Benfica slap £36m price tag on Angel Di Maria

Benfica have slapped a £36m price tag on their Argentinean winger Angel Di Maria in a bid to ward off the advances of, among others, Manchester City, according to the Daily Mail. The left-sided 21-year-old has been key to the team's successful start to the season - the club is in the hunt for the Europa League and the Portuguese league - and has attracted the attention of his national coach Diego Maradona, who said he had "the quality to be a worldwide superstar within the next two years". City boss Mark Hughes is running the rule over Di Maria as a possible replacement for Robinho, should the Brazilian leave for Barcelona in the transfer window, but other Premier League clubs including Manchester United and Chelsea have also been alerted by the youngster's exploits for Benfica - most notably when he tormented Everton during a 5-0 thumping in the Europa League last month...

Meanwhile Robinho seems to be doing his best to get away from Manchester City as quickly as possible. The Sun reports this morning that he has reported for duty with Brazil, who are due to play England in a friendly in Doha, Qatar, tomorrow - despite carrying an ankle injury. The paper says that Brazil's boss Dunga is considering playing him even though he is crocked. Yesterday the Guardian said that negotiations for a transfer to Barcelona were fairly well established, with Robinho's father representing him in talks with the European champions. Barca's technical secretary Txiki Begiristain admitted that there had been contact between them and the Robinho camp, but said: "We won't be meeting with City. There's a prior stage missing, which is a meeting between [the coach Pep] Guardiola and myself. Once the decision has been taken we will follow the strategy for any signing"...

Wayne Rooney dismissed recent reports linking him with a move to Barcelona yesterday, admitting that: "Obviously it's nice to get noticed, but I've said before that I’m really happy at Manchester United and unless they tell me otherwise, I can't see myself leaving. I've got two years left on my contract there after this season and I'm sure over the next few months we will be negotiating a new contract." The return to football in February 2010 of Paul Stretford, Rooney's agent, from a nine-month ban should signal the start of new contract negotiations for the 24-year-old. Rooney's contract at Old Trafford runs until June 2012, and while few would expect to see him leave the club, the player will be targeting an increase on his current package of £100,000 a week...

Arsene Wenger might be making a rare foray into the transfer market, the Daily Star reports, but as one would imagine it won't be for some superannuated pro at the end of his career. Arsenal are considering swooping for the 19-year-old Crystal Palace striker Victor Moses, after the south Londoners slashed their initial £5m valuation for the England youth international to £1m plus add-ons. But the club will have to fight off interest from fellow London Premier League outfits Fulham, Chelsea and Spurs, and also from Everton, who almost signed the player at the end of the last transfer window... ·