Quote:Chairman Peter Coates insists Ryan Shawcross will still be a Stoke City player next season.

A number of clubs, including Manchester United and Liverpool, have been linked with a move for Shawcross over the past 12 months.

The defender's stock has risen after an impressive campaign in which he broke into the England squad and was named Stoke's young player of the season.

With new rules coming into force next season meaning that Premier League clubs must have eight "home-grown" players in a squad of 25, English talent is in particular demand this summer.

However, Shawcross signed a new contract in November to keep him at Stoke until 2014 and Coates is confident the 22-year-old is going nowhere.

"We voted for the new rule because we believe it will be good for football and will help teams to develop their own players," the Potters chairman told The Sentinel.

"I am all for young English players being in demand, but we rate Ryan very highly and I am sure he will be playing for us next season."

Quote:Barcelona superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic could be set for a £46 million switch to Manchester United, Chelsea or Manchester City after David Villa's arrival at the Nou Camp.

The Catalan giants have agreed a £34.2 million deal with Valencia to bring the lethal centre forward to the club. Sport has reported this has pushed Ibrahimovic towards the Premier League as Barcelona look to balance the books.

United have been linked all summer with a move for a top-line centre forward to support Wayne Rooney. City's billions and the presence of Ibrahimovic's ex-Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini makes them a possible destination, while Chelsea are in the market for a "marquee signing".

Ibrahimovic has struggled to win over the fans at the Nou Camp since his £60 million move last summer. Despite grabbing 21 goals in all competitions, he could be forced out after just one campaign.

Quote:Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has rubbished claims he will cut his losses on Dimitar Berbatov this summer.

Speculation has been rife that £30.5million signing would be heading out the Old Trafford exit door after two disappointing seasons at Old Trafford.

AC Milan and Bayern Munich are reported to be interested in Berbatov but Ferguson insists the 29-year-old forward has a Red Devils future.

Asked if the Bulgarian would be sold, he said: "No, he will not - definitely not. There's a problem with Manchester United in terms of expectation and media attention.

"There's speculation every year and we've got to live with that hype. We know Dimitar is a good player and he will be with us next year.

"We don't have a great deal to improve on. The one area of concern last season was that we had 16 players missing through injury."

Rooney

It looks like Berbatov is going to play a leading role at the start of next season after Ferguson revealed Wayne Rooney is unlikely to be fit for the first month of the 2010-11 campaign.

The United boss believes the World Cup will take so much out of a host of first-team members, including his star striker, that he will not consider them for the opening matches of the new campaign.

Like the rest of the Red Devils' eight-strong contingent on South Africa duty this summer, Rooney will not go on this summer's pre-season tour of the US and Canada, which starts just two days after the final.

"My plan is to start the season with the squad that we take on tour," said Ferguson.

"We like to give the players some rest, and so we intend to start next year without the players who are at the World Cup, though there are not so many of them this year."

Glazers
Ferguson has also defended the Glazer family, rejecting claims the United owners' huge debt repayments had affected his ability to compete in the transfer market.

"They've been great owners," added the 68-year-old. "They've supported me in every way I've asked them and there's no reason to think they've not done so.

"Any time we have wanted a player, they've provided the money.

"What people forget is that we have spent £20million on young players this season, including Chris Smalling, Mame Biram Diouf and Javier Hernandez

"We have always seen our future as based on young players developing at the club.

"We did it with Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Anderson and Antonio Valencia, and we do not need to change that structure.

"But because we're signing young players, not big showpiece signings, they think we are not moving. People do not recognise how we see our future."

Quote:As reported by Goal.com Spain, Argentina national team coach Diego Maradona has revealed from a conversation he has had with Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain that los Blancos have not called him yet to speak about a contract extension.

"When I saw Pipita, I asked him if they [Madrid] had renewed his contract for another 10 years and he answered me that they had not even called him. I hope he remains calm and that his father [the player's agent] is able to get all the money he can and if not, they will sell him for 70 million euros".

Higuain has been the subject of transfer speculation for some time this season and talk of a contract extension that was supposed to take place in the fall has degenerated into reports that the Argentine may be leaving the Spanish capital. Many reports seem to indicate that Madrid president Florentino Perez hopes to part with el Pipita for the simple reason that the team's top scorer came to the Bernabeu under the auspices of Perez's predecessor, Ramon Calderon.

Higuain has shown steady improvement in his time at Real Madrid, putting in crucial performances to bring two Liga titles to the Spanish capital. Over the past two seasons, his goalscoring form has improved exponentially and he has led the club in scoring for the past two years.