Firmino Agrees Five Year Deal With Monaco

Hoffenheim's Brazilian playmaker, Roberto Firmino, has signed for French side AS Monaco. He is the third player to join new manager Kolo Touré at Stade Louis II, with the club having already signed Barcelona duo Martín Montoya and Cristian Tello. It was reported when the deals had gone through that Firmino was next on the list, and once again, much like the signing of Cristian Tello, the rumours had proved to be true.

Firmino, 21, joins Monaco for a fee of £14 million, on a five year deal. Several other clubs, including Liverpool, had also shown an interest in the uncapped Brazilian, who joined Hoffenheim in 2010 from Figueirense for £3.5 million. Firmino said that his experience with the club was "humbling" and that other players could learn a lot from the German side.

"Of course, I'd like to say to my new fans that I am delighted to be here, but I'd just like to tell you my feelings of what a great club Hoffenheim is. Being with the club was a very humbling experience, and I want their fans to be reassured that I did not see them as a stepping stone for myself to push on from. I could have stayed for my entire career; that is how comfortable I felt there. Any player looking for a big break in the game would learn a lot from the club. Germany is a great country, and Hoffenheim is a great city. But France, and Monaco is now my home, and I am delighted to be here, truly. I owe a great debt to Hoffenheim, but I hope to repay that by showing the world how well I can play."

Cheap, considering his talent.

Oo, nice signing! Been looking good irl too

Andrea Ranocchia: Monaco Bound

Inter Milan's Italian center back, Andrea Ranocchia has signed a four year contract with AS Monaco. However, Ivorian boss Kolo Touré, 33, has ruled out any further activity in the transfer market, with three other signings having joined the club prior to Ranocchia's arrival. It was widely rumoured that Monaco were desperately looking to bolster their defence, with very few players providing sufficient cover for the team.

Ranocchia, who turns 26 in February, joins the French club for £6.25 million. Inter Milan fans were disappointed with the sale, and believe that his ability should have warranted a higher transfer fee, especially considering the fact that he was bought from Genoa for almost double what they sold him for. He had been with Inter since 2010, but now must look forward to this new chapter in his life.

With Kolo Touré ruling himself out of any more transfer bids for the season (after narrowly missing out on Cagliari defender Nicola Murru), Monaco will have to make do with the squad at hand. Touré has made some good additions to the squad, and they will surely help in their push for Europe.

A good signing, hopefully he'll help add stability to your back four.

Not the best of starts, hopefully you'll improve.

Henry: "Falcao Must Improve"

Former Monaco striker, Thierry Henry, has expressed his concerns about €60 million-rated striker, Radamel Falcao's performances.

Falcao, who played his first three games for the newly promoted side since his big money move from Atlético Madrid, is yet to find his first goal for the club, and Henry insists that the Colombian must improve, and quickly.

After the opening month of the Ligue One campaign, Kolo Touré's AS Monaco sit in a lowly 15th place, following a loss and a draw at their home ground. They have been lucky to pick up three points, thanks to a substitution from Touré in the Bordeaux match, bringing Dimitar Berbatov on for the 28-year-old, and the Bulgarian striker managed to bag the winning goal.

Henry tells us that Falcao's transfer fee demands vastly improved performances, and feels it a shame that he is not performing, due to his 'great talent'.

"Radamel is a fantastic player of course, he possesses great talent. I always maintained that Claudio Ranieri paid well over the odds for him, however, and it seems that the fee is backfiring already. I've never stopped following the team, and it is a shame that in this era of the club's history, when things really began to look up for them, that some of their stars are not performing. I've said it before, and I'll say it again; Falcao must improve."

Henry, 36, currently plys his trade in the MLS, playing for New York Red Bulls.

Henry speaks the truth. Falcao needs to improve and justify his price tag.

Not the best start, but I'm sure you'll improve!! Hopefully Falcao improves too

He's not performing, and I agree with Henry.. Terrible month