All the very latest transfer gossip across Europe!

Here is all today's latest football news and transfer gossip with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Manchester United, Atletico Madrid, Gonzalo Higuain, Chelsea, PSG, Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, Hugo Lloris, West Ham, Arsenal, Zenit, Steve McClaren, Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Juventus and Steve Bruce all in the news! 

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

Is your club involved?

Arsenal, PSG, Juventus, Manchester United, Liverpool, Burnley, Napoli, Lazio, Manchester City, Wolfsburg, Atletico Madrid, Swansea, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Southampton, Real Sociedad, Arsenal, Benfica, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Stoke City, Barcelona, Sevilla, Real Madrid, West Brom, Everton, Bayern Munich, Valencia, Tottenham, Monaco, Olympique Marseille, West Ham, Leicester City, Wolves, Aston Villa, Southampton, Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke, Everton, Fenerbahce, Espanyol, Samdoria, Newcastle United, Inter Milan, Derby, Aston Villa, Reading and Hull City.................are all caught up in the latest transfer news/rumours across Europe, as we speak.


A few English media outlets have picked up on a report on Italian website 'Tuttomercatoweb' which suggests Zlatan Ibrahimovic is considering leaving PSG and the club would be willing to sell him for just £11 million as he has one year left on his contract. Reports in Italy indicate Arsenal could be willing to meet that price tag - transfermarketweb.com

Juventus are set to rival Manchester United and Arsenal in the race to sign Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli. The newspaper reports the two Premier League clubs have held talks with his brother who acts as his agent, but Juve are thought to be interested amid talk they could lose Carlos Tevez - Gazzetta dello Sport (Italian daily sports newspaper based in Milan)

Liverpool have agreed a deal to sign striker Danny Ings from relegated Burnley on July 1 after his Turf Moor contract expires, subject to a medical - skysports.com

Manchester United are set to try to outbid Chelsea for the signature of Lazio midfielder Felipe Anderson with the 22-year-old set to attract offers around £30m - Daily Star

Manchester City are set to pay £40m to bring Wolfsburg midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, 23, back to the Premier League. The Belgium international previously played for Chelsea - Daily Mirror

Manchester City will make "an imminent" bid for Liverpool midfielder Raheem Sterling, 20, as they look to boost the "home-grown" quota of players in their Champions League squad for next season - Manchester Evening News

Both Juventus and Wolfsburg are interested in Atletico Madrid's 29-year-old forward Mario Mandzukic - El Mundo Deportivo (Spanish nationwide daily sports newspaper published in Barcelona)

Hugo Lloris has stunned Spurs by admitting he fancies moving to Manchester United and Tottenham could lose a second player after Liverpool opened talks over signing Nabil Bentaleb for £10m - The Sun

Swansea have joined Crystal Palace and Southampton in the race to sign Chelsea striker Loic Remy, 28, who is keen for more starts than he managed in his debut season at Stamford Bridge - Daily Mirror

Out-of-favour Arsenal striker Joel Campbell, 22, has been linked with a £6m move to Spain to join David Moyes' Real Sociedad - Daily Mail

Manchester United have reached an agreement with Benfica winger Nicolas Gaitan, although the move may be dependent on Angel Di Maria's departure from Old Trafford - caughtoffside.com

While working on closing the negotiation with Yevhen Konoplyanka, Stoke City are looking to sign another offensive winger, Aaron Lennon (28). Playing on loan for Everton and still on a deal with Tottenham until June 2016, the former English international would cost Stoke in the region of 11 million pounds - transfermarketweb.com

Zenit Saint Petersburg's Argentinian international centre-back Ezequiel Garay is on the radar of Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger. The 28 year-old is also being tracked by Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Valencia and his ownership is esteemed around 18 million euros - transfermarketweb.com

Barcelona have agreed a deal with Sevilla to sign versatile wide-man Aleix Vidal for £7.5m, plus performance related add-ons of up to £5m, but he can't play until January - Daily Mail and skysports.com

West Brom are close to sealing a £3.4m deal for Real Madrid attacking midfielder Cristian Benavente, although the Spanish club will insist on a buy-back clause. He has been playing for their second team, Castilla - The Times

Tottenham are keen to sign Monaco striker Anthony Martial with the highly-rated 19-year-old likely to cost them £18.2m - Daily Telegraph and skysports.com

West Ham have almost completed the signing of Ghanaian international winger and forward André Ayew (25), due to leave Olympique Marseille as a free agent after five seasons playing for Ligue 1 giants - Daily Mail

West Ham have agreed a £4.3m fee for Sampdoria midfielder Pedro Obiang, although the 23-year-old has yet to agree terms - gianlucadimarzio.com / Italian sports journalist

Sampdoria will have to splash out over £30m if they want to prise Enner Valencia away from West Ham - Daily Mirror

Southampton are lining up a move for Espanyol defender Hector Moreno in case they lose Toby Alderweireld, who is a target for Tottenham and Chelsea - Daily Mirror

Bayer Leverkusen have completed the permanent signing of Greek international Kyriakos Papadopoulos from Schalke after the centre-back spent the season on loan at the BayArena -skysports.com

Everton will look to bring former Liverpool midfielder Raul Meireles to the club after being put on the transfer list at current club Fenerbahce - Liverpool Echo

Leicester City are leading the race to sign Wolves forward Bakary Sako, who is also being looked at by Aston Villa and West Brom - The Sun

West Brom will attempt to coax former Wolves goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, 28, back to the Midlands from Crystal Palace as cover for first-choice Ben Foster - Birmingham Mail

Liverpool will look to beat Arsenal to the signature of Inter Milan midfielder Mateo Kovacic after reportedly being told he would cost just £18m - Liverpool Echo

Steve McClaren will immediately discuss the need to make domestic signings at Newcastle United, after completing his expected appointment as manager this week - Newcastle Chronicle

Derby County are expected to make Aston Villa striker Darren Bent, 31, and Reading defender Alex Pearce, 26, the first two signings under new manager Paul Clement, both on free transfers - Derby Telegraph

Hull City boss Steve Bruce has placed a £30m price tag on left-back Andy Robertson -
Hull Daily Mail

All the Latest Transfer Gossip across Europe

With the the 2012/13 English domestic football season only eleven days away, there is a plenty of transfer speculation doing the rounds as one would expect. However there has been a spot of business completed today!

Here is a round up of all of today’s latest transfer gossip and any done deals:

Is your club involved?

Arsenal, Malaga, Juventus, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, PSG, Sao Paulo, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Liverpool, Swansea, Bologna, Tottenham, Galatasaray, Queens Park Rangers, Montpellier, Newcastle, Wigan, Chelsea, Marseille, Blackpool, Stoke, Wolves, Huddersfield, Fulham, Blackburn, Cardiff, West Brom, Crystal Palace, Nottm Forest, Norwich, Sheff Wed, Reading, Derby, Trabzonspor, Real Oviedo, Sabadell, Deportivo La Coruna, AS Roma, Parma, Hamburg, Hearts and Rangers ..........are all caught up in the latest transfer rumours across Europe, as we speak.


Arsenal have completed the signing of attacking midfielder, Santi Cazorla (right) from Malaga for an undisclosed fee. The 27 year-old Spanish international, has reportedly moved from debt-ridden Malaga for a fee in the region of an initial £16million - skysports.com and transfermarketweb.com

Juventus are interested in Liverpool's Luis Suarez. It is understood that Juventus would ideally love to pair Van Persie and Suarez in a dream attack. Whether either deal is pushed on remains to be seen, but Italian champions Juve are aiming big. They have already made a firm move for Van Persie but, as with rival bidders Manchester City and Manchester United, they have not been able to agree terms with Arsenal – Daily Mirror and skysports.com

Lucas Moura is said to be favouring a move to Paris Saint-Germain rather than Manchester United, with the 19-year-old rumoured to consider Manchester "boring." United are also unable to meet Sao Paulo's demands - which are reportedly around £36 million for the player and a further £6million for his representatives in fees – Daily Mirror, skysports.com, sportinglife.com and talkSPORT

Inter Milan chairman Massimo Moratti claims his club are out of the running for Moura because PSG have already made Sao Paulo a huge offer to sign him – insidefutbol.com

Roberto Mancini has rejected a bid from AC Milan to sign striker Edin Dzeko on a season-long loan from Manchester City – Daily Star

Liverpool have told Manchester City that defender Daniel Agger, 27, will cost at least £22m after City made an informal inquiry for the Dane - The Guardian, The Times and transfermarketweb.com Liverpool are set for further talks with Swansea City midfielder Joe Allen now that the 22-year-old's involvement at the Olympics is over. However Swansea City manager Michael Laudrup has insisted that Joe Allen will be 'very, very expensive' and whould cost Liverpool more than £20million – The Metro, sportinglife.com and skysports.com

Swansea manager Michael Laudrup has told Liverpool they will have to pay at least £15m or forget about signing Allen – Daily Star

Bologna are demanding a fee in the region of £16m for Gaston Ramirez (right), 21, a target for Liverpool and Tottenham. Inter Milan are also said to be looking at the Uruguayan playmaker - talkSPORT

Arsenal forward Andrey Arshavin would be prepared to move to Turkey, according to his agent, amid reports of a £4million bid from Galatasaray. Queens Park Rangers have also been linked with the Russian – Daily Mirror, skysports.com and sportinglife.com

Dave Whelan is waiting to see if Chelsea will match Wigan Athletic's valuation of Victor Moses following fresh talks regarding the winger. A reported £4million bid has already been rejected and there are now claims that Latics chairman Whelan has lowered his asking price from £10million to £8.5million - skysports.com and sportinglife.com

Chelsea have made a 'serious approach' for Marseille defender Cesar Azpilicueta, according to the French club. Marseille are thought to want £8million for the Spanish full-back and big-spending Chelsea could be prepared to match that fee as they seek to solve a problem position at right-back. Sources in France are saying Chelsea are prepared to offer Gael Kakuta as part of any deal for Azpilicueta - sportinglife.com and skysports.com

Stoke City manager Tony Pulis has confirmed he is close to signing Wolves winger Michael Kightly - sportinglife.com

Stoke City winger Jermaine Pennant has denied speculation that he is set to leave the club to join Premier League rivals Wigan Athletic. Pennant has been linked with a move to Wigan due to Stoke being on the brink of signing Michael Kightly from Wolves - skysports.com

Stoke City are in talks to sign Polish international left-back Sebastian Boenisch, 25, who is available after his contract with Werder Bremen expired – Daily Mirror, transfermarketweb.com and sportinglife.com

Montpellier star Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa (right) has confirmed that Newcastle United remain interested in his signature. The highly-rated France international defender has admitted he would relish the chance to move to Tyneside. However, the 23 year-old also states that he would see the move to Newcastle as a perfect stepping stone to move on to AC Milan who have seen a bid rejected - skysports.com

Huddersfield Town are set to sign Cardiff City defender Anthony Gerrard on a three-year contract. It is understood that 26 year-old Gerrard has travelled to Huddersfield to undergo a medical and hold talks about finalising a move to the club – skysports.com and sportinglife.com

Huddersfield Town are refusing to comment on reports that Blackburn Rovers are the latest club to have made a bid for striker Jordan Rhodes. Fulham are already understood to have seen a bid turned down, while Blackburn boss Steve Kean recently confirmed he has made an offer for the 22 year-old – skysports.com

Stephen Dobbie is still a major transfer target for Blackpoolmanager Ian Holloway, who has made clear his admiration for the Swansea striker - sportinglife.com

Cardiff City are keen to sign Craig Bellamy from Liverpool, although Mark Hughes would like to add the Welshman to his QPR squad – Daily Mail

West Bromwich Albion have completed the signing of Markus Rosenberg. The 29-year-old has put pen to paper on a three year deal having previously been a free agent following the conclusion of his contract at Werder Bremen – skysports.com and transfermarketweb.com

Crystal Palace are considering a move to bring 22 year-old Manchester City defender Ryan McGivern back to the club on loan – skysports.com

Nottingham Forest boss Sean O'Driscoll has set his sights on Norwich City defender Elliott Ward. Ward played under O'Driscoll during a loan spell at Doncaster Rovers in 2010 - skysports.com

Derby County have today added 18 year-old defender Michael Hoganson to their ranks, following a successful trial spell. After being released by Newcastle United at the end of last season, the free agent has signed a one-year contract at Pride Park - sportinglife.com and transfermarketweb.com

Currently a free agent after not having his deal with Manchester United renewed, former English international striker Michael Owen, 32, is in negotiations with Trabzonspor. Owen is asking for a £3million euros annual fee, the Turkish club are offering 2 and a half.

Sheffield Wednesday have signed Michail Antonio (right) from Premiership side Reading for an undisclosed fee. Antonio has put pen to paper on a four-year contract at Hillsborough, following a successful loan spell with the Owls last season - transfermarketweb.com

Real Oviedo have signed winger Aaron Bueno, 28, from Sabadell - transfermarketweb.com

Carlos Marchena López has joined Deportivo La Coruna. The former Spanish international defender, 33, was released from his contract with Villarreal at the end of last season - transfermarketweb.com

After AS Roma and Aleandro Rosi mutually agreed on the early termination of the player's contract with the club the Italian right wingback, 25, has agreed a four year deal with Parma - transfermarketweb.com

Austrian international centre-back Paul Scharner, 32, formerly of Wigan Athletic and West Bromwich Albion, has joined Hamburg on a 2 year deal - transfermarketweb.com

Former Hearts striker Kevin Kyle has become the third player to sign for Rangers today following earlier deals for former St Johnstone striker Francisco Sandaza and former Lazio and Udinese defender Emilson Cribari - skysports.com and sportinglife.com

Transfer Deadline Day - No Rumours just Done Deals!

Updated regularly all-day today..............The August transfer window is now officially closed. Here are a list of the 'done deals.'


Paris St Germain have completed the signing of Uruguay captain Diego Lugano from Fenerbahce on a three-year contract.
Juventus have signed Dutch player Eljero Elia from Hamburg SV on a four-year deal, for a fee of €9 million.
Plymouth Argyle have snapped up 28 year-old defender Simon King on a month's loan from Gillingham.
Siena have signed Argentine striker Pablo Andres Gonzalez and Serbian defender Milan Milanovic from Palermo, both on loan.
Hannover have snapped up Austria international Daniel Royer from SV Ried for an undisclosed fee.
West Ham have signed Guy Demel from Hamburg. The full-back has signed a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
Birmingham have signed former Wrexham defender Jack Deaman on a one-year professional contract.
Peterborough Utd sign striker Emile Sinclair from Macclesfield on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
Udinese have signed Uruguay right-back Maximiliano Pereyra on a permanent transfer from River Plate, and goalkeeper Daniele Padelli on a season-long deal from Sampdoria.
AS Roma have completed the signing of centre-back Simon Kjaer on a season-long loan deal from Wolfsburg.
Lille, the French champions have signed Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole on loan for the rest of the season.
Chievo Verona have signed USA midfielder Michael Bradley from Borussia Monchengladbach.
Caglairi have signed 24 year-old Portuguese midfielder Rui Sampaio from Beira Mar.
Newcastle Utd have signed Davide Santon from Internazionale on a 5 year contract, for an undisclosed fee. Last season the the 20 year-old full-back was sent out on loan to Cesena.
Vitesse Arnham have signed Chelsea's 20 year-old midfielder Ulises Dávila for the rest of the season. Dávila only joined The Blues 4 days ago from Mexican side Guadalajara, on a five-year deal.
St Etienne have confirmed the signing of winger Max Gradel from Leeds United on a four-year contract, for a fee of around £2.5 million.
Crystal Palace have extended their loan deal with QPR defender Peter Ramage until January.
Wolfsburg have confirmed that Alexander Hleb has joined the Bundesliga side on loan from Barcelona.
Tottenham Hotspur have completed the signing of long-term target Scott Parker from West Ham United for a fee of £5 million.
QPR has joined goalkeeper Tommaso Trani on a two-year deal following his release by AC Milan
Évian TG, the French Ligue 1 club have confirmed the signing of Denmark midfielder Christian Poulsen from Liverpool.
Inter Milan have completed the transfer of Diego Forlan from Atletico Madrid for an undisclosed fee. Inter have also agreed a loan deal to take Mauro Zarate from Lazio.
Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish has confirmed that he has lined up a deal for Shamrock Rovers defender Enda Stevens. The 21-year-old is set to join Villa on a three-year deal in January.
Arsenal have signed Brazil defender Andre Santos on a long-term contract from Fenerbahce. The 28-year-old left-back moves to the Emirates for an undisclosed fee, thought to be in the region of £6 million.
Swindon have signed West Ham's Saudi Arabian-born striker Ahmed Abdullah, on a six-month loan deal.
Genoa have signed Andrea Caracciolo from Brescia on loan with the view to a permanent deal for €1.6 million.
PSV Eindhoven have signed Slovenian international striker Tim Matavz from Groningen on a 5 years deal.
Scunthorpe have had an undisclosed six-figure bid accepted by Bury for midfielder Damien Mozika.
Watford have completed the signing of Joe Garner from Nottingham Forest on a two-year deal, for an undisclosed fee.
Hamburg have announced the signing of Croatian international midfielder Ivo Ilicevic from Kaiserslautern on a four-year deal, for a fee in the region €4 million.
Parma have signed Lazio striker Sergio Floccari on loan with a view to a permanent move.
Liverpool have completed the signing of United States Under-18 striker Villyan Bijev from California Odyssey after the youngster impressed on trial.
Fulham have wrapped up the signing of Juventus' Czech Republic defender Zdenek Grygera on an initial one-year contract.
West Ham have confirmed that Tottenham winger David Bentley has joined the club on a season-long loan.
Millwall have captured the permanent signing of Dany N'Guessan from Leicester.
Rotherham have confirmed that Leyton Orient striker Alex Revell has joined The Millers on a two-year deal, for an undisclosed fee.
Port Vale have completed the loan signing of Rangers youngster Andrew Little on loan until January.
AS Roma have signed Bosnian playmaker Miralem Pjanic from Olympique Lyon for €11 million.
Arsenal have agreed terms with Werder Bremen to sign German international defender Per Mertesacker on a four-year deal for a reporteted £9 million.
Scunthorpe have made their second signing of the day, bringing in Everton defender Shane Duffy on loan for a month.
Blackpool have signed 19-year-old West Brom defender James Hurst on a season-long loan deal.
Brentford have captured Mike Grella on a permanent deal, and he will see out the season at Griffin Park after becoming a free agent.
Rennes have re-signed Morocco international Youssouf Hadji from fellow Ligue 1 outfit Nancy for €1.7million.
Cardiff City have confirmed the signing of defender Ben Turner from Coventry City for a fee of £750,000.
Charlton have confirmed that 19-year-old striker Michael Smith has joined them from Darlington on a three-year contract, for an undisclosed fee.
West Ham confirm the signing of Arsenal midfielder Henri Lansbury on an initial season-long loan.
Oldham have signed Norwich City midfielder Tom Adeyemi on loan until 3rd January.
Bury have signed Northampton Town striker Shaun Harrad for an undisclosed fee.
AS Roma have confirmed the loan signing of Argentina midfielder Fernando Gago from Real Madrid.
Aldershot Town have signed 19-year-old left-back Jordan Brown on a one-month loan from West Ham.
Wigan have confirmed the signing of Shaun Maloney from Celtic, for a fee of £1 million.
Ajax have signed Russia striker Dmitri Bulykin from Belgian side Anderlecht on a free transfer.
Atalanta, the Serie A newcomers have bolstered their midfield for the coming campaign with a double loan capture, signing Luca Cigarini and Matteo Brighi.
Preston have signed winger Keammar Daley from Jamaican club Tivoli Gardens on a two-year deal.
AC Milan have signed midfielder Antonio Nocerino from Palermo on a five-year deal.
Wigan have signed Chelsea's 21-year-old Dutch left-back Patrick van Aanholt on a season-long loan deal.
Manchester City have confirmed they have signed free-agent Owen Hargreaves on a one-year contract.
Blackpool have signed Sheffield United forward Daniel Bogdanovic on a one-year deal, for an undisclosed fee.
Rochdale have signed Manchester City midfielder Ahmed Benali on a season-long loan deal.
Celtic have signed Moroccan left-back Badr El Kaddouri on a six-month loan from Dynamo Kiev.
Bolton have completed the signing of Liverpool's French striker David Ngog, for a fee of £4 million.
Bradford have signed former Hull goalkeeper Matt Duke on a two-year deal.
MK Dons have signed Sheffield Wednesday defender Mark Beevers in a loan deal until 31st December.
Bolton have confirmed that they have signed Gael Kakuta from Chelsea on loan until 1st January.
Burnley have signed West Ham striker Junior Stanislas for an undisclosed fee. They have also agreed an undisclosed fee with the Hammers for frontman Zavon Hines, who moved to the Clarets 13 days ago.
Bury have made another signing today, with Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Giles Coke joining on a two-month loan deal.
Hearts have signed midfielder Callum Tapping from Tottenham for a nominal fee. The 18-year-old, has signed a two-year contract with an option of a further 12 months.
Rochdale have signed Peterborough frontman David Ball on a three-month loan deal.
Trabzonspor of Turkey have confirmed the signing of Marek Cech from West Brom for an undisclosed fee.
Leicester City have completed the signing of Everton striker Jermaine Beckford, for a fee which could rise to £4 million.
West Ham have signed Ivory Coast utility man Guy Demel from Hamburg.
Millwall have signed Bournemouth winger Liam Feeney for an undisclosed fee.
Oxford United have completed the signing of Middlesbrough forward Jonathan Franks on loan until 1st January.
Stoke City have announced the capture of midfielder Wilson Palacios from Tottenham, on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £8 million.
Lincoln have signed sign 22-year-old defender Mitchell Nelson on loan from Bournemouth until October.
Oldham have signed former Newcastle striker Shefki Kuqi until the end of the season.
Southend United have signed Swindon midfielder Michael Timlin on loan until January.
QPR complete the signing of Shaun Wright-Phillips from Manchester City.
Blackburn sign defender Scott Dann from Birmingham on a four-year deal, for a fee approaching £8 million.
Liverpool announce that Craig Bellamy has left Manchester City and re-signed for The Reds.
Arsenal sign Yossi Benayoun on a season-long loan from Chelsea.
MK Dons have signed Norwich City midfielder Anthony McNamee on a free transfer.
Birmingham complete the signing of midfielder Wayne Elliott from Burnley for a fee of £500,,000.
Southampton have taken Celtic centre-half Jos Hooiveld on loan.
Chelsea have signed Raul Meireles on a four-year deal, for a fee believed to be in the region of £12 million.
Arsenal have signed Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta, for a fee in the region of £10 million.
Sunderland have signed Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner on a season-long loan.
Blackburn sign Sheffield United striker Jordan Slew. The 18-year-old frontman will cost Rovers an initial £1m.
Millwall have signed Hull City striker Jay Simpson on loan until January.
Birmingham have signed West Brom defender Pablo Ibanez for a fee of £1.5 million.
Aston Villa have captured Spurs full-back Alan Hutton, on a permanent deal until 2015, for a fee in the region £4 million. His North London team-mate Jermaine Jenas has also joined Villa on a season-long loan.
Atletico Madrid have agreed to take Brazil playmaker Diego on loan from Wolfsburg.
Stoke have confirmed the signing of Birmingham striker Cameron Jerome on a four-year deal, for a fee of £4 million.
Everton have confirmed the signing of striker Denis Stracqualursi on a season-long loan from Argentinian side Tigre.
Fulham have completed the free signing of former Porto striker Orlando Sa on a three-year deal.
Hull City have signed Leicester striker Martyn Waghorn on loan until January.
Swansea have re-signed their former left-back Federico Bessone from Leeds on a two-year deal deal.
Blackburn have confirmed the signing of Everton striker Yakubu on a three-year deal, for a fee in the region of £2 million.
Everton have confirmed the signing of Real Madrid winger Royston Drenthe on a season-long loan.
West Ham have captured Spurs midfielder David Bentley on a season long loan.
QPR have completed the signing of Sunderland defender Anton Ferdinand, for a fee in the region of £4.5 million.
Fulham have signed FC Twente striker Bryan Ruiz for a fee of £10.5 million
Stoke have completed the £10 million signing of England and Spurs striker Peter Crouch.

After-Dinner Sports Tales - Chris Kamara

Here is my is my first of 2010 but my sixth installment so far on the subject of light hearted after-dinner sporting tales, as told by current or ex-professional sportsman.

In previous articles on the subject of 'After-Dinner Sports Tales,' I have chosen humorous anecdotes as told by the likes of Rodney Marsh Gareth Southgate and Chris Coleman from the world of football, Phil Tufnell from cricket, and rugby union's Wade Dooley.

Today I have chosen another former footballer, but one who despite having retired from the game in 1998, can still be seen on a Saturday afternoon......but on your TV screens, usually as a Sky Sports TV reporter/analyst - the one and only, the charismatic Chris Kamara.

Chris Kamara was born in Middlesbrough on Christmas Day in 1957. After serving with the British Royal Navy he joined Portsmouth in 1975, beginning a professional footballing career that saw him move between nine clubs, scoring 71 goals in 641 league appearances. He was also manager of Bradford City and Stoke City before retiring from the game.

Here is an amusing excerpt from a speech made by Chris at a sporting dinner.

"I enjoyed a long career as a football player, signing for Portsmouth (twice), Swindon (twice), Brentford, Stoke, Leeds, Luton, Middlesbrough, Sheffield Utd and Bradford. I then made the transition into management, the highlight being taking Bradford into the First Division via a Wembley play-off final.

I became somewhat of an unlucky mascot to several teams during my playing days. In early 1992, I played my last game for Leeds, which took them to the top of the table. Manager Howard Wilkinson wanted to make sure they stayed there - so he sold me to Luton the very next day! Sure enough, Leeds won the Championship, without me.

David Pleat, the Luton boss, signed me to change things. Luton had been in the top division for ten years - the old First Division, now the Premier League. I certainly did help to change things - Luton were relegated!

I then went to my hometown club Middlesbrough, signing for Lennie Lawrence. It was their first season in the Premier League, and even though Lennie had previously saved Charlton from going down for five years in the late 80's and early 90's, without me, I was a part of the Middlesbrough team he managed that were relegated in the inaugural Premier League season in 1992-93!

Then there was the greatest escapologist since Harry Houdini - Dave 'Harry' Bassett, manager of Sheffield United. He was the boss who could get out of anything. But in the 1993-94 season he signed me, the fateful unlucky mascot - you've probably guessed it by now - Sheffield United went down.

During this period struggling Coventry City were actually paying teams to sign me!"