bring his job under review despite stating they wouldn’t sack him for the duration of his two year contract. Their record against the Blues doesn’t provoke much confidence with only one win in 16 top-flight meetings.

Andre Villas-Boas’ side are unbeaten in their last 10 against Rovers but shouldn’t go into this game thinking it’s going to be a guaranteed three points. Their last two performances have been well under-par with their Portuguese coach coming under increasing pressure to turn things around at Stamford Bridge. They surrendered third place last week after they were overtaken by Newcastle and will be out to reclaim their spot and keep themselves in with a chance of challenging for the title. One thing Villas-Boas needs to addresses the defence after they were carved open again and again by Arsenal last Saturday. They have failed to keep a clean sheet in 10 games since the opening day of the season with 15 goals conceded in the process with the fragile performances of John Terry causing concern. The back line was unable to cope with the Gunners pace or creativity with Ashley Cole also experienced an afternoon to forget up against Theo Walcott.  It’s a far cry from the days of Jose Mourinho where Terry was virtually impenetrable and the game plan was to snuff out the opposition attack rather than score goals. I’d expect Chelsea to adopt a similar approach at Ewood Park and play for a 1-0 like they used to do under the Special One. That could mean a reshuffle up top with Fernando Torres, Daniel Sturridge, Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba all battling for a place in attack with Villas-Boas likely to chose one out for four to lead the line.

Key Players

Junior Hoilett – It’s easy to point out that the Canadian winger has been Rovers’ best player this season. His pace and tricker on the wing is vital to the way they attack and his stunning goal at Norwich last week and he’ll be looking to do a similar job to the one carried out by Walcott on Cole last week.

Frank Lampard – If theres one man that can get Chelsea out of their current rut it’s Lampard. His performance last week was top notch with his desire in midfield and passing guile giving the Blues something going forward in what was a lacklustre display. The goals have started to flow again so expect to see him hitting a few long range efforts this week.

Prediction: 1-2

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Blackburn covered 119,527 metres in that game, and a frantic second half that saw six goals scored saw Rovers cover more ground in the second half (60,151m) than in the first half (59,376m) While most teams show a depreciation in distance covered in the second half, Rovers have covered more ground in the latter 45 minutes in 6 of their 10 games this season Frank Lampard has contributed 4 assists, meaning he has had a hand in 43% of Chelsea’s goals this season Lampard is also the top passer in the Chelsea squad, having completed 209 passes (one every 3 minutes 57 seconds) and has covered mnore ground than any Chelsea player other than Ashley Cole and John Terry for the Chelsea cause

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Inter Milan manager Leonardo thanked the heavens after his side stole a Champions League quarter-final spot from Bayern Munich on Tuesday.Inter, who defeated Bayern in the Champions League final last season, looked set to be dumped out of Europe in the last 16 as they travelled to the Allianz Arena on the wrong side of a 1-0 aggregate.Samuel Eto’o levelled the tie at 1-1 with a goal in the fourth minute, but first-half goals to Bayern duo Mario Gomez and Thomas Mueller put Bayern up 2-1 ahead.But Leonardo’s men rallied in the second half as goals to Wesley Sneijder and Goran Pandev sealed a 3-2 victory for Inter on the night, with the 3-3 aggregate result seeing the Italian champions progress on away goals. Leonardo, who was overcome with joy after witnessing Pandev’s 88th-minute winner, was still too moved to speak of the game after the match.”It is very difficult to explain this game – we won, that’s all that matters,” Leonardo said.”I don’t want to go into technical details now. I prefer to focus on my players’ heart.””I’m so happy for Pandev, who has had a very difficult period. He has been criticised for missing a few chances but he has always continued to work hard and he has been repaid tonight.””It’s a great moment, a fantastic joy and I can only thank God for letting me experience this feeling tonight.””It’s a sign that these players have great faith in the team, we never give up. The European champions are still standing.”Bayern coach Louis van Gaal, who is resigned to departing the club at the season’s end without a trophy, said his side simply wanted victory too much.”It is a pity. It’s not the first time this has happened, four or five times already this season we have given away a match we should have won and today it happened again,” van Gaal said.”We could have settled matters earlier. Instead Inter are still standing, still have a chance – even if they hardly created any tonight, they did convert them. That’s always a possibility in football.””We should have stayed compact, but we didn’t and ran into trouble. That’s what I meant when I warned them not to want too much. We made too many defensive mistakes, conceded too easily.””The players gave their all, which is the criteria for a coach to judge if he is still getting through to the team.””They enjoyed the match and so did the fans; now we are all disappointed we lost but we witnessed a good match.”

South African striker Benni McCarthy is determined to prove his worth at West Ham United, having struggled during his first few months at Upton Park.

The 32-year-old made just five appearances for the Hammers following his arrival from Blackburn Rovers in January, being hampered by injury and a lack of match fitness.

McCarthy is already back in training and eager to improve, telling the Epping Forest Guardian:"I am very determined and that is why I decided to come back earlier.

"I wanted to make a fresh start. What I couldn't do then, I want to be able to do now. I still have loads to prove to the West Ham fans.

"For me, I am like a new player coming in, because last season I am writing off.

"The injury is completely fine and the weight is back to normal. I have been following my programme since the end of the season.

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"It is the first time that something like this has happened to me and I need to make sure it doesn't happen again.

"I have been training hard for two weeks now and it is all off my own back."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Swansea City’s approach has been a breath of fresh air to the Premier League and Brendan Rogers is finally chalking up the results their early season performances have deserved. The Swans boss is quick to point out that a lot of his success with the Welsh outfit is down to his predecessors who had already laid down an excellent platform for him to work from:

“Certainly Swansea is a club with a tradition of having teams that play good football, and obviously they changed their structure when Roberto Martinez changed from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3, and from that moment the club brought in coaches and managers who understood that way of working and playing. Certainly that enabled me to fast-track and implement my own ideas into the group. They’d had a very good year in the Championship where they had finished eighth. Paulo Sousa took over and did an excellent job and they reached seventh position, and then I had the big challenge to take the club forward on a very limited budget. So it was really about trying to implement my own ideas – but the core of the group knew and believed in that way of playing. It was then a case of developing and improving that way rather than having to create it right from the beginning.”

Brendan Rogers was fortunate to work under, and with, Jose Mourinho and Andre Villas-Boas during his time at Chelsea and both men certainly had an influence over him:

“I think you obviously have your own ambition, and you need people to give you a chance, who think you have the capacity to work at that level. But obviously when you get the chance to work with such managers it gives you a chance to learn from the best and develop, and Jose was a fantastic influence for me. When you move into management, you’re working alone – you can’t look to imitate or be anyone else, and you have to carry your own ideas with you. But the more experience you have the better, and I have been very fortunate to be able to work with lots of very good managers, world-class managers. I have then hopefully been intelligent enough to take on board the good and the bad, and work it into my own identity.”

Rogers is certainly making a good fist of his first time in the Premier League and having had the good fortune of working under a manager like Mourinho, he certainly has had a good grounding of how to grind out results in this division. Whether the Swans take a similar pragmatic approach that Chelsea adopt as the season goes on remains to be seen, but for the time being it is clear that Swansea are going to have a go their own way first.

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For more insight from Brendan Rodgers and other leading managers plus exclusive Barclays Premier League highlights go to www.yahoo.co.uk/sport

Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish will sweat on a knee injury to Alexander Hleb ahead of next Sunday’s Carling Cup final against Arsenal.Hleb was stretchered off the pitch during the Blues’ 3-0 FA Cup fifth round win over Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, souring what should have been a celebratory moment for the club as they reached the quarter-finals with ease.The on-loan Barcelona midfielder left St Andrews on crutches and will undergo scans to determine the severity of the injury, but McLeish is hopeful the Belarus international will be back in action in time for the trip to Wembley.”The latest is he’s limping heavily in the dressing room,” McLeish said.”He’ll hopefully have a scan in the next 24 hours. I need to firm that up with the doctor. We’ll know after that if there’s any damage.””It’s his knee. We don’t believe it’s a cruciate (ligament) problem. He got a fair rattle. The guy was late in the tackle.””He’s a great player and we still believe he’ll make an impact for us at some stage this season and hopefully he’ll be okay for the final.”Striker Cameron Jerome should be available despite a minor ankle injury suffered in the win, which was achieved by a squad of fringe players following a number of changes to the first-team side.”(Jerome) went over on his ankle. We don’t think it’s too serious. He should be available,” McLeish said.”We’ve got a thin squad as it is. If Alex misses out then that’s another man down.””In terms of allowing players to recharge batteries, being able to change the team and give the players some much-needed match practice it was a good day for us.””The strength of the squad was shown today. All of the guys who came in all played extremely well. I don’t think we had a passenger today.”

The thoughts of the football world are with Sir Alex Ferguson as he battles for his life after emergency surgery and the modern way of showing compassion tends to revolve around messages on social media.

Yet, Patrice Evra has made a very salient point about using that fairly impersonal method of communication for such a serious matter and in the process has responded to those wondering why he hadn’t yet done so.

After his current club West Ham United secured their Premier League survival, the French legend – who remains very popular among the United fanbase – took some time out to respond to the matter which makes you realise just how insignificant football really is but also how well the global game’s community can bring people together at times of adversity.

Not a lot else needs to be added to Evra’s classy message and we’ve taken a closer look at some of the best reaction…

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Did you hear that? Listen closely: It’s the sound of Jose Mourinho smacking himself in the forehead after missing out on a 27-goal striker.

Anderlecht star – and former Chelsea target – Aleksandar Mitrovic completed his move from Anderlecht to Newcastle last week. The signing comes as a great relief to Magpies fans who saw their squad struggle for goals last season, finding the net just 40 times. But just how much of an impact will the Serbian have at St. James’ Park?

Mitrovic’s goal total from 50 appearances for Anderlecht is more than twice that of top Newcastle scorer Papiss Cisse. The centre forward started in all but one of his 27 Jupiler Pro League games and proved himself a superb finisher, with a 57 percent shot accuracy rate, as well as scoring almost half his goals from headers.

The 20-year-old proved his ability in european competition as well, scoring twice in five Champions League games. The most notable strike came in Anderlecht’s 3-3 draw with Arsenal, when Mitrovic’s well-placed header in the 89th minute helped the Purple & White put the finishing touch on a comeback after being down 0-3.

So we’ve seen that Mitrovic can perform against physical Premier League sides, but how will he fare playing for one? At Anderlecht, he occupied the lone central striker spot in a 4-2-3-1 system, the same formation the Magpies relied on, a similarity that looks promising in aiding his adjustment.

New boss Steve McClaren may very well decide to change the system, but regardless, Mitrovic’s 6-foot-2 frame will go a long way in giving teammates a target inside the box.

Areas in which the youngster will have to improve, however, are in passing and possession.  His pass success percentage was just 75.3 percent on mostly short balls. And Mitrovic’s inability to cross, pass or shoot from outside the box is somewhat troubling should he want to become a more versatile player.

Due to a lack of speed, the Serb also tends to wait for passes to come to him rather than try and move to the ball, a tendency that makes him easy to mark. When he does dribble, he has trouble holding onto the ball, and was dispossessed an average of two times per game.

Regardless of his weaknesses, Mitrovic’s youth means he has plenty of time for both mental and physical development, and it looks like he will be the most productive attacker at St. James’ Park.

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If Mitrovic continues his upward trajectory, McClaren may have to prepare to fight off larger clubs to keep hold of the striker, whether the interested party is Mourinho or someone else.

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Tottenham are a team who of late seem to find themselves perpetually on the cusp of something quite special. The club have a frustrating ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, leading many to brand them the great underachievers of our game. But can a return to the two-tier management structure allow the North London club to fulfil their Premier League potential next term?

The appointment of Franco Baldini to the post of Technical Director has been a cause for major optimism among many fans.  A move towards a continental structure of management, as favoured by Levy and Villas-Boas, could see a summer of change at White Hart Lane. With responsibility for player recruitment at both youth and senior levels, the appointment takes the strain away from both Chairman and Head Coach. Levy outlined the role of the new director when speaking to the clubs website:

“Franco is extremely well respected in the industry, possessing an extensive knowledge of players around the world.”

“He will strengthen our football management team, particularly in the field of recruitment, working closely with Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood across all levels on the playing side.”

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Baldini is famed for a particular focus on youth recruitment; the signing of 19-year-old Marquinhos for Roma last year typifies this. However, I believe Baldini must shorten his horizons with Spurs next season to take advantage of the opportunities 2013/14 could bring to the club. With many of the top clubs going through a phase of rebuilding and regime change, there is the potential for a club with relative stability to cease on this and break through. Now I realise Villas-Boas has had only a year in charge, but in footballing terms he isn’t far off creating a dynasty. With the red half of North London showing the continued lack of ambition that has plagued their club of late, can Baldini seize this opportunity?

Advocating wholesale changes to what is already a talent rich squad is totally nonsensical. Instead Baldini needs to act early in capturing a couple of key signing to push the club forward. Acting early doesn’t mean rashly and it is likely that both Baldini and Villas-Boas have already done a lot of the groundwork behind the scenes. The advantage to Spurs over their rivals is that new management invariably means upheaval. Couple a new way of playing, backroom staff and potential signings and you can truly comprehend how hard it will be for the top clubs to gel together their squads at the start of the year. Contrast this to Spurs who will have much the same coaching styles from last year and hopefully much of the same squad and although it seems odd, the sure footing Spurs are on actually heightens the pressure on Baldini as he seeks to capitalise.

There is already evidence that Baldini will have no such time to bed in this summer. Historically Spurs have done their business late, often to the detriment of early season form. The capture of Paulinho early this month signals a total change in tact, and something completely alien to those familiar with the behaviour of Levy during preceding windows. I don’t think you can doubt the ability of the Selecao midfielder, but personally this deal was an oddity. On the list of areas in need of strengthening, most would have placed a left back and striker much higher. One can discern from this that there are indeed further large-scale moves in the pipeline, or that Villas-Boas has developed something of a liking for a certain Togolese frontman. For the sake of Spurs I really hope and genuinely believe the former is more likely.

While I believe Spurs will have an active summer under Baldini, it is still important to maintain a degree of patience. It seems commonplace to assume that a transfer composes of emailing across a bid, meeting up for a drink to discuss terms and then slapping the confirmation on the club’s website. Spurs, like many clubs, are meticulous in their transfer dealings, with Villas-Boas reported to have gone on a South American scouting sabbatical during his unemployment. The Paulinho deal was clearly not something Levy dreamt up in the pub, but because it was not reported heavily in the lead up to the deal it was considered by some quarters a quickly thrashed out deal. Brad Friedel actually mentioned the degrees to which a club like Spurs go to when conducting business while hosting a show on TalkSport. He indirectly tried to allay the constant fear that Levy spends much of a transfer window on a sunbed somewhere in the Caribbean, until someone kindly reminds him in late August that he has a club to run.

If Spurs had the funds to bring in Paulinho then they could surely afford Damiao. The debacle, which has seemed endless, fuelled much of fans’ hatred towards Spurs’ transfer policy. I don’t confess to knowing a lot more about the guy than the average punter, but I am sure that in any case, months of intense scouting by experts outweighs a couple of YouTube clips.

So while this is the most crucial of windows, I expect Spurs to take a well thought out pragmatic approach to the transfer market. Needless to say I expect most Spurs fans would want to avoid the second coming of Darren Bent.

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Will this transfer window finally turn Spurs into title contenders?

Join the debate below!

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Tottenham are readying a bid for Shakhtar Donestk attacking midfielder Willian according to Sky Sports.

The north London club are going through something of a revamp this summer, with new boss Andre Villas-Boas eager to make his inherited squad his own.

With Luka Modric looking extremely likely to leave the side this summer, AVB is eager to add to his midfield creative options, and has been scouting Europe for suitable replacements.

The Brazil international has impressed domestically and in the Champions League in his time in Ukraine, and seems destined for a move to a bigger club.

Chelsea are known suitors of the South American star and have had a number of offers turned down by the eastern European outfit.

However, Spurs are ready to enter the race for Willian’s signature and are preparing an offer this week.

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By Gareth McKnight

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