Stars in Others' Eyes

Germany midfielder Torsten Frings has met representatives of Italian giants Juventus to discuss a possible move from Werder Bremen to the Italian giants, he said on Tuesday.

Frings was in Turin Monday with his wife, Petra, and his adviser, Norbert Flippen, for talks with Juventus sports director Alessio Secco and club official Roberto Bettega.

"I liked it there. But that will not speed up my decision. I will make up my mind over the next weeks," he said. "Juve want me at all costs. They don't want me to be just another midfielder but 'the' playmaker," Frings told the daily Bild newspaper. "I'm thinking a lot about this idea."

According to Tuesday's edition of Turin's La Stampa daily, the issue mainly depends on Frings' wife, who allegedly is not thrilled about a move to the northern Italian city.

But German reports also say Werder would want considerably more than the roughly 8 million euros ($10.8 million) Juve are said to be offering for Frings before agreeing to any move.

Secco is said to be preparing a trip to Bremen next week for negotiations with Werder, the 2004 German league and cup champions.

Juve want Frings to run midfield

The Turin club are keen on signing the Germany international this summer as they prepare for a return to Serie A for forced demotion for the current season over a match-fixing scheme.

They have already signed a Bundesliga player in Bosnian midfielder Hasan Salihamidzic from Bayern Munich and are reportedly also interested in Frings' Bremen teammate Miroslav Klose, the 2006 World Cup top scorer.

Although Frings, 30, still has two more years on his contract at Bremen, he said at the weekend he was considering the approach from Juventus but "won't be put under any pressure."

Klose has a deal in Bremen until 2008.

Werder coach Thomas Schaaf said it was "legitimate" for Frings to consider the offer, with Italian reports saying the player could double his salary at Juventus.

"If he has the feeling that he absolutely has to try something new then we will speak to him about the situation," Schaaf said. "But the fact is that the conditions (for a move) have to be in place. Both Miro (Klose) and Torsten still have a contract with us."

Werder Bremen sporting director Klaus Allofs said he was surprised by the news.

"We're not going to put ourselves under pressure. If Torsten no longer wants to play for Werder I'm not going to force him," said Allofs. "We have in the past always succeeded in finding new talent. We're not dependant on one player, Werder is more important than any player."

However, losing both Frings and Klose would shear Werder of two of their most established and world class players.

Hot-shot Klose the must-have striker

Klose has been making noises of a possible move abroad for the best part of six months with his current deal at Bremen coming up for renewal. He is under contract with the German title challengers until next year but had previously told them he would have come to a decision by the beginning of 2007.

"Miro thought he would have decided by now. He says himself that it's a difficult decision to take," said agent Alexander Schutt.

News that the 28-year-old Germany striker is looking to pastures new has put a number of Europe's big clubs on alert with Manchester United and Barcelona keeping tabs on his situation, while Werder's great rivals Bayern Munich are said to be considering making an offer which could tempt the Polish-born forward to stay in the Bundesliga.

After losing out on Fiorentina’s World Cup-winning hit-man, Luca Toni, Bayern would gladly redirect the funds to their northern foes if it meant securing another of Europe's hottest strikers.

Hargreaves' move to Manchester back on?

The financial outlay for Klose would also be eased if Bayern allow the exit of another star name -- Owen Hargreaves.

Hargreaves has been a Manchester United target since last summer and remains on Sir Alex Ferguson's wish list for the new season. While the Bayern hierarchy were less than willing to sell the England international earlier this season, the elimination form the Champions League has seemingly changed their minds.

"If we really get an offer of 25 or 30 million euros for Hargreaves I would think about it very seriously," club president Franz Beckenbauer told Premiere TV in Germany after the Bavarians crashed out to AC Milan last week.