If you’ve checked out the football transfer lists lately, you’ll notice that we’ve got a couple of new additions in League One and League Two, so if you’re a fan of one of England’s lower league clubs, you can now find their latest transfers here.
And as always, you can count on finding all of the latest transfer news and rumors here, with a fresh hot batch delivered everyday.
England
Liverpool Close To Crumbling On Alonso?
Liverpool representatives are denying that they’ve agreed to sell midfielder Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid, but according to the (Daily Mail), Real Madrid are extremely hopeful of a deal for the Spaniard after upping their offer to £30m.
Analysis: I’ve said for a while that Liverpool shouldn’t sell Alonso, but it seems all too obvious that he wants to leave, and if he does, it’ll be Real Madrid or bust.
Manchester City In For Young
Manchester City could be set to make an £18m bid for Aston Villa winger Ashley Young. (Clubcall)
Analysis: Moving on…
Sunderland Turn To Bent
After missing out on Portsmouth striker Peter Crouch, Sunderland could be set to use the £12m that they were going to use on Crouch on a move for Tottenham’s Darren Bent. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: Tottenham might be willing to back off of their high asking price for Bent now that they’re trying to do some striker shopping of their own (whether it’s for Crouch, Negredo, or Huntelaar), and £10-12m is much more reasonable for Bent than £16m, at least in my opinion.
Evans Set For Sheffield United
Sheffield United have agreed a fee in the region of £3m for Manchester City striker Ched Evans. (Sky Sports)
Analysis: Sheffield United made the Championship playoff final despite selling off their leading scorer (James Beattie) in January, but it was a must to add another scorer to aid their promotion push this season. Evans had a very good loan spell with Norwich City in the 2006/07 season, when he scored 10 goals and had eight assists in 28 appearances, so he’s already got Championship experience and success under his belt.
Spain
Barca Close On Kerrison
Barcelona and Brazilian side Palmeiras have agreed a €14m fee for striker Kerrison, with the 20-year-old set for a medical with Barca tomorrow. (Sky Sports)
Analysis: It might be a season or two before we actually see him in a Barcelona shirt, since they’re going to be loaning him out immediately.
Real Re-Sign Granero
Real Madrid have re-signed midfielder Esteban Granero from Getafe. Real included a buy-back clause into last summer’s sale of Granero to Getafe, and they’ve executed the €4m clause to bring the 22-year-old back to the Bernabeu. (Sky Sports)
Analysis: The ol’ buy-back clause strikes again. It’s hard to see where anyone’s future lies (well, besides the few obvious names) with all of the coming and going at Real, but there’s no indication that they’re going to sell him off immediately. He could see some regular appearances this season, but he could just as well wind up on the bench for much of the campaign, which wouldn’t do very much for his development.
Sevilla Sign Sanchez
Sevilla have signed Espanyol defender Sergio Sanchez for €4m. (Sky Sports)
Analysis: Sanchez’s ability to play both at center back and right back will be an asset for a club that already had one of the most airtight back lines in La Liga, and so will his ability to find the net on occasion (he scored three goals for Espanyol last season).
Zaragoza Close On Kalinic
Real Zaragoza are closing on a deal for Hadjuk Split striker Nikola Kalinic. (Tribal Football)
Analysis: Excellent deal for Zaragoza, who are landing one of Croatia’s top young prospects. The 20-year-old has finished near the top of the goal charts in Croatia’s top flight each of the last two seasons, and he’s got quite the ringing endorsement from Croatia national team coach Slaven Bilic, who’s called him the future of Croatian football.
Italy
Eto’o Agrees Inter Deal
Samuel Eto’o has agreed terms on a move to Inter Milan. (Sky Sports)
Analysis: Still a while yet before the whole deal is actually completed, but Eto’o’s part of the deal might have been the biggest piece of the puzzle, given concerns about his wage demands, so it’d seem to be all but a formality now that the deal gets done.
Portugal
Sporting Move For Caicedo
Manchester City striker Felipe Caicedo has agreed a season-long loan switch to Sporting Lisbon. (Sky Sports)
Analysis: Even though City’s glut of forward signings means his future there is likely out the window, doing well at a club like Sporting (not to mention carrying that form over into the World Cup if Ecuador qualify) will either earn him a permanent move there or to another high-level European club next summer.
Turkey
Deco Close To Galatasaray Move
Deco could be close to sealing a move to Galatsaray, according to Turkish media reports. (Transfer Market Web)
Analysis: Though he could still have a part to play at Chelsea, a move might be best if he wants a starting role. A move to Galatasaray worked out very well for Harry Kewell and Milan Baros, and with Frank Rijkaard being installed as manager, there’s some familiarity there, so it’s an opportunity that could prove profitable for Deco if he wants it to.
Daily Links
Football At The Top: It’s A Dog’s Life
If you don’t have a sense of humor, I suggest you not read this.
Manchester United Fans Must Be Patient
Many a Manchester United fan might be looking for the club to spend big this summer, but there’s reason to have a different perspective.
Time For Alonso To Say He’s Staying Or Going
It appears pretty clear that Xabi Alonso wants to leave Liverpool, but a word one way or another from the man himself would be nice, no?
Vuvuzela World Record Attempt Today
Oh. Dear. God.
The Story Of Pies And Shiny Media
If you’ve been wondering what happened to Who Ate All the Pies, here’s the story behind the disappearance.
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