Summer Football Transfers (2011)

[Zoom7000]

The 20-year-old, who never played a game for Vitoria, was available for ?125,000 from his old club Estrela da Amadora just months earlier.

This made me :laugh:

Alex Ferguson is a great manager, there is no denying that, however, he has made some truly great transfer howlers in his time. He signed Bebe for nearly ?8m without ever seeing the guy play and after he'd just moved clubs for ?125k! The fantastic goalie that was Massimo Taibi and then there was Juan Sebastian Veron! :p

The 30-year-old's preference is to stay in London and join Spurs, but it remains to be seen whether the White Hart Lane board is prepared to match West Ham's ?8 million valuation.

This is expected, great player Parker, but I think he's gonna hold out for a potential Arsenal bid.

maybe one of them is this guy...

Does anyone else see the Sam Allardyce going back to his Bolton glory days trend going on here? Kevin Nolan, Ricardo Gardner... next it'll be Jay Jay Okocha & Stelios Giannakopoulos linked to West Ham! :p

List of Premier league free agents.

Some very interesting free agents in that list! Quite surprised by a few of the releases!

[Damo R.]

West Ham confirmed Nolan on a 5....yes 5! year deal! :rofl:

[Damo R.]

Newcastle have signed midfielder Sylvain Marveaux from French club Rennes on a five-year deal.

The 25-year-old left-sided player had also been linked with Liverpool but will complete a move to St James' Park for an undisclosed fee on 1 July.

Magpies manager Alan Pardew said: "It's a coup to have signed Sylvain, who has had interest from a number of clubs.

"He may not be well known to many of our fans, but he is a player we have been keeping an eye on for some time."

Marveaux is the third Frenchman recruited by Newcastle recently after Hatem Ben Arfa and Yohan Cabaye.

And confirmation of his capture comes a day after the Magpies signed Senegal international striker Demba Ba.

Marveaux will help to offset the loss of Newcastle skipper Kevin Nolan, who joined West Ham on Thursday.

[Damo R.]

Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has confirmed Barcelona have registered their interest in signing Cesc Fabregas this summer.

Barca failed in their bid to prise Fabregas away from Arsenal last year with Arsene Wenger adamant that his captain would not leave the club but, with the player having expressed a wish to return to the Camp Nou, many felt that he might depart this summer.

Hill-Wood has now said that Barca have been in contact but stressed that, as yet, they have not tabled an offer.

"Yes, they have spoken to us about Cesc," he told the Sunday Mirror. "They have been in touch, but so far they have not made a bid and we do not want to let him go.

"But he comes from Barcelona so it is understandable if he wanted to go back. However, they have not made an offer so far."

Pep Guardiola is believed to be keen to sign Fabregas, but Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has warned that they will not match last year's ?40 million offer. Rosell also said that, although this year's transfer budget stands at ?45 million, the club may use cash from next summer's transfer kitty to increase that figure, while there are also certain to be sales, with Bojan Krkic set to leave for Roma in the coming days.

Widespread reports suggest Barca have all but agreed the signing of Alexis Sanchez from Udinese for an initial fee in the region of ?28 million, while Villarreal striker Giuseppe Rossi's agent recently confirmed that Barca have seen a bid - reported to be worth ?27 million - rejected.

[Damo R.]

Winger Ashley Young has signed for Manchester United from Premier League rivals Aston Villa on a five-year deal.

The 25-year-old, reported to have cost United about ?17m, passed his medical with the league champions on Thursday.

"The opportunity to come to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world is one I couldn't turn down," the former Watford player told MUTV.

"It's a chance to hopefully become part of the history by helping to win the 20th title."

Young had been at Villa for more than four years after joining from the Hornets but only had one year left on his contract.

He becomes the club's second signing of the summer following the arrival of Phil Jones with Watford set to get 15% of any figure above the Villa ?9.65m transfer fee.

A new goalkeeper also remains on manager Sir Alex Ferguson's shopping list to replace Edwin van der Sar, with Atletico Madrid's David de Gea tipped to take the number one jersey.

Young began his professional career at the Hornets and made his first-team debut in 2003. He shone for the club during the 2005/2006 season and helped them achieve promotion after they beat Leeds United in the play-off final.

In January 2007, Young signed for Villa, where he scored 38 goals in 190 appearances, and later that year finally made his England debut as a substitute in the friendly against Austria.

"It's a chance to hopefully become part of the history by helping to win the 20th title." added Young. "It's a prospect I always looked at from being a child - to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world. I've got that opportunity now so I've just got to take it with two hands."

[Damo R.]

Arsenal are prepared to sell Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona if the two clubs can agree a price for the Spanish midfielder, BBC Sport has learned.

The Premier League club have rejected an initial bid for their captain but are now bracing themselves for an improved offer.

A senior Arsenal official said: "The offer was made formally in writing to our chief executive (Ivan Gazidis), and we said no straight away."

When asked if the club expected an improved offer this week, the source said: "Possibly yes, and if it's enough then I expect we'll have to sell."

Arsenal's stance appears to have shifted since last season when they rejected two offers from Barcelona for Fabregas, a former trainee at the Nou Camp, and stated they had no intention of selling him at any price.

Since then, American billionaire Stan Kroenke has taken control of the London club and now faces the first major decision of his reign.

Barcelona's president Sandro Rosell said last week that Fabregas was trying to pave the way for a return to the club he left as a 16-year-old, but that the heavily indebted Spanish giants would not pay more than ?35m for him.

Barcelona's latest bid is reported to be around ?27m, well short of Arsenal's valuation of more than ?40m.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13928823.stm

[Damo R.]

Santos have confirmed that five clubs have met Neymar's release clause of ?45million (?40.3million) and they have been given permission to talk with the Brazilian sensation.

The clubs are understood to be Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester City and Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala.

It was previously believed that Real and Chelsea, who have been tracking Neymar for years, were leading the chase with the Spaniards in pole position.

But now it has emerged that they are not alone in the race for his signature, with Barca and City also showing their hand.

The outsiders of the five are Anzhi Makhachkala - although they have plenty of finances and they would hope their current Brazilian contingent, which includes Roberto Carlos, could help push a deal through.

Now the clubs in question are set for talks, according to Santos president Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro.

"We don't want to sell the player, but of course there is a release clause in his contract that can be paid and five European clubs have offered to match the clause," ESPN Brasil.

"I cannot name them because there is an agreement between Santos and the clubs, but they are the most important European clubs.

"They have asked to speak to the player and obviously we've allowed them to.

"The clubs have behaved ethically. They sought out Santos first and were willing to pay the clause. With this ethical approach, they can talk to anyone - with Neymar's father, with [agent] Wagner Ribeiro, and with the representatives of Neymar."

Ribeiro also took time to have a dig at Chelsea over their previous attempt to land the 19-year-old.

"Last year, Chelsea's attitude was different. Their first action was to seek out the player's representatives," he stated.

He also remains confident that, after helping Santos lift the Copa Libertadores earlier this month, he could stay put and reject the move to Europe.

"These clubs can come along and make their offerings, but if he wants to stay at Santos he can say no and continue at Santos," he concluded.

[vanx]

....?45million (?40.3million)...and Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala...

Something tells me that he wouldn't want to go to Dagestan :laugh:

[Damo R.]

Manchester United have confirmed the signing of goalkeeper David de Gea from Atletico Madrid on a five-year deal.

The Spain Under-21 international, 20, underwent a medical at Old Trafford on Monday and will finalise what is thought to be an ?18.9m move on Friday.

"I feel very proud and I can't wait to start playing here," De Gea told MUTV.

"When a club the size of Manchester United comes in for you, it obviously makes you very, very happy. I'm keen to do my best and show what I can do."

The deal marks De Gea out as the second most expensive keeper behind Gianluigi Buffon, who cost Juventus ?32.6m in 2001.

[Damo R.]

Sky Sports sources understand Manchester City are closing in on a ?20million swoop for Arsenal star Samir Nasri, while their deal for Gael Clichy is also nearly done.

The French midfielder has been heavily linked with a move away from Emirates Stadium this summer, with a host of top European clubs thought to be chasing his signature.

He has yet to put pen to paper on a new contract in North London, with his current terms set to expire next year.

Manchester United were previously tipped as frontrunners to secure Nasri's signature, but it seems big-spending local rivals City have now taken pole position in the race to sign him.

The Blues are also reportedly close to capturing Arsenal left-back Clichy, while Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas is expected to leave this summer, meaning manager Arsene Wenger could be left without several of his key players next season.

[Valerus]

I'd love to see Clichy leave. He's one of the worst LB's I've seen. Doesn't know how to defend.

[Damo R.]

I'd love to see Clichy leave. He's one of the worst LB's I've seen. Doesn't know how to defend.

problem is he's not the only person leaving is he...Fab may go...along with Nasri and Persie said he would request transfer if those go

[acnpt]

Wouldn't it be better to sell Nasri to Man Utd, as Arsenal are going to be (hopefully) competing with City. It's not as if Wenger is going to spend the extra money anyway :p

[Damo R.]

Clichy gone to City on 4 year deal worth ?65k a week

---

Tevez wants to leave City

[c3ntury]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jul/05/manchester-city-carlos-tevez-50m

"Manchester City are prepared to take a hardline stance with Carlos Tevez and keep him at Eastlands against his will unless they receive a suitable offer, informing the player it will be the club's decision and that they will not allow him to dictate what happens."

[vanx]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jul/05/manchester-city-carlos-tevez-50m

"Manchester City are prepared to take a hardline stance with Carlos Tevez and keep him at Eastlands against his will unless they receive a suitable offer, informing the player it will be the club's decision and that they will not allow him to dictate what happens."

If he has a release clause in his contract -- that's pretty much a certainty -- and he has enough money, he can buy himself out of a contract. That's pretty much the only way he can take matters into his own hands.

[Damo R.]

Carlton Cole to QPR! haha :shifty:

[Valerus]

Sunderland have completed the signings of John O'She and Wes Brown from Manchester United...if anyone in the world cares at all.

[nothuman]

I do.

Thanks boys, for everything you've down for United. I wish you both the best for the future.

[deuz]

With adam now at liverpool, i cant figure out the formation.

[anthdci]

Sunderland have completed the signings of John O'She and Wes Brown from Manchester United...if anyone in the world cares at all.

:bounce: I care, great signings. I've been told Defoe and N'Zogbia are staying at a hotel just outside of Sunderland, getting those two would be awesome.

[Kralik]

Ars?ne Wenger has vowed to fight as hard as he can to keep Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri at Arsenal.

Both midfielders have been linked with moves away from Emirates Stadium during the summer but, speaking exclusively to Arsenal Player on Friday afternoon, the manager re-affirmed his desire to retain their services.

?Our position is always the same, we want to keep Cesc and I will fight as hard as I can to keep him,? said Wenger.

?Samir Nasri is exactly the same. We will do everything we can to keep him.?

Nasri is expected to travel with the squad this weekend as Arsenal fly out to Malaysia at the start of their tour of Asia however Fabregas has a muscular injury and is likely to be left behind.

Emmanuel Eboue (calf) is an injury doubt.

?We will take the strongest possible squad,? said Wenger. ?Fabregas will not travel because he still has a small muscular problem. He will stay and practice here. There is a doubt about Eboue who has done his calf.?

Arsenal.com hope to publish the full travelling party on Saturday afternoon.

[rajputwarrior]

^ they better effin hope so. but then again, them losing them would make it easier for liverpool to finish top 4!

[Kralik]

^ they better effin hope so. but then again, them losing them would make it easier for liverpool to finish top 4!

Not gonna happen at Arsenal's expense mate.. maybe City or Chelsea will make room for you..

[rajputwarrior]

Not gonna happen at Arsenal's expense mate.. maybe City or Chelsea will make room for you..

you better hope so, cause Nasri wants out and cesc is as good as gone.