All the very latest transfer gossip across Europe!

Here is all today's latest football news and transfer gossip with Diego Costa, Gonzalo Higuain, Liverpool, Barcelona, Riyad Mahrez, Corinthians, Charlie Austin, Andy Carroll, Tottenham, Juventus, Marco Reus, Southampton, Napoli, Javier Hernandez, Manchester United and Arsenal all in the news! 

Here is a round up of all the latest transfer gossip across Europe today!

Is your club involved?

Chelsea, Napoli, Manchester Utd Ajax, Leicester, Lazio, Southampton, Newcastle, Tottenham, West Ham, Bournemouth, QPR, Borussia Dortmund, Corithians, Liverpool, Barcelona, Porto, Bayern Leverkusen, AS Roma, Udinese, Inter Milan, Valencia, Juventus, Galatasaray, Arsenal, Nordsjaelland, Sunderland, Olypiakos, Fulham, Hull, Brighton, Portsmouth and Accrington Stanley..........are all caught up in the latest transfer news/rumours across Europe, as we speak.

Chelsea are considering a summer move for Napoli and Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain, putting the future of current Blues forward Diego Costa, also 27, in doubt - Daily Mirror

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal wants a winger, and is interested in Lazio's Felipe Anderson, 22, Sadio Mane, 23, at Southampton, 24-year-old Riyad Mahrez at Leicester and Anwar El Ghazi, 20, of Ajax - Daily Mail

Newcastle want to bring back West Ham striker Andy Carroll, 26, to help their relegation battle - Daily Mirror and The Sun

Manchester United and Tottenham want to sign Newcastle United striker Ayoze Perez, 22, and could bid for the Spaniard in January - Daily Telegraph and Daily Star

Bournemouth are plotting January raid for QPR striker Charlie Austin after confirming an American billionaire has bought a 25 per cent stake in the club. Sunderland are also keen on the 26 year-old  - Daily Star and Daily Mail

Liverpool are the hot favourites to sign Borussia Dortmund star Marco Reus - Daily Express

Liverpool will sign former AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato, 26, in January, according to the president of his current club Corinthians - Tutto Mercato Web (Italian football news outlet) via The Independent

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has asked the club's transfer committee to make a formal approach for Barcelona winger Cristian Tello, 24, who is on loan at Porto - Fichajes (Spanish football news outlet) via Daily Star

Chelsea are looking at Javier Hernandez, who moved to Bayern Leverkusen in the summer and Valencia's Spanish international striker Paco Alcacer as possible transfer targets - ESPN

Southampton face a battle to keep star striker Graziano Pelle, who is wanted by Italian giants Juventus - Daily Mirror

Galatasaray are keen on signing Arsenal winger Joel Campbell in January - Daily Express

Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United are among clubs monitoring the progress of the Denmark Under-19s striker Emre Mor who is expected to leave Danish Superliga club Nordsjaelland in January - The Guardian

AS Roma are searching for a new defender and coach Rudi Garcia is keeping tabs on two Inter Milan players in Juan Jesus and Andrea Ranocchia. It is also thought that he keen on Udinese defender Thomas Heurtaux - Sportmediaset (Italian sports news outlet)

Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce has been given the go-ahead to sign two defenders to help his side in their battle against relegation, with West Ham's James Collins, 32, and French left-back Arthur Masuakyu, 22, who is at Olympiakos high on his wanted list - Daily Express and Sunderland Echo

Arsenal lead the transfer chase for Dean Windass' 21 year-old Accrington Stanley starlet Josh Windass, with Brighton, Fulham, Hull and Portsmouth also tracking the son of former Hull forward Dean - The Sun and Daily Mirror

All the latest transfer gossip across Europe!

The World Cup Finals are in full swing and what a fantastic tournament it has been so far!
Meanwhile the Premier League fixtures for the forthcoming season were released today, and with less than eight weeks until the start of the Premier League season clubs right across Europe are busily eyeing up prospective new transfer targets. The World Cup finals provides a wonderful shop window for a player to display their talent and secure a lucrative move this Summer. Unsurprisingly transfer rumours are rife as I speak.

Here is a round up of all the latest transfer gossip across Europe today!

Is your club involved?

AC Milan, Arsenal, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Ajax, Southampton, Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Tottenham, Al-Arabi, Barcelona, Rubin Kazan, Inter Milan, West Ham, Anderlecht, Juventus, St-Etienne, Chelsea, Galatasaray, Atletico Madrid, Paris St-Germain, Manchester City, Wolfsburg, Sevilla, AS Monaco, Valencia, Everton, Porto, Fulham, Leeds United, Hull, West Brom, Zenit St Petersburg, Benfica, Swansea and Crystal Palace, Spartak Moscow, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Newcastle, Hertha Berlin, Leicester City, Port Vale, Burton Albion and Stevenage.............are all caught up in the latest transfer news/rumours across Europe, as we speak.


AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli, 23, is open to a move to Arsenal after his agent revealed 'anything is possible' this summer - The Guardian and Daily Mail

Manchester United are likely to bid for Sami Khedira (right), who has also been a target for Arsenal, after Real Madrid told the 27-year-old midfielder he could leave - Daily Express and football-espana.net

Manchester United have moved into the race to sign Ajax and Holland star Daley Blind, with negotiations to sign Southampton's Luke Shaw having stalled - Daily Mirror

Manchester United’s ongoing push to capture long term target Luke Shaw has been boosted by Southampton’s move to bring in Swansea City left-back Neil Taylor as a potential replacement for the England man - Daily Express.

Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels, says he is staying with the German club for the immediate future, despite interest from Manchester United - skysports.com and Daily Express

Liverpool have opened talks with Bayern Munich over the summer signing of Xherdan Shaqiri (right), according to reports in Germany. The Reds are willing to offer £16m for the Swiss international midfielder - Bild (Germany)

Manchester United have made a £20million offer for Benfica winger Nicolas Gaitan and hope to close the transfer in the coming days - The Metro

Manchester United's Nani will move to Inter Milan on loan until the summer with an option for a permanent deal - O Jogo (Portugal)

West Ham have completed the signing of Senegal midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate from Anderlecht on a four-year contract - skysports.com

Tottenham are willing to listen to offers for striker Emmanuel Adebayor with fellow forward Roberto Soldado also set to be sold - Daily Mirror

Al-Arabi coach Dan Petrescu claims Barcelona playmaker Xavi has signed a pre-contract agreement with the Qatari club - skysports.com

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has made £15m-rated Paris St-Germain forward Ezequiel Lavezzi, 29 (right), his top transfer target from the World Cup in Brazil. Wenger faces competition for Lavezzi from both Chelsea and Galatasaray also linked with the Argentinian. - The Sun and skysports.com

Gunners midfielder Santi Cazorla has been linked with a move to La Liga champions Atletico Madrid - The Sun

Rubin Kazan's France international midfielder Yann M'Vila, 23, is set to reject Liverpool and Arsenal in favour of a move to Inter Milan - Daily Star and skysports.com

Manchester City will resist any attempt by Inter Milan to take striker Stevan Jovetic back to Italy - Daily Mail

Juventus are close to signing Dani Osvaldo from Southampton but Valencia are also interested - Gazzetta Dello Sport (Italy) and Corriere Dello Sport (Italy)

St-Etienne's Kurt Zouma (right) has decided to join Chelsea. However, both sides have still to find an agreement - L'Equipe (France)

Liverpool will consider reviving interest in Wolfsburg left-back Ricardo Rodriguez if they fail to agree a deal for Alberto Moreno.
The Sevilla star has been a long-time target for Reds boss Brendan Rodgers, but a move to Anfield appears to have hit the rocks - dailymail.co.uk

Arsenal and Liverpool want Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, 28, who is keen to play in the Champions League after becoming a free agent - Daily Express

Valencia are better placed than Liverpool or AS Monaco for the signing of Benfica's Andre Gomes - Record (Portugal)

Everton boss Roberto Martinez is confident he can land Barcelona winger Cristian Tello, 22 (right), on a season-long loan, but they could face competition from Porto. The Spanish club seem willing to let him out for the campaign, rather than offload him permanently - The Sun, Daily Mirror and skysports.com

Porto are preparing for the imminent sale of Fernando to Manchester City - Sport TV (Portugal):

Fulham are poised to make a £6million bid for Leeds United striker Ross McCormack - Daily Mail

Benfica's Argentine defender Ezequiel Garay has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League in the past but it seems he is set to join Zenit St Petersburg - skysports.com and ole.com.ar (Argentinian football website)

Newcastle United have offered a deal to Hertha Berlin' for 22-year-old striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga (right) - Daily Mirror and Newcastle Chronicle

Swansea City have reportedly signalled their intent to secure the permanent transfer of Middlesbrough winger Marvin Emnes. Emnes ended the season on loan at the Liberty Stadium, and the Swans are prepared to offer Middlesbrough a fee in the region of £1m for the 26-year-old - skysports.com

Hull City look to have won the nine-way scramble to land ex-England defender Joleon Lescott, who is a free agent after his Manchester City contract expired - Daily Mirror

Joleon Lescott could become the first signing of the Alan Irvine West Brom era as the Manchester City man reportedly prepares for a medical at The Hawthorns - Birmingham Mail

Crystal Palace are moving closer to a £1.5m deal for former Everton midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, 29 (right), who spent the second half of last season on loan at Anzhi Makhachkala from Spartak Moscow - Croydon Advertiser

Middlesbrough are keeping tabs on Sammy Ameobi, with Newcastle open to offers for the 22-year-old forward - Newcastle Journal

Manchester City keeper Costel Pantilimon has joined Sunderland - and could replace Vito Mannone as first choice - Newcastle Chronicle and Sunderland Echo

Premier League newcomers Leicester City are interested in Port Vale's out-of-contract defender Joe Davis, 20, who has been offered a new deal by the Valiants - Stoke Sentinel

Burton Albion have announced the signing of forward Lucas Akins from Stevenage - skysports.com

Edgar has Landed!

Oh, what a time to be a Crystal Palace fan!

Just weeks, literally, after the Championship club were on the brink of going out of business, and on the very day it is announced they are 'officially' out of administration, the new owners and management team have pulled the most almighty, humongous rabbit out a seemingly invisible hat!

Days ago fellow championship rivals Cardiff were celebrating their very own coup in the form of Craig Bellamy, without a doubt a terrific footballer, but with a temperament that saw him more or less 'forced' out of the bright lights of Manchester, as he chose the somewhat less salubrious surroundings and the somewhat dimmer lights of his home town, as he joined Cardiff City F.C on loan.

Why Cardiff? Well Bellamy is a Welshman, he comes from Cardiff, has a home in the vicinity, his family are still based in Wales and he wants to play first-team football. He can have ALL that at Cardiff for the same money, instead of collecting splinters while sitting on the bench at City, playing second fiddle to fellow strikers: Tevez, Robinho, Adebayor, Jo, Santa Cruz and Balotelli.

I myself was scratching my head at the beginning of the week as I wondered how on earth a club struggling financially, not dissimilar to the plight that Palace found themselves in, could afford to bring on board such a player and offer him first team football for a 'mere' £45,000 per week (and that is only half of his contracted weekly wage), while those good citizens........er 'samaritans' at Eastlands, the blue side of Greater Manchester have agreed with the 'Bluebirds' to subsidize the outstanding balance of Bellamy's wages, the further £45,000 per week - sheer unadulterated madness!

In my humble opinion this year is promotion to the Premier League or bust for Cardiff City.........the scenario of putting all your eggs in one basket and 'hoping' for the most fruitful outcome. A BIG gamble that can only end one of two ways - glorious success over 46 league games resulting in Premier League football next season, or au revoir to English club football, the League of Wales awaits you!

Now the cynics out there may well point the finger at Palace and justifiably so. I wholly and naturally expect plenty of vigorous finger wagging in the direction of London SE25 over the forthcoming days and possibly weeks, and I fully understand and accept any sort of denigration and vilification regarding the events today.

How much you may well ask are this recently rescued club going to pay a 37 year-old former Dutch international who hasn't kicked a ball in anger for two years, to pull on Palace's red n' blue shirt?
Well you can be sure the new owners (CPFC2010) will have done their maths and that if this arrangement was a non-viable monetary option, the plug would have been pulled immediately. These guys have just saved the club, in no way will they put their money and the clubs security in jeopardy, less than 24 hours after exiting administration.

But in Edgar Davids (pictured right) you have a man and a football player that once graced the game across Europe, from the days of his Ajax debut back in 1992, followed by a glorious career at the likes of footballing giants AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, and Inter Milan, as well as a spell at Tottenham, winning numerous club trophies throughout his illustrious playing career, not to mention his 74 international caps for the Netherlands.

Now he is a Crystal Palace player on a 'pay-as-you-play deal', who will provide as much off the pitch as on it!
Crystal Palace have a football academy second only to Arsenal's, and the youngsters at Palace in the shape of Zaha, Cadogan, Clyne, Djilali, Scannell, Holland and Pinney to name but a few can surely only benefit from the arrival of a genuine 'footballing icon' at their Club, whether it be on the training ground, in the dressing room, in the form of advice or even as a shoulder to cry on!

The obvious income Davids will bring to the Club will more than likely come in the form of an initial (and hopefully a prolonged) increase in crowd attendances at Selhurst Park, from shirt sales and possibly even designer glasses. Any income by whatever means can only be of benefit to the Club.

The Club itself will undoubtably receive additional media exposure, possibly resulting in an increase in the number of live TV games shown, and therefore the increased revenue that is generated as a result.

On the otherhand maybe Davids will become an overbearing unwanted media distraction at the club, ruffle a few feathers and put a few noses out of joint amongst the more experienced, senior players already at the club. Maybe Davids will pick up a serious injury, be unable to sustain the level of fitness required, along with the hunger or desire and passion required on match day. A cold, wet Tuesday night fixture away at Deepdale, the Keepmoat or Turf Moor hardly rivals the Stadio Olimpico di Torino or the L'Estadi Camp Nou.

But football fans, even if Davids move to South London doesn't work our for whatever reason, remember he is on a 'pay-as-you-play' deal, an absolutely crucial condition of his contract, bearing in mind the current economic climate.
I believe every single football club in the country would like to have had the 'opportunity' of working with a player of his calibre, whether your club be Birmingham, Blackburn, Barnsley, Brighton or Bury!

Edgar Davids will be at Selhurst Park at tomorrow's game against Ipswich Town to be introduced to the crowd.

'Edgar the Eagle' a Crystal Palace player, 20th August 2010 - What a story, what a coup, what football dreams are made of............. bring it on!