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Daily European Football Transfer Rumours
1st Week of August
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Friday, 7th August:

Carlo Ancelloti has claimed Chelsea's bit of business this summer is done. Or at least their desperate attempts to do some business.

Anti Niemi has come out of retirement to sign for Portsmouth on a one-season deal. Looks like David James is packing his stuff for Tottenham (now what happens to Carlo Cudicini?). Meanhwile the club's Cheif Executive says there will be no more exits from Fratton Park. We really aren't convinced.

Celtic have been linked with Jay Simpson, a young Arsenal player, for a season-long loan. Simpson was with West Brom last season under current Celtics manager Tony Mowbray. Clearly the fact that the two teams will fight against each other for the right to play in the Champions League the coming season seems to have had little effect on the tabloids.

Wesley Sneijder is still being heavily tipped to join Aston Villa after Martin O'Neal confirmed his desire to sign the Dutch midfielder from Real Madrid. If it happens, it would be a wonderful coup for the club. A midfield consisting of him alongside Ashley Young, Stiliyan Petrov and James Milner looks pretty decent for a non-Big 4 club.

Arsene Wenger confirmed that he is still interested in signing Maroune Chamakh, but the price quoted by Bordeaux "is still to high." Monsieur Wenger at his best.

Tottenham have entered the race to sign Bayern Munich striker Luca Toni after missing out on Klaas Jan Huntelaar. West Ham looked the likely destination for the 32 year old striker, but now we will have to wait and watch where he ends up.

Arsenal have been warned off a move for St.Etienne's Blaise Matuidi. St.Etienne have said that the French under-21 international is not for sale.

Some non-transfer news, but we thought we'd share it here all the same. The draw for the Champions League qualifiers is out and here is how the European non-giants line-up: Lyon v Anderlecht, Celtic v Arsenal, Politehnica Timisoara (Romania) v Stuttgart, Sporting Lisbon v Fiorentina and Panathinaikos v Atletico Madrid.

Barcelona are rumoured to be interested in young Valencia winger Juan Mata, but have been told that only irresistibly huge offers will be considered.

According to the Times Chelsea have rejected a £18 million bid for Brazilian defender Alex from Real Madrid. But it is not sure how much truth there is in this story as just a few days ago Real had said that Alonso's capture was the end of their summer spending.

Liverpool's 22-year-old midfielder Lucas Leiva is seeking assurances of his future ahead of the new season. The Brazilian made just 13 league appearances for the club, 12 as a substitute last s. If the former 'Bola de Ouro' award winner does decide to leave, Corinthians would be the likely destination, and I know a number of Liverpool fans wouldn't mind seeing the back of him.

Former Barcelona product Giovani dos Santos is being tracked by Turkish giants Besiktas. The 20-year-old Mexican had a torrid time cementing his place at Tottenham last season despite the departures of Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov. The attacking-midfielder started just five matches in all competitions with another seven appearances off the bench before being loaned to Ipswich Town.

Chelsea are set to follow in Manchester City's footsteps hoping that their persistence to sign Andrea Pirlo will payoff. This has met the dissatisfaction of the Rossoneri as they issued a "hands-off" warning earlier. Goal.com reports that Chelsea have apparently offered midfielder Michael Essien in exchange for AC Milan's midfield maestro, an excessively daring move considering the competence of the Ghanese superstar. Fairly mysteriously, this news has evaporated from the site just a few hours after it was published.

The next player to leave Portsmouth is apparently forward David Nugent. The former Preston North End striker signed for Pompey in July 2007 and scored just one goal in 19 appearances for the club. Portsmouth are hoping to swoop for Newcastle's Mark Viduka as a replacement. Goalkeeper David James has also been tipped for a move to Tottenham where he would be reunited with manager Harry Redknapp.

Juventus have completed the loan signing of Barcelona defender Martin Caceres. Should the Uruguayan cement a place with the Old Lady, they can make the deal permanent for €11 million.

After being shunned by a host of players, Hull City finally sealed a couple yesterday. Reports though indicate that they have also agreed a fee with Newcastle for defender Habib Beye. The 31-year-old Senegalese right-back will go some way in securing the Tigers defense.

Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce has already had a very busy summer. Now, he seems to be trailing PSG winger, Jerome Rothen who is surplus to requirements despite being a key member of PSG's squad for a number of seasons.

Thursday, 6th August:

Despite being linked to the likes of David Villa and David Silva, Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson claims that he is not looking to strengthen his side ahead of the new season. The Manchester Evening News quoted him as saying, "I know there will be some fans who are disappointed that we didn't spend the princely £80m on another superstar. The asking price for players we were looking at just wasn't realistic and we held off."

One more transfer saga appears to have been put to rest with Dutch striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar signing on with AC Milan. The deal is suspected to be about €15 million. Real signed the 25-year old just 7 months ago from Ajax for a fee believed to be about €20 million.

Neighbours Inter have signed FC Twente's 20-year old Austrian striker Marko Arnautovic on a year long loan, with the option to buy the youngster when the loan expires.

Manchester City have reportedly coming knocking on Everton's door with a £22 million bid for defender Joleon Lescott. This time it seems that the Toffees will not turn the offer down, with Lescott himself threatening to put in a transfer request. Everton have reportedly lined up Arsenal's Swiss defender Phillipe Senderos as a replacement.

L'Equipe refuse to let the Arsenal - Marouane Chamakh transfer die a peaceful death. They suggest Arsene Wenger has returned to the negotiating table with an improved bid of €9 million. Bordeaux are reportedly still holding out though, asking for €12 million for the want away striker.

American international Jozy Altidore has hinted on his twitter page that he could be a Hull City player before the week is out. Hull, in desperate need for some firepower upfront, had reportedly bid over £6 million for the Villarreal teenager, however recent reports indicate that with Altidore's good showing in the Confederations Cup, the Yellow Submarine are keen on hanging on to him, instead offering him on loan to a beleagured Phil Brown.

Burnley have signed 19-year old Independiente del Valle winger Fernando Guerrero on a year long loan. The former Real Madrid junior impressed while he was on trial with the Clarets, and Burnley have the option of making the move permanent if they like what they see over the course of the year.

Coming back to AC Milan, midfield general Andrea Pirlo has landed a major blow to Chelsea's desire to build the world's greatest midfield by reportedly turning down a move to Stamford Bridge. Pirlo met with the Milan management late last night and spoke to the media thereafter, "I am very happy to be able to finish my career here. When they told me the news I was very happy, finally the saga of this summer is over and we can continue the adventure in rossonero."

Tottenham are targetting Sheffield Wednesday teenager Mark Beevers as a solution for their early season injury woes. The Owls want £3 million for the youngster.

The Daily Mail reports that former Leeds and Aston Villa manager David O'Leary has turned down Newcastle United, not wishing to join a club whose ownership position is uncertain.

Fiorentina is the latest club to be linked with Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen. Juventus has been unable to offload him all summer with Liverpool just being linked to him yesterday. The Viola have earmarked Poulsen as a replacement for departed Felipe Melo. Its obvious that he's not their first choice though as a swap plus cash deal could have been worked out with Juventus (since Melo left Fiorentina for Juve earlier this summer)

Former Wigan striker Amr Zaki is still being tracked by Portsmouth. The Egyptian international is likely to return to the premier league on a loan deal from current club Zamalek.

Fulham are set to sign South African international Kagiso Dikgacoi after his successful trial with the club. The Golden Arrows midfielder still needs a work permit to complete his move to Craven Cottage.

 

Wednesday, 5th August:

Liverpool have moved fast to sign Alberto Aquilani from Roma following the sale of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid. The Reds have agreed a fee, reported in the region of £17-20 million. (read more)

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has signed a new three year deal with the Blues, that will keep him at Stamford Bridge till 2012.

Bordeaux's club president has said Maroune Chamakh could leave the club in the next few days. There's no lack of suitors for the youngster, with Premier League side Sunderland supposedly once again leading the chase.

AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi has said Andrea Pirlo is no longer on the market. So he officialy was on it before?

Harry Redknapp has an eye on Blackburn's Christopher Samba, although his prefered signing still remains Newcastle's Sebastian Bassong. Bassong is said to have snubbed a move to Man City for White Harte Lane.

Portsmouth look set to lose yet another player, as striker David Nugent is expected to move to Stoke City after a bust-up with a teammate during his club's tour of Portugal. At the rate they are losing players, oen can't help but wonder how Portsmouth would manage to name 18 players for every match during the next season.

Xabi Alonso has passed his medical at Real Madrid and is likely to be revealed to the media on Thursday, finally bringing to an end one of the longest running transfer sagas of the summer.

Steve Bruce finally got his man after Darren Bent signed from Tottenham for a club record fee of £10 million. The transfer payout could increase significantly based on appearances and performance.

The Daily Mail reports Chelsea are lining up a £38 million plus Deco bid for Atletico Madrid's Sergio Aguero. Chelsea seem to think that this player plus cash deal will match the £51 million release clause in Aguero's contract. Although, it would be really interesting to find out how Chelsea came up with a £13 million price tag for Deco who has been a bit of a flop since arriving in England last summer. It also remains to be seen whether Deco would move to Atletico considering the fact that he has already played for big clubs like Barcelona and Chelsea.

Former Hammers captain Lucas Neill is in talks with Sunderland after having been released from West Ham at the end of last season. Neill would help Steve Bruce strengthen his defence having already signed Darren Bent to bolster his attacking options.

Even as Barcelona try to secure Argentine wonderkid Lionel Messi's future, with a €10 million per year contract, La Vanguardia reports that Manchester City continue to send out feelers with an annual contract suspected to be €12 million plus bonuses.

Standard Liege's Belgian star Steven Defour has reported that he's willing to quit Liege should Real come for him. The 21-year-old was quoted as saying, "If Real come and reach an agreement with Standard, I will not take one second to sign my contract. I will do it with my eyes closed. Playing at Real is a dream I have had since I was a child."

Michel Salgado has been released by Spanish giants Real Madrid following ten years with them. In the last two seasons he was rarely played, compiling just 17 games over that span. The 33-year-old right-back joined Real in 1999 from Celta Vigo for €11 million.

Real's Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder seems unlikely to leave the Bernabeu this summer as coach Manuel Pellegrini considers him a key player. However, with an abundance of players already in that position including Kaka, Ronaldo and Robben, Sneijder has fallen down the pecking order making regular football hard to come by.

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is hoping to sign Egyptian winger Ahmed Al-Muhammadi after his successful trial with the Black Cats earlier this summer.

Belgium's highly rated defender/midfielder, Anthony Vanden Borre is close to swapping teams from current side Genoa to newly-promoted Real Zaragoza. The 21-year-old is looking for regular football after having made the majority of his appearance as a substitute last season.

With Xabi Alonso all but set to leave Liverpool, Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen is being linked to the Reds. His current club Juventus are keen to offload the 29-year-old with Fulham and Everton also tracking him. However, if Benitez is indeed interested then it would move Liverpool to the front of the queue for his signature.

 

Tuesday, 4th August:

The Xabi Alonso transfer soap opera is finally set to come to an end with the teams having agreed on the fee, and Alonso on his way to Madrid for a medical. Click here to read more about Alonso's career.

Harry Redknapp is planning to bring in yet another player he managed at Portsmouth, with David James heavily linked with a move to Tottenham because of worries relating to Portsmouth's financial condition and the exodus of players from Fratton Park.

Tottenham are also linked with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, but would need to sell either Roman Pavlyunchenko or Robbie Keane first. And if they stretch out the sale of either of the two like the Darren Bent-to-Sunderland saga, they may as well as forget about it happening.

Aston Villa have confirmed the signing of 19-year old midfielder Fabian Delph from Leeds United. The deal was completed late on Tuesday evening, and is rumoured to be worth about £6 million upfront, and more on offer based on appearances.

Darren Bent has passed his medical and will sign for Sunderland on Wednesday. Thank God we don't have to report about this deal much longer.

Manchester United have reportedly enquired about Valencia's David Silva, but are yet to make a bid. The news was mentioned in Spanish daily AS.

After signing Gerard Pique from Manchester United, Barcelona want to sign his former youth colleague Jonny Evans. They were hot for Nemanja Vidic earlier, but the Serbian wanted to stay on, and it looks highly unlikely Evans would want a move as well. He's highly regarded by Sir Alex Ferguson, played a number of games last season due to Rio Ferdinand's injury woes, and is genuinely considered a future first-choice centre-back at United.

AC Milan have reportedly accepted that Andrea Pirlo will exit, and are considering options for a central midfield spot. Cesc Fabregas is the top choice for £32 million, but Fabregas looks set to stay at least uptil the World Cup, and would also prefer a move to Barcelona so that he can finally start receiving the winners medals that he hasn't seen at Arsenal.

Chelsea have reacted angrily to rumours that Joe Cole would be leaving the club for regular first team action at Tottenham, releasing the following statement: Contrary to media reports Chelsea is not, and will not be, considering any offers for Joe Cole." Looks like the talented midfielder might just be in Ancelotti's 'diamond' plans after-all.

Blackburn Rovers are set to complete the signing of Croatian striker Nikola Kalinic on a four-year deal later today.

Further to our comments earlier, Aston Villa are preparing a €19m Offer for the Dutch international Wesley Sneijder. This may trump any loan deal that Madrid had with Inter.

The Swiss Football Federation's official website claims that Everton are in talks with Arsenal for their want-away defender, Philippe Senderos. Everton have confirmed the news.

Despite continuing to lose defenders, Arsenal continue to be linked to offensive players. The latest is Chelsea's Ivory Coast international, Salomon Kalou. If reports are to be believed, Wenger has had a £6m bid rejected but has come back with a renewed £8 million bid. Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh has also reportdely landed in London in an attempt to hasten his transfer. However, the longer this discussion stretches out, the more likely it seems that Arsenal will go nowhere near Bordeaux's asking price of £15 million. Wenger has even said that the Chamakh deal is "dead".

Manchester City are said to be trailing Portsmouth central defender Sylvain Distin should they fail to bring Lescott to the Eastlands. Their other targets include Newcastle's Sebastien Bassong and Chelsea's Alex.

 

Monday, 3rd August:

Finally! Darren Bent's transfer to Sunderland looks like it will go through, after reports emerged that Tottenham have agreed a £15 million bid.

Joleon Lescott will miss Everton's friendly against Blackpool. David Moyes denies it has anything to do with Manchester City's chase for the defender, who according to The Daily Mail will be putting in a transfer request soon.

Barcelona are believed to be offering Lionel Messi a bumper-deal that would also see his current £127 million buyout clause doubled to £254 million, which should even scare Manchester City off. Messi himself would pocket £8 million-a-year.

Press reports from Spain suggest a £27.2 million deal between Real Madrid and Liverpool has been agreed for Xabi Alonso. Italian tabloids add that Liverpool would immediately part with £15.3 million to sign Roma's Alberto Aquilani.

Hull have failed to sign yet another player. Newcastle are demanding £4 million for Habib Beye, forcing the Tigers to look elsewhere, Pascal Chimbonda being considered.

The Wesley Sneijder-to-Inter Milan loan deal may not go through, with Aston Villa reportedly keen to sign the Dutch midfielder. Real would definitely prefer to sell the player so as to recoup some of the cash they spent.

Mark Hughes just figured that since Carlos Tevez and Robinho like to fall deep, he may as well as use them as fullbacks, which would allow him to sign yet another striker: Sergio Aguero. Apparently the whole deal depends on whether Manchester United try to sign the Argentine. If they do, City would offer more and shout out to the world that they just beat Manchester United in a transfer, and hence have accomplished enough for the season.

The Daily Mail have sensationally announced that Roman Abramovich is planning a £100 million spending spree to bring Andrea Pirlo, Sergio Aguero and Franck Ribery to Stamford Bridge. However on reading further it becomes pretty clear that other than the pitch for Pirlo, the other two names are just being thrown in the air to attract more interest in a long running storyline, Chelsea fans don't bet your house on the title just yet.

Marouane Chamakh has hit out at Bordeaux for asking for too much money as transfer fees from Arsenal. The 25-year old striker who has been linked with a move to the Premiership for almost a month now, has reportedly told L'Equipe, "Ever since I've played football, I've given my all for this club and for the fans. I believe I deserve more consideration." In all fairness, Chamakh has spent seven good years with the French giants, and has just a year remaining on his contract. Come on Blanc, let the boy move!

AC Milan are reportedly making a last ditch effort to sign Sevilla and Brazil striker Luis Fabiano. Milan and Sevilla were miles away in terms of their respective valuations for the player, and talks broke down in July.

As we had previously reported, Liverpool have agreed terms with Roma midfielder, Alberto Aquilani. Now it appears that the Reds are willing to offer Roma a sum of €21 million for their Italian midfielder. But the catch is that Rafa Benitez would only swoop for ‘Il Principino’ should Spanish international Xabi Alonso depart for Real Madrid.

Tottenham have been linked in the English press today with a 'soon to be made' bid for Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole. The exceptionally talented, but injury plagued midfielder could find a starting berth under Carlo Ancelotti hard to come by in either the left-midfield or second striker role, and Harry Redknapp is reportedly offering Cole a regular starting berth as an added incentive in a crucial pre-World Cup season.

Tuttosport reports that Arsenal have withdrawn from their negotiations with Fiorentina after the Italian club had given Arsene Wenger an ultimatum, with a transfer deadline and the amount they were willing to spend. After being led down the garden trail in the Felipe Melo transfer saga, Wenger reportedly had enough, and well you can imagine what he might have asked them to do with their money.

Xabi Alonso has not returned with the Liverpool team to England after the side's humbling 3-0 defeat at the hands of Espanyol. Alonso's decision to stay back in his native Spain has the rumour mongers running rampant that his switch to Real Madrid is likely to be completed this week. Incidentally Liverpool were near full strength and were beaten twice by young Chelsea reject Ben Sahar!

Inter have agreed to take Dutch international Wesley Sneijder of Real Madrid on loan for a year. As part of the deal, Madrid will receive €4m this year and Inter will have the option to sign him permanently for €18m next year. However Madrid appear to be back tracking, hoping to lure Inter defender Maicon as part of a cash + swap deal.

After having little luck in the transfer market so far, Hull City have identified another potential target in Newcastle defender Habib Beye. The move seems to be on hold though since the ownership situation has not cleared up.

Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger has not ruled out signing former midfield legend, Patrick Vieira. He told the clubs official website, "Patrick is a great player and I have not considered it yet to bring him back. It is a possibility that I have to think about. It is not sure he will decide to join us if I decide to try and make him come."

Portuguese outfit, Sporting Lisbon are getting tired of Aston Villa's pursuit of midfielder Miguel Veloso and have allotted them 72 hours to complete a deal. The Villians need reinforcements ahead of a long season in both England and Europe.

Now the Manchester City have spent mega bucks on proven players they seem to be targeting young up-and-coming stars. To that end, they are being linked to Swedish starlet Rasmus Elm. As always they have jumped to the front of the queue with their amazing spending power.

 

Sunday, 2nd August:

Arsene Wenger is raving about Jack Wilshere so much that it confirms Arsenal would only be in the market for a defensive player. And more money may be coming in to the Gunners coffers very soon. Emmanuel Eboue is still being linked with Fiorentina, who have reportedly set a Wednesday deadline for the deal with their European ambitions in mind.

Newcastle have rejected a £10 million bid for Sebastian Bassong from Tottenham, but Harry Redknapp has denied interest in the defender. Well, doubt anyone would be interested in him if he's valued for over £10 million.

The Daily Mail seems so bored this Sunday that they have linked Manchester United, who have virtually ruled out making any big signing because of inflated rates, first to David Silva and David Villa, and now to Sergio Aguero. Of these, only the David Silva story seems to make the slightest sense.

Inter Milan have reportedly clinched a loan deal for Real's midfielder Wesley Sneijder for €4 million, with the option of making the deal permanent for €18 million. And so begins the Dutch exodus from the Santiago Bernebau. Rafael van der Vaart also confirmed that he will be leaving the club. "The coach told me I won't get much chance to play, so it's not an option to stay here," Van der Vaart told a tabloid.

AC Milan are the latest team to be linked with Dutch star Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Real Madrid apparently have a €15m offer from Turkish giants Fenerbahce but are waiting for Milan to make a bid as they have been given first choice.

Chelsea are set to continue their attempts at signing Andrea Pirlo and are preparing an improved bid of either €18m or €12m plus Claudio Pizzaro. Milan are however said to be holding out for a figure in the region of €25m.

Arsenal continue to be linked with Bordeaux's striker, Marouane Chamakh. The stumbling point as always appears to be the valuation between the two teams. The arrival of more attacking reinforcements seem unlikely as Arsene Wenger was delighted with his team's 2-1 victory against Athletico Madrid. He told the clubs official website, "To play with Arshavin, Fabregas and Walcott and find the balance is very difficult. Our target is to now find a good balance with the offensive players we have, and that is why we could afford to let a striker go."

Skysports reports that Blackburn have reportedly agreed a fee for Croatian striker Nikola Kalinic. Portsmouth were also in the running to sign the 21-year old, but were non-committal, at the final stages of negotiation, allowing Blackburn to swoop in and close the deal. Whether the youngster will be able to fill-in the huge void left by Roque Santa Cruz remains to be seen.

The News of the World reports that Manchester United are considering making a move for Valencia winger David Silva. Valencia are scheduled to visit Old Trafford this coming week, and there could be some heavy negotiations taking place on the sidelines. The news is unlikely to go down well with Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez, who has also expressed interest in the 23-year old Spanish international.

The People is reporting that Fulham have asked that Arsenal loan them young Mexican striker Carlos Vela for a year as part of a deal that could see Brede Hangeland move to the Emirates. Whether Arsenal would still be interested in the Norwegain center-back now that he is cup tied in Europe is an interesting side note that appears to have skipped gossip-mongers attention.

Alan Shearer has confirmed that he would not be returning to the post of Newcastle manager this season after hearing "nothing" from the club in the off-season. Instead of sitting around and waiting, Shearer will return to the commentators booth at the BBC.

Rumours are rife that Liverpool manager, Rafa Benitez would take almost all the proceeds from selling Xabi Alonso to prise away Spanish striker David Villa from Valencia. Personally that seems pretty unlikely, Villa is likely to be considerably more expensive than Alonso.

 

Saturday, 1st August:

Rafael van der Vaart is expected to join Inter Milan on loan, as Real continue to cut down the names on their roster.

AC Milan president and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has denied reports that Andrea Pirlo is on the verge of joining Chelsea, saying ''They are all stories, there's no truth at all.'' Well, at least he seems to be choosing his words better than his I-am-no-saint rant after his latest scandal.

Manchester United have completed the singing of 16-year-old French starlet Paul Pogba from Le Havre. The kid is a defensive midfielder, and is a regular for his country's international youth team. Arsenal were also said to be interested, but Pogba chose United.

West Ham United have signed Swiss Under-19 international Fabio Daprella. The move was actually completed late last night, with the young left-back flying in to London straight from the European Youth Championships to put pen on paper on an impressive five-year deal. Though he is unlikely to see much first team action this season, manager Gianfranco Zola seems to be building a squad with the long-term in mind, a move which will please all Hammers' fans.

Milan-based paper Il Giornale claim that Italian midfield maestro Andrea Pirlo has agreed terms with Chelsea, and will head over to the London capital to sign for the club early next week.

Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins has signed a four-year deal with German champions Wolfsburg taking a huge £60,000 per week load off Newcastle's books. It will however remain to be seen where the goals will come from for Newcastle if they aspire to make an instant return to the Premiership.

After signing Mame Biram Diouf, Manchester United are being linked with another young striker, Bursaspor's Sercan Yildirim. The Daily Star claims the 19-year old Turk is available for €4 million.

The Star continues to be in on the scoops, indicating that Pep Guardiola has all but ruled out the possibility of signing Javier Mascherano, labelling the current transfer window 'too expensive'. The Barcelona coach should be in the know, considering he has just choked up €45 million plus his top scorer Eto'o for an extremely expensive Zlatan Ibrahimovic!

In what will certainly be a first, Manchester City appear to be interested in a player who is yet to make his mark on the international stage, leading the race to sign Leeds United youngster Fabian Delph. City could take Delph off the market for the rest of his suitors by tabling a bid of £10 million, two million more than others were bidding. And here we thought City were another Chelsea, without any youth policy whatsoever!

Real Madrid have finally started offloading some of their 'non-Galacticos', selling former Manchester United defender Gabriel Heinze to Olympique Marseille for an undisclosed fee. 31-year old Heinze has signed a three year deal with l'OM, thereby in all probability seeing out his playing career in the French first division.

The Daily Star is suggesting that Everton are likely to accept Manchester City's next bid for defender Joleon Lescott, not wanting to have a player on their books who wants away so bad. However, what is even more surprising is that the Star reports that Arsenal defender Phillipe Senderos is being lined up as a short term replacement for Lescott