Although the Premier League season starts at the weekend, the managers have by no means finished their business in the transfer market. Sir Alex Ferguson’s signing of Robin Van Persie from Arsenal shows that there’s plenty more still to come before the end of the month. Teams will already have their targets in place, or in some cases, chased them all summer to ensure they get the right men in to balance up their squads for the challenging months ahead.
The August transfer deadline always provides some last minute entertainment, just think back to Robinho’s move to Manchester City in 2008, announced just minutes before the window shut. Clubs will be hoping to complete their business a little earlier than that though and several deals are hanging in the pipeline waiting to be completed in order to finalise Premier League squads for the season ahead. We take a look at 15 deals that are likely to be completed before the transfer window shuts.
Click on Hugo Lloris to unveil the 15
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Wigan boss Roberto Martinez has stated that he is happy at the club, has the backing of chairman Dave Whelan and is glad he turned down the opportunity to move to Aston Villa in the summer.
The Spanish coach’s position came under jeopardy last term as the Latics were threatened with relegation, but with his chairman’s patience the side from the DW Stadium managed to stay in the top flight.
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Martinez has thanked Whelan for his confidence, when other owners may well have looked for a new coach.
“I want [my teams] to play in a certain way and not many people understand that. We were flirting with relegation and we were in the bottom three,” he told Mirror Football.”Many other chairmen would have changed direction in the way we play and got a different manager. I understand that is what happens.”But he [Whelan] said that whatever happened there was a three-year plan to do what I wanted to do. I can’t speak about other chairmen, I don’t know them. But our chairman is the reason why Wigan are in the Premier League,” he continued.Martinez was approached by Aston Villa in the summer to become their new man in charge after the departure of Gerard Houiller, but he has no qualms about turning Villa down.”I had a meeting with the chairman at the ground. I went in with an open mind, I wanted to know what the chairman wanted to do. The moment he wanted me to stay, the conversation was ended.”I have got a strong belief in what I want to do to progress to the next level. The chairman agreed, so we just carried on working as normal.”It wasn’t about the other football club or the other job. It was about the relationship with my chairman,” he concluded.Wigan travel to Villa Park on Saturday, with only three points seperating the two Midlands teams.Written By Gareth McKnight[divider]FREE football app that pays you to view ads[ad_pod id=’qs-2′ align=’left’]
Borussia Dortmund will host Schalke on Friday hoping to extend their already sizable lead atop the Bundesliga table to 14 points.
The league leaders have lost just once at their Westfalenstadion fortress this campaign – a 2-0 loss to second-placed Bayer Leverkusen in August – and are favourites to account for the 11th-placed side on the table on Friday.
Dortmund will take some tracking down in the second half of the season, even allowing for the long-term foot injury sustained by attacker Shinji Kagawa while on international duty with Japan at January’s Asian Cup.
Relegation-threatened Cologne face third-placed Bayern Munich on Saturday at RheinEnergieStadion, with the visitors aiming to extend their nine-game unbeaten streak in all competitions.
Tenth-placed Nuremberg are preparing to take on Bayer Leverkusen off the back of a morale-lifting 2-0 victory over Hamburg last Saturday, in which Israel midfielder Almog Cohen scored his first league goal for the club.
Despite lying in fifth place, Hannover have lost three of their past four league games but will be eyeing a return to form when they face lowly Wolfsburg, who have won just five games in 20 this league campaign under English manager Steve McLaren.
But Hannover will need to be wary of Wolfsburg’s new signings, bought with the funds raised from the sale of star striker Edin Dzeko to Manchester City.
McLaren added forward trio Patrick Helmes (Bayer Leverkusen), Tuncay Sanli (Stoke City) and Dieumerci Mbokani (Monaco) in a bid to bolster his firepower, also signing Anderlecht midfield enforcer Jan Polak, South Korea international Koo Ja-Cheol and Venezuelan prospect Yohandry Orozco.
Hoffenheim have the opportunity to back up their victory over Schalke last time out – their first since December 21 – when they host Kaiserslautern on Saturday, with the visitors bidding to avoid their third loss in succession.
Borussia Moenchengladbach host a bottom-of-the-table clash against Stuttgart, the loser of which will fill bottom spot on the table.
But the hosts have won two of their past three games and are hoping to continue their run to escape last place.
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Fourth-placed Mainz can deepen the woes of Werder Bremen on Saturday when the two sides clash at the Stadion am Bruchweg, with last campaign’s third-placed side languishing in 15th this term.
On Sunday, Hamburg host St Pauli, having seen their five-match winning streak broken by Nuremberg in their last start.
Sixth-placed Freiburg are targeting a seventh match unbeaten when they welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to the Badenova Stadion.
So far this summer, Arsenal have been linked with a host of potential talent, as transfer gossip columns remain rife with stories regarding every team in the Premier League and beyond. Having already signed Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud in the hope of strengthening attacking wise, whether or not the remaining transfer speculation will come to fruition is yet to be seen. There is however, a clear pattern, as Arsene Wenger looks to further strengthen his team’s ruthlessness going forward.
But in recent seasons, their wait for a trophy has been prolonged due to sloppy defensive displays and it is no secret that many Gunners’ fans have been anxious about defensive strengthening. Having conceded 44 goals last season, the worry is that without any further signings to add to the Arsenal back four, a similar figure will be conceded in the upcoming season, which will inevitably hinder their chances of success once again as they look to end their seven-year wait for a trophy.
Whilst many will be hopeful of fantastically entertaining matches, where the Gunners simply try and outscore their opponents, other teams will not carry the same levels of naivety and will all make the necessary changes across the pitch to achieve their best this season. A top heavy team may make for some intense football at the Emirates this season, but to end their daunting trophy drought the Gunners will need to add strength in depth in all areas of the pitch as their rivals continue to do so.
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The rejuvenation of the Arsenal attack also leaves their midfield exposed, as Arsene Wenger has denied turning to the transfer market to buy a midfield enforcer. The optimism remains that Abou Diaby will stay fit, meaning Yan M’Vila is no longer linked with a move to North London. Diaby is all too injury prone, and the midfield as a whole fell victim to plenty of injuries at times last season. Remaining optimistic that fate will not repeat itself and choosing not to invest is a bold move, but does suggest an air of naivety that may prove costly.
Of the transfers that have already taken place at Arsenal, Olivier Giroud adds the kind of physicality that many believe has been missing from the Gunners’ setup. But without that added physical strength across the team, they may well find themselves falling into the same trap they have felt before; losing out to more physical sides in the division, such as Stoke, Newcastle or West Ham as they have done in the past.
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Strengthening did need to take place in Arsenal’s attacking line, but the concentration on just that part of the team could prove costly and see Arsenal slump to another season without a trophy. With defensive frailties not being ironed out and midfield cover not catered for, the remainder of the summer transfer window needs to see Arsene Wenger invest in more strength in depth across all areas of the squad.
Arsenal fans have warned to be careful for what they wish for in light of the criticism directed towards Arsene Wenger. Sir Alex believes that the Frenchman deserves a huge amount of respect, given the giant strides he has made at the football club during his tenure.
At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Gunners blogs that include Arsenal’s spending gets a boost, Frimpong provides an edge, while Paquet rules out Gunners move.
We also look at the best Arsenal articles around the web this week.
Caption Competition: Arsenal’s formula for success?
‘Six of the Best’ – Manchester v Arsenal clashes of recent times
Arsenal’s chances of spending big are boosted
Risking the short term future of Arsenal for the sake of long term stability?
Just the ‘edge’ that Arsenal are lacking
A tale of two football managers…
Blankety Blank – Arsene Wenger
Cearly one rule for Arsenal and one for everyone else
Paquet rules out Arsenal deal
Kenny looking to pip Arsene to £11m deal
Best of WEB
Was Nasri’s parting shot really necessary? – Gunnersphere
Ugly, Let’s get Ugly!! – Highbury House
United Keeper key to win tomorrow | #Muppet | Madrid Midfielder anyone? – Le Grove
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The end or the beginning? – Online Gooner
One Of Us Speaks: Snow, Royal Weddings & Udinese – A Cultured Left Foot
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Bolton have put in a number of stuttering performances since they faced today’s opposition over the festive period. In truth, the Trotters were unlucky to leave Stamford Bridge empty handed; Florent Malouda’s late strike had more than a hint of offside about it, and will be determined to take something out of this clash at the Reebok.
Chelsea missed out on the signing of Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar this week, and with little over a week left of the transfer window the Blues have yet to bolster a very fragile squad. Unless there is a hive of activity over the next few days, the outgoing champions may well have a great deal of heartache ahead of them this season.
The Reebok will be an emotional place on Monday night. It is the club’s first game since Bolton and England striker Nat Lofthouse passed away last weekend, and I am sure the atmosphere will be special. The fans will want a win to celebrate the great man’s memory, and I fancy they might just get it.
Prediction: 1-0
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In comparison to previous clubs, Harry Redknapp left Spurs in a reasonable state. Southampton’s travail in the years subsequent to Redknapp’s departure was an indication of the danger of the manager’s methods. Portsmouth were to discover that for themselves. Though the financial strife at his previous clubs could not be entirely blamed on Redknapp’s transfer policy, it undoubtedly put strains on the finances of the clubs. His signing’s at Portsmouth were numerous and included players such as Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Lassana Diarra, Glen Johnson and John Utaka – taking the wage bill at Portsmouth to an, unsustainable, record high.
At Tottenham, under the careful stewardship of Daniel Levy, the prospect of a repeat performance from Redknapp was unlikely – especially considering the funds available to the club. However, in the wake of Redknapp’s dismissal, the short termism displayed by Harry has left the squad in a condition far from it’s peak.
The squad appears unbalanced both in terms of players’ age, position and their futures. Suggestions have been made that Levy’s inability to trust the fact that Redknapp had a long tem plan for the club was a cause for his dismissal; one look at the squad suggests this may be the case.
The first problem Spurs need to address is that Redknapp has left them with only one striker. Peter Crouch was unceremoniously sold last season, before Pavlyuchenko departed for Lokomotiv Moscow in an £8m deal, Louis Saha’s short-term deal expired and Emmanuel Adebayor returned to Manchester City.
Jermain Defoe, for all the improvement in his hold up play this year, is not equipped to play as a lone striker and the only remaining option Spurs have is Giovanni Dos Santos – a player who had minimal playing time under Redknapp and is not used to playing as a main striker.
Now, defenders of Redknapp would argue that he was simply getting rid of ineffectual strikers but the fact remains that Tottenham need to sign at least two strikers this summer and, depending on how much they spend, that could rule out the possibility of adding to their squad in other areas.
The central defence is also a problem. With King finally being released and Gallas’ injury problems, which began at Chelsea and have got considerably worse over time, ruling him out for around half a season every season then Tottenham only really have Kaboul and Dawson, who has had a torrid time with injury himself.
Corluka too has been sold and although Kyle Naughton is returning from his loan at Norwich he cannot play at centre half as comfortably as Corluka could.
Then you have the situation with the goalkeepers. Brad Friedel may have begun his Tottenham career well but his late season form was indicative of his age. The American is now 41 and his form will only get worse from here on. Carlo Cudicini and Heurelho Gomes may be reasonable keepers but their poor performances were the reason Friedel was signed in the first place.
Finally, the midfield. Arguably one of the strongest in the league and with Gareth Bale having recently signed a contract extension many at the club will be feeling relieved. Nevertheless, the star man in the midfield – Luka Modric – is reportedly eyeing the exit door and although they may receive a high fee for him a lot of that money will be needed to help purchase cover up front and in central defence.
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Tottenham is far from being in a crisis, but there is work to be done. As much as Redknapp made some brilliant signings whilst at Spurs and delivered success to the club the next manager will be feeling the strain when it comes to rebuilding. And, if that is the case, and that new manager is Andre Villas-Boas, then Spurs fans should be worried considering the Portuguese manager’s last attempts at rebuilding a squad in English football.
Chelsea are trailing AC Milan’s Alexandre Pato according to the Mirror with a cash-plus-player deal being mooted.
Manager Andre Villas-Boas is set to try and persuade Blues owner Roman Abramovich to try and sign the Brazilian forward.
A £30 million-player-plus-cash deal is in the pipeline for the player who has been tracked by Chelsea for the last three years.
Villas-Boas see’s the striker as the perfect foil for Fernando Torres and believes their partnership could fire the club to Champions League success.
Chelsea are understood to be willing to offer £20 million plus either Nicolas Anelka or Salomon Kalou in exchange for Pato’s services.
It’s thought that Milan are prepared to let the Brazilian go if they can secure the signature of Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli.
However they may ask Chelsea for more money if they do go ahead with a move for Balotelli who has admitted he wants a move away from City.
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Pato scored 14 goals in 25 appearances last season at the San Siro despite being afflicted by minor injures all year losing his place in the national team to Neymar in the process.
However the 21-year-old has plenty of Champions League experience for a player of his age and fits the profile of the type of player Villas-Boas wants at Stamford Bridge.
Gerard Houllier’s rivalry with Sir Alex Ferguson resumes as Aston Villa make the trip to Manchester United on Tuesday.
Frenchman Houllier has overseen Premier League victories over the Red Devils manager on five occasions, all of which came during his tenure as Liverpool boss from 1998 to 2004.
It is a record bettered only by Houllier’s compatriot Arsene Wenger, who has led Arsenal to nine league wins against Ferguson’s side, the most of any manager.
But while Houllier’s personal record against the most successful team in Premier League history is solid, Villa’s is anything but. The Midlands club have claimed a solitary win from their last 30 league clashes against United.
It is a dismal record that Houllier’s men were on the verge of improving when the sides last met, only for them to throw away a two-goal lead in the final 10 minutes as United limped away from Villa Park with a 2-2 draw in November.
After overcoming recent struggles that resulted in a brief stint in the relegation zone, Villa have recorded three straight victories in all competitions and will take growing belief with them to Old Trafford.
The forward combination of Gabriel Agbonlahor and new signing Darren Bent will be integral if they are to claim the unlikely three points, particularly given that Agbonlahor has been a constant source of goals against the Red Devils – the speedy striker has netted four of his side’s past eight goals against Ferguson’s men.
However, table-topping United are a daunting prospect at home, where they have won their last eight league games.
Undefeated in the league this season and sitting five points clear of second-place Arsenal, Ferguson’s side are primed to claim their 12th title under the long-serving Scotsman since the inauguration of the Premier League in 1993.
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They will be heavy favourites to account for Villa, but may need to get by with a makeshift defence, as Rafael (concussion) and Rio Ferdinand (groin) are both in doubt.
Midfielder Michael Carrick may return following an ankle injury, while Patrice Evra will return to boost Ferguson’s dwindling defensive stocks after missing Saturday’s 2-1 FA Cup win over Southampton because of a family bereavement.
Houllier will have the majority of his squad to choose from for the trip to the North West, with Fabian Delph and Stephen Ireland, both battling knee problems, the only absentees.
Jack Wilshere is no longer being considered as a possible player for Team GB at the Olympics, according to The Daily Mail.
The Arsenal midfielder is on the road to recovery after missing the entire 2011-12 season through injury, and it is expected that Wilshere will be in training in Gunners pre-season.
Stuart Peace has previously stated that he was considering Wilshere as a potential player to represented the amalgamated team this summer in the London Games.
However, it is now thought that Pearce has succumbed to pressure from club boss Arsene Wenger, and has not included Wilshere in his 35-man Team GB initial shortlist.
The likes of David Beckham and Craig Bellamy have all but been confirmed to be ready to compete, however the remaining players to represent Great Britain are yet to be seen.
Wilshere exclusion will mean that he can focus on getting fit and ready for 2012-13 in north London.
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