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Top News:

The Daily Mirror suggests that Arsenal fear that they will lose both Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri before the start of next week. Barcelona have reportedly improved their offer to £34m for Fabregas, who is said to have cancelled a public appearance in Tordera to avoid uneasy questions from the media. It is also reported that Manchester United will launch a bid of around £20m for Nasri, who has refused to sign a contract extension so far. Testing times for Wenger who now risks losing two of the best talents he helped nurture.

Done Deal:

Manchester United have completed the signing of 20-year old goalkeeper David de Gea from Spanish side Atletico Madrid. The deal taking the Spaniard to Old Trafford is believed to be around £17.8m. He is United's third big signing of the summer after Phil Jones and Ashley Young.

Sunderland have announced the signing of Connor WIckham from Ipswich. The 18-year old was widely expected to join them after the Black Cats had a bid of around £13m (£8.1m +£5m based on appearances, goals etc.) accepted by the Tractor Boys yesterday. Steve Bruce has seen off strong competition for the player from Liverpool and will be glad to have signed a striker after seeing Darren Bent leave for Villa and Danny Welbeck return to United.

Spicy Rumour of the day:

If reports in the Metro are to be believed, then Arsenal are said to have opened talks with Bolton for Gary Cahill. The 25-year old defender has been linked with almost all of the top six clubs throughout the summer, but the dire need for reliable centre backs at the Emirates has led the Gunners to steal the march. Wenger would be eager to bring in a few big signings to allay the uncertainty and fear among the fans after rumours surfaced about the departure of stars Fabregas and Nasri.

The Daily Mirror reports that Manchester City have been asked to come back with a bid of £10m for Stefan Savic after their initial bid of £7m was rejected by Partizan Belgrade. The 20-year old defender is also a transfer target for a host of clubs including AC Milan, Sporting Lisbon and Porto. It is interesting to note that the player had a 10-day trial with Arsenal and was supposedly on the verge of joining the Gunners last season before the move was cancelled for unknown reasons. His stock has increased considerably since then, and a move to one of the above mentioned clubs could materialize.

Sounds Realistic:

In an interview to the Daily Mail, Everton chairman Bill Kenwright stated that Joseph Yobo’s move to Fenerbahce could be completed in the next few days. The 30-year old defender has impressed in his performances for the Turkish side and a deal of around £4m is reported to have been agreed between the clubs.

Manchester city outcast Shaun Wright-Phillips wants to revive a move to Bolton, suggests the Sun. The Trotters wanted to take the 29-year old winger to the Reebok in the January transfer window, but failed to match City’s £4m valuation and the player’s £60,000-a-week wages. However, it is now believed that Phillips is ready to take a pay cut in order to move to a club where he would get far more playing time. Now it’s up to Bolton to match City’s asking price and complete the deal.

According to the Daily Mirror, Didier Drogba is interested in a move to Galatasaray. The Turkish giants had a bid rejected earlier for the Ivorian, but are ready to make an improved offer, with the promise of paying the 33-year old wages to the tune of £5m-a-year. Drogba is reportedly unsettled at Stamford Bridge since the arrival of Torres and might find himself fall further down the pecking order if new manager Andre Villas-Boas decides to bring in more fresh faces this summer. He is in the twilight of his career and could move for one last windfall in his income.

The Guardian, however, does not think so and goes on to suggest that Chelsea will offer Drogba a one year extension to keep him away from the clutches of Marseille and Galatasaray. The French club’s president Vincent Labrune openly stated yesterday that the club has the funds to finance Drogba’s transfer and the Ivorian also stated in a previous interview that a move back to Marseille would interest him. But the Blues want to hold on to Drogba and any club wanting to sign him would have to persuade him to submit a transfer request. (Read More)

In an interview to the Sun, a top Chelsea source has stated that Roman Abramovic will not listen to offers for Michael Essien. Former boss Jose Mourinho, who is currently at La Liga giants Real Madrid, was reportedly interested in the Ghanaian and was said to be preparing an £18m offer, but the Russian billionaire seems to be intent upon not letting Mourinho take one of his players.

The Daily Mirror reports that Villa manager Alex McLeish is eager to tie up a loan deal for Real Madrid’s Sergio Canales. The 20-year old midfielder has not featured in Mourinho’s plans and a loan deal may be considered ideal for a player who is still very highly rated at the Bernabeu. Other clubs such as Villarreal and Atletico are also interested, but Madrid are keen on not sending one of their emerging stars to any La Liga rivals. Villa would do well to sign the Spaniard who could prove to be the ideal replacement for Ashley Young, at least for the next season.

Following the departure of Brad Friedel, Villa are in the search of a new goalkeeper. After Alex McLeish took over as manager, the Villans were strongly linked with Birmingham’s Ben Foster, but the Daily Mail now suggests that Manchester City’s Shay Given is coming close to making a move. The transfer fee involved is believed to be around the £5m mark. Given has found himself on the sidelines at City and would welcome a move in order to play first team football regularly. For Villa, the 35-year old Irishman would be a wonderful acquisition who would more than fill the gap left by veteran Friedel.

The Sun reports that Arsenal will move in for Inter Milan’s Emiliano VIviano. The 25-year old Goalkeeper is keen on a move away after realising that he will not get many chances at the San Siro due to a certain Julio Cesar. Arsenal, meanwhile, are keen on offloading blunder ridden Almunia and could do with another keeper to provide competition to Wojcech Szczesny. However, It will be interesting to see whether Inter will be willing to listen to any offers, especially since they only recently acquired full ownership of the Italian by paying £3.8m to co-owners Bologna.

According to the Daily Mail, Sergio Aguero’s representatives are holding talks with Atletico over a possible reduction in his release clause from £42m to £32m. Chelsea are believed to be monitoring the situation very closely with Juventus and Real Madrid also in the mix. The player looks set to be on his way out of Estadio Vicente Calderon this summer.

After just 18 months at Birmingham, midfielder Craig Gardner is all set to join Sunderland in a £5m deal, reports the Sun. The 24-year old Englishman was Birmingham’s leading scorer with 10 goals last season, but his heroics could not stop the club from being relegated. The player is , however, keen on playing in the Premier League again and with Brum wanting to slash their wage bill, this move, in all likelihood, will be completed.

No Way Jose rumour:

According to the Metro, Tottenham are looking to sign Auxerre’s Jeremy Berthod and Istre’s Florian Lejeune. Berthod has been deemed surplus to requirements at Auxerre and the 27-year old is considered to be a more than able cover for Benoit Assou-Ekotto by the Spurs scouts. Lejeune on the other hand is a very reliable centre back and has caught the attention of clubs such as Real Madrid and Villarreal. The 20-year old could be available for as little as £1m. We think that Redknapp will only move for any of these players once he sells some of the unwanted ones at White Hart Lane and so far, he has been unable to tie up deals for any of them.