Transfer Gossip 3rd August

3rd August 2009By: Fantasy League

Every day Fantasy League will scour the newspapers and weblogs to bring you the latest transfer rumours from the Premier League. Who's in, who's out and how will it affect your Fantasy League selection? Find out here. Plus, for more news from your favourite team check out the individual club pages.


Arsenal

Arsenal have reportedly made an official bid for Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh, having been continuously linked with him over the last few weeks. The French outfit, however, have dismissed the £5m bid as ridiculous. The striker himself is said to be disgusted that Bordeaux refuse to let him leave and has reportedly already flown to London and is ready to discuss terms with the Gunners once a fee can be agreed.

Aston Villa

Aston Villa are preparing an audacious £16m for Real Madrid midfielder Wesley Sneijder but face stiff competition from Inter Milan. Martin O'Neill could also go head-to-head with Hull for Newcastle defender Habib Beye while he also remains keen on Portsmouth duo Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin. Villa's hopes of signing Leeds midfielder Fabian Delph appear to be dwindling though after Manchester City entered the race and Leeds slapped an £8m price tag on his head.

Birmingham

Birmingham has been linked with a £3m bid for Sporting Gijon midfielder Michel, who has previously been a target for Bolton. Alex McLeish's hunt for a midfielder has been widely publicised but he's also rumoured to be interested in adding Arsenal's left-back Armand Traore to his squad on-loan, however his availability depends on Arsene Wenger's evaluation of Traore's first-team potential at the Emirates.

Blackburn

Blackburn are set to complete the signing of Nikola Kalinic after terms were agreed with Hadjuk Split for the Croatian striker, despite an agreement already having been previously reached with Portsmouth. Sam Allardyce is also keen on adding further power up front and could make a move to bring in Manchester City's Benjani.

Bolton

Spanish international Miguel Angel Angulo could be on his way to Bolton on a free transfer. The 32-year-old forward has been released by Valencia and wants to continue his career in England. Bolton are also interested in £3m Hoffenheim defender Andreas Beck according to reports.

Burnley

Burnley will hope the stalled talks with Ecuador winger Fernando Guerrero can be kick-started when Independiente's president returns from holiday this week. Owen Coyle is still looking to strengthen his side especially after their pre-season defeat to Leeds, however Coyle has commented that he does have to work on a small budget and won't put the club in a precarious financial position.

Chelsea

Talk of a Chelsea move for AC Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo continued over the weekend, with rumours that the player will put in an official transfer request to force the matter through. Milan have been holding out for an improved offer above the 6 million Euros already bid, but all parties are keen to wrap up a deal in advance of the start of the season. Meanwhile, Joe Cole has been linked with a move to join up with old boss Harry Redknapp at Tottenham.

Everton

Everton continue to chase the signing of Swedish midfielder Rasmus Elm despite reported interest from Manchester City. The Toffees have also been linked with Valencia right-back Miguel, who was a transfer target for Spurs earlier this summer. Also, Slovenian starlet Peter Stojanovic has arrived at Goodison Park for a short-term trial.

Fulham

Fulham are battling it out with Everton for Kalmar FF midfielder Rasmus Elm. The Cottagers have reportedly bid £2.5m for the Swedish international although Everton have offered £500k more. The London club are clearly in the market for a midfield player and have enquired about Sampdoria's Daniele Dessena.

Hull

Hull are set to pull out of the race to sign Newcastle defender Habib Beye as they are not prepared to meet the £4m asking price. They have however made a reported £3m bid for Stoke midfielder Seyi Olofinjana who seemed destined to Monaco last week. Boss Phil Brown has, however, dismissed rumours that he has made a bid for Spurs full-back Alan Hutton.

Liverpool

Liverpool's plans to use the money from Xabi Alonso's sale to buy Valencia striker David Villa have suffered a set-back. The Spanish side have said the front-man is priceless and that he will not be joining the Premier League club. Of course Rafael Benitez still remains hopeful that he will not have that money in the first place as Liverpool stand firm on their £30m valuation of Alonso and Real Madrid seem reluctant to meet it for the time being.

Manchester City

Reports suggest Manchester City will make one last-ditch attempt to secure the services of Joleon Lescott with an improved £20m bid. Should that fail then Mark Hughes will switch his attentions to Chelsea centre-back Alex. City are also said to be monitoring Leeds midfielder Fabian Delph and highly-rated Swedish midfielder Rasmus Elm.

Manchester United

Valencia winger David Silva is the latest winger to be linked with a move to Manchester United. The Spaniard would be the answer to Sir Alex Ferguson's hunt for a left side midfielder, although any offer would surely spark Liverpool into action as Rafa Benitez is also a fan of the 23-year-old. Ferguson is also monitoring Sergio Aguero and David Villa, but won't be rushed into any big bids.

Portsmouth

Portsmouth are set to bring in Lyon striker Frédéric Piquionne on a one-year loan deal. The 6'2'' forward is being brought in as a replacement for Peter Crouch after Pompey missed out on their capture of Nikola Kalinic. Meanwhile, Portsmouth have been buoyed by the news that David James has committed himself to the club despite interest from elsewhere.

Stoke

Tony Pulis has admitted that he is finding it difficult to attract new players to Stoke because of the club's unfashionable image. The Potters boss has missed out on several big names and said that he thinks players don't see his club as an attractive option. However, Stoke are still in talks with Dean Ashton although the West Ham striker's wage demands are causing problems.

Sunderland

Sunderland's signing of Darren Bent from Tottenham is likely to be completed this week as no other club has come in to match the £12m offered by the Black Cats. Latest: Bent is now in Sunderland having a medical.

Tottenham

Tottenham have been linked with a £10m move for Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole. The England international missed the second half of last season through injury and has fallen down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge with Carlo Ancelotti favouring a diamond formation. Spurs are also interested in Toulouse midfielder Moussa Sissoko and Brazilian Sandro, but could miss out on Sebastien Bassong and Patrick Vieira.

West Ham

Lucas Neill is set for an extraordinary return to West Ham after almost signing for Galatasaray. The Australian's contract ran out in the summer and it looked like he was going to move on having rejected a pay cut. However, talks have continued and Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola is hopeful that his former captain will be back at the club as soon as possible.

Wigan

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez has said he is under no pressure to sell in-demand midfielder Lee Cattermole. Sunderland and Arsenal have been badgering Wigan over the last few weeks trying to secure Cattermole's services and the Black Cats have already had at least one bid rejected. Martinez remains confident that he can hold on to him though as the transfer window enters it's last month.

Wolves

Wolves will hope they can add to their squad this week and have been linked with 6'7" Rapid Vienna striker Stefan Maierhofer who has an impressive scoring record in Austria. Nicky Butt is also a possible acquisition as the midfielder looks set to leave Newcastle, with Wolves and Hull in prime position to pounce on the veteran. Having already bought Andrew Surman from Southampton there are rumours Wanderers are planning a raid for Saints playmaker Adam Lallana, although Fulham are also interested.

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