Transfer speculation is rife as we approach the beginning of July. It looks like some of the 'bigger' domestic and European clubs are going to have to pay top dollar to secure the services of some of the players they feel will help them land trophies next season.
On the flip of the coin a lot of players will become free agents on the 1st July.
A free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired, and who is thus eligible to sign for another club. In some instances this gives some of the less affluent clubs the chance to pick up some experienced players without the initial expense of a transfer fee, before personal terms are agreed. However the power is with the players as they use the fact that there is no transfer fee involved to often negotiate a financial package including wages, in excess of what they were earning at their previous club.
Expect some major financial wheeling and dealing to take place in July, as clubs fight it out to lure the most sought after players to 'their' club. Meanwhile many of the free agents will more often than not find they have more than one club to choose from, and it may well all boil down to which club can afford to offer the player the most money!
It is at this time of year in the world of football that the infamous phrase
"show me the money," which first came to prominence in the 1996 movie 'Jerry Maguire' seems most apt.
Chelsea, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Barcelona, Manchester United, Valencia, Manchester City, Porto, Fiorentina, Partizan Belgrade, AZ Alkmaar, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Liverpool, Blackpool, Bayer Leverkusen, Wigan, Sochaux, Galatasaray, West Brom, Stoke, Birmingham, Monaco, West Ham, Newcastle, Bolton, Crystal Palace, Leicester, Peterborough, Reading, Sunderland, Derby, Barnsley, Dundee United, Cardiff and Tranmere......................are all currently caught up in transfer gossip.
Is
your club involved?
Chelsea's Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien is for sale and already attracting interest from various clubs.
Bayern Munich have now joined
AC Milan and
Real Madrid in the chase to sign the 28-year-old, who is worth at least 28 million Euros - footballpress.net
Manchester United are confident of being able to sign
Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri, 23, for £20m - caughtoffside.com
Barcelona have turned down a £15million offer from
Manchester United for Spanish Euro Under-21 Championships star Thiago Alcântara (right) - footballpress.net
Alcântara may in fact end up at
Arsenal as a makeweight in the Cesc Fábregas deal, though other sources believe that
Barcelona are preparing a £31m straight-cash offer for the Arsenal midfielder that should land on a desk in north London sometime today - The Guardian
Arsenal have made
Valencia midfielder Juan Mata, another star of Spain's U21 side, their top summer transfer target. The Gunners have offered £18m for the 23-year-old - Daily Mail
Barcelona star David Villa has quashed rumours linking him to
Chelsea and
Manchester City, claiming he wants to end his career at Barcelona. The 29-year-old joined the Catalans last summer for €40 million and went on to score 23 goals in all competitions as the Spanish giants claimed the double with the Primera Liga and the Champions League - Internationalbusinesstimes.com
Manchester City are lining up a triple swoop for
Fiorentina midfielder Alessio Cerci, 23 (right),
Partizan Belgrade defender Stefan Savic, 20, and 24-year-old Argentina international keeper Sergio Romero from
AZ Alkmaar - The Sun & The Guardian
Manchester City will need to spend a club record £36m if they want to land Brazilian forward Givanildo Vieira de Souza aka 'Hulk' from
Porto - Daily Star & The Guardian
Bayern Munich are interested in
Manchester United winger and Portugal international Nani. An attempt to sign him will be made if Franck Ribery is sold - footballpress.net
Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas will make a double raid on
Tottenham with a £60m bid for midfielder Luka Modric and the left-sided Gareth Bale - caughtoffside.com
Bayern Munich admit they are waiting on news in their bids for
Manchester City's Jerome Boateng and
Bayer Leverkusen's Arturo Vidal. Boateng has already revealed that he has agreed terms with Bayern, but as yet they cannot agree a fee with Manchester City - skysports.com
Liverpool are close to completing the signing of Charlie Adam, the
Blackpool midfielder, with Jonjo Shelvey moving in the opposite direction on a season-long loan. The Anfield club are also set to sign
Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing (right) - The Independent
If Downing leaves, then
Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish plans to spend half of the estimated £18m asking price on
Wigan's Charles N'Zogbia as a direct replacement - Daily Mail
Aston Villa are also interested in signing
Stoke winger Matthew Etherington as a replacement for Ashley Young - Daily Mail
Aston Villa are plotting an audacious £14million bid to bring James Milner back from
Manchester City - The Mirror
Chelsea have been told they can have Arda Turan (right) from
Galatasaray, but only if the Turks get £7m and Didier Drogba in return - The Sun & The Guardian
West Brom have joined the race to sign
Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge, along with
Newcastle,
Stoke and
Bolton, where he scored eight goals on loan last season - The Sun & The Guardian
Stoke will make a joint bid in the region of £8m for
Birmingham duo Scott Dann and Cameron Jerome. Stoke are also keen on £4m-rated
Monaco defender Cédric Mongongu. Meanwhile Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen could be on his way to
West Ham - Daily Mirror & The Guardian
Peterborough United's director of football Barry Fry has confirmed the club have accepted an offer from
Leicester City for Craig Mackail-Smith - skysports.com
Sochaux starlet Ryad Boudebouz claims
Liverpool have expressed an interest in acquiring his services. That has opened the door for Liverpool to make an approach, with tentative discussions regarding a possible move to Anfield already underway - skysports.com
Leicester City are set to win the race to sign Neil Danns (right). The 28-year-old is available on a Bosman transfer as his contract with
Crystal Palace is set to expire and he has decided to leave Selhurst Park. A host of clubs have been chasing the midfielder, with both of the Old Firm, Celtic and Rangers, holding talks, and the likes of Bolton, Hull City and Southampton are all understood to have made moves for him - skysports.com
Newcastle are interested in
Manchester United midfielder Darron Gibson (23), and will try to hijack his planned move to
Sunderland - footballpress.net
Sunderland are also preparing a £7m bid for
Reading's Shane Long - The Guardian
Dundee United manager Peter Houston has confirmed talks have been held with several clubs regarding in-demand striker David Goodwillie. SPL champions
Rangers have made an approach along with Championship clubs Blackpool and Cardiff. Cardiff are rumoured to be favourites to win the chase - skysports.com
Dale Jennings has signalled his intention to sign for one of the biggest clubs in the world as negotiations with his club
Tranmere Rovers and
Bayern Munich reached a critical stage last night. Tranmere are understood to have negotiated a package of around £500,000 up front for the 18-year-old striker in a deal that could rise to £1.5 million - The Independent
Derby County defender Miles Addison has agreed to join
Barnsley on a six-month loan deal - skysports.com