Dante reveals Neymar interest

Bayern Munich centre-back Dante has admitted he has spoken with Santos striker Neymar regarding a move to the Allianz Arena.

The highly-rated forward has been linked with a move to the Bundesliga frontrunners, along with the likes of Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Whilst on international duty with Brazil, Dante has revealed he spoke to Neymar regarding a move to Bayern, as the defender hopes his Samba Boys team-mate will join the Bavarian outfit.

He told Sky Sports: "I told Neymar there is nothing better than Bayern Munich.

"I said it would be a great club for him."

Thursday's round up of the top transfer stories

- Chelsea target Neymar could follow Pep Guardiola to Bayern Munich, according to reports in Spain.



- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed the club are ready to battle Manchester United for Crystal Palace prodigy Wilfried Zaha.



- Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal are prepared to spend big this transfer window – and has expressed an interest in Napoli’s Edinson Cavani.



- Everton have lodged an £8.5m bid for Toulouse midfielder Etienne Capoue, according to sources in France.



- QPR’s hopes of adding Real Madrid defender Ricardo Carvalho to their growing squad have been hit by the Spanish club’s injury list.



- Galatasaray have revealed the size of the offer accepted by Inter Milan for Wesley Sneijder, with £6.2million the going rate.



- Newcastle United and Sunderland target Moussa Sissoko will today decide whether or not to accept an offer from Marseille.



- Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has cooled talk of a move for Leeds striker Luciano Becchio.



- Wigan have signed goalkeeper Joel Robles on loan from Atletico Madrid until the end of the season.



- Wigan midfielder Shaun Maloney has signed a new two-and-a-half year contract at the DW Stadium, the Barclays Premier League club have announced.



- Sunderland have made a bid for Swansea City's Danny Graham



- Manchester United have suffered a transfer snub after Pescara star Juan Fernando Quintero revealed his intention to move to Inter Milan.



- Manchester United's Federico Macheda could be about to join Stuttgart on loan, with an option to make the move permanent.



- Manchester United are considering a bid for Real Madrid midfielder Angel Di Maria as a possible replacement for Nani, according to Fichajes.net.



- Man Utd have once again sent scouts to watch Benfica defender Ezequiel Garay in action, according to the Daily Mail.



- Reading striker Gozie Ugwu has agreed to join League One strugglers Plymouth on a one-month loan deal.



- Southampton winger Jason Puncheon has revealed he hopes to win a new deal at St Mary's.



- Stoke boss Tony Pulis would not be drawn on the future of striker Kenwyne Jones after confirming that midfielder Maurice Edu will spend the rest of the season on loan with Bursapor.



- Victor Valdes' representatives have told Barcelona he will not consider extending his stay at the club.



- AC Milan have admitted to being in talks with Real Madrid regarding the possibility of taking Kaka back to Italy on loan.



- Palermo President Maurizio Zamparini has stated that his club are nearing closure on a deal for veteran Chievo shot stopper Stefano Sorrentino.



- USA international Graham Zusi admits he is still waiting to hear from West Ham if he will be handed a permanent contract at Upton Park.



- Pascal Chimbonda could follow in the footsteps of Thierry Henry, David Beckham and Robbie Keane and become the next Premier League export to move to the MLS.



- Christian Eriksen, who has been linked with Liverpool and Tottenham, looks unlikely to leave Ajax this month, according to his agent.



- Ajax outcast Miralem Sulejmani is finally ready to leave the club and move to Benfica - having failed to earn a dream move to England.



- Celta Vigo striker Iago Aspas, who has been linked with a move to Chelsea, could be on his way to Valencia, according toCadena Ser.



- Schalke general manager Horst Heldt has not ruled out selling players this month amid talk Lewis Holtby could make his move to Tottenham during the current transfer window rather than in the summer.



- Marseille are desperate to find a replacement for new QPR man Loic Remy - and they have set their sights on West Ham striker Modibo Maiga.



- Lyon have rubbished speculation linking playmaker Yoann Gourcuff with a move to Arsenal.



- Celtic have signed midfielder Tomas Rogic on a four-and-a-half-year contract from Central Coast Mariners.



- New Blackburn boss Michael Appleton has warned West Ham they will have to up the ante if they are serious about signing defender Martin Olsson.



- Walsall have rejected a bid from Bradford for captain Andy Butler.



- Crystal Palace boss Ian Holloway has confirmed his interest in DJ Campbell, but he faces competition for the QPR striker.



- Leeds United youngster Dominic Poleon has signed a new deal with the club.



- Nottingham Forest have sacked long-term boardroom members Mark Arthur, Frank Clark and Keith Burt.



- Nottingham Forest are lining up a move for Millwall striker Darius Henderson.



- Huddersfield Town are leading the race to sign Bradford City's exciting young striker Nahki Wells.



- Port Vale have announced that the club have signed former Sheffield Wednesday left-back Daniel Jones following his release from Hillsborough.



- Flamengo announced their fourth signing of the 2013 season in the shape of former Corinthians centre-back Wallace on a four year-contract.

Guardiola will be Bayern coach

Pep Guardiola will become Bayern Munich manager in July, having agreed a three-year deal with the Bundesliga giants.



Former Barcelona coach Guardiola was confirmed as Bayern's next coach on Wednesday.



Current Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes remains in his post until the end of this season, when 41-year-old Guardiola will take over on a contract until summer 2016.



Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said: "Pep Guardiola is one of the most successful coaches in the world and we are sure that he can make not just Bayern, but all of German football shine."



Guardiola will take over at the German giants on July 1, with Heynckes' contract running out on June 30.



The Spaniard announced last April he would be leaving Barca when his contract ran out at the end of the 2011/12 season and would be taking a year-long sabbatical from the game.



A host of clubs had been linked with the Spaniard since he left Barca, including Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea in England, Italian giants AC Milan and big-spending Paris Saint-Germain.



However, Bayern recently emerged as favourites to capture Guardiola's services and confirmed on Wednesday afternoon they had got their man.



Guardiola replaced Frank Rijkaard at Barca in 2008 and during his four years at the Nou Camp he led the Catalan giants to 13 trophies, making him the most successful coach in the club's history.

Bayern Munich announce Kirchhoff signing

Bayern Munich have secured the services of Jan Kirchhoff from Mainz on a free transfer at the end of the 2012-13 season.



The centre-back has an expiring contract with his current club, and will sign a deal with the Bavarians until June 2016.



"We are very pleased that such a young and talented Under-21 international has made the decision to join Bayern," chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told Bild.



The 22-year-old had also caught the attention of Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, but has opted to continue his career at the Allianz Arena instead.



"Kirchhoff is a rough diamond. I am very happy that he comes to Bayern and has opted to accept the challenge," sporting director Matthias Sammer added.



Kirchhoff came through the ranks of the Eintracht Frankfurt youth academy, before joining Mainz in 2007.

Klopp hopes to trouble Bayern Munich

Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp believes his side can cause Bayern Munich problems when the teams meet on Saturday.



The clash between the Bundesliga heavyweights in Munich could prove an important turning point in the season.



Dortmund are third on the table, 11 points behind league leaders Bayern, who have lost their past five league matches against Klopp's men.



"We have the possibility to cause some trouble for Bayern," Klopp said.



"We have beaten them five times in a row in the league but we lost in the Super Cup.



"There, we really felt how different Bayern are this year. We tried to play our game in that match but on the other side the players were so aggressive.



"But if we can put all our quality on the pitch, then there are not many clubs in the Bundesliga that are as difficult to play as us.



"That is our task for this game, there is no guarantee for a good result for another team.



"Of course Bayern are favourites. They play at home, they have 11 points more.



"It looks like they play their own season but nevertheless it's our duty to go there and make it difficult for them to win."



Klopp, who has guided Dortmund to the past two Bundesliga titles, said he expected Bayern to always challenge for the crown.



"I guess it is not a big effort for (Bayern manager) Jupp Heynckes to motivate and focus them on their goals," he said.



"They have made some huge transfers. That is quite unique in Europe.



"Everywhere money is short but not in Munich. They have extended their squad in quality.



"Their offence for example is very good. You can change five, six or seven players and you still have a top European team.



"We have to admit that, and it's fine. Everybody has the right to do what they can within their limits."

Champions League: Valencia v Bayern Munich

Mauricio Pellegrini’s side set themselves up for this tie in perfect fashion with a 2-1 win over Espanyol at the weekend and they could qualify for the knockout stages at group leaders with a win on Tuesday night at Mestalla.

Bayern failed to beat Nurnberg in their weekend fixture but they did rest French winger Frank Ribery and even without the injured Arjen Robben, the Germans are a force to be reckoned with.



Valencia will be without Fernando Gago who suffered an injury during the build-up of Argentina’s recent friendly but Jonathan Viera who scored against Espanyol will be hoping to keep his place.



Pellegrino once again has to choose between Brazilian keeper Diego Alves and Spaniard Vicente Guaita.



Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes is likely make changes with Ribery coming in and Thomas Muller will be hoping to start the game ahead of Toni Kroos.



Anatoliy Tymoshchuk is unlikely to feature following a poor performance against Nurnberg, whilst Brazilian tough tackler Luis Gustavo will return.



Valencia: Alves, Pereira, Ricardo Costa, Rami, Cissokho, Viera, Costa, Feghouli, Jonas, Guardado, Soldado



Bayern: Neuer, Lahm, Badstuber, Dante, Alaba , Gustavo, Schweinsteiger, Shaqiri, Muller, Ribery, Pizarro

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Arjen Robben Wants To Stay At Bayern Munich For Rest Of His Career

Arjen Robben hopes to remain with Bayern Munich for the rest of his career.



The flying Dutch winger is a popular figure at the Allianz Arena and has a contract until 2015, by which time he will be 31 years old.



And with the former Chelsea star unlikely to be ready to hang up his boots by that time, another deal with the Bavarians could be on the agenda, health permitting – and that could line Robben up to finish his career at Bayern Munich.



It is something he would certainly welcome.



"Do I see myself here for the rest of my career? Yes, of course, I see that for me", the Holland international told TZ.



"Of course, it depends on my health and my performances on the pitch, but I hope it happens.



"I have a contract until 2015, we will see."



The Dutchman, who landed at Bayern Munich in 2009 for a fee of around €25M, also revealed he is loving life in Munich, which he sees as a superb place to live.



"Munich is a great city."



"I have lived in many European cities, but I have never felt so at home anywhere else."



Robben has featured for Bayern Munich five times in the Bundesliga this season and twice in the Champions League.



He turned out for Holland against Germany in the dour 0-0 draw between the two countries last night.