With the English Football League season kicking off a week today and the Premier League season in two weeks time, transfer speculation is rife in the UK and right across Europe at the moment. Some of the biggest names in world football, even at this late stage, do not know where they will be plying their trade this coming season, while many clubs are desperately trying to put the the final touches to their squads before the big kick-off. Although the transfer window remains open until the end of August, I am sure most clubs would like to have their squads in place sooner rather than later, as last minute signings can sometimes be seen as panic buys, often bought at over-inflated prices!
Tottenham, Arsenal, Valencia, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Chelsea, Manchester City, Juventus, AS Roma, Sao Paulo, Liverpol, Palermo, Manchester United, AIK Solna, Lazio, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon, Fiorentina, Inter Milan, Napoli, Genoa, Bayer Leverkusen, Sunderland, Wigan, Newcastle, Fulham, Liverpool, Bolton, Newcastle, Galatasaray, Blackburn, Everton, Stoke, Wolves, QPR, Birmingham, Lokomotiv Moscow, Marseille, West Ham, Leicester, Fulham, Bolton, Swansea and Nottingham Forest............are all currently caught up in transfer gossip.
Is your
club involved?
Tottenham have tabled a bid of around £22m for
Arsenal target Juan Mata. The
Valencia winger is open to a move to the Premier League and Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is a fan of the 23-year-old but he is yet to make a formal offer - Daily Mirror
Juventus have reached an agreement with
AS Roma for forward Mirko Vucinic (right), La Gazzetta dello Sport has revealed. They have now agreed to pay Roma €15 million over the course of three years - soccernews.com & footballpress.net
Roma have also confirmed that Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze will join the club on a free transfer after the player left Marseille in June. Roma have signed the player on a one year deal - Internationalbusinesstimes.com
AC Milan chief Adriano Galliani has reiterated that neither Cesc Fabregas nor Kaka are on the Italian champions' radar this summer.
Arsenal captain Fabregas has been strongly linked with a £40million move to
Barcelona this summer, but reports recently emerged that the Rossoneri had joined the hunt for his signature.
Chelsea and
Manchester City have previously been linked with
Real Madrid striker Kaka this summer, while
Tottenham are believed to have emerged as his latest suitors - skysports.com
Liverpool and
Tottenham are set to go head-to-head for the signature of
Sao Paulo midfielder Lucas, according to reports in Brazil - talkSPORT
Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini has revealed that Javier Pastore is on the verge of completing a move to
Paris Saint-Germain for a fee in the region of €43m.
Chelsea were thought to be chasing the talented youngster's signature, but it appears they have been beaten to the punch by the French Ligue 1 outfit - skysports.com & soccernews.com
Manchester United are tracking another teenage strker - Teteh Bangura (right) of Swedish side
AIK Solna. United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has sent brother and chief scout Martin to assess the Sierra Leone international - talkSPORT
After being frustrated in their rumoured £40m pursuit of
Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder,
Manchester United will switch their attentions to
Lazio midfielder and Slovakia captain Marek Hamsik, who is available at a less costly £25m - fanatix.com/football
Despite recent rumours that
Arsenal's Danish international Nicklas Bendtner (23) is about to join
Sporting Lisbon, Leões chairman Carlos Freitas has reportedly denied it, calling it "just fictitious news" - footballpress.net
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has made a move for
Fiorentina winger Alessio Cerci, according to reports in Italy - Gazzetta dello Sport
Meanwhile,
Manchester City and
Inter Milan will hold talks over a swap deal involving strikers Carlos Tevez and Samuel Eto'o this weekend - Daily Telegraph
The agent of
Inter Milan forward Goran Pandev has hinted that his client would be interested in a move to
Napoli. The FYR Macedonia international rejected a move to
Genoa in exchange for Rodrigo Palacio, but his agent has now hinted that Naples is his preferred destination - soccernews.com & footballpress.net
AS Roma star Daniele De Rossi, who is a target from Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United will not be leaving the Stadio Olimpico this summer despite being out of contract in twelve months' time -Internationalbusinesstimes.com
Dimitar Berbatov's agent says the
Manchester United striker will not be leaving the club, even if the Premier League champions sign another forward this summer - Inside Futbol
Several English clubs including
Wigan,
Sunderland and
Newcastle are targeting
Bayer Leverkusen's Swiss international winger Tranquillo Barnetta (right) - skysports.com
Everton are considering a move to sign
Manchester City's Adam Johnson on a season-long loan. Johnson is behind midfielder David Silva in the City pecking order, and may feel he needs a move if he wants to keep his place in the England squad in the run-up to Euro 2012 - Daily Mirror
Having publicly declared he would not leave
Tottenham for the northeast of England after
Newcastle United showed interest, striker Jermain Defoe could be the subject of a bid by London neighbours
Fulham - Footie Online
Liverpool are plotting a £15m double defender deal for
Newcastle United's Jose Enrique and
Birmingham City's Scott Dann - fanatix.com/football
Bolton Wanderers boss Owen Coyle has set a deadline of this weekend for the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs to come forward with an acceptable bid for defender Gary Cahill - Bolton News
Stoke, Wolves and top-flight newcomers
QPR are all thought to be interested in the former Republic of Ireland international
Birmingham right-back Stephen Carr - skysports.com
Queens Park Rangers manager Neil Warnock is lining up a loan deal for
Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha - Daily Mail
Warnock also plans to make
Tottenham striker Robbie Keane, 31, his last signing of the summer - The Sun
Real Madrid's, French international defender Lassana Diarra (26), has been targeted by Galatasaray, who are ready to offer €8m for him - footballpress.net
Argentinian striker Mariano Pavone, who is a free agent after buying out the remaining year of his contract at Real Betis, has confirmed that talks with
Blackburn over a potential move have completely broken down. The 29-year-old had agreed a three-year deal contract at Ewood Park but the Premier League side were unable to finalise the deal - skysports.com
Blackburn are in talks to sign Romania striker Ciprian Marica (right) on a free transfer, having moved ahead of
Marseille and
Lokomotiv Moscow in the race for his services, after he left German side Stuttgart -Daily Mirror
West Ham have confirmed the signing of midfielder Joey O'Brien on a free transfer after he was released by Bolton earlier this summer - skysports.com
Birmingham City are closing in on the signing of former West Ham United utility player Jonathan Spector. The 25-year-old is available on a free transfer after his contract at West Ham expired - skysports.com
Big-spending Championship side
Leicester are to bid £4m-plus for
Birmingham striker Cameron Jerome, who is also a target for Premier League sides
Stoke,
Fulham and
Bolton - Daily Mirror
Swansea City have had a third bid of £1.8million turned down by
Nottingham Forest for goalkeeper Lee Camp - skysports.com
