The window officially opens on July 1st, but rumors are already flying.....

One possible transfer that can be confirmed as happening is Gareth Barry finally leaving Aston Villa, and heading to Manchester City for $20 million. Barry had been linked in previous transfer seasons with Liverpool, as he had said he wanted to play Champions League football. Problem is, City was at best mediocre last season, and has a lot of work to do earning that right.

Some rumors......

AC Milan and Brazil midfielder Kaka is being linked Chelsea (as touched on in their thread), and a Spanish radio station is claiming a deal is in the works for him to go to Real Madrid; of course, he's saying he wants to stay in Italy.

Real Madrid refuses to allow themselves not to be linked with Man United megastar Cristiano Ronaldo and will pay whatever it takes to acquire him.

Chelsea have made bids for AC Milan striker Pato and Portsmouth defender Glen Johnson, totalling over $69.5 million.

Everton, having decided they will not make Jo's loan deal from Man City permanent, is willing to invest in Newcastle striker Michael Owen.

Tottenham is ready to move on from defender Pascal Chimbonda - again- and will sell him to Blackburn so they can pursue Marseilles' Lorik Cana

AC Milan have set a Monday deadline for Kaka to decide if he wants to stay put, or move on, most likely to Real in a deal that is alleged to be worth over $91 million.

Ricardo Carvalho wants out of Chelsea, after making only 18 appearances in '08/09. He had injury issues during the season, and while he admits to being out of shape, he insists it was because he wasn't playing.

EPL returnees Birmingham have broken their club transfer record in signing Ecuador striker Christian Benitez, formerly of Santos Laguna in Mexico. The exact fee isn't known, but is expected to be well over $10 million.

And now Rumor......

Real Madrid are preparing a $49 million bid for elite Man United and Serbia defender Nemanja Vidic, who could be open to the move as his wife supposedly doesn't care for the English climate and would prefer life in Spain.

Manchester City and Brazil midfielder Elano is eager to move to Inter Milan.

Liverpool will ante up $24 million for Valencia and Spain striker David Villa.

Brazilian club Santos want Robinho back on their side, and will make a bid to Man City for his return.

Bayern Munich will reject any and all offers for French winger Franck Ribery, and another rumored Chelsea target, AC Milan forward Alexandre Pato, will stay in Italy.

Real Madrid are working on deals that would net them both David Villa and David Silva, both of whom are targeted by Liverpool, and Villa by Chelsea.

Man City is looking into Peruvian Roberto Merino, called the "Maradona of the Andes". Merino is one of a striker targets for Citeh, who are also looking into Samuel Eto'o of Barca, Blackburn's Roque Santa Cruz, Portsmouth's Peter Crouch, and Edin Dzeko of Wolfsburg, who is also a target of Arsenal.

If Kaka leaves AC Milan, they will compete with Real Madrid to sign Cristiano Ronaldo.

Tottenham have offered David Bentley and $14 million to Aston Villa for winger Ashley Young, another target of Real's.

Liverpool may lose a pair, Javier Mascherano is being eyed by Barcelona, and Andrea Dossena is in the sights of Juventus.

Man City center-back and captain Richard Dunne will be pursued by both Tottenham and Stoke City.

Hull City want to build up their strike force by stealing away a couple of young Man United prospects, Manucho and Frazier Campbell, both of whom have spent time with the Tigers on loan.

Villa and/or Silva to Liverpool = dream come true




Dossena can go, he didn't play much at all and a Arbeloa-Carragher-Agger-Aurelio defensive line is extremely efficient, plus Skrtel

I would really hate to see Mascherano go though

Hull and United have agreed to a $9.5 million fee for Frazier Campbell; it's up to the Tigers to get his signature on a contract.

Rumor......

Arsenal have reportedly come to terms with Ajax on a $18 million deal for defender Thomas Vermaelen, also the Ajax captain.

Man United and Real Madrid have made bids in excess of $25.5 million for Wigan winger Antonio Valencia....Sunderland is also keeping tabs on the Ecuador international, and are also looking into bidding on Titus Bramble

Inter Milan will offer $40 million to Arsenal for oft-injured (but really good when he's healthy) striker Robin van Persie.

Tottenham is working on bringing Ruud van Nistelrooy back to the EPL; word is that Real Madrid will let him go for a mere $2 million.

Man City will offer Micah Richards as trade bait in order to secure Joleon Lescott from Everton.

Aston Villa want Michael Owen, but also want him to take a pay cut; the Villans could face competition for his signature from AC Roma.

Chelsea will come to terms on a deal with Portsmouth to bring back defender Glen Johnson.

Liverpool is also looking into re-acquiring a familiar face.....striker Peter Crouch, who supposedly could be had for only $6.3 million.

Inter Milan is willing to listen to offers for ace striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and have apparently been talking to Barcelona.

Kaka going to Real Madrid for a transfer record 56m deal.

Relieved he's staying out of the Premier League, but also a little upset that this probably keeps Ronaldo at ManU

You knew it was going to happen, especially after he came close to leaving back in the winter. Real aren't going to allow Barcelona be favorites to repeat if they can help it.



He can't be happy. Not only was he denied the opportunity to majorly cash in last summer, but now there doesn't appear to be anybody out there who can back up the truck to Old Trafford like they would need to to pry him away from Ferguson.

He and his agent have to be kicking themselves for not forcing a move when they had the chance.

Rafa made it clear today that he's staying put. He said they wouldn't take £50 million for him.

Rumor.....

Real Madrid apparently DO have enough money to buy both Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo in the same transfer season, and depending on who you talk to, are either going to be in touch with ManUnited in the coming days, or have already started negotiations with them.

Newcastle defender Sebastien Bassong wants to part of life in the Championship, and is being targeted by Arsenal and Tottenham. Another Magpie, midfielder Nicky Butt, is the target of Wolverhampton.

Setanta is reporting that Robinho is interested in leaving Manchester City for Barcelona, but in the process of denying a Real Madrid switch to O Globo, he said he's happy at Eastlands and wants to stay.



The Daily Mirror says that Pato has asked permission to speak with Chelsea about a move.

Tottenham's summer shopping list includes Atletico Madrid midfielder Maxi Rodriguez and Galatasaray winger Arda Turan, meanwhile, they've lost some interest in pursuing Ruud van Nistelrooy

Stop me if you've heard this one before: Sunderland is considering a bid for Reading winger Stephen Hunt. Everton's interested, as well.

It's official....Cristiano Ronaldo has been sold to Real Madrid for a fee of £80 million, or $131 million, smashing the world transfer record they set just a couple of days ago.

BBC.com's business columnist explains how the club can possibly afford such massive deals: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8094864.stm

Deco has confirmed that he wants out of Chelsea after one season, and wants to play for Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan.

As was originally suggested here, Man City is considering a loan deal with Birmingham that would send backup goalkeeper Joe Hart to the EPL returnees.

And now Rumor......

Valencia rejected a Chelsea bid for David Villa, and he now appears likely to join the big spenders in Madrid, which would give them a triumvirate of world-class Goal scorers.

USA defender Oguchi Onyewu, who has enjoyed most of his international success with Belgium's top club, Standard Liege, has already been targeted by Birmingham and is now in the sights of Fulham.

Man United may be losing another Portuguese midfielder - Sporting Lisbon have reportedly started talks to bring back Nani, either on a season-long loan or in a player/cash deal that would send attacking midfielder Joao Moutinho to Old Trafford.

It wasn't resistance by Bayern Munich that kept Chelsea from landing Franck Ribery, it was the £65m price tag they put on his head....Clarence Seedorf rejected the idea of a Blues switch from AC Milan.

Manchester City will have outside competition from West Ham to re-sign striker Daniel Sturridge.

Tottenham is preparing to clean house, shedding as many as 14 players and £47.8m in contracts; strikers Andriy Pavlyuchenko and Darren Bent, goalkeeper Huerelho Gomes and disappointing midfielder David Bentley headline those expected to leave.

Spanish website Marca.com is reporting that Real Madrid have made a successful bid for David Villa of 40 million Euros, or $56 million.

ManUnited is beginning life without Ronaldo, and reportedly has submitted a £17.5 million bid for Antonio Valencia, a few million short of a bid allegedly already made.

Meanwhile, it's being reported that as soon as United finalizes the Ronaldo deal, they'll snag both Valencia and Samuel Eto'o from Barca.

Liverpool is going to step up efforts to sign Glen Johnson from Portsmouth, who are already resigned to the fact that they'll be losing the England centre-back.....on the flip side, Reds defender Alvaro Arbeloa is being targeted by Real Madrid.

Liverpool appears to have won Glen Johnson, reaching a £17 million deal with Portsmouth for the England international defender.

The BBC is suggesting that the Reds will now move both Andrea Dossena and Alvaro Arbeloa to fund the deal.

Rumor.....

Real Madrid is unwilling to meet Valencia's asking price for David Villa

Chelsea is making a late bid hijack Man City's bid for Man United and Argentina striker Carlos Tevez; how that came about can be found here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/...join-Blues.html

Manchester City are favorites to sign Blackburn's Roque Santa Cruz

Tottenham is shifting their attention away from Ruud van Nistelrooy and toward fellow Dutch striker Klass-Jan Huntelaar....Spurs are also reportedly working on a major deal with Aston Villa, in which David Bentley and striker Jermaine Jenas would go to the Villans, and Spurs would get Ashley Young

Arsenal is on the verge of signing striker Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax...meanwhile, Real Madrid is considering bidding on Gunners and France defender Bacary Sagna

Everton is the favorite to sign Irish duo Stephen Hunt and striker Kevin Doyle from Reading, after their new manager said it was time for them to move on

EPL newbs Wolverhampton have a new 'keeper: former Reading and USA international Marcus Hahnemann, who was released after the Royals failed to regain promotion.

It's really all about the gossip today.....

Real Madrid needs to sell players in order to pay the transfer fees they've arranged for Kaka and Ronaldo....they've contacted a number of English clubs and in addition to the Dutch strike force mentioned yesterday, they're looking to offload several other prominent Oranji including Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, and Rafael van der Vaart; also on the chopping block are Argentinians Gabriel Heinze and Javier Saviola, and Mali midfielder Mahamadou Diarra.

Tottenham, as mentioned yesterday, are interested in Huntelaar, and could also offer bids for Robben and Heinze, but Robben's father firmly denied any idea of a Spurs switch.

Barcelona feels the need for a new 'keeper, after attempts to extend current #1 Victor Valdes broke down. Their prime target is Liverpool's Pepe Reina.

The Sun is reporting that David Villa will only join an English club if he gets to play for Rafa at Liverpool.

Franck Ribery's name is still floating around, but a couple of teams have allegedly dropped out of the running; Real Madrid were put off by Bayern's asking price, and Man United isn't interested in signing anyone older than 26.

Barcelona is preparing a £35 million bid to Man City for Robinho.

A couple of Milanese stars are being linked with Chelsea: AC midfielder Gennaro Gattuso and Inter striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

no.



yes. yes please.

Carlos Tevez will not return to Man United for 09/10, ending a two-year loan deal from West Ham. Man City and Chelsea are the leading contenders to sign the Argentine striker.

Man City have agreed to a transfer fee with Blackburn for Roque Santa Cruz.

Arsenal have finalized the transfer deal for Thomas Vermaelen with Ajax for £10 million, the move is thought to set up a transfer of fellow defender Kolo Toure to Man City.

And now Rumor.....

Real Madrid is almost ready to bid on Ashley Young, even though they still haven't made any moves to fund the Ronaldo/Kaka additions.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have a £35 million bid on the table for David Villa; Valencia are inclined to accept it, but Villa allegedly would rather go to Real, who have bid a few million less.

Barca are preparing a £35 million bid for Javier Mascherano, and the offer could be for less money and a player, striker Bojan Krkic.

Part of the Tottenham purge, winger Giovani Dos Santos could be moved to Atletico Madrid for £4 million.

There hasn't been too much going on in terms of actual signings.....Joe Hart has been loaned to Birmingham by Man City on a season-long deal, but that's been about it.

However, rumors still fly:

Valencia claim to have received no offers for David Villa, despite the Daily Mirror saying that Barcelona has bid. Man United is allegedly preparing a £40 million offer....United is still being linked with Karim Benzema. Villa told a Spanish TV station that he won't play anywhere but Spain next season.

Inter Milan's sporting director was in London this week to talk to Chelsea about a double bid for Ricardo Carvalho and Deco.

Alexandre Pato is staying with AC Milan despite a "monster" offer from an English club. Meanwhile, Milan have Edin Dzeko at the top of their list, with Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor as their fall-back option.

Carlos Tevez will make up his mind within the next few days about whether he will be joining Man City, Chelsea or "one other team".

Michael Owen's contract with Newcastle expires next week, and Hull are expressing interest.

Alvaro Arbeloa will be leaving Liverpool for Real Madrid within the next few days

Blackburn want to replace Santa Cruz with Portsmouth striker Peter Crouch, who may be too expensive for them.

Wigan have received bids for Antonio Valencia from Man United and Real Madrid ranging between £14 and £18 million.

Man City want to bid on Everton and England defender Joleon Lescott, but the Blues have said they will not accept any offer for the man assigned the club's esteemed #5 shirt.

Patrick Vieira is in the process of moving from Inter Milan to Paris St. Germain.

Sunderland and Bolton are preparing bid for Reading and Ireland striker Kevin Doyle.

The Ronaldo deal was officially completed when he signed his contract today.

He signed a 6-year deal: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/t...utd/8121951.stm

Striker Djibril Cisse, who spent this past season with Sunderland on loan from Marseilles, signed a four-year deal with Panathinaikos in Greece to complete a £7 million deal.

After losing Santa Cruz and, more recently, Matt Derbyshire to Olympiakos, Blackburn want to fill the void with Ruud van Nistelrooy

Tottenham have submitted a £6 million bid for Inter striker Victor Obinna, as Spurs are being offered out of favor midfielder Maxi Rodriguez by Atletico Madrid.

Gossip.....

AC Milan have opened talks with Arsenal about Emmanuel Adebayor.

Sunderland want to kick off their spending by acquiring Darren Bent from Tottenham, but have problems with the £18 million asking price.

Karim Benzema is prepared to leave Lyon for a bigger stage, but prefers Spain to England, giving Real Madrid an edge over Man United.

Hull is prepared to sell Brazilian free-kick ace Geovanni if the right offer comes along.

Kevin Doyle will decide next week if he will be getting back into the top flight when he chooses from Fulham, Bolton, Sunderland and Wolverhampton.

Birmingham's efforts to land Patrick Vieira are being hampered by the Frenchman's lack of interest in playing for them, and a greater interest in returning to his homeland.

Spanish radio station iCat FM is reporting (since picked up by ESPN) that Manchester City has made a "stratospheric" offer to Barca for Samuel Eto'o. No mention of money yet, but it would allegedly break the world record recently set by Real for Ronaldo.

Meanwhile, News of the World is reporting that not only are City going to get Eto'o, but they've also landed Carlos Tevez, and will spend a total of 55 million on the pair. Combined with the Santa Cruz and Barry signings, City will have spent around £90 million on the quartet.

Wolves won the Kevin Doyle sweepstakes, making him a club-record signing at £6.5 million. He wanted to get back into the EPL so as to maintain a higher profile heading into next year's World Cup.

Barcelona have offered Samuel Eto'o a two-year contract extension, but his agent says that he would be willing to move to Man City if Barca wishes to sell.

Antonio Valencia is officially a Man United Red Devil, having signed a four-year deal today. The final fee figure was undisclosed, but is believed to have been £16 million, and represents a club record for Wigan.

EPL newbs Burnley have signed Scotland striker Steven Fletcher from Hibernian for £3 million, a club record for the Clarets. Fletcher was named Young Player of the Year by the Scottish Premier League.

Real Madrid have agreed to a deal with Lyon for long-time Man United target Karim Benzema. The French striker will go to Spain in a $49 million deal that could rise to $58 million based on performance. He's scored 54 goals over the past two seasons.

Man United is on the verge of signing former Newcastle and England striker Michael Owen. Owen was photographed leaving a Manchester hospital after a physical, and the move is expected to be announced today. Owen had been linked with Aston Villa, Everton, Stoke and Hull, but United decided to gamble on the oft-injured star after seeing former top-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo leave for Spain, and failing to sign Karim Benzema.

EDIT: It's a Done Deal

Chelsea have signed former England U-20 striker Daniel Sturridge from Man City. Because of Sturridge's age (19) and the fact that he did not have a current contract, a tribunal will determine the transfer fee, which is expected to range between $4.9 and $16.3 million.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have "completely rejected" a bid from Man City for centre-back and Captain John Terry.

Rumor.....

Bayern Munich want to pry defender Jose Bosingwa from Chelsea

Arsenal want to keep Emmanuel Adebayor, but should the striker depart, they would like to replace him with Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh.....if AC Milan are not able to secure Adebayor's services, they will turn their attention to Portsmouth's Peter Crouch

Hi Timmah,
What is the benift to Utd with this trade? The injury history must be a huge concern. Yes he is a good goal poacher BUT the number of times on the field over the last 4 years is a big concern. Is he just a mid week/champions league fill in?

They badly need a scorer with the losses of Ronaldo and Tevez, and Valencia simply isn't geared to do that. He's a fine winger, but not remotely in Ronaldo's class. I think they really, really wanted Benzema, and missing out on him meant going with a Plan B.

If they can keep Owen fit, then they'll have something. We may see him sparsely used in the early going, so yeah, he may seem like little more than a Euro-competition hitman for the time being, but they need someone up front to pair with Rooney on a regular basis, so he should get plenty of mintues in the EPL in the long run.

Chelsea have added another player, this time, it's CSKA Moscow utility player Yuri Zhirkov. He can play left-back or midfield, and came at a price of $29.3 million.

A number of outlets are reporting that Everton have signed Anton Peterlin, a midfielder for the Ventura County Fusion in the Premier Development League (or the fourth level of US soccer). He had a brief trial with the Toffees at the end of this season and reportedly, he turned down offers from MLS clubs Chicago and San Jose in order to stay in the EPL.

Found this on the AC Milan website:



Onyewu no doubt greatly helped make this happen by his play in the Confederations Cup. If he's able to get this kind of bounce off that tournament, it should be interesting to see how things play out for Jay DeMerit, who doesn't seem to have anything left to prove with Watford in the Championship.

Celtic have signed midfielder Marc-Antoine Fortune from French side Nancy for about $5.5 million. Hull City was also in the running and had similarly matched Nancy's asking price, but Fortune opted for Scotland.

Didier Zokora is leaving Tottenham for Spain, having been sold to Sevilla for an undisclosed fee. It's expected that Spurs are hoping to at least get back the $13 million they spent on Zokora when they obtained him from St. Etienne three years ago.

Some rumor.....

Aston Villa is set to bid on Leeds teen star Fabian Delph, whose name was thrown around during the winter.

Arsenal is still in the running for Fiorentina midfielder Felipe Melo

Barcelona will allow Samuel Eto'o to move on to Man City so they can raise funds to pry Cesc Fabregas away from Arsenal

Newcastle's uncertain ownership situation is preventing defender Sebastien Bassong from moving to Arsenal, among others, the Frenchman claims

Blackburn have narrowed their striker targets to Spurs' Darren Bent and Sunderland's Kenwyne Jones; meanwhile, Portsmouth is soon to decide if they will accept Sunderland's $20 million bid for Peter Crouch

Former Man United striker Frazier Campbell is in talks with Sunderland after rejecting Hull City's contract offer. The Tigers and United had agreed to a transfer over a month ago.

Hull City have now set their sights on Fulham striker Bobby Zamora and have made a "firm and substantial" bid that is beleived to be around $11 million.

Rumor time.....

Real Madrid have agreed to a transfer with VfB Stuttgart for striker Klass-Jan Huntelaar

Barcelona will return Alexandre Hleb to Arsenal in order to get Cesc Fabregas from the Gunners (considering that Hleb specifically wanted out of England a year ago, I don't see this one having strong legs)....Barca and Real Madrid are the front-runners to land him, if he leaves London at all

Real Madrid would like to continue their high-ticket shopping with Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso

Man United is looking into a straight trade of strikers with Atletico Madrid - The Red Devils would ship out Dimitar Berbatov, and bring in Sergio Aguero

Inter Milan's interest in Deco has waned, and the midfielder will stay with Chelsea....meanwhile, the Blues are preparing to make John Terry a sizable extension offer in order to keep him away from Man City

In the end, Barca was willing, but Man City has ended transfer discussions. Barca had made a sizable contract extension offer to Eto'o as all this was going on, and that apparently that directly interfered with a deal.

Everton have arranged a season-long loan deal with Man City for striker Jo. The Brazilian never fit in at City, but scored a handful of goals on a late-season loan to the Toffees.

The Carlos Tevez saga is nearing conclusion, as the Manchester sides have agreed to a fee. Tevez will have a physical and then sign a five-year deal with City, after spending 08/09 on loan with United.

United will not make any more moves, announcing that they're done spending for the summer. In addition to the previously-discussed Owen and Valencia deals, the Red Devils added former Bordeaux winger Gabriel Obertan last week.

Sunderland have signed former Toluca captain Paulo de Silva to a three-year deal. The long-time Mexican League defender is also Paraguay's captain.

When David Beckham left Man United a few years ago, he swore he'd never play in the Premier League again. Now, with South Africa only a year away, he wouldn't be opposed to an EPL return.

Man City is trying to land another major piece as they have opened up talks with Arsenal for Emmanuel Adebayor. The striker struggled with injury last season, after scoring 30 times in 07/08. The price is believed to be around $40 million.

Arsenal could replace him with Marouane Chamakh, the Bordeaux striker who recently said it would be a dream to play at Emirates and would certainly agree to a move.

Aston Villa have agreed to a transfer for former Middlesbrough midfielder Stewart Downing. Downing is out until October with a foot injury, but Villa will pay $19.8 million for the England international.

Portsmouth have agreed to a transfer with Sunderland for Peter Crouch for a similar price, but Fulham is still in the picture and could land Crouch as he's interested in playing in London.

The Man City transfer for Emmanuel Adebayor is nearing completion as he's been granted a work permit and now needs to agree to a personal contract.

Arsenal have lost out on Felipe Melo, who is on his way to Juventus for a fee believed to be around $30 million.

Fulham have accepted Hull City's $8 million bid for Bobby Zamora

Barcelona and Inter Milan have agreed to a striker switch where Inter will receive Samuel Eto'o, plus cash, and Barca will get Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The report says that the "cash" amounts to a mere $57 million. Also, midfielder Alexandre Hleb, who had been suggested as possibly returning to the EPL, will go to Inter on a season-long loan. The deal is dependent on personal contracts being agreed to.

As they promised, Everton rejected a $25 million from Man City for defensive leader Joleon Lescott.

Manucho, who had split his 08/09 season between Panathinaikos and Hull City in separate loan deals, has been allowed to leave Manchester United in order to join to Spanish side Real Valladolid. Before signing with ManU, Manucho was the top scorer in the Angolan league.

Glasgow Rangers have agreed to a $2 million deal with Birmingman City for their former captain, midfielder Barry Ferguson.

Some rumor for your Saturday.....

Emmanuel Adebayor was left out of Arsenal's lineup for a weekend friendly, and could be closer to a Man City move, but The London Times is reporting that he's actually more interested in going to Chelsea.

Peter Crouch will decide this weekend if he's leaving Portsmouth for either Sunderland or Fulham.

Man City will offer an increased bid to Everton for Joleon Lescott.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti says there are no untouchables at Stamford Bridge, which would theoretically open the door for Man City to acquire long-rumored target John Terry.

The transfer is complete, as Adebayor has signed a five-year deal with Man City.

AC Milan would like to bring back David Beckham for another loan spell after the MLS season ends in November. The loan would be just that though, after Milan's season ends in the late-spring, "he returns to America without all the fuss that happened last March."

Meanwhile, The Daily Mail is reporting that a handful of Premier League sides would bid for his services if he decides to make 2009 his last year with Galaxy.

A report in The Guardian suggests that Chelsea and Ukraine striker Andriy Schevchenko, who also spent a loan spell with Milan last season, will leave the Blues after this year, and could go to Russia.

Real Madrid's bid for Liverpool's Xabi Alonso has stalled, and now the Spain midfielder is in the sights of both Man City and Chelsea.

Peter Crouch's transfer move to Sunderland has fallen through, and now Tottenham has joined Fulham in pursuit of the England striker.

Man United has "significant" funds to spend, and the Glazers expect the club to use it. Look for United to start throwing money around after making relatively low-cost signings up to this point.

The Samuel Eto'o - Zlatan Ibrahimovic move will go through, after Eto'o reached an agrement with Inter Milan.

Some rumors.....

The Daily Express says Man City will extend a $35 million bid to Aston Villa for winger Ashley Young

The Daily Mail is reporting that Man City will pay John Terry $1.5 million per month to get him to leave Chelsea, but The Sun says he's staying put and will sign an extension with the Blues.

The Daily Star is reporting that Liverpool is now a player in the Peter Crouch bidding, and could be lining up a $20 million bid to bring the striker back to Anfield. The club is currently on a tour of Thailand, but manager Rafa Benitez has reportedly asked for frequent updates on the Crouch situation.

Meanwhile, Liverpool is getting ready to pounce on Spain striker David Silva, says The Independent. Valencia was apparently going to try and resolve their cash crisis by shipping out David Villa, but Barca's addition of Ibrahimovic has ruined that move, and with him now set to stay in the fold, Villa becomes expendable, and could fall into Rafa's waiting arms.

As expected, John Terry pledged his loyalty to Chelsea, and quashed any further discussion of a Man City move.

Rumor.....

Liverpool will have competition for David Silva, as a Spanish paper is reporting that Man United will launch a "new offensive".

The London Times says that Man City have signed defender Kolo Toure from Arsenal for $22 million....then again, the paper also says that they'll also be signing Terry and Joleon Lescott, for whom an offer of theirs has already been rejected

News of the World says that Arsenal is lining up an $11 million bid for Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou

Portsmouth have accepted Tottenham's bid for Peter Crouch, giving Spurs the advantage in adding the England striker.

Meanwhile, Spurs boss Harry Redknapp reaffirmed his desire to sign former Arsenal star Patrick Viera, who is apparently willing to join the Gunner's London rivals.

Peter Crouch's move to Tottenham is complete. The two sides agreed to an undisclosed fee, and terms of Crouch's deal with Spurs have yet to be announced.

Much-discussed Aston Villa winger Ashley Young pledged his loyalty to the Villans, and insists he still has goals to accomplish at Villa Park. Young's been linked to just about every big-name side in Western Europe.

Rumor.....

Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins does not wish to spend life in the Championship, and wants to join German champions Wolfsburg

Sunderland is getting tired of trying to acquire striker Darren Bent from Tottenham and are turning their attention to Wigan midfielder Lee Cattermole

Bobby Zamora will become the fourth in a line of strikers to reject a move to Hull City

Leeds United has placed a $13 million price tag on the head of teen star midfielder Fabian Delph, who has drawn interest from a variety of EPL sides

Standard Liege midfielder Milan Jovanovic wants out of Belgium and is being considered by Sunderland, Everton and Aston Villa

The rumored move of Arsenal defender Kolo Toure is apparently happening, although for considerably less than was rumored. The price tag is reportedly $22 million, and the deal is expected to be completed in a couple of days.

Sunderland are now officially negotiating with Tottenham to acquire Darren Bent, who is now free to leave with the Crouch signing. Bent originally cost Spurs $27 million, and they're expected to try and get as much of that back as possible.

Rumor......

Liverpool are on the verge of losing a pair of defenders. Alvaro Arbeloa told a Spanish radio station that he is about to join Real Madrid, and the agent of Andrea Dossena says that Napoli has made a successful bid for his services.

The Toure signing will reportedly set off a cascade of defender moves: Joleon Lescott will join Toure at Man City (where have we heard that one before?), Arsenal will make up for their loss by landing Fulham's Brede Hangeland, and Everton will make up for the loss of Lescott with City's Nedum Onuoha and Spurs' Alan Hutton

Real Madrid is still pining for Liverpool's Xabi Alonso, but says that the Reds are overvaluing the midfielder by placing a $44 million price tag on his head

The Obafemi Martins deal was completed after hs signed a four-year deal with Wolfsburg.

It's mostly rumors today.....

Man City refuses to accept the fact that Everton won't sell Joleon Lescott, and are preparing another bid

Liverpool won't sell Xabi Alonso for less than $44 million

Man United will soon be offering a $52 million bid to Bayern Munchen for Franck Ribery

Arsenal is working on bids for Bordeaux midfielder Marouane Chamakh and Roma striker Daniele de Rossi that would amount to $62 million....the Gunners are also working on something for St. Etienne midfielder Blaise Maturate, and will bring back Patrick Vieira to be his mentor

Liverpool is planning a bid for Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani

Joleon Lescott has not formally requested a transfer, but is apparently interested in leaving Everton for the lure of Man City's millions. The Toffees have repeatedly told Lescott and potential suitors that he would not be sold.

Meanwhile, Everton have initiated talks with Arsenal defender Phillipe Senderos, who spent all of last season on loan with AC Milan.

A report in The Sun says that Liverpool will complete the Alberto Aquilani transfer once Xabi Alonso moves on to Real, which is supposedly imminent.

Arsenal will soon sign Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou, as soon as the clubs bridge a $3.5 million transfer fee gap.

Xabi Alonso to Real is a done deal....Madrid will cough up $44 million for the Spain international. Liverpool will earn a $30 million profit after originally paying $14 million for the midfielder five years ago.

Also as expected, the Reds are re-investing their profit in Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani. He'll be in England for his physical later this week.

It's been some time since there's been a lot of news, as many teams are wrapping up pres-season tournaments and exhibitions. That being said, there's some things worth bringing up......

Hull City has been busy, first arranging a season-long loan deal with Villareal that brings them USA international Jozy Altidore.

In the meantime, the Tigers have agreed to an undisclosed fee with Reading for winger Stephen Hunt. The deal is pending a personal contract and physical with Hunt, who is in the middle of international play with Ireland.

Joleon Lescott has submitted a formal request for a transfer from Everton, which would clear the way fo Man City to finally land him, but Everton has informed him that they will not honor the request.

The Transfer Window is now closed, and will remain so until January.

In the meantime, here are some more moves that came along since the last update:

Week of August 10:

Lee Cattermole, from Wigan to Sunderland
Stephen Hunt, from Reading to Hull City

Week of August 17:

Nemanja Matic, from MFK Kosice to Chelsea
Claudio Pizzaro, from Chelsea to Werder Bremen
Damien Duff, from Newcastle to Fulham

Week of August 24:

Joleon Lescott, from Everton to Manchester City
Pascal Chimbonda, from Tottenham to Blackburn
Tuncay, from Middlesbrough to Stoke City
Sylvain Distin, from Portsmouth to Everton
Paul McShane, from Sunderland to Hull City
Michael Turner, from Hull City to Sunderland

Today:

Tal Ben Haim, from Manchester City to Portsmouth
Niko Kranjcar, from Portsmouth to Tottenham