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Luka Modric is attracting the interest of Manchester United, according to reports.

Respected Italian journalist Gianluca de Marzio, of Sky Italy, said the Red Devils were preparing a bid for the former Tottenham Hostpur player.

The Premier League champions were strongly linked with Modric last summer, before he eventually chose to sign for the Santiago Bernabeu club.

But following the arrival of midfielders Isco and Asier Illarramendi in the Spanish capital, United may look to make their move for the 27-year-old Croatian.

According to de Marzio, Jose Mourinho demanded the signing of Modric last summer, and now he has left for Chelsea, the midfielder is believed to be open to a move back to the Premier League.

Speculation has been rife in the UK press about United’s transfer dealings, and having missed out on Barcelona’s Thiago Alcantara, they may switch their attention on Modric or Cesc Fabregas.

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Real Madrid have closed the deal to sell defender Raul Albiol to Napoli for 12 million euros. Albiol joins Jose Callejon, who has also moved from the Bernabeu to the Italian team this summer.

The Spanish international has arrived in Napoli and passed the medical tests. He will sign a four-year deal with a salary between three and four million euros a year.

“I am very happy, Napoli is a great team”, Albiol admitted. “I’ve made the right choice. I know Rafa Benitez will get the best out of me”, he added.

Real Madrid have received 22 million euros in transfers from Napoli this summer: 10 million for Jose Callejon and 12 for Raul Albiol.

The Italian club has earned 64 million thanks to the sale of Edison Cavani to Paris Saint Germain and is reported to have targeted another Real Madrid player: Gonzalo Higuain. However, Los Blancos are not willing to sell the Argentinian for less than 40 million euros.

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Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero could be subject of an offer from Real Madrid as the La Liga giants look to reinforce their attack for the new season, according to reports in Spain.

Los Blancos have been linked with the Argentinean striker, who formerly played for city rivals Atletico de Madrid, for the last few months.

And with new City boss Manuel Pellegrini signing Alvaro Negredo and close to completing a deal for Stevan Jovetic, Aguero could find himself being allowed to move on.

According to the Spanish press, Aguero would not accept a bit part role at the Etihad Stadium, something that could encourage the Santiago Bernabeu club to make their move.

The forward, whose father-in-law is Diego Maradona, has scored 47 goals in all competitions for City since completing a 45 million euro move two years ago.

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Madrid sports daily As claims today that Tottenham will offer Gareth Bale to double his salary in order to prevent him from joining Real Madrid.

“Anti-Madrid salary”, titles As. Spurs will offer the Welshman a nine million euros a year salary according to the Madrid newspaper.

Marca reports Real is not willing to sell Gonzalo Higuain for less than 40 million euros. “40 millions of nothing”, they title. Real will only negotiate if the offer is above that amount.

The main Spanish sports newspaper also publishes that Xabi Alonso won’t be able to play until October. “The midfielder’s recovery goes slower than expected”, they report.

Marca’s main focus in their front page is about a conversation between Carlo Ancelotti and Iker Casillas. “Ancelotti wants the best Iker”, they title.

“Zidane and the goalkeeper’s coach also participated in a talk with Casillas where they tried to motivate the goalkeeper to make him become decisive for the team again”, they publish.

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Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid will play their first pre-season game next Sunday. It will be in England, against Bournemouth, a team that will compete in the Coca-Cola Championship, the second division of English football.

Playing English teams in preseason is a good sign of things to come historically for Real Madrid, as they have only lost two of the eight friendlies they’ve played against them in the last 13 years.

Curiously, those two losses had the same score: 1-0. In 2000, a Paul Scholes strike in the 89th minute gave Manchester United the victory in the semifinals of the friendly tournament that celebrated Bayern Munich’s centenary.

The other occasion in which Los Blancos kneeled down against an English team in a pre-season game was in 2008, when a Emmanuel Adebayor goal gave Arsenal a 1-0 triumph against Real at the Emirates Stadium, in the tournament that the Gunners host every summer before the start of the Premier League.

The rest of Real’s summer friendlies against English teams saw five victories (2-1 against Leicester City in 2011, 2-0 against Stoke City in 2007, 1-0 against Plymouth Argyle in 2006, 2-0 against Liverpool in 2002 and 2-1 against Middlesbrough in 2000) and a draw (0-0 against Fulham in 2006).

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Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has said he is interested in taking Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain to Italy as he looks to replace striker Edison Cavani.

The club confirmed a 64.5 million euro deal with PSG for the Uruguayan forward – and will now look to spend that cash on reinforcements for Rafa Benitez’s new side.

Higuain confirmed at the end of last season that he was looking for a fresh challenge, and was linked with Juventus at one stage.

A transfer to the Premier League and Arsenal looked all but certain, but the North London side seem to have cooled their interest in the Argentinean in favour of Liverpool’s Luis Suarez.

Now, De Laurentiis has said he is keen to take the striker to Italy to bolster the squad.

Speaking to La Repubblica Sport, he stated: “It’s true that we’re negotiating for Gonzalo Higuain and Leandro Damiao.

“The money we got for Cavani was 64.5mil and added to the 60mil we had set aside for the transfer budget there will be 124.5mil to carefully invest on Napoli. There are various names on the table, we’re assessing the situation.”

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Premier League rich boys Manchester City are preparing to offer 20 million euros in a bid to take Real Madrid defender Pepe to the Etihad Stadium, it has been reported.

The Daily Mail said new Citizens manager Manuel Pellegrini was keen to take the Portuguese star to England to bolster his team’s defence ahead of an assault on the title.

The 30-year-old centre back has been subject of speculation all summer although Los Blancos were thought to be keen to keep hold of him.

But having spent big to secure the services of Isco, Asier Illarramendi, Casemiro and Daniel Carvajal, Santiago Bernabeu boss Carlo Ancelotti is believed to be keen to raise funds.

Pepe joined Real Madrid from Porto in 2007 and has made 199 appearances for the club, scoring five goals. He has also represented his country on 51 occasions, chipping in with three goals.

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Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema will not be moving to AC Milan this summer, his agent has said.

The French striker found himself out in the cold for much of last season, making just 19 starts in the League and 30 starts in all competitions.

Despite the lack of minutes on the pitch, he still managed to contribute 12 goals and 13 assists – leading to interest from some the biggest clubs in Europe.

The 25-year-old, who has played for Los Blancos for the last four years, was subject of interest from Juventus earlier on in the summer, and is now attracting attention for their Seria A rivals.

But Karim Djaziri told Tutto Mercato his client wants to focus on the new season at the Santiago Bernabeu and enjoy a long career in the Spanish capital.

“He is staying in Madrid. There is nothing with regards to the Milan talk and I have nothing to say,” he stated.

Benzema has scored 15 goals in 58 appearances for the French national team.

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Madrid sports daily As claims today in its front page that Zlatan Ibrahimovic “wants to follow Carlo Ancelotti” and move from Paris Saint Germain to Real Madrid.

As states that Edison Cavani’s 64 million euros signing for PSG has upset the Swede, since the Uruguayan arrives to play in his position. As goes farther and maintains that Ancelotti “has asked Florentino to sign Ibra”.

Marca brings to its front page the first impressions after Real Madrid first training sessions of the summer. “Cristiano impresses with his spectacular state of fitness”, they report.

“After 34 years of holidays the Portuguese has arrived without a single grame more of weight and with a high level of intensity”, Marca publishes.

The Madrid paper also reports that Sergio Ramos has stopped his holidays after playing the Confederations Cup and come back before expected to join their team mates in the pre-season.

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Real Madrid defender Nacho has said everyone in the squad is looking forward to the season ahead under Carlo Ancelotti but the player are aware of how hard they need to work.

The 23-year-old, who can operate as a central defender or full-back, told his club’s website the players were excited about the new regime, which is just two days old so far with the players having only just returned to training.

He said: “We want to achieve our aims, which as they are every year, are to win everything. I have not yet had the opportunity to speak with the coach. He knows me well and knows that I can play in any position in defence.”

The Spain under-21 player said he was impressed not only with Ancelotti, but also the way in which the club has spent in the transfer market this summer.

He stated the focus on Spanish players was key in creating a strong atmosphere within the squad.

“I think that as a Spaniard and as a teammate from the national team it makes me happy that they are here. Anyone young and Spanish gets this country excited. It’s very nice and we have a big challenge ahead of us,” he stated.

Nacho also told the website he was delighted to have signed a new deal at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“I have just renewed. I have four years on my contract and I have been fighting for a long time to have this opportunity to be the first team player. My only goal now is to earn the coach’s trust and get pitch time, the same as any player,” he said.

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