Man Utd target Lucas wants to stay with Sao Paolo

EUROPA LEAGUE new boys Manchester United look unlikely to land Brazilian ace Lucas after the teenager pleaded to stay with Sao Paulo. The 19-year-old playmaker has caught the eye of United as well as Liverpool in recent months, and rumours suggest a bidding war might break out next month with Sao Paulo wanting in excess of £25m for the young gun.

But in an interview with South American rag O Globo, Lucas pledged his loyalty to his hometown team. "For the New Year I have some great objectives and they all concern Sao Paulo," he said. "I want to win a title and also have a great Olympics in London. After that I will see but I'm only interested in Sao Paulo."

The news will come as a setback to both Liverpool and United but there remains the possibility that Sao Paulo will go against the wishes of Lucas and cash in on his silky skills in January.

On the same day that Manchester City crashed out of the Champions League, the agent of Edin Dzeko emphatically denied rumours that the Bosnian frontman might be on his way from the Premier League to Serie A. Stories began emerging last week suggesting Dzeko, who only arrived at Eastlands last year, had asked his friend and former Wolfsburg teammate Andrea Barzagli to help him move to Turin.

That's rubbish according to agent Irfan Redzepagic, who told tuttomaercatoweb.com: "I know news has been circulating that there have been telephone conversations between Dzeko and Barzagli, but... Edin is happy in England and at City he has everything that he wants."

Still with City and former AC Milan idol Roberto Baggio has advised the club to make a move for Carlos Tevez. The Argentine striker hasn’t played for the Sky Blues since September after falling out with boss Roberto Mancini, but according to reports from Italy Milan are weighing up a loan offer for the stroppy 27-year-old. In an interview with Sky Sport Italia, Baggio said of Tevez: "I got to know about him and appreciate his skills while he was still playing for Boca Juniors [and] he would be a great signing for Milan."

In other news, Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko won’t be returning to Russia next month – at least not as things stand at the moment. In an interview with Russia’s Sport Express, the player’s agent Oleg Artemov dismissed reports that Pavlyuchenko had agreed terms with Lokomotiv Moscow. "He hasn't signed anything," said Artemov. "There are more offers. We are learning, analysing and talking about them."

Finally the BBC reports that Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka is mulling over an offer to sign for Shanghai Shenhua with a decision expected soon. The Chinese outfit have offered the Frenchman a three-year deal and the club's media officer Ma Yue is quoted as saying: "There'll be news very soon. In five days, we'll definitely have news on whether it is yes or no." ·