All The Latest Transfer Gossip

Finally the domestic football season across Europe is over, but already the race is well and truly on as clubs go in search of new players for next season. Clubs have not got a lot of time to bed any new signings into their squads with pre-season friendlies beginning in about six weeks time, and also some clubs (inc. British teams) having important UEFA Europa League qualifying round matches to negotiate, with the first round of games beginning on the 30th June.

For Fulham their first game in the competition will be on 15th July, for Stoke City and Hearts the 28th July, and for Tottenham, Birmingham, and Celtic the tournament begins for them on the 18th August. It's not just British clubs who have an early start to their season in Europe - there are some famous European sides also playing in the qualifying stages of this seasons Europa League competition, including Atlético Madrid, Red Star Belgrade, AZ Alkmaar, Roma, Schalke, Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven and Lazio to name but a few!

Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester City, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Wolves, Sunderland, QPR, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Valencia, Newcastle, Swansea, West Brom, Everton, Norwich, Trabzonspor, Lazio, Wigan, Blackburn, Bursaspor, Norwich, Blackpool, Watford and Brighton...........are all currently caught up in transfer gossip.

Is your club involved?

Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole looks set to be reunited with Harry Redknapp, after Tottenham agreed a £3m transfer fee to sign the 29-year-old - Metro

According to inside sources and despite winning the Serie A title with AC Milan just a few weeks ago, Zlatan Ibrahimovic does not feel entirely settled at the club and is pondering on his near future.
Rumours that the Swede could leave this summer are mounting, even though there is nothing official in that regard yet. However, Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo is reporting that Ibrahimovic is tempted to join Real Madrid and reunite with the coach he admires the most, Jose Mourinho - footballpress.net

If Zlatan Ibrahimovic is sold this summer, AC Milan will try to sign Mario Balotelli (right) from Manchester City by August - footballpress.net

Wolves have agreed to sign Jamie O'Hara from Tottenham for £5m. The mdifelder, 24, spent the latter half of last season on loan at Molineux - goal.com
However the Press Association have come out and said that reports that the deal has already been done are "premature".

Liverpool have made a new £18.5m bid for Sunderland's 20-year-old midfielder Jordan Henderson, £5m more than last week's opening offer - Daily Mirror

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been told he will need to find in excess of £20m to sign Tottenham playmaker Luka Modric - The Sun

Ashley Young, 25, wants to quit Aston Villa for Champions League football, and Manchester United are favourites to sign the £20m-rated forward - The Sun

Villa, in the meantime, have been making discreet enquiries about Real Madrid's out-of-favour mdifielder Fernando Gago, 25, (right) - Insidefutbol.com

Tottenham duo Jermaine Jenas and Robbie Keane could leave Spurs for newly promoted Queens Park Rangers. Midfielder Jenas, 28, would cost around £7m, while 30-year-old Keane is more likely to move on loan - Metro

Liverpool are reportedly readying a bid for Queens Park Rangers' Moroccan international playmaker Adel Taarabt, as Kenny Dalglish looks to bring in youthful additions to his Anfield squad this summer. Taarabat is the subject of great interest from a number of clubs both in the Premier League and from the continent - caughtoffside.com

Wigan Athletic owner Dave Whelan has given the green light to Liverpool and Sunderland to sign midfielder Charles N’Zogbia for £9million - Daily Mirror & caughtoffside.com

Arsenal and Liverpool are considering a bid for Barcelona's unwanted 20-year-old striker Bojan (right) - Daily Mail

Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich remain confident they will be able to broker a fee with Manchester City for full-back Jerome Boateng's services. The 22-year-old has reportedly informed City boss Roberto Mancini of his desire to return to the Bundesliga, with Bayern eager to acquire the ex-Hamburg defender - skysports.com

Miroslav Klose is being linked with a move to Valencia after current side Bayern Munich confirmed his contract will not be extended.
A host of clubs - including Italy's Lazio, Premier League duo Everton and Norwich and Turkey's Trabzonspor are reported to have also been interested in signing Klose - skysports.com & TALKsport

Nicklas Bendtner has confirmed he will "100%" leave Arsenal this summer after growing frustrated at his lack of opportunities - Daily Mail

Watford have confirmed the club have accepted a bid of £3.5million for Danny Graham (right) from Swansea - skysports.com

Newcastle are closing in on Swansea defender Neil Taylor as they look to take advantage of a clause in his contract - football365.com

Wigan and Blackburn are interested in Bursaspor's Kenny Miller, the former Rangers and Scottish international striker - football365.com

Norwich City are on the verge of signing their second player of the summer by agreeing a deal to take Leeds United midfielder Bradley Johnson.
The 24-year-old is available on a Bosman free and will sign a three-and-a-half year contract with the Premier League new boys this week. He was also attracting interest from West Brom and Sunderland but preferred a move to the Canaries - caughtoffside.com

West Brom are stepping up their efforts to sign Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima (right) - football365.com

West Brom have begun negotiations about bringing out of contract Fulham midfielder Zoltan Gera, back to the Hawthorns. Baggies boss Roy Hodgson is also interested in Blackpool midfielder David Vaughan - caughtoffside.com

Brighton are closing in on the signing of Watford winger Will Buckley. The Championship new boys are believed to have come back with an improved offer as they look to land the 22-year-old - skysports.com

Liverpool Out For Revenge Over Beach Ball Victors - Betting News with Betfred

VERSUS

Liverpool will be hoping for their luck to turn when they face Sunderland at Anfield on Sunday, after the previous meeting between the two teams ended in controversy.

Back in October 2009 the Reds went down 1-0 to the Black Cats at the Stadium of Light, after Darren Bent's shot hit a beach ball thrown on to the pitch by a Liverpool fan, causing it to dramatically change direction, before nestling in the back of the net.

With the form Bent has been in recently punters might fancy the 8/1 on offer with Betfred for him to be first goalscorer on Sunday, with or without outside assistance.

The incident caused huge controversy, and ultimately cost Liverpool valuable points. Five months on and with Liverpool's season faltering, they will have to pull out all the stops if they are going to finish at best in fourth place at the end of this seasons Premier League campaign.

They currently lie sixth, four points behind Tottenham who occupy fourth place and two points behind Manchester City in fifth, both of whom have played a game less than The Reds.

Manager Rafa Benitez has called for his big players to step up to the plate in the coming weeks to ensure Liverpool qualify for next season's Champions League.
The football betting odds make the Merseysiders favourites for Sunday's game at 1/3, but their stuttering form could make a draw at 4/1 a good bet.

The Spanish manager will be aware of the threat Sunderland can pose to his side, who could be still reeling from their defeat to Premier League leaders Manchester United last weekend.

"Sometimes when you talk about big names, top-class players, you are expecting something from them when the team is not doing well," said Benitez.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has admitted in recent days that his performances this season have been lacklustre. He told Sky Sports News he has failed to reach the level he expects of himself, which has left him disappointed. He will certainly need to improve if he is to help England to justify their World Cup 2010 odds in South Africa this summer, and he could show signs of improvement here. Gerrard is 9/2 to grab the first goal on Sunday.

My tip Of The Weekend:
I expect a tight game with few goals at Anfield, so Betfred's odds of 7/2 for the game to be all square at half-time and Liverpool to be victorious at full-time is very attractive - Sunday 28th March, kick-off 4pm, live on Sky.

By Drew Swainston
(Guest writer from Betfred on behalf of Beer Footy and Birds!)

City Need To Be Wary Of Bent Threat - Betting News with Betfred

VERSUS

Manchester City will have to be wary of the threat that Darren Bent brings as they continue their battle for a Premier League Top Four finish, with a visit to the north-east at the weekend.

City currently occupy fifth spot in the Premier League, but were given a boost when rivals Liverpool lost at Wigan earlier this week. Roberto Mancini's men will now look to increase the pressure on the Reds, as they vie for that fourth-placed finish and with it a lucrative Champions League campaign next season.
The Blues visit Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.

On Tuesday night, Sunderland ended their 14-match winless run in the league dating back to October, with a 4-0 demolition of Bolton Wanderers, and some fans might fancy them to get another result on Sunday, with the Black Cats priced at 23/10 to win with Betfred, compared to the 6/5 on offer for City to take the spoils.

Darren Bent scored a hat-trick in that game, which took his tally for the season to 19 goals and his manager Steve Bruce has hailed him as a "natural goalscorer," who should be in contention for a place in Fabio Capello's England World Cup squad.

"To be at a team in the bottom half of the table and to get what he has got, it's fantastic. It is unbelievable with ten games to go," Bruce said.

However, it seems unlikely the striker will have the opportunity to boost England's World Cup chances, as Capello seems to view him as a fringe player at best.

Despite this, only Wayne Rooney has a better goal tally than Bent so far this season, and the former Spurs man could be a good bet to grab a goal against City and damage their top four bid. He is priced at 6/1 with Betfred to open the scoring in the game on Sunday.

Manchester City's last outing in the Premier League was their impressive 4-2 win over title-chasing Chelsea, which left many Premier League fans in the same mind set as goalkeeper Shay Given, who is convinced City can continue their fine form and finish in the top four.


My Tip Of The Weekend:
City, with home advantage will be too strong for Sunderland, despite their terrific midweek win, so my tip is City to win 3-1, which can be backed @ 16/1 with Betfred - Sunday 14th March, kick-off 4pm, live on Sky.

By Drew Swainston
(Guest writer from Betfred on behalf of Beer Footy and Birds!)

'CRAP TOWNS' - The worst places to live in the U.K

Whilst in the throws of reading some literature lately on ' The 50 worst places to live in the UK - The idler book of CRAP TOWNS' - I began to deliberate in my own mind as to whether there was any correlation with some of these 'crap towns' also being towns with football clubs attached.

Irrespective of the success or otherwise of any such football clubs, I was more interested in whether or not it was possible to argue that having a football club in a town made it a better or a worse place to live.

A form of investigative journalism if you like!
Now being an avid footy fan I have to say over the years I have visited, (for better and for worse as a priest would say) both some alluring and equally abhorrent places whilst following my team around the UK.


Britain is full of crap towns full stop. Why?

Well look at all the miserable faces you see walking around the streets of your very own town, the overcrowded trains, the filthy walkways, inner-city crime, poverty, the economic climate, the smell, the concrete monstrosities for housing estates, hospital waiting lists, CCTV on every street corner, kids pushing prams, speed humps, cycle lanes, plastic glasses...........

The UK is soiled and full of people with tales of all the various forms of misery their towns have inflicted on their lives.

The UK and its towns are full of 'Rules' and 'Fun is Forbidden.'


A few years ago Hull, the gateway to Europe was considered 'The UK's No.1 Crap Town' but having used the 'net to check if this was still the case I subsequently found out that Luton indeeds currently holds the crown!

Both footballing towns, Hull has been described as 'smelling of death' due to the combination of its own chocolate factory and on days when there is a a south-east wind blowing, the smell of nearby Grimsby adds a fishy staleness to the odour.

Windsor perhaps surprisingly, was voted the second worst place to live this time around.

One voter said: 'The big thing about Windsor is that its townsfolk believe that by living near the castle they are more or less royalty themselves.'

Sunderland was described 'not so much a town, more of a mortuary' and came in third.

Other towns to feature included Croydon where the slang phrase 'Croydon-facelift' derived - hair that is scraped back so tight in a pony tail that it pulls back the wearer's cheekbones.

Morecambe the seaside town that promoted itself as a smaller version of Blackpool has been in a sad decline since the late 1930's.
Why anyone would ever go there is beyond me, unless you were unlucky enough to be born and brought up there!

Hythe, a small town on the south coast is quite possibly the most 'spirit-crushingly tedious town in Kent.' (Quite a feat)
Hythe has been labelled as: 'the place that makes nearby Folkestone look like Las Vegas.'

Other 'crap towns' to make the list that also double up as footballing towns included: Middlesbrough, Nottingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Brighton, Stockport, Portsmouth and Peterborough.

It is claimed Portsmouth is one of the most densely populated areas in Europe and is said to have one of the thickest populations.

Stockport is a typical mill town in South Manchester made prosperous by the Industrial Revolution.
However the superseding 'look' for Stockport locals is a shaven head with optional designer label baseball cap/visor, a shellsuit, the legs of which are tucked into a pair of luminous socks accompanied by a pair of kicker-style boots.
Gold plated jewellery in the form of chains, bracelets and earrings are an accepted and necessary part of the 'look.'

Brighton, the home of the nearest beach to London and Tory conferences, trades on a misinformed reputation for coolness!
The town was once described as 'The World's End' despite the council beating on about it being a 'beautiful city by the sea.'
It is neither beautiful nor a City!

Half of it is dirty, noisy & packed with horrible, gobby young fashion victims, mainly students studying 'The life and times of Peter Ward' or 'All things football in London's SE25.'
The rest of Brighton is a grimy Southeast town with council estates, teenage mums and screaming kids.
The guys roam the seafront on a Friday night, looking for someone from the other half to knock ten bells out of.


Now for the results of my investigative journalism.
I could not find any rhyme or reason to link 'crap towns' and 'footballing towns' together. There was no reason to suppose a town hosting a football club was any better or worse off as a result..........but it was fun trying!

If you would like to nominate a town that you consider to be one of the worst places to live in the U.K then post the name of that town and one reason why it is so awful in the comment box below, and I will pass it on to the writer's of The Idler magazine.