Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Transfers? But It's Not Even Summer Yet

It doesn't seem to matter that the summer transfer window isn't open and that some leagues haven't finished playing yet, the press is already talking heavily about transfers. Most of them are still rumors. But a few are already done deals. I'll try building off of this list from time to time. More so, I'll make a point of keeping a list of rumored moves that were claimed to be serious but never panned out.

Tottenham Hotspur
In :
Gareth Bale - The 17 year-old decided to not spend another year with with Southampton and head to the Premiership. It's shame since as talented as he is, he still has a lot to learn about defending. The headlines say it's a £10 million move. But the details are £5 million with up to another £5 million possible depending on first team appearances, national caps, etc. Not as sexy as the reported 10m but it's a lot less risky of a move for Spurs. Saints on the other hand need the money since they were not promoted and their golden parachute from their Prem days has now ended.

Arsenal
In :
Luksz Fabianski - The terms of this one have not been announced. As a 22 year old goalkeeper, it's unlikely that Fabianski will see a lot of playing time next year despite being a member of the 2006 WC team for Poland.

Liverpool
In :
Sylvan Distin (FAILED) - Distin was rumored to be joining Liverpool but he joined Portsmouth instead.
Out : Robbie Fowler, Jerzy Dudek

Portsmouth
In :
Hermann Hreidarsson - Signed from now relegated Charlton
Sylvan Distin -
Bonaventure Kalou (Rumor)
Out : Andy Cole (Rumor) - Was on loan at Birmingham and may be signed now that they've been promoted

Manchester United -
In :
Berbatov (Rumor) - If there is any truth to the rumor Sir Alex will send Luis Saha plus his entire transfer budget, £27.5 million, for the summer to Tottenham's Ditmar Berbatov. It would be a nice bit of business for Spurs but it's hard to picture any team spending that much for Berbatov. More so that Manchester United have just spent big money to bring Owen Hargreaves in from Bayern. Owen Hargreaves - Sir Alex Ferguson has been pursuing him since last year. The deal is set to go through when the summer window opens in a couple weeks. Manchester United with be sending £17 million to Bayern. Ben Foster - Technically not a transfer but after 2 years of being on loan at Watford it feels a bit like bringing a new face into the team. Rumor has it that SAF has already decided that Foster will get the starting nod. Watford signed Arsenal's Estonian GK Mart Poom as a replacement.
Out : Saha (Rumor)

Real Madrid
In :
Christoph Metzelder - The German international will be joining Real Madrid. No word on how much Dortmund got for the 26 year-old center back. No word on who's going to be heading out

1 comment:

Bonji said...

Berbatov should stay with Spurs.