summer 2011 transfer thread

[toonarmy#9]

post any transfers/rumours here.

[BTAC]

Bit late to the party there mate.

[toonarmy#9]

cbf opening up 5 or 6 different threads so if everyone could just post transfers in here it would be appreciated

[makaveli]

You rather scroll through 30 odd pages of teams you dont care about?

i'll stick to having to click in to the ones i care about.

[toonarmy#9]

You rather scroll through 30 odd pages of teams you dont care about?

i'll stick to having to click in to the ones i care about.

well there would be no point in starting a newcastle one.

i'd be the only one who looks at it

[Der_Tiser]

not true, there are several Jets fans here

[soggy sanga]

pointless for me and other gunner supporters to look at this - whinger is too much of a tight arse to buy any decent players

[BTAC]

pointless for me and other gunner supporters to look at this - whinger is too much of a tight muscat to buy any decent players

Top fan you are.

[PhilDunphy]

John Arne Riise joins Fulham from Roma

Fulham have confirmed the signing of former Liverpool defender John Arne Riise from Roma.

The 30-year-old has agreed a three-year deal at Craven Cottage and moves for an undisclosed fee.

"I know that the club is ambitious and continues to make good progress each year," Riise told the Fulham website.

"I am looking forward to working with [manager] Martin Jol and the rest of the squad when I report to training next week."

John Arne Riise was in direct competition with his brother, Bjorn Helge, when Roma and Fulham played each other on two occasions in the 2009 Europa League. John Arne scored the decisive goal in the match in Italy but Bjorn Helge's Fulham reached the final

"He is used to performing at the very highest level for both club and country, and is an accomplished player defensively, who can also contribute to our attacking play.

"I am extremely happy that we've been able to add him to our squad, and believe that he will prove a valuable addition as we progress."

Riise's younger brother Bjorn Helge Riise is already on Fulham's books.

John Arne spent seven years with Liverpool, making 371 appearances and scoring 34 goals before moving to Roma in 2008.

[PhilDunphy]

Barclays Premier League side Stoke City have agreed a fee with relegated West Ham United for striker Carlton Cole.

England forward Cole, 27, is currently in Switzerland with the Hammers for a pre-season training camp but is due to hold talks with Stoke manager Tony Pulis upon his return.

"We have agreed terms with West Ham, that's done. Now it's a case of can we agree terms with Carlton?," said Stoke chairman Peter Coates.

Cole joined West Ham from London rivals Chelsea in July 2006 and scored 42 goals in 165 appearances for the Hammers.

But he managed just five league goals last season and is now set to leave Upton Park.

The fee has been reported to be an initial £4 million ($A6m) with a possible £2 million ($A3m) in add-ons.

Coates said Stoke had tried to sign Cole on previous occasions but was optimistic that this time the forward would make his way to the Midlands club, who lost in last season's FA Cup final to Manchester City.

"We come from two different places. He has got an injury problem (Cole has had knee trouble) - he has always had that - and that is a risk you take so we have to factor that in,'' he said.

"But he is a good player and Tony has always liked him. Manager's like different players but Tony has always liked him.

"I think we've tried to sign him around three times over the past few years without succeeding so maybe we will get somewhere this year.

"Now we've done a deal with the club it really needs his input with the player because he likes to talk to them and make sure they are on board, and he is on board and everything is ok from his point of view.

"But we see that work in progress and hope that something can be done.''

[El Pibe D'Oro]

Downing to Liverpool.

Inler to Napoli

[getborn]

Axel Witsel to Benfica.

[PhilDunphy]

Aston Villa sign Shay Given from Manchester City on five-year deal

Aston Villa have completed the signing of Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given from Manchester City.

The 35-year-old has signed a five-year contract at Villa Park after the clubs agreed an undisclosed fee.

New Villa boss Alex McLeish targeted the former Newcastle man after Brad Friedel moved to Tottenham.

Given told the club's website: "Aston Villa is a huge club and I'm really excited to be joining. It's a new challenge and I'm eager to embrace it."

Given had been on the margins at Eastlands after City manager Roberto Mancini made England international Joe Hart his first choice.

The Irish international will make his Villa debut in a friendly against Walsall on Thursday.

He is McLeish's first signing since taking over at Villa Park and the former Birmingham manager believes Given will have a major impact at the club.

"Shay has come here with something of a point to prove and that won't do him any harm at all," McLeish said.

"Everybody who has watched him perform over many years in the Premier League will know his pedigree so we believe we have secured the services of one of the best goalkeepers in the business."

[PhilDunphy]

Jerome Boateng completes move from Man City to Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich have completed the signing of Manchester City defender Jerome Boateng on a four-year deal.

The 22-year-old arrived at City from Hamburg in 2010 but failed to win a regular starting place.

The Germany international left City's tour of North America last week to finalise personal terms.

Boateng, whose last game for City was on 2 March in the FA Cup fifth-round victory over Aston Villa, has left for an undisclosed fee.

After training with his new team-mates Boateng was introduced to the media. He said: "I've come here to make the defence more solid.

"It was important to me that Bayern had me marked in for a specific position. I believe it will end up with me playing at centre-back for the national team more often."

After a successful 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Boateng signed a five-year contract with City, but his first season was disrupted by injury and he was limited to 24 appearances.

Boateng was also played at right-back, rather than in his favoured central position, something that will change with his move to Germany.

Bayern's new manager Jupp Heynckes told the club's official website: "I have a very good impression [of Boateng]. He's fitted in with our training programme extremely well."

Bayern sporting director Christian Nerlinger added: "We're delighted we've succeeded in bringing him here. He was utterly determined to come here from the very start."

[PhilDunphy]

Fulham keen to land former Liverpool FC winger

Fulham are interested in Kewell but he may prefer to return home to A-LeagueFulham manager Martin Jol could be prepared to give Australian midfielder Harry Kewell a shock move back to the Premier League.

Kewell, 32, is currently without a club and could be interested in a move to the Premier League with Fulham if Jol is ready to table an offer for him. The Australian midfielder has been a free agent since Turkish outfit Galatasary opted not to extend his contract with the club, despite Kewell being a fan-favourite.

However, Jol could face competition as several clubs, including newly-promoted QPR, are said to be interested in the player. Sources also claim there is interest from clubs in his home country of Australia and it is believed Kewell could be keen on a move back to the A-League.

Fulham could benefit from signing Kewell on a free transfer given the player’s previous Premier League experience with Leeds United and Liverpool. If they are to hand Kewell another Premier League lifeline, though, they will have to heavily persuade Kewell as it is rumoured he has his heart set on finishing his career in Australia.

[PhilDunphy]

Aly Cissokho to complete £9m Liverpool transfer 'within days'

Aly Cissokho is set to complete a £9million transfer from Lyon to Liverpool in the next few days, according to reports in France.

The Reds turned their attention to the 23-year-old left-back after missing out to Manchester City in the race to sign Gael Clichy.

Remi Garde, the coach of cash-strapped Lyon, recently revealed the board were willing to listen to offers for Cissokho, who joined the French club from Porto in a £13million deal in 2009.

The announcement alerted Roma to his availability and persuaded Liverpool to act by making a bid, reports Le Parisien.

Lyon officials are apparently happy with the sum offered and the France international is likely to become a Reds player early next week.

Liverpool were also considering Jose Enrique as a solution to their left-back problem, but Cissokho's arrival will bring an end to their interest in the Newcastle United star.

Enrique, who is in the final year of his Magpies contract, is also a target for Arsenal, who may now face no competition for his signature.

[Litmanen]

Thibault Courtois to Chelsea.

Belgian keeper of the year last year, hopefully this means we'll never have to use Turnbull again.

EIDT: I may have jumped the gun, he's at Chelsea for a medical. The deal is done if he passes that.

[Der_Tiser]

obligatory Raul to Schalke post

[DOC]

obligatory Raul to Schalke post

sauce?

[Der_Tiser]

obligatory Raul to Schalke post

sauce?

satay, you?

[DOC]

obligatory Raul to Schalke post

sauce?

satay, you?

satay good

[PhilDunphy]

Bojan Krkic leaves European champions Barcelona for Roma

Barcelona have sold Bojan Krkic to Roma but could end up buying back the striker in two years.

The 20-year-old has left Camp Nou for £10.5m with the Spanish club having the option to bring him back at the end of the 2012/13 season for £11.4m.

Roma can block that deal and keep the Spain international but the original transfer fee would rise to £35.2m.

Krkic left Barcelona saying: "The club didn't seem to have enough confidence in me."

He added: "There were definitely moments where I felt the club wasn't right with me. I didn't understand this season's decisions and that affected my confidence.

"I had a lot less minutes [on the pitch] but in the end it's not about whether it's just or not, this is the situation now."

After graduating from Barcelona's youth academy, Krkic seemed set for a stellar career with the European champions. He became the club's youngest goalscorer when he netted against Villarreal in October 2007 at just 17 years and 53 days old.

Since the arrival of Pep Guardiola as coach at the start of the 2008/09 season however, Krkic has mainly been confined to coming off the substitutes' bench.

He has made a total of 42 league starts in the past four seasons, and scored 26 goals, but found himself behind Lionel Messi, David Villa and Pedro in the Camp Nou hierarchy of forwards.

Krkic picked up a host of medals as Barcelona dominated the domestic and European scene, but says he is now focused on winning trophies with Roma.

In Italy he joins up with coach Luis Enrique, who until recently was in charge of the Barcelona B team.

"I hope my role is an important one at Roma," Krkic said. "Each team has its own interests at heart.

"I still feel it was a privilege to be a part of this team these past years, and that I helped make Barca the best team in the world. I still see my exit as positive."

Barcelona signed Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez from Udinese on Thursday, and still have an interest in buying Cesc Fabregas from Arsenal.

[PhilDunphy]

Blackpool sign up Birmingham midfielder Barry Ferguson

Blackpool have signed midfielder Barry Ferguson on a two-year deal from Birmingham City, with the option of staying on for a further year.

The former Scotland international, 33, watched the Seasiders' 2-0 home defeat to Glasgow Rangers on Wednesday night.

Ferguson, who played 84 times for Birmingham, is the latest player to leave St. Andrews following the club's relegation from the Premier League.

He becomes manager Ian Holloway's sixth summer signing.

Holloway will hope that Ferguson helps to fill the hole left in midfield by the departures of Charlie Adam and David Vaughan.

Ferguson links up again with Kevin Phillips after the veteran striker joined Blackpool on a free transfer earlier this month.

After winning 45 caps for Scotland, Ferguson incurred a ban in April 2009 for misdemeanours while on international duty and confirmed his retirement a year later, claiming he wanted to concentrate on playing club football.

[DOC]

blackpool=hun refuge

[PhilDunphy]

Wigan accept Aston Villa's Charles N'Zogbia bid

Aston Villa have agreed a fee with Wigan Athletic over the signing of winger Charles N'Zogbia.

The French international, 25, is now set to discuss personal terms with the Midlands club.

Villa said they hoped to complete the deal later this week as they rebuild following the sales of Stewart Downing and Ashley Young.

Neither club has announced the agreed fee, although reports suggest it is in the region of £9.5m.

Villa manager Alex McLeish came close to signing N'Zogbia last summer when in charge at Birmingham City, although the deal collapsed over personal terms.

He also saw a bid rejected for the former Newcastle United man earlier this month.

McLeish has now returned for the Wigan player after the sales of Young and Downing to Manchester United and Liverpool respectively left him short of wingers.

A Villa statement said: "The club are pleased to confirm we have agreed a fee with Wigan for French international winger Charles N'Zogbia.

"We will now discuss personal terms with the player and arrange a medical, with a view to completing the transfer later this week."

A Wigan spokesman added: "The player has been given permission to speak to Villa and the club will be making no further comment on the issue until the completion of the transfer."

N'Zogbia, who would be out of contract at Wigan next summer, is likely to have to wait to join up with Villa's first-team squad.

They are currently on a pre-season tour of Hong Hong and N'Zogbia does not have the required work visa.

He would instead train at Villa's Bodymoor Heath training complex if and when the deal is formally completed.

[Chaos]

blackpool=hun refuge

Hence the tangerine

[DOC]

blackpool=hun refuge

Hence the tangerine

exactly

[El Pibe D'Oro]

Martin Stekelenburg to Roma for 6 million - seems a steal when Man Utd paid 20 mill for De Gea.

[DOC]

Martin Stekelenburg to Roma for 6 million - seems a steal when Man Utd paid 20 mill for De Gea.

is he in the last year of his contract? if so ajax may have panic sold to make sure they got some cash?

[El Pibe D'Oro]

Martin Stekelenburg to Roma for 6 million - seems a steal when Man Utd paid 20 mill for De Gea.

is he in the last year of his contract? if so ajax may have panic sold to make sure they got some cash?

Possibly, not 100% but he is a really good keeper - I realise Man Utd went for youth with De Gea, but Stekelenberg is pretty decent and for 6 mill good bit of business.