Ivanovic to Chelsea sends Bridge to Anfield?
The transfer merry-go-round is gaining momentum but outside of the Berbatov and Anelka speculation there’s little so far to interest fantasy managers - until now that is. A report in today’s Times states that Chelsea are about to seal a £10 million deal for Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic, of Lokomotiv Moscow. The Under-21 international is a versatile player who can fit in across the back four but is said to be most comfortable on the left. The interesting twist to this speculation however is that the Times are reporting that Avram Grant is willing to let Wayne Bridge go to Liverpool once the deal for Ivanovic is done.
Bridge has apparently been targeted by Rafa to offer improved cover at left-back. We know that Benitez pursued United’s Gabriel Heinze to fill that spot, so that much would seem to add up. Whether Chelsea would be willing to let Bridge go for the suggested fee of £6 million is a different matter.
The possible signing of Ivanovic would appear to make sense given the recent loss of Terry to a metatarsal injury that looks like keeping him out until mid to late February. Ivanovic’s wikipedia entry actually suggests that the player attended a medical in London on Wednesday so the rumour is fairly strong it seems. Indeed the Daily Mail have also covered the exact same story, although they suggest that Chelsea are paying just £4 million for the Serb but also make the link to the Bridge to Liverpool move.
It’s an interesting one in fantasy terms. As reported earlier in the week, the arrival of further cover in defence would put added pressure on Alex - a fairly popular recent signing for many fantasy managers. As for Bridge, a move to Liverpool wouldn’t necessarily increase his first team chances and therefore his value to fantasy managers. He’d certainly be competing against Riise and Aurellio for a starting spot. However, if, as the Times indicates, Bridge could be on the move, whether it be to Liverpool or otherwise, then the situation would certainly be worth monitoring. There’s no doubting his talent or his fairly reasonable price value in the majority of fantasy games.
Hey Scout:
Happy New Year! Is there a side in England (Europe?) that you follow as a fan?
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Hey happy holidays….is Berbatov going to be traded to anywere or is he a lock with Tottenham?
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Does anyone know the least nukber of games a player wil miss if they are off to the african cup of nations?
i have heard it could be upto 4 games. however is the first of these the fa cup round games? also if a players team get knocked out early will it only be one missed game?
i have pinnear who im tempted to keep if he only misses 1 or 2 gameweeks as i dont want to transfer him straight back in after.
also have toure, but im transfering him this wk.
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Hi Tim. I’ll be writing something detailed on this later..here’s the beef though…
Most players have already joined up with their respective national sides so they will miss the games on Jan 12. They will also miss the fixtures on Jan 19-20 and Jan 29-30. The group stages of the tournament finish at the end of January so those players knocked out of the tournament are likely to return for the games on Feb 2-3. However, there’s a high chance they’ll be rested for those games. So even those players are likely to miss 4 Premiership games.
Most players will return for the fixtures on Feb 9-10, except those who national teams reach the semis. Those are played out on Feb 7 so it’s unlikely, even if knocked out, that they’d play on Feb 9-10.
All players should return for Feb 23 fixtures having had a week’s rest. So in a nutshell its 4-5 Premiership games depending on progress in the tournament.
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I have 9m to spend on two defenders, who should I buy?
Thinking of Everton defender (Jakielka) and Bramble or Ryan Taylor?
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