Liverpool among host of big names chasing Micah Richards

One of Roberto Mancini’s many intriguing decisions at Man City has been the marginalization of Micah Richards. The right-back has been out through injury for most of the season but Mancini had lost faith in him well before that. The Mirror now reports that Liverpool, Arsenal and European giants PSG and Real Madrid are all eyeing the 24 year old, who is likely to have a £15m price tag slapped on him if City are forced to listen to offers.

Bayern step up interest in Laurent Koscielny

All the talk at Arsenal these past few weeks has been about the uncertain future facing Per Mertesacker and Thomas Vermaelen but the possibility of Laurent Koscielny being the man to leave the Emirates has just popped up. The Daily Mail report that Bayern Munich have made the Frenchman one of their main summer targets, with Pep Guardiola said to be keen on strengthening his defence first. Koscielny has declared in the past that he has no intention of leaving the Gunners but we all know how the story ends when an eye-catching bid manifests itself.

Hawk-Eye to make Premier League debut from next season

The Premier League and Football Association have decided to separate ways from FIFA by choosing Hawk-Eye as the preferred goal-line technology to be used from next season. The Telegraph reports that the Britain-based Hawk-Eye, which has in the past revolutionized Cricket and Tennis, will be used in all Premier League and FA Cup games and the technology will be installed in all 20 top-flight stadiums and at the Wembley, where it will be first put to use in August’s Community Shield. However, the Hawk-Eye will have to be switched off for European games due to its opposition from UEFA.

Mourinho eager to bring Khedira to Stamford Bridge

Jose Mourinho has been tipped to take over at Chelsea next season and the current Real Madrid manager may use Roman Abramovich’s cash to raid the Spanish capital for Sami Khedira. Report in the Express suggests that Mourinho is a huge fan of the Germany international and when reinstated as the Chelsea boss, may ask the club to splash the money for the 26-year old midfielder. Mourinho has already indicated that he will return to one of his former clubs when he leaves Real Madrid and Chelsea have emerged as his next destination who are keen to get rid of Rafael Benitez.

A night after the Champions League semi-final spots were decided, the Europa League strutted out with its posse of last-eight teams with a place in the last-four the incentive for the quarter finalists. The English had dominated proceedings thus far in the knockout stage but their reign was shattered last night, with Chelsea the last man standing from the British challenge. The Blues lost 3-2 at Rubin Kazan but went through 5-4 on aggregate.

Tottenham sadly weren’t as lucky as they were knocked out on penalties by Basle after the tie finished 4-4 on aggregate, with Emmanuel Adebayor the guilty party at the end. Newcastle couldn’t conjure up a classic comeback against Benfica as they were knocked out after being defeated 4-2 on aggregate while Fenerbahce also booked a spot in the last-four after beating Lazio 3-1 on aggregate.

Rubin Kazan 3-2 Chelsea (Agg 4-5)

Man United enter race for Atletico hotshot Falcao

Radamel Falcao has been the subject of much speculation with Manchester City and Chelsea chasing his signature for the past 6 months. But looks like Manchester United are ready to rival their fellow Premier League giants by entering the race for the Atletico Madrid striker. Report in the Daily Mail suggests that United are prepared to offer striker Javier Hernandez as part of a cash-plus-player deal to land the £47million-rated Falcao and will pay£27million in cash.

However, the Mirror reports that Falcao’s proposed move to Old Trafford could endanger Wayne Rooney’s place in the team as United look to take advantage of their good relationship with Falcao’s agent Jorge Mendes. PSG have been credited with interest in Rooney and a big-money offer could tempt United to sell their star player.

Arsenal asked to shell out £15 million for Begovic

The Gunners have been found wanting in a number of departments this season and manager Arsene Wenger is keen to address his problems at the end of the season. Wojciech Szczesny’s time at the Emirates may soon come to an end as the Daily Mail understands that Arsenal have opened preliminary talks with Stoke City for goalkeeper Asmir Begovic but will have to fork out £15million to land the Bosnian. Manchester United and Chelsea have also been credited with interest in the Potters’ custodian.

Meanwhile, Casillas also linked with a move to the Emirates

Arsenal are also chasing Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas who has reportedly fallen out of favor with coach Jose Mourinho. However, with Mourinho tipped to leave the Bernabeu in the summer, Casillas may get his desired No.1 position at the club but the Metro reports that the Gunners are still hopeful they can land the Spaniard who has won more trophies in the last decade than the entire Arsenal team.

Mancini concedes title despite derby win

Manchester City closed the gap on bitter rivals Man United down to 12 points after their derby win at Old Trafford last night but manager Roberto Mancini is defiant that the title is all but lost. However, the Italian has vowed to snatch back the crown from United next season and the Daily Mail quotes Mancini saying, “United deserve to win the title for sure. But we have lost it because we had some important players injured and that created problems. We can win the title next season with this squad. We don’t need to make changes.”

But Fergie says United didn’t deserve to lose

Elsewhere, Sir Alex Ferguson has backed his side after the loss to City at Old Trafford and said that his team did not deserve to lose based on their 2^nd half performance. United were edged out in a closely fought contest by a Sergio Aguero goal in the 78^th minute but Ferguson believes United were unlucky to lose. The Metro quotes Ferguson saying, “In the second half I thought we were the better team, we were unlucky to lose it. Tevez was clearly in the way of the goalkeeper but there was no way the linesman on that side was giving it.

Mancini stokes up rivalry ahead of derby by claiming other teams rollover against Man United

The Mancunian derby later today will be the title decider this season as anything less than a victory for Man City would all but hand the trophy to Man United, who are 15 points ahead at the moment. Roberto Mancini has bemoaned the gulf in points between the sides. And, the Italian magically deduced the reason for the difference, which he then shared with the Daily Mail: “No one plays well against United because they only play with fear. Every team that plays against United plays very soft because they think this game is difficult, that they can't beat them. It is not true.”

Sir Alex responds with RVP taunt

The master schemer that he is, Sir Alex Ferguson wasted no time in his pre-match press conference to pin-point the areas where Man City fell behind United after last summer. The veteran Scot began by taunting Mancini about the Robin van Persie saga, declaring that the Dutchman was never going to be a City player: “He was never going to go to City, and he’s been fantastic for us.” He then added that United’s record of 25 wins from 30 games would have been too good even if City played at the level they did last year, “We’ve improved. That’s been the difficulty for City,” said Ferguson.