Jul 07 2009
The New Season Fast Approaches
Unlike sports life here in the US, the UK offseason is a short, busy time for all clubs. Summer is a frantic schedule of transfers, new deals and kits, not to mention rabid anticipation as fans of clubs, big and small, drool over the prospect of the coming season.
There have been some huge moves over the summer, but they all pale in comparison to Cristiano Ronaldo’s big money move to Real Madrid where he will join the likes of Kaka in an attempt to rekindle the fortues of the sleeping Spanish giant. Here are some of the other big moves by team….
ARSENAL…only real deal of note is the signing of Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax
ASTON VILLA…Villa finally parted with Gareth Barry who signed with Manchester City for 12 million pounds
BIRMINGHAM…splashed out an estimated 9 million for Ecuadorian striker Cristian Benitez
BLACKBURN…look to be in for a long season given the departure of the likes of Santa Cruz and Derbyshire with little in the way of quality replacements
BOLTON…quiet off season with the only real move being the signing of Sean Davis on a free from Portsmouth
BURNLEY…EPL new boys tried to add a bit of scoring punch with the 3 million pound signing of Steven Fletcher from Hibs
CHELSEA…a big 18 million pound splash to ensure the signature of Yuri Zhirkov from CSKA Moscow
EVERTON…either have no money to spend, as usual, or are happy with the squad they have….no major moves
FULHAM…tried to bolster their defence by signing Stephen Kelly from Birmingham for an undisclosed fee
HULL…offloaded fan favorite Dean Windass, and brought in defender, Steven Mouyokolo from Boulogne
LIVERPOOL…the trend od adding to defence continues as the Reds snapped up Glenn Johnson from Pompey for a figure rumored to be in excess of 15 million pounds
MANCHESTER CITY…two big summer signings as the blues snap up Gareth Barry and Roque Santa Cruz
MANCHESTER UNITED…United used only a small portion of the 80 million from the Ronaldo deal to sign Antonio Valencia from Wigan and, in the surprise move of the summer, landed Michael Owen on a free transfer….could be a great pece of business if he can stay healthy
PORTSMOUTH…offloaded a bunch of their big names and did little to replace them….hmmmm, long season ahead methinks
STOKE…almost nothing to report other than a couple of little known players signed from Crewe
SUNDERLAND…Chopra and Halford out, no new signings to report
TOTTENHAM…all is quiet at White Hart Lane with no big moves in or out
WEST HAM…signed keeper Peter Kurucz who had previously ben on loan and acquired midfielder Luis Jimenez on loan from Inter Milan
WIGAN…sold Valencia to Man United and brought in Hendry Thomas from Olimpia
WOLVES…in an attempt at Premiership survival, Wolves brought in a few new faces to bolster the squad; Ronald Zubar, Greg Halford, Marcus Hahnemann and Andrew Surman
Thats about it for transfer news, but check in daily for more news and updates.
