How good of an investment is bringing in an highly-talented but oft-injured player for 20m? Rafa Benitez won’t find that out for a month or two, what with new signing Alberto Aquilani on the shelf for the start of the season.
Liverpool aren’t the only Premier League side bringing in a big-name Italian import this summer, as West Ham could be set to bring in one of their own before the window closes at the end of this month.
As usual, along with finding out about the latest summer signings in the day’s roundup, you can keep up with them and all of the rest of the summer moves throughout many top European leagues in our summer transfer lists.
England
Liverpool Sign Aquilani
Liverpool have completed the signing of Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani for £20m. (Sky Sports)
Analysis: It has to be disappointing that he won’t make his debut until September, or perhaps even October, but hopefully it won’t be a sign of things to come.
Toni To West Ham?
The agent of Bayern Munich striker Luca Toni says that it is likely that Toni will move to West Ham on loan. (The Independent)
Analysis: He’s prone to dry spells here and there, but when he’s in form, he’s deadly. Being able to land a striker of his quality and pedigree would be a real coup for the Hammers and would significantly bolster their hopes of earning a Europa League place.
Villa Sign Beye
Aston Villa have signed Newcastle defender Habib Beye for around £2.5m. (The Guardian)
Analysis: After a fairly quiet summer for the most part, Villa’s transfer activity is picking up steam as the season gets closer, and at least one or two arrivals should be in the cards before the window closes.
Chelsea Starlet Loaned To Wigan
Wigan have inked Chelsea attacker Scott Sinclair on a season-long loan deal. (The Mirror)
Analysis: Good for Sinclair to be able to get more Premier League experience instead of having another loan spell in the Championship.
Portsmouth Land Viduka
Portsmouth have agreed a deal in principle with free agent striker Mark Viduka, though the deal won’t be finalized until Viduka returns from his holiday. (Sky Sports)
Analysis: Viduka’s still got some goals left in him, so this could turn out to be a low-risk, high-reward move for Pompey.
Spain
Barca’s Mata Offer Rejected
Valencia have rejected Barcelona’s offer of €20m for winger Juan Manuel Mata. (AFP)
Analysis: Safe to say that if they haven’t been willing to budge for the two Davids, there was no way that €20m would have been nearly enough to lure Mata.
Sevilla Close On Fred
Sevilla are in negotiations for former Lyon striker Fred, according to his brother, who also serves as his agent. (Transfer Market Web)
Analysis: Talent isn’t an issue with Fred, who was a part of Brazil’s World Cup squad in 2006 and scored a goal in group play against Australia. He had a couple of solid seasons with Lyon, and he’s done well since his move to Fluminense earlier this year, but he didn’t have the best of relationships with the club.
Italy
Huntelaar Moves To Milan
AC Milan have completed the signing of Real Madrid striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. (Sky Sports)
Analysis: Finally, AC Milan have the striker that they’ve been trying to land throughout the summer, and holding out for the right move proved to pay off for Huntelaar.
Turkey
Besiktas Move For Giovani
Besiktas are after Tottenham attacking midfielder Giovani dos Santos. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: A move to Besiktas would allow him to earn regular first-team football and a chance to play in the Champions League, but I’d think that it’d have to be a loan deal, if anything.
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