Morning Ticker: Castillo loaned, Messi hurt and Man U eyeing a striker

The news never stops in the soccer world, does it?

There are plenty of news stories to discuss today and I will try to go over some of them, as well as other nuggets, this morning. Before I get to that, I will make the now daily reminder to readers to take part in the SBI Reader Roll Call if you haven't already.

Let's get started. Here are some soccer news tidbits to start your day off (including a story after the jump that could affect the future of one of the U.S. national team's best young players):

Nery Castillo going to Manchester City. No, really. He's going this time. Seriously. I'm not kidding. Yes, the on-again, off-again, on-again, off-again marriage between Mexican striker Nery Castillo and Manchester City appears to be on for real finally. After some posturing from Shaktar Donetsk in an attempt to jack up Castillo's loan price, Donetsk and City finally agreed to a deal.

Heerenveen coach leaving after season. Gertjan Verbeek has coached his last season for Heerenveen. The Dutch coach is set to leave after the current season after failing to reach an agreement with the club on a contract extension. It is a sad development considering Heerenveen is enjoying its strongest season in recent memory. The club currently sits in third place, tied with Feyenoord.

So why should this matter to you? Verbeek's departure should make it more likely that U.S. national team midfielder Michael Bradley will the Dutch club after the current season. Bradley's days with the club were probably going to be numbered anyway given how well he is playing this year for Heerenveen, but Verbeek's departure should only help to facilitate Bradley's move to a bigger club in Europe.

Man U eyes Berbatov, again. Are these stories starting to sound familiar? Yep, Manchester United is back on the trail of Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov and a swap including two Man U players could seal the deal for the out-of-form striker. Louis Saha, Wes Brown and cash for Berbatov sounds reasonable enough, though Tottenham wants Nani. Don't bet on Nani going anywhere though.

Messi to miss five weeks. Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is set to miss five weeks with a thigh injury suffered during last week's 3-0 win against Valencia on Saturday. It means he will miss the 'Clasico' between Barcelona and Real Madrid this Saturday. Real Madrid isn't likely to complain, not after Messi dropped a hat-trick on them the last time he faced Real Madrid.

Romario suspended for using Propecia. You really can't make this stuff up. Brazilian legend Romario has been suspended for 120 days after testing positive for a banned substance. Was it the Clemens juice? No. HGH? Nope. It was a chemical called Finasteride, which happens to be the leading ingredient in the hair-loss treatment Propecia. Finasteride is apparently used to mask steroid use but it probably would have simply taken a peek at Romario's receding hairline to know he was probably telling the truth about having used Propecia. How old is Romario? He's 41 but was still playing for Vasco de Gama. He might want to give Giuseppe Franco a call next time.

That's all for now. Comment away.

Comments

[Chris N.]

Ives,

I've read a few accounts of the Castillo deal that state he paid the majority of the transfer fee that Donetsk was asking in the loan deal.

Any truth? Or is it a little sensationalism?

[oracledba]

i do not think berbatov would be a good fit for united now - - brown is useless and neville's comeback looks dodgy now so i would rather see the other rumor (lahm) come through

[PKTaker]

i heard castillo paid the most of the trasnfer fee as well.

man i hope mb transfers to a bigger/better club than fulham or derby.

[Nick]

Nani! Ha! No way would SAF give up what people (MUFC fans) are hoping will be the next Christiano Ronaldo! I think Saha, Brown and 6 million pounds(from the BBC) wouldn't be a bad bit of business though on both ends. Get Berbatov to be a great third Striker while getting him out of the Spurs dressing room. If Saha stays healthy for Spurs it wouldn't be a terrible signing for them. On top of that they get Brown, who I really rate as he can play in a bunch of different positions plus the cash. My only worry is that Berbatov comes to Manchester and becomes a problem like he is in London. We don't need another Van Nistelroy (right before he went to Madrid) telling other players they're garbage and demanding more playing time.

[Nick]

@oracledba

I agree, Lahm would be a great pickup as well, but I see that as more of a summer deal than a January deal. I disagree about Brown being useless though. He doesn't really specialize in any one position, but he is a good utility player in the same way John O'Shea is. Someone good to do a job when needed, but if everyone is fit, not someone you would have in your starting XI.

[kpugs]

I also heard Castillo paid most of the fee, it came from Man City and not a random tabloid so I'm sure it's true.

Nick you're wasting your breath...you ever read the British media? They make things up, period. Don't believe or put any faith in any rumors until they actually happen, because 90% of a time they are complete fabrications.

Brown isn't necessarily useles, but he is NOT good enough to be in the first XI on a team like that...he has been starting all season and didn't bother accepting an extension. Ther eis a reason behind that, I'd bet on him getting replaced this winter.

[George]

Brown is usless for United, but I think Saha is playing well for the squad.

[Dominghosa]

The next C. Ronaldo? Nani is just three months younger than C. Ronaldo.
Why can't he just be Nani and not the next anything? Not sure if "being the next C. Ronaldo" counts if you're just three months younger.
But, of course, that speaks to C. Ronaldo's talents.
Anyway, there's more news coming out of Maciej Zurawski's interest in playing in the MLS and vice versa.
"Poland striker Zurawski has been urged by his international boss Leo Beenhakker to secure a starting place, and the Dutchman insists the 31-year-old would still feature in his Euro 2008 plans if he goes to play in America.

Beenhakker said: 'What matters most is that he plays on a regular basis, the level is not really a problem.'"

[George H.]

If you're Ramos, why dump Berbatov in that deal? You give up one of your starting strikers to get 6 mil with two injury prone players. Berbatov's form hasn't been great this year and he sounds like a real dressing room diva, but that deal doesn't make Spurs a better team on the pitch.

Ives - great Franco reference. That Procede commercial runs non-stop on FSC. Must be a ton of balding soccer fans across the US.

The question I have is if why is he endorsing the product if he doesn't know anything about it and they sell it in his Beverly Hill salon for like $450?

[oracledba]

we will have to disagree - brown was awful against liverpool - maybe his contract situation is the issue but he has not looked good for a while - if he was wearing any other jersey you would never consider him national team material.

i would play oshea and pique before brown

its a fair swap for berbatov but to me, bertabov would disrupt the current flow.

[Sean H.]

HAHA nice Guiseppe Franco shout out.

[Joamiq]

I don't see why Spurs would want to make a change now that Ramos has turned them around. He's only lost one game, they're into the Carling Cup semis, and they handed Man City their first home loss yesterday. The team is on a roll, Berbatov is playing well (and now smiles occasionally), Spurs don't like to acquire players already into their late 20s, which Brown and Saha already are, adding Saha doesn't ease the logjam up front, Brown's contract is up next summer and I don't see what use he is with the King, Gardner, and Rocha coming back soon anyway... this deal is not happening. To even believe for a second that Spurs would accept two players just because SAF wants to get rid of them is silly.

[Garret]

HAHA nice Guiseppe Franco shout out.

Posted by: Sean H.

That is exactly what I was about to say. I love them Procede commercials! The models are hawt. ;)

[Fuegofan]

Osorio is in the headline, but not in the text. Did you forget with all the other stuff?

(And while I'm on my high horse of correcting, I think you meant that we should take a "peek" at Romario's hairline, not "peak" (or summit).)

[Johnny]

Is it sad that I can recite the entire Guiseppe Franco Procede commercial? I love the balding jogger who puts his hat on only when approached by young attractive women. By the way for a hair expert Guiseppe Franco's hair looks like Zoolander!

[Nicholas]

Spurs better keep Berby! ManU have been living this fantasy since last season where they think just because someone is good, they get to have them.

The rumors are always there and are always false. Berbs has stated NUMEROUS times that is is happy at Spurs and will remain at Spurs. We will not deal him.

[Adam Spangler]

Castillo did pay:

http://machochip.com/2007/12/nery-castillo-pays-to-play-for.php

[Adam Spangler]

Castillo did pay:

“Nery Castillo’s desire to make this deal happen has been extraordinary,” City chief executive Alistair Mackintosh said. “He has made a significant financial contribution in order to complete this move by paying most of the loan fee himself. This proves how much he wants to play for Manchester City in the Premier League.”

[Byron]

George H brings up a point worth mentioning about Guisseppe's endorsement. I would do as much research as possible if I am "putting my name on the line" for just anybody.

[MemRook]

Completely unrelated:

I'm watching the Chelsea/Liverpool carling cup game, and I keep hearing someone (presumeably an announcer at the game) continously announcing numbers with great enthusiasm: "99!" "140!" "100!" "40!" etc, you get the point. What is that all about?

[LAKAIX15]

ives do know anything about the zurawski to lag talks.... last i heard that Leo b.(polsih nats coach) was pushing him to get out of celtic park and into with the gals.... can u tell me if you heard anything.... thanks ives....

[BJR]

Nery has the class of his predecessor, el pendejo Matador, Luis Hernandez.

[Bill]

Ives, can you comment on the rumors that Giuseppe Franco has decided to play for the USA after all?

[doug]

Spurs need to sell Berbatov take that money and go and get Klass-Jan Huntelaar, AKA Marco Van Basten v2.0, from Ajax. What are Spurs asking for Berbatov? 20 million pounds? Ajax took 13 million from Liverpool for Babel and Huntelaar is considered a better prospect. Its clear Dimitar doesnt want to be there so ship him out

[D_Vegas]

$100 bucks says Castillo steals the ball from Petrov or Elano.. any takers???...lol