De Gea confirms United offer

David de Gea has confirmed that he is edging closer to a move to Manchester United, with terms set to be discussed.

The 20-year-old goalkeeper was spotted in England on Monday arriving for his medical.

An £18million move from Atletico Madrid has been touted for some time, but was put on hold as De Gea helped Spain to European U21 Championship glory.

With that tournament having reached a conclusion on Saturday, he is now free to complete the switch and is making rapid progress in pushing through a deal.

Invite

With physical examinations out of the way, the youngster has revealed that he is set to take in a tour of Old Trafford and discuss personal terms.

De Gea wrote on his Twitter account: "I have been invited by Man U to see the club and the city with my family and to be given an offer."

United plan to make the highly-rated Spanish shot-stopper their long-term successor to Edwin van der Sar, who has opted to hang up his boots.

Sir Alex Ferguson recently revealed that he had been chasing De Gea for 'quite a while' and it appears as though he may be about to get his man.

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Essien exit rumours rubbished

Michael Essien's agent has sought to rubbish rumours suggesting his client could be ready to leave Chelsea.

Reports have suggested that the midfielder may be moved on this summer as incoming Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas attempts to stamp his authority on the Stamford Bridge squad.

Speculation regarding the Ghanaian's future has alerted some of Europe's top clubs to his possible availability, with AC Milan and Bayern Munich waiting to pounce.

It was claimed that Bayern were ready to test Chelsea's resolve with a formal offer, with it unclear where Essien fits into Villas-Boas' thoughts.

His representative insists there is nothing in the rumours, though, with the 28-year-old still very much part of the Blues' plans for the upcoming campaign.

Fabien Piveteau told MTNFootball.com: "There's absolutely no chance of Essien leaving Chelsea.

Focused

"It is not true that the club's new coach Villas-Boas wants to release Michael.

"In fact, the new coach knows Essien very well having worked at the club before and he knows what Michael can do for the club.

"Michael is also focused on staying at the club because he has a very good relationship with the team's supporters, the new manager and the club owner

"He is not leaving."

Villas-Boas was part of Jose Mourinho's coaching team at Chelsea when Essien was snapped up for £24million from Lyon in the summer of 2005.

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Gerrard enthused by Reds progress

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard says the club now have in place the right structure to start winning trophies again.

The Reds' last piece of silverware was the 2006 FA Cup, in which Gerrard played a starring role, but the England midfielder feels they are now better placed to end that drought.

"What I can say to the fans is that Liverpool will be back among the trophies sooner rather than later because we are moving in the right direction," he said.

"We have got fantastic players, the structure of the club is healthy from top to bottom and when that is the case then the team won't be too far away from winning."

greater chance

Gerrard also believes Liverpool's wait for another league title, which now stands at 21 years, has a greater chance of being ended.

Despite a total of 18 league titles over the years, Liverpool have yet to claim the Premier League crown.

The Merseysiders saw their tally of titles overhauled by Manchester United in 2010/11 and Gerrard is determined to help the Anfield aces get back on level terms.

"We will get the championship again. It's difficult to say when because that adds a lot of pressure to the team," he added.

Gerrard missed the final weeks of last season with a troublesome groin injury but expects to be fully fit and firing for the new campaign when Liverpool hope to be pushing strongly for honours.

Premier League

English Giants Fight for Starlet Hicham Khaloua

Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea are all keen on Spanish starlet Hicham Khaloua, skysports.com understands.

The 16-year-old is currently with Spanish second division side Cartagena, where he is already training with the first team.

Known as Hicham, the young striker has a hugely impressive record at youth level and last season scored over 40 goals.

He is now attracting interest from around Spain with Real Madrid, Barcelona and the big-spending Malaga all keen to recruit him.

As Hicham is 16, he cannot yet sign a professional deal and that has again put the English sides on alert, who can sign him and only be due to pay minimal compensation.

And skysports.com understands that the interest from England is very strong, with United, City, Liverpool and Chelsea all looking to sign him.

Hicham, of Moroccan descent, is a Spanish citizen and is ready to play for Spain's youth setup.

All the clubs interested were understood to have been in Spain at the weekend to watch Hicham in action as he played for his regional side Murcia.

Hicham is expected to decide his future in the coming weeks, but it seems he could very well be heading to England.

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Five clubs meet Neymar price

Barca, Real, Man City, Chelsea and Makhachkala all bid for Brazilian.
Santos have confirmed that five clubs have met Neymar's release clause of €45million (£40.3million) and they have been given permission to talk with the Brazilian sensation.

photo : skysports.com

The clubs are understood to be Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester City and Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala.

It was previously believed that Real and Chelsea, who have been tracking Neymar for years, were leading the chase with the Spaniards in pole position.

But now it has emerged that they are not alone in the race for his signature, with Barca and City also showing their hand.

The outsiders of the five are Anzhi Makhachkala - although they have plenty of finances and they would hope their current Brazilian contingent, which includes Roberto Carlos, could help push a deal through.

Now the clubs in question are set for talks, according to Santos president Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro.

Release

"We don't want to sell the player, but of course there is a release clause in his contract that can be paid and five European clubs have offered to match the clause," ESPN Brasil.

"I cannot name them because there is an agreement between Santos and the clubs, but they are the most important European clubs.

"They have asked to speak to the player and obviously we've allowed them to.

"The clubs have behaved ethically. They sought out Santos first and were willing to pay the clause. With this ethical approach, they can talk to anyone - with Neymar's father, with [agent] Wagner Ribeiro, and with the representatives of Neymar."

Ribeiro also took time to have a dig at Chelsea over their previous attempt to land the 19-year-old.

"Last year, Chelsea's attitude was different. Their first action was to seek out the player's representatives," he stated.

He also remains confident that, after helping Santos lift the Copa Libertadores earlier this month, he could stay put and reject the move to Europe.

"These clubs can come along and make their offerings, but if he wants to stay at Santos he can say no and continue at Santos," he concluded.

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