Everton closing in on Vagner Love
EVERTON are hopeful of sealing the loan signing of CSKA Moscow striker Vagner Love in the next 48 hours.
And the Goodison Park outfit are continuing negotiations to bring Rennes midfielder Stephane M'bia and Newcastle United's Alan Smith to the club by the end of the week.
Brazil international Love is due on Merseyside for talks over a season-long stay with a view to a permanent move.
Everton manager David Moyes has earmarked the £15million-rated 24-year-old in a bid to bolster his attack after Andrew Johnson finally completed his move to Fulham last week.
Love has previously been linked with Portsmouth, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur this year, but insisted he didn't want to join "some middle-range club in England".
The striker moved to CSKA Moscow from Brazilian side Palmeiras in 2004, helping the Russians to back-to-back league titles and scoring in their UEFA Cup final win over Sporting Lisbon in 2005.
Love, who has averaged a goal every two games during his career, is also a regular feature in the Brazil national team, having so far earned 21 caps and helped his country lift the Copa America in 2004 and 2007.
Real name Vagner Silva de Souza, he earned his current name after being linked with a string of women while playing for the Palmeiras youth team.
Despite the move for Love, Moyes retains an interest in Real Zaragoza's Argentina striker Diego Milito, although that may too take the form of an initial loan move.
Everton are increasingly confident of finalising a £6m deal for M'bia in the coming days, with the Rennes man having expressed his desire for a move to Goodison last week.
M'bia is currently on international duty with Cameroon at the Olympics, and scored the winner in their 1-0 triumph over Honduras yesterday.
Newcastle's Smith is also edging nearer an anticipated move to Goodison, with the Magpies board believed happy to accept a £2m offer.
None of this activity has deterred the Goodison manager from his number one transfer target this summer, Sporting Lisbon playmaker Joao Moutinho.
Everton have already seen one £11.8m bid rejected by the Portuguese side and are ready to shatter their club transfer record with an improved offer for the 21-year-old. However, Moutinho is a huge favourite among supporters at the Jose Alvalade and Sporting are desperate to hold on to their most prized asset and will not make it easy for Everton to finalise any deal.
Meanwhile, Victor Anichebe was on target for Nigeria at the Olympics. The forward came off the bench to net his team's second in their 2-1 win over Japan.
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Everton closing in on Vagner Love.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.evertonbanter.co.uk/cgi-bin/mt421/mt-tb.cgi/18862
Leave a comment