Kaka and Ballamy move to Manchester City

West Ham United have accepted a bid of about £14m from Manchester City for their Wales international striker Craig Bellamy who is believed to be travelling to Eastlands for a medical. The former Liverpool and Newcastle forward has been given permission to speak to the City manager, Mark Hughes, after the club's bid was accepted. A matching offer from Tottenham had been rejected.

Bellamy, 29, asked for a transfer to Spurs on Friday but West Ham were unwilling to sell to local rivals and have been angered about the publicity that preceded Tottenham's formal approach.

Bellamy was left out of the West Ham squad that defeated Fulham yesterday when, Gianfranco Zola said, the player was "not in the right frame of mind" to play.

On the other hand Kaka will also be joining Manchester City soon. With Manchester City making the record transfer bid for Brazilian Midfielder which is £108 million, AC milan gave him chance to open talks with Manchester CIty over the possible move. Milan will be using £40m of the £108m they expect to receive from City for Kaka to sign Arsenal pair Emmanuel Adebayor and Gael Clichy.

Zinedine Zidane's £46 million move from Juventus to Real Madrid in 2001 is the current world record for a transfer. But with this move this will become the biggest transfer of all times in terms of money.

Manchester City Raise Kaka Bid To £243 Million

Manchester City has reportedly raised their bid for Kaka to £243 million in the hopes of securing the Brazilian attacking midfielder from AC Milan, according to The Sun newspaper.

The £243 million deal breaks down to:

• £108 million for AC Milan.

• £108 million for the superstar’s wages including taxes. Kaka will be paid a NET salary of £13.28m a year which breaks down to £255,000 a week take-home.

• £27m in commission to brokers, middle-men and signing-on fees.

If AC Milan and Kaka can agree terms with Manchester City, the £13.28 million annual net salary will be close to Alex Rodriguez’s salary. The New York Yankees third baseman is paid £18.96 million gross per year.

The aggressive pursuit of Kaka by Manchester City owners Abu Dhabi United Group is sure to raise concerns at UEFA and FIFA headquarters. In the next few days expect Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini to publicly scorn the move by Manchester City, and how they’ll lament that City are ruining the game.

It seems that the only person who can stop Kaka from joining Manchester City is Kaka himself after AC Milan have given permission for Manchester City to speak with one of the world’s top footballers.

Despite the sickening salary offer, I would love to see Kaka join Manchester City. The player would add a much-needed flair to the Premier League as well as solidifying the league as the top in the world. It would also be a huge step to move City closer to breaking into the top four monopoly in the Premiership, and would add a ton of excitement to an already dramatic league.

For the Abu Dhabi United Group, it would be another trophy player to show the world they’re revolutionizing the game of football. By signing the Brazilian, the club is sending a message to the world that it means business and nothing is going to stop them from making their club the most entertaining team on the planet.

Sure, even if City acquires Kaka, the club has a long way to go and plenty of weakspots, especially in defense. Currently, the club sits just four points from the bottom of the Premier League and needs a massive influx of new players to resuscitate a dire team.

If Manchester City do pay £108 million to AC Milan, it’ll smash the most expensive transfer fee in football history when Zinedine Zidane joined Real Madrid from Juventus in 2001 for £46 million.

What are your thoughts regarding Kaka’s potential move to Manchester City? Click the comments link below and let us know.

Blackburn Rejects Man City Offer for Santa Cruz

Blackburn have rejected a bid "significantly higher than £12m" from Manchester City for Roque Santa Cruz, according to Mark Hughes.

The Manchester City manager is keen to add some firepower to his squad, with the club just two points above the relegation zone, but Blackburn are desperate to hang on to the former Bayern Munich striker — who has scored three goals in 13 games this season, but scored 19 for Rovers in 2007-08.

Rovers released a brief statement on their official website: "Blackburn Rovers can confirm receiving a bid from Manchester City for striker Roque Santa Cruz. The bid has been rejected."

Hughes has already spent around £8m this month to bring the Chelsea left-back Wayne Bridge to Eastlands and has the backing of the club's owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who was yesterday listed as the richest man in British football with an estimated personal fortune of £15bn.

Transfer Rumour : Defoe Update

UPDATE: According to the Daily Mirror, Tottenham has made a £5 million bid for Portsmouth striker Jermain Defoe. If this is true, this bid will definitely not get the job done.

According to the Telegraph, Tottenham will allow manager Harry Redknapp spend £15 million on Jermain Defoe. Also, Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie stated, “It looks like Jermain wants to go … That is something we will be speaking to him about. But if Jermain goes it will be at our price and if there is an offer which appeals.”

December 31st, 2008 Portsmouth has put a £20 million price tag on striker Jermain Defoe.

December 30th, 2008 Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie has stated: “We have had a tentative enquiry about Jermain and told the club concerned he was not for sale unless it was for a very, very big offer.” Tottenham and Aston Villa have both been linked Jermain Defoe.

December 19th, 2008 Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has denied the rumors that he is going after Portsmouth striker Jermain Defoe. Stated Redknapp: “We haven’t made an offer for Jermain … I do like Jermain but there are a lot of players at Portsmouth I like. They have a great squad of players there … We are short in certain positions without a doubt … We’ve got a good squad here, it just needs thickening up. If we find the right players, we will bring them in.”

Manchester United All set to loose Tevez

Manchester United are facing the real prospect of losing Carlos Tévez in this transfer window as the Red Devils continue to dither over his price tag.

The Argentine striker is three quarters of the way through a two year loan deal at Old Trafford, and yet still no permanent contract has been put on the table.

It was initially hoped that a deal would be sealed last summer, but Sir Alex Ferguson's decision to buy Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham scuppered those plans.

The Sun claims that both Real Madrid and Inter Milan are ready to make their move for Tévez at the end of the season.

United pre-agreed a fee of around £32 million with Kia Joorabchian, owner of Media Sports Investment which owns Tévez's rights, but now the club are reportedly uncomfortable with that valuation.

And now that the 24-year-old is unhappy at having to play second fiddle to Berbatov, there is a very real possibility that he could leave United once his loan expires.