Monday 29 July 2013

Transfer Rumours + Done Deals: Serie A and Ligue 1

Hello again everyone, and welcome to the second part of this transfer rumours and done deals blog post. 
Today, I am analysising all of the done deals and transfer rumours that have occured over the last couple of days in European football - with the Italian and French leagues in focus for this post. 


First, I will start with the Serie A:

Done Deals:

Pepe Reina (Liverpool) to Napoli - season-long loan deal

Napoli have confirmed the loan signing of Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina on a season-long loan deal.
He will go head-to-head with Brazilian keeper Rafael for the No.1 spot at Napoli, after Liverpool confirmed the £7million signing of Belgian keeper Simon Mignolet who impressed last year with his consistent performances for Sunderland. 


Liverpool signed young Belgian Mignolet for £7m and he will be No.1 for them next season.
Solid signing: Napoli have signed Reina on a loan deal, who is unsettled after Mignolet's move to LFC.

He will be unveiled along with new team-mate Higuain on Monday afternoon.

Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madid) to Napoli - £27million pounds

Well, well, well... the rumours were running rampant that Higuain was going to sign for Arsenal, but in the end he joined Italian side Napoli as The Gunners were not prepared to improve their bid for the Real Madrid striker as they felt he was not valued at that much money. 

However, Napoli were more than happy to spend £27million on Higuain, because they had more than double that to spend - after Cavani's £55million pound move to PSG last week. 


Off to Italy: Gonzalo Higuain has joined Napoli for £27million pounds from Real Madrid.

Morgan De Sanctis (from Napoli) to Roma - £250,000 pounds

Cheap, but solid: Roma have completed the £250,000 pound signing of Napoli goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis.

Transfer Rumours:

PSG are interested in Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic and they are reportedly going to ask for Argentina midfielder Javier Pastore in an exchange deal. 

Fiorentina are thinking about making an offer for QPR goalkeeper Julio Cesar and hope to sign Roma midfielder Daniele de Rossi.

Norwich City are interested in signing Juventus striker Fabio Quagliarella, with his team-mate Alessandro Matri being looked at by both Merseyside clubs, Liverpool and Everton.

Next, Ligue 1:

Done deals:

Nelson Oliveira (from Benfica) to Stade Rennais FC - season-long loan deal

First-team experience: Portugese striker Nelson Oliveira will play in Ligue 1 next season.

Benfica's young striker Nelson Oliveira has agreed to move to French side Stade Rennais on a season-long loan deal in order to gain more first team experience, after being second choice in the team to the deadly partnership of Cardozo and Lima. 
He has a lot of potential and will do well at Stade Rennais, so do not be surprised to see me reporting on his goal-scoring form in the future!


Benoit Tremoulinas (from Bordeaux) to Dynamo Kiev - £5million pounds

Done deal: Left-back Benoit Tremoulinas has signed for Dynamo Kiev and has started training with his new club.

Dynamo Kiev have made a bold statement to the rest of Europe by signing midfield startlet Younes Belhanda.

Ukranian club Dynamo Kiev have completed the signing of French left-back Benoit Tremoulinas for £5million pounds.

He has become the second signing for Kiev in this transfer window from Ligue 1, after midfielder Younes Belhanda signed last week for around £12million pounds from Montpellier. 

Transfer Rumours:

PSG's young defensive midfielder Marco Verratti's agent has said the Italian wants to leave PSG after failing to agree a contract extension at the club.

Italian midfield startlet Marco Verratti reportedly wants a move away from PSG after contract talks broke down.

Talks between Lyon and Newcastle United regarding striker Bafetimbi Gomis are proving difficult between both clubs as they both have different valuations for the player. Newcastle have had a £7million pound bid rejected, but they are still in talks over Gomis. 


Thank you for reading my blog today, and please comment or leave a +1 if you enjoyed the post. I will have the latest transfer rumous + done deals from the Bundesliga and Liga BBVA out tomorrow or Wednesday :) Until then, have a great day and I will speak to you all later. 
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Saturday 27 July 2013

EPL and European Transfer Rumours:

Not many done deals over the past few days, so instead I have some transfer rumours and news, along with my own analysis and reliability as to whether they will join the club(s) they are linked with.

Firstly, I will begin with the EPL:

Transfer Done Deals:

Gary Hooper (Celtic) to Norwich - £5million pounds

Solid signing: Gary Hooper has signed for Norwich on a three-year deal for around £5m pounds.
Mid-table side Norwich have confirmed a solid attacking signing in 25-year-old striker Gary Hooper on a three-year contract deal, as they beat QPR to the English player's signature. 

Norwich are building a very decent, solid side that could be able to challenge for a European place next season if they are consistent from the start. 
Leroy Fer, Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Gary Hooper are all decent players who could do a great job for The Canaries as they look to build on their first season in the top flight. 

Transfer Rumours: 

Liverpool have reportedly made Valencia striker Roberto Soldado their target to replace wantaway striker Luis Suarez, who is angling for a move to Arsenal. 

Wanted: Roberto Soldado is wanted by Liverpool to replace talisman Luis Suarez in attack. 

Reliability: 4/5. Soldado wants to leave Valencia for a bigger club, and if Liverpool do end up being forced into selling Suarez they will be desperate to look for a replacement soon before the season starts. The feasible option here is Soldado, who is a proven goal-scorer at the top level. 

Roberto Martinez has admitted that Everton are not 100% guaranteed to keep hold on key players Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini. 

Reliability: 4/5. Baines is eager to stay at Everton, while Fellaini has not been linked with many clubs as of yet. Perhaps they will leave next season if Everton do not qualify for Europe..

FC Schalke 04 striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar still wants a move to the EPL.

Reliability: 5/5. Huntelaar still has a lot of quality at 29-years old, but who would want to sign him? He would most likely not take a side outside of Europe though, so perhaps Tottenham or Chelsea? 

West Ham have confirmed their interest in Southampton striker Rickie Lambert.

Reliability: 5/5. Lambert is a top-class player, but lacked consistency in parts of last season. West Ham do not have many attacking options, and he would be a bargain buy if they could sign him up. 

Cardiff had an £8.6million bid accepted for Toulouse defensive midfielder Etienne Capoue, however he is stalling on the move because he has his eye on a transfer to a bigger club.

In demand: Capoue could join Cardiff, but he would prefer a bigger European club.  

Reliability: 5/5. I believe the rumour, but I highly doubt Capoue would join Cardiff unless it was a last resort simply because he is the kind of demanding player that would want to play for a bigger club than a newly-promoted Welsh side in the EPL. At least Cardiff are trying to improve their side before the start of the season. 

West Brom are hoping to sign Udinese's young startlet striker Matej Vydra on a season-long loan to try and replace the void left by Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku who returned to The Blues after a fantastic season at The Hawthorns. 

Potential: Matej Vydra was Young Player of The Year in the Championship for Watford last year.
Reliability: 4/5. West Brom finished in a respectable position last season, but this was mainly because of the contribution that Lukaku made to the team, scoring and assisting almost every game. 
Since he returns to Chelsea, they will need someone of his calibre who is young and has potential to do exactly the same as he did last season - Vydra could be the man to do that. 

Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas is still wanted by new manager David Moyes, and is refusing to give up his offer for the Spaniard despite Barca claiming that Cesc is not for sale.

Wanted: Manchester United are desperate to sign Fabregas and bring him back to the EPL.

Reliability: 3/5. Manchester United are desperate to sign a top-class midfielder, but they aren't being very successful at the moment. Thiago was being chased for two months, but ended up at Bayern Munich.

Kevin Strootman virtually signed for United but ended up in Italy at Roma and Modric looks as if he will stay at Real Madrid. David Moyes is under pressure to sign Fabregas and bring him back to England - but Barca do not want to sell. The best option for them now is to try and sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.

Done deal: Thiago Alcantara snubbed United in favour of UCL champions Bayern Munich. 

Best option? Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan could be available for around £20m.

Thank you for reading my blog post today, I will have the next part of these transfer rumours + done deals out later today :) 

Wednesday 24 July 2013

Suarez to Arsenal? Analysis:

A transfer saga is building in England now.... and it surprisngly has nothing to do with Welsh winger Gareth Bale. 

A mock-up picture of what Luis Suarez would look like in an Arsenal shirt next season..

Top quality: Suarez has scored 51 goals in 96 appearances for Liverpool since he signed from Ajax in 2010.

Instead, Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal. He has been the centre of media attention, ever since he joined Liverpool (remember the Evra racism row) including the past few months when the Ivanovic biting incident occured towards the end of the season. 

He has now had enough of Liverpool, and has handed in a transfer request with immediate effect. Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern were all reportedly interested in the striker, but;

  • Real are yet to make a formal offer for him
  • PSG have signed Edison Cavani for £55million pounds
  • Bayern Munich are reportedly ready to sign rival striker Robert Lewandowski from Dortmund
So, Arsenal are favourites in the running for Suarez. This is understandable, because he is one of the best strikers in the world despite his controversial personality and drama on the pitch. 

The Gunners have been linked with many players over the past few years, but none really have actually gone through. Wenger has not been spending big money in the transfer window for top-class players like Suarez so that Arsenal can challenge for trophies properly again, not having another average season and getting all the fans disgruntled at their poor performances.   

Stefan Jovetic moved to Manchester City for £25million pounds last week, and other Arsenal target Gonzalo Higuain signed for Napoli today after a problem with the transfer fee between The Gunners and Real Madrid. This is why they have focused their attention on Suarez, who is visibly unsettled and wants to leave Liverpool.

Welcome to England: Fiorentina accepted a £25million fee for Stefan Jovetic to moneybags Manchester City

Blow: Gonzalo Higuain was heavily linked with a £25million move to Arsenal, but Napoli offered more and...

Reports suggest that Arsenal made a £40million pound bid (+ £1) for Suarez last night, which may sound ridiculous and baffling but it is a cheeky attempt by AW and the board to activate Suarez's release clause - which is anything above £40million pounds. 

Therefore, even if Liverpool were to try and reject Arsenal's new offer for Suarez, they would have to notify Suarez first to see what he wants because he is in principle allowed to leave now that Arsenal have offered the transfer fee.
The positive for Arsenal here is Suarez has admitted that he is flattered by their interest, and has actually now told the club that he wants to speak to Arsenal. So, he could end up forcing a move out of the club.

This may all seem confusing at the minute, especially for Liverpool and Arsenal fans for different reasons (Liverpool want to keep their clinical talisman and Arsenal are unsure whether he will stay or go like the rest). Either way, all of this has sparked interest from around the world, and it will be interesting to see how it all ends. It is not over yet though... 

Pressure: Wenger is under increasing pressure to sign a new top-class striker before the end of the window.

Monday 22 July 2013

Serie A + Ligue 1 Transfer Rumours and Done Deals:

Hello and welcome to the second installment of my European transfer done deals + rumours blog post. Last time, it was the Bundesliga and Liga BBVA that was being analysised, but there was not many transfers done in these two leagues for me to present to you.... However, I have a big money move for you, two new City signings as well as some interesting rumours, so sit back and relax. :) 


First, we will look at the Italian League - Serie A: 


Done deals: 

Cristian Zapata (from Villarreal) to AC Milan - £3.5million pounds


Decent signing: AC Milan have completed the signing of defender Cristian Zapata for £3.5m

Italian side AC Milan have confirmed the signing of Colombian defender Cristian Zapata on a 3-year-deal until 2016 after impressing on his loan spell at the club. 

Andrea Poli (Sampdoria) to AC Milan - £4.5million pounds


Potential: Andrea Poli at his first press conference as a AC Milan player. 

AC Milan have also completed the signing of 23-year-old midfield talent Andrea Poli, who has impressed over the past two years at Inter Milan (on-loan) and Sampdoria. As a result, he was called up to the senior Italian national squad, and he currently has 3 caps.
He has a lot of potential, and will only get better with age. 

Mario Yepes (AC Milan) to Atalanta - free transfer

Josip Ilicic (Palermo) to Fiorentina - £6million pounds

Marcos Alonso (Bolton) to Fiorentina - free transfer

Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich) to Fiorentina - £11million pounds

Italy calling: German striker Mario Gomez has joined Fiorentina for £11million pounds.

Fiorentina have completed a cheap bargain in world-class striker Mario Gomez - period. 

Joaquin (Malaga) to Fiorentina - £1.5million pounds

Angelo Ogbonna (Torino) to Juventus - £10million pounds

Powerhouse defender: Angelo Ogbonna has signed for Italian champions Juventus.
  Hugo Campagnaro (Napoli) to Inter Milan - free transfer

Diego Laxalt (Defensor Sporting) to Inter Milan - £1million pounds

Federico Peluso (Atalanta) to Juventus - £3.2million pounds 

Carlos Tevez (Manchester City) to Juventus - £10million pounds

Lucas Biglia (Anderlecht) to Lazio - £4million pounds

Felipe Anderson (Santos) to Lazio - £6.5million pounds

Jose Callejon (Real Madrid) to Napoli - £8.5million pounds

Maicon (Manchester City) to Roma - £3million pounds

Maicon was unable to impress at City, with Zabaleta being preferred to him at right-back.

Right-back Maicon has returned to Italy after a poor half-season at Manchester City, only having 11 appearances.

Dries Mertens (PSV) to Napoli - £8million pounds

Done deal: Napoli have completed an £8m deal for PSV winger Dries Mertens.

Napoli needed a winger with pace and flair to replace the gap left by PSG forward Ezequiel Lavezzi - they may have just closed that gap. 
  Raul Albiol (Real Madrid) to Napoli - £10million pounds

Experienced defender: Napoli have also signed Real Madrid defender Raul Albiol.

Solid signing for Napoli, with defender and experienced veteran Albiol joining the Serie A after a lack of first-team football over the past few seasons at Real Madrid. 

Rafael (Santos) to Napoli - £3.5million pounds

Mehdi Benatia (Udinese) to Roma - £11.5million pounds

Kevin Strootman (PSV Eindhoven) to Roma - £18million pounds

Manolo Gabbiadini (Juventus) to Sampdoria - £4million pounds

Ciro Immobile (Juventus) to Torino - £1.5million pounds

Transfer rumours:

Manchester City have confirmed the signing of Fiorentina striker Stevan Jovetic for around £25million pounds, to add to their powerful strikeforce which includes Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and other new signing Alvaro Negredo.
This move will surely strike fear into most clubs in the EPL, as City are proving that they want to regain their EPL title in style as Manchester rivals United are going through a transition period without Sir Alex Ferguson in charge.

Come and join me: Alvaro Negredo has already joined City, with Jovetic set to join him at The Ethiad...
Done deal: Manchester City have confirmed the signing of Fiorentina striker Stefan Jovetic for around £25m.


Juventus have rejected an approach from Serie A rivals Inter Milan for Chilean winger Mauricio Isla. 


French moneybags PSG have reportedly completed a deal in excess of £20million pounds for highly-rated young Roma defender Marquinhos. 


Napoli are ready to complete a move for QPR goalkeeper Julio Cesar.

Midfielder Miralem Pjanic wants to stay at Roma despite being linked to London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham.

English club Sunderland have completed the signing of Italian midfielder Emanuel Giaccherini from Serie A champions Juventus for around £6.8million pounds. 

PSG have completed the £55million pound signing of Napoli striker Edinson Cavani on a five-year contract in Paris.. more news down below!

Expensive: Cavani's £55m move to PSG is the most expensive of the transfer window in the world right now.

Next, here are the transfer done deals and rumours from the French League - Ligue 1:


Done deals: 

Younes Belhanda (Montpellier) to Dynamo Kiev - £8.5million pounds
Dejan Lovren (Lyon) to Southampton - £5million pounds
Victor Enyeama (Maccabi Tel-Aviv) to Lille - loan return
Simon Kjaer (Wolfsburg) to Lille - undisclosed fee
Dimitri Payet (Lille) to Marseille - £7million pounds
Aurelien Chedjou (Lille) to Galatasaray - £5million pounds
Mohammed Abu (FC Lorient) to Manchester City - loan return
Joey Barton (Marseille) to QPR - loan return
Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid) to AS Monaco - £52million pounds
James Rodriguez (FC Porto) to AS Monaco - £38million pounds
Benjamin Mendy (Le Havre AC) to Marseille - undisclosed fee
Fabinho (Rio Ave) to AS Monaco - season-long loan
Alou Diarra (Stade Rennais FC) to West Ham - loan return
Sebastien Squillaci (Arsenal) to SC Basta - undisclosed fee
Pierre-Emerick Aubayemang (Saint-Etienne) to Borussia Dortmund - £10million pounds
Eric Abidal (FC Barcelona) to AS Monaco - free transfer
Joao Moutinho (FC Porto) to AS Monaco - £25million pounds
Lucas Digne (Lille) to PSG - £12.5million pounds
Jean-Christophe Bahebeck (PSG) to Valenciennes FC - season-long loan
Ricardo Carvalho (Real Madrid) to AS Monaco - free transfer
Jeremy Toulalan (Malaga) to AS Monaco - free transfer
 
And lastly: 
Edinson Cavani (Napoli) to PSG - £55million pounds

Huge statement: Cavani could be the missing piece in PSG's puzzle to make the squad complete...

One of the best and most clinical strikers in the world, Edinson Cavani has joined one of the richest clubs in the world, PSG. £55million pounds is a lot of money, but Napoli will certainly not be complaining as they have a decent budget to be able to strengthen their attack again and re-build as a squad who can compete in the Champions League and Serie A next season.

PSG on the other hand are trying to send a message to Europe's Elite - they want to win big. Already comfortable Ligue 1 champions, PSG will want to go one step further and win the UEFA Champions League next season, with the quality and depth of their squad it is definitely possible. 

 

Sunday 14 July 2013

European Transfer Done Deals + Rumours #1

Hello and welcome to a new segment on my blog which will be coming very soon, in August. I will have more coverage of the top European leagues including the Bundesliga, Serie A and Liga BBVA - and I have decided to get ready for the new season in these leagues by reviewing all the clubs and analysising transfers + rumours. 


So I will start with the Bundesliga transfer done deals and rumours:


Done deals: 

Daniel Carvajal (Bayer Leverkusen) to Real Madrid - £5million pounds
Daniel Carvajal impressed in his 1st year at Leverkusen, and was snapped up by boyhood club Real Madrid. 

Done deal: Real Madrid have been signing Spanish talent this window, with Carvjal, Isco and Illaramendi all signed for Real.

Real Madrid have used their buy-back option clause to re-sign Spanish defender Daniel Carvajal for £5million pounds. 
The 21-year-old startlet impressed during his one season at Leverkusen, where he was voted as the third best right-back in the Bundesliga last season behind Lahm and Uchida.

Emir Spahic (Sevilla) to Bayer Leverkusen - undisclosed fee


Utility player: Defender Emir Spahic has completed his move to Bayer Leverkusen.

Heung Min Son (Hamburg) to Bayer Leverkusen - £10million pounds 


Promising player: Striker Heung Min Son scored 12 goals in 33 appearances last season.. 

Lethal partnership: He will play alongside Stefan Kiebling next season for Bayer Leverkusen. 

Mario Gotze (Borussia Dortmund) to Bayern Munich - £32million

As if they weren't strong enough already: Mario Gotze has officially signed for Bayern Munich.

Bundesliga and Champions League winners Bayern Munich activated German playmaker Mario Gotze's release clause of £32million pounds in early April and he had officially signed for them on the 1st of July. 

He had a signficant impact on Dortmund's performances throughout the whole of last season and is a talented midfielder who will only get better with time. Joining Bayern is a controversial move for Gotze, but he is joining one of the best clubs in the world who will make him one of the best players in the world. 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Saint-Etienne) to Borussia Dortmund - £11million

Superb signing: Dortmund have signed clinical striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for £11m

Dortmund have signed clinical pacy striker Aubameyang from French club Saint-Etienne for just over £11million pounds amid rumours that Polish striker Robert Lewandowski is leaving the club for either rivals Bayern or Manchester United this summer.
He will be a great signing for BVB, combining with Gundogan and Reus in attack to add to their dangerous strikeforce. 

Sokratis Papastathipoulos (Werder Bremen) to Borussia Dortmund - undisclosed fee 

Andre Schurrle (Bayer Leverkusen) to Chelsea - £17million pounds


Bayer Leverkusen's attacking winger Andre Schurrle has completed a £20m move to Chelsea

Bayer Leverkusen have lost one of their talisman in attacking midfield winger Andre Schurrle, who contributed massively to their campaign last season scoring many goals and assisting his team-mates including Stefan Kiebling. 

Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Shakthar Donetsk) to Borussia Dortmund - £20million

,
Mkhitaryan poses with his new manager Jurgen Klopp after his £20m move to Dortmund.


Dortmund have shown their intent in this transfer window already, signing two decent players for just over £30million pounds as they look to re-build after the Gotze departure amid rumours that other key players will be leaving them this summer including Lewandowski and Hummels. 
Playmaker Mkhitaryan impressed many European clubs last season due to his consistent performances for Shakthar in the Champions League, with Dortmund beating tough competition from English club Liverpool among others to sign him. 

Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich) to Fiorentina - £13.5million

Mario Gomez has joined Fiorentina for £13.5m, after feeling unsettled at his role with Bayern. 

Surprising transfer news coming out of Bayern Munich, with clinical German striker Mario Gomez confirming a move to Italian side Fiorentina. He is a talented striker who has contributed to Bayern's goal tally and played well last season but was always second choice to Croatian striker Mario Manduzkic, yet he was always playing better football than his team-mate. 

Fiorentina snapped him up for a cheap transfer fee considering his goal-scoring ability, where he will link up with Jovetic next season and aim to get his new club in a comfortable Champions League spot. 

Felipe Santana (Borussia Dortmund) to Schalke 04 - £1million

Bargain buy: Schalke have signed Brazilian defender Felipe Santana for less than £1million. 

Schalke 04 have pulled off a real steal in the signing of Dortmund defender Felipe Santana, with the transfer fee less than £1million pounds. The 27-year-old Brazilian performed well last season, but was always second choice to Subotic and Hummels. 



Transfer rumours: 


Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara is set to join former manager Pep Guardiola at new club Bayern Munich instead of joining EPL champions Manchester United in a £15million pound deal. 
Rumours were running rampant ever since mid-June after an excellent display of talent and potential by the young playmaker during the Euro U-21 Championships where he and Isco shone in a talented Spain side. 

Meanwhile, his Barca team-mate Cesc Fabregas has been heavily linked with a move back to England, with Arsenal looking to sign their former captain back for around £25million pounds after a disappointing spell for the Spainard this season, spending most of it on the bench. 

Back to the EPL? Rumours are running rampant that Fabregas may be returning to Arsenal.

Remember this? Cesc Fabregas left Arsenal in 2011 to join boyhood club Barcelona...

Bayern Munich are still front-runners to sign Polish striker Robert Lewandowski from rivals Borussia Dortmund, after BVB confirmed the signing of Aubameyang as his effective replacement after his transfer request at the end of the season. Manchester United also want him, but it will be interesting to see who splashes the most cash in order to sign the clinical finisher. 

In demand: Robert Lewandowski is wanted by both Bayern Munich and Manchester United. 


Now, let me introduce the Spanish league - Liga BBVA: 


Done deals: 

Oriol Romeu (Chelsea) to Valencia - season-long loan

Spell of experience: Chelsea defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu has joined Valencia on-loan. 

Chelsea's young defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu has joined Valencia on a season-long loan. The Spaniard has struggled to get first-team football for The Blues since his £5million move from Barcelona two years ago, despite his potential and quality.

This loan spell will do him good because he is returning to his country where he is familiar with everything and he will not have to get settled. If he performs well and impresses with good performances he could get into Mourinho's side next season..

Marko Marin (Chelsea) to Sevilla - season-long loan

Another: Chelsea have loaned out two fringe players to Liga BBVA, with Marin joining Romeu in Spain. 

Suso (Liverpool) to Almeria - season-long loan

Potential: Liverpool midfielder Suso is a great young player who is capped at Spain U-19 level. 

Liverpool's midfield startlet Suso has impressed, coming through the youth ranks to the senior team at the age of 19. He has the potential to be a great midfielder, but Brendan Rodgers has decided to give him some first-team experience at Spanish side Almeria - where he will get first-team football regularly. 

Kike Sola (Osasuna) to Athletic Bilbao - £3million pounds

Decent: Bilbao have completed the signing of 27-year-old striker Kike Sola from Osasuna.
Athletic Bilbao have had a recent problem with scoring goals, and they are hoping that new signing Kike Sola can help them with their problem.

He is an under-rated proven goal-scorer who may be the replacement Bilbao need for Llorente who has signed for Juventus. 

Benat (Real Betis) to Athletic Bilbao - £6million pounds

Javi Martinez No.2? Spanish midfielder Benat has completed a £6m move to Athletic Bilbao 

The next Javi Martinez - Bilbao hope they have signed in talented Spanish midfielder Benat. They signed him on the cheap given his talent and potential but he will be key in midfield for them next season as they try and fill the gap left by the departure of their Spanish powerhouse. 

David Villa (Barcelona) to Atletico Madrid - £4.7million pounds

Proven goal-scorer: David Villa has completed a £4.7million move to Atletico Madrid. 
Bargain buy: Atletico Madrid will be over the moon that they bought Villa for so cheap...

All those rumours about a move to Arsenal or Tottenham proved false, as Spanish all-time goal-scorer David Villa has completed a move to Atletico Madrid for less than £5million pounds. He has had a hard time at Barcelona ever since he broke his leg in the FIFA Club World Cup Championship in 2011 and has never been the same since. 

However, a move to Atletico may help him get regular first-team football and even though he is not as good as he once was, he is still a consistent finisher who could possibly replace Falcao. 

Neymar (Santos) to Barcelona - £35million pounds

Highly-rated: Neymar has joined Barcelona for around £35million pounds. 

Barcelona confirmed the signing of highly-rated Brazilian forward Neymar for around £35million pounds. He joined Barca in June, signing a contract and agreeing personal terms after impressing the whole of Europe with his amazing displays in the Brazilian league. 

Roque Santa Cruz (Manchester City) to Malaga - free transfer

Former Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz has completed a free transfer to Malaga, after a positive loan spell at the Spanish side. 
He struggled to get into the City side, and all of the strikers they have bought have made it even harder for him to settle in England. 

Isco (Malaga) to Real Madrid - £15million pounds

Done deal: Real Madrid have signed wonderkid midfielder Isco for £15million pounds. 

Isco impressed during the Euro U-21 tournament, helping Spain win the tournament. 

Isco contributed massively to Malaga's performances last season - and it will be hard to replace him.

Malaga midfielder Isco has joined Real for around £15million pounds. He was the sole reason why Malaga played very well throughout last season - and he was their wonderkid in an average side who somehow got to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. 

Him and Thiago were the standout performers in a Spain U-21 team where they smashed all their opponents and won the Euro 2013 tournament a couple of weeks ago, and he was signed after a tug-of-war with Manchester City. 

Casemiro (Sau Paulo) to Real Madrid - £4million pounds

Promising: Casemiro has signed for Real on a four-year deal after a successful loan spell

Real have signed a gem in young Brazillian powerhouse Casemiro. The youngster looks like a promising player who could replace Alonso and Khedira in defensive midfield easily over the next few years with time and patience. 

Daniel Carvajal (Bayer Leverkusen) to Real Madrid - £5million pounds

More information on Carvajal near the top of the blog post... 

Asier Illarramendi (Real Sociedad) to Real Madrid - £33million pounds

Expectation: Illarramendi has joined Real for around £33million pounds and will be expected to play well from the start. 

Homegrown talent: Illarramendi has featured for the U-21 and U-23 Spanish side, but is yet to play for the senior side. 
FACT: Real Madrid have spent £33million on Illarramendi, which is the highest amount of money which has been paid for a national player.  

Now for the paper talk, featuring Gareth Bale and Gonzalo Higuain...
Rumours: 

Napoli have confirmed the signing of forward Jose Callejon from Real Madrid on a four-year deal. 

Done deal: Liverpool target Jose Callejon has joined Italian side Napoli for £8.5million pounds. 

Valencia left-back Aly Cissokho has welcomed interest from English club Liverpool, however he has stated that no talks have been held as of yet. 

Real Madrid have told Arsenal to hurry up if they are going to sign Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain because according to president Florentino Perez - The Gunners are yet to even make an offer for the £25million-rated striker. 

Stay or go? Striker Gonzalo Higuain has been told to hurry up by both Arsenal and Real..

QPR goalkeeper Julio Cesar is involved in a tug-of-war with Spanish side Villarreal, London club Arsenal and Italians Napoli. 

Sevilla are reportedly ready to sell striker Alvaro Negredo, amid reports that Manchester City are interested in signing him.

Marseille midfielder Mathieu Valbuena's agent has revealed that his client is subject to interest from current Liga BBVA champions Barcelona over a possible move to Spain.

Thank you for reading my blog today, don't worry as the Serie A and Ligue 1 transfer blog post will be published soon, I am just waiting for more transfer activity from those leagues to present to you. 
Thanks for your continued support during pre-season, I promise this blog will be bigger and better than ever before starting August so please spread the word to your friends and family who are interested in football (or soccer) and do not forget to suscribe by email for the latest blog posts as soon as they are published! 
Have a nice Sunday. :)