All the latest Transfer Gossip across Europe

With the January transfer window closing next Tuesday, there has plenty of talk of possible 'big name' transfers, but little in the way of action so far this month!
The only big money transfer of note was the predicted move of Bolton's Gary Cahill to Chelsea for £7million. Meanwhile there are also lot of loan deals in the pipeline, but can the players, their agents and the clubs agree terms before the transfer window shuts!

As the clock ticks down here is the most recent transfer gossip to be doing the rounds!

Is your club involved?

Chelsea, Shakhtar Donetsk, Lille, PSG, Arsenal, Hanover 96, Manchester United, Bayer Leverkusen, Napoli, Manchester City, Liverpool, Lazio, Arsenal, Real Sociedad, QPR, Tottenham, São Paulo, Bolton, Crystal Palace, Stoke, Everton, Ajax, Inter Milan, Newcastle, Burnley, Watford, Swansea, Blackpool, AZ Alkmaar, Kalmar FF, West Brom, Zenit St Petersburg, Juventus, Cagliari, Sunderland, Blackburn, MK Dons, Nottingham Forest, Leicester, Southend and Shrewsbury are all caught up in transfer gossip as we speak.

Chelsea are also after Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Willian Borges da Silva, but have been told by the Ukrainians that they will have to fork out £25m for the 23-year-old - The Guardian

Lille striker Eden Hazard (right) has admitted Carlo Ancelotti's presence at Paris Saint-Germain is drawing him towards joining the French club. Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have all been linked with the 21-year-old - Inside Futbol

Paris St Germain ended their interest in a January deal for Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez earlier this week, but coach Carlo Ancelotti hopes the French club may be able to sign the Argentine in the future - skysports.com

Chelsea defender Alex has completed a €5 million [£4.1m] transfer to Paris Saint Germain this weekend The Brazilian has signed an 18-month deal with the French Ligue 1 leaders - goal.com

Hannover 96 are keen to sign Senegalese international striker Mame Biram Diouf, 24 on loan from Manchester United - footballpress.net

Chelsea could make a £3m move for Manchester United defensive midfielder Paul Pogba (right). The 18-year-old is out of contract in the summer and has refused to sign a new deal - The Guardian

Manchester United could make a shock move for German midfielder Michael Ballack after Bayer Leverkusen indicated the 35-year-old could be available - Caught Offside

Arsenal striker Carlos Vela is hopeful of extending his loan stay at Real Sociedad and possibly turning it into a permanent switch. The 22-year-old Mexico international has been at the La Liga side since the start of the season - Caught Offside

Edinson Cavani's agent has played down talk of a stunning late switch to Manchester City. It has been suggested in the Italian media that Napoli are bracing themselves for a late move for their 24-year-old Uruguayan striker (right). Liverpool are also rumoured to be keen on the striker - talkSPORT and Caught Offside

Queens Park Rangers hope to sign former Liverpool forward Djibril Cisse from Lazio. The 30-year-old Frenchman would cost £4m, although he may join on loan. Adel Taarabt may head in the opposite direction - The Guardian and skysports.com

Bolton have made a £5m bid for Crystal Palace's England Under-21 international Wilfried Zaha, but face competition from Newcastle and Stoke - Daily Mirror and footballgossip.org.uk

Tottenham are in talks with São Paulo over Brazil Under-20 defender Bruno Uvini - The Guardian

Everton are closing in on Ajax striker Mounir El Hamdaoui (right). The 27-year-old Moroccan could move to Goodison Park on loan before sealing a permanent move for £5m in the summer - talkSPORT

Everton are being linked with Inter Milan striker Luc Castaignos, according to reports from Italy. The Toffees are being linked with the a move for the former Feyenoord youngster, either on loan or in a permanent deal - footballgossip.org.uk

Newcastle United want Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez and Watford's Adrian Mariappa. However Swansea City are also keen on the Watford defender - The Guardian and Daily Mail

AZ Alkmaar have completed the signing of 19 year-old right-back Mattias Johansson from Swedish side Kalmar FF - sportinglife.com

Blackpool are lining up a season-long loan move for West Brom's Czech Republic striker Roman Bednar - skysports.com

West Brom head coach Roy Hodgson is hopeful of concluding a deal to sign Zenit St Petersburg winger Szabolcs Huszti (right), for the remainder of the season - sportinglife.com and The Press Association

Juventus are tracking Belgian international Radja Nainggolan 23, but the midfielder has a deal tying him to Cagliari until June 2014 - footballpress.net

David Dunn has signed a new contract with Blackburn until the summer of 2013 - sportinglife.com

Newcastle United midfielder Alan Smith is set to leave the club for League One side MK Dons - football gossip.org.uk

Nottingham Forest are considering a third bid from Leicester for centre-back Wes Morgan. The Foxes' previous offer was believed to be in the region of £800,000 - sportinglife.com

Sunderland are considering a bid for unsettled Besiktas targetman Hugo Almeida (right), 27, who is rated at £3m - Sunderland Echo

League Two promotion chasers Southend have bolstered their defensive options with the signing of Pat Baldwin from Colchester on a free transfer until the end of the season - skysports.com

Shrewsbury Town have signed Romaine Sawyers on a month-long loan from West Brom - skysports.com

Gary Andrew Speed, MBE - 1969 - 2011

It is always so very sad to write about the death of someone, particularly when it is a relative or friend, but in this instance although I have no personal association with Gary Speed, other than having watched him play from the stands, I personally wanted to pay my respects to a true gentleman and a model professional.
It really does put the game of football into perspective........everything else pales into insignificance when the reality of such a tragedy hits home.

Gary Speed with his wife Louise

The news of his death has been broadcast by the media continuously over the last 24 hours, and it is hard to add to all the touching, heartfelt sentiments of those people who were closest to him, his family, his friends and his fellow professionals in particular.

Gary was born at Mancot, in Flintshire on the 8th September 1969.
He attended Hawarden High School as a child. and supported Everton FC as a youngster.
Gary began his playing career with Leeds United as a trainee, signing a professional contract on the 13th June 1988 and making his first-team debut at the age of 19. His playing career spanned 22 years and he won 85 caps for Wales between 1990 and 2004, before he took on the mantle of Wales national team manager on the 14th December 2010.

At midday on Saturday the Wales manager Gary Speed was live on the BBC's Football Focus programme discussing his future plans for the side. On Sunday morning the 42-year-old was found hanged at his home in Cheshire having 'apparently committed suicide.'

Speed's death came a day after the former Liverpool footballer Stan Collymore spoke candidly about his battle with depression. Speculation surrounding Gary's death has included the possibility that perhaps he himself was suffering this horrendous mental illness.
It has also been 'alleged' that a national newspaper was going to release an article today regarding a very private matter relating to his personal life, but I must reiterate this is purely 'rumour' and nothing more. There is no substance whatsoever to this allegation.

Tributes for Gary have been pouring in since his death. Here are just a few of them:

BBC Sport's Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer, who played alongside Speed at Newcastle, told BBC Sport: "Gary was a magnificent person, bright, fun and a wonderful family man - he lit up every room he walked into. I am proud to have been his friend and will miss him dreadfully."

Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs, who played alongside Speed with Wales for 13 years, said he was "totally devastated."
"Gary Speed was one of the nicest men in football and someone I am honoured to call a team-mate and friend."

Former Wales team-mate Dean Saunders said: "I just can't believe it. I spoke to him last week. We roomed together all of our careers with Wales. I just can't get my head around it. It's incredible. He's so level-headed. You never saw him down in the dumps. He was just a really nice fella. I'm just thinking about his wife and his lads."

Another former Wales teammate, Robbie Savage, tweeted: "The world has lost a great man in Gary speed I'm devastated spoke to him yesterday morning why ! Why Why !! I'll miss him so much x"

A statement from the Welsh Rugby Union said: "Wales has lost a great sportsman, a true gentleman and a man who was working extremely hard and succeeding to deliver a bright future for Welsh football."



Sincere and heartfelt condolences go to his wife, Louise and sons Tommy and Eddie.

It goes without saying that the sport of football will truly miss Gary, but without a shadow of doubt his memory will live long in the hearts of fans all over the world.


Gary Speed
Career History:

1988: Signs with Leeds and makes his first-team debut aged 19.
1990: He makes his first appearance for the national side on 20th May 1990.
1992: Wins the Football League First Division Championship title with Leeds.
1996: League Cup finalist with Leeds.
1996: Joins Everton for £3.5m.
1998: Joins Newcastle for £5.5m.
1998: FA Cup finalist with Newcastle.
1999: FA Cup finalist with Newcastle.
2004: Joins Bolton for £750,000.
2004: League Cup finalist with Bolton.
2004: Retires from International football.
2006: First player to make 500 Premier League appearances.
2007: Joins Sheffield United on loan.
2008: Joins Sheffield United permanently for £250,000 and moves into coaching.
2010: Retires from playing, appointed Sheffield United manager in August.
2010: Awarded MBE for his services to football.
2010: Confirmed as the new Welsh national team manager on the 14th December 2010
2011: Last game as manager of Wales, 12th November 2011, a 4–1 win against Norway.


Gary Speed, Rest in Peace.

Football's Most Sensational Teen Transfers!

IAN RUSH:
Fee: £300,000 from Chester to Liverpool, aged 18, in 1980.

Rush began his playing career at Football League Third Division side Chester. After impressing in the youth ranks, he made his Chester debut in April 1979 against Sheffield Wednesday and went on to play 34 League games and score 14 goals before
Liverpool payed £300,000 for the 18-year-old in 1980. Rush finally made his Liverpool first-team debut five months after his arrival, in December 1980 in a league game at Ipswich Town, and though it took him a little while to get going he formed a memorable partnership with Kenny Dalglish. In the 1983-84 season Rush scored an incredible 47 goals as Liverpool won an unprecedented treble of League, European Cup and League Cup. Juventus paid £3.2m for him in 1987 and he scored 13 goals in his only season in Italy, before returning to Anfield in 1988. He eventually surpassed Roger Hunt's 245 goals to become the Reds' record hitman with 346 goals in 660 games. Rush won five First Division titles, five League Cups, three FA Cups, the European Cup and was the Club's top scorer nine times, during his incredible career with Liverpool, spanning fifteen seasons. Rush said farewell to Anfield on 20th May 1996.


STEVE MACKENZIE:
Fee: £250,000 from Crystal Palace to Manchester City, aged, 17 in 1979.

After beginning as an apprentice at Crystal Palace, MacKenzie was just a 17-year-old trainee when Manchester City decided to spend a quarter of a million pounds on the Palace midfielder in 1979 - although he had yet to play a single Football League match, so it really was a huge gamble at the time. He gained a reputation for scoring spectacular goals, most notably in the 1981 FA Cup Final replay against Tottenham Hotspur. He left City after two seasons to join West Bromwich Albion where he spent six seasons at the Hawthorns before joining Charlton Athletic. He later had spells with Sheffield Wednesday and Shrewsbury Town. He made 353 career appearances between 1979 and 1994, scoring 41 goals.


STEVE SIMONSEN:
Fee: £3.3 million from Tranmere Rovers to Everton, aged 19, in 1998.

After being released by Nottingham Forest, he started his career at Tranmere Rovers in August 1996 as a trainee. By November 1996 Simonsen had already made his League debut for the club.
At the age of 19, and after just 42 league and cup appearances for the Tranmere first-team, Simonsen was bought by Everton for a record breaking £3.3 million in September 1998 and became Britain's most expensive teenager and goalkeeper.
But despite the price-tag he did not make his Everton debut until the 1999–2000 season, in a League Cup tie against Oxford United. In six seasons at Everton he played just 37 times in all competitions and football's forgotten teenager was given a free transfer to Stoke City in 2004. Simonsen was named as Stoke City player's player of the season in the 2004–05 season. He left Stoke in July 2010 on a free transfer after spending six years at the Potters, and making almost 200 appearances.
He currently plys his trade with League One side Sheffield United.


WAYNE ROONEY:
Fee: £25.6 million from Everton to Manchester United, aged 18, in 2004.

His senior debut for Everton came on 17th August 2002 in a 2–2 home draw against Tottenham. His first senior goals came on 2nd October 2002 as he scored twice in a 3–0 win at Wrexham in the League Cup. These goals meant that Rooney was Everton's youngest-ever goalscorer at the time. On the 19th October, five days before his 17th birthday, Rooney scored a last-minute winning goal against Arsenal.
Rooney signed for Manchester United in 2004 for a fee in excess of £25 million.
He scored a hat-trick on his United debut against Fenerbahce in the Champions League. These goals made Rooney the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League aged 18 years 335 days.
For his club at least has hardly looked back since. Between 2006-2009 he formed an lethal attacking partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo, in a United side that won a hat-trick of Premier League titles and the Champions League.
The striker has struggled to hit these dizzy heights in the last couple of seasons, but he still holds an impressive career record of 158 goals in 332 appearances for the Red Devils.


WAYNE HARRISON:
Fee: £250,000 from Oldham Athletic to Liverpool, aged, 17 in 1985.

At £250,000 Harrison became the most expensive 17-year-old footballer in the world when he signed for Liverpool in 1985. Harrison had only made five first team appearances for the Latics, though it included a virtuoso performance against the Reds in an FA Youth Cup match. However, injuries wrecked any chance of appearing in a competitive match for Liverpool. First came a horrid fall through a greenhouse where he almost died as a result of loss of blood. Thereafter he suffered double hernia, cartilage, knee and shoulder injuries and on the last reserve game of the 1989-90 season he shattered his knee against Bradford.
After having undergone 23 operations at Anfield, there was no way back for Harrison and he had to retire from football at just 22 years of age. The player's plight was alleviated somewhat by a testimonial game between Oldham and Liverpool in 1992, but sadly Harrison was not even fit enough to turn out on the field for a token appearance.


THEO WALCOTT:
Fee: £5 million (plus clauses) from Southampton to Arsenal, aged 16, in 2006.

Walcott was a product of the Southampton F.C. Academy. The striker became the youngest-ever player at 16 years and 143 days to feature for the Southampton first team, after coming on as a substitute in Southampton's 0–0 draw at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Football League Championship in 2005.
Sven-Goran Eriksson shocked the footballing world by naming the 17-year-old in his 2006 World Cup squad, just five months after Arsenal signed him from Championship side Southampton and before he had even made his Gunners' debut.
On 30 May 2006, Walcott became England's youngest ever senior football player by appearing in a 3–1 friendly win over Hungary at Old Trafford at the age of 17 years and 75 days. Four years later he wasn't even in Fabio Capello's 2010 squad.
He still hasn't hit the expected heights since, due in part to injuries, but Walcott has shown flashes of brilliance. Most notably he produced a stand-out performance against Liverpool in the Champions League, while for England he hit a hat-trick in September 2008 against Croatia in Zagreb to underline his ability.


JERMAINE PENNANT
Fee: £2 million from Notts County to Arsenal, aged 15, in 1999.

Arsenal paid Notts County £2.5m in 1999 for the 15-year-old midfielder, which was a record for a trainee. After the youngster's two spells on loan at Watford and a substitute appearance for the Gunners against Middlesbrough in the League Cup when he was just 16 years 319 days. He scored a hat-trick for Arsene Wenger's side on his full Premier League debut against Southampton in May 2003. Disciplinary problems, including serving 31 days of a three-month prison sentence while on loan at Birmingham City in 2005, has seen him play for six clubs since leaving north London to join the Blues, including three seasons at Liverpool and a spell in Spain with Real Zaragoza.
He is now plying his trade at Stoke City and featured in the 2011 FA Cup final.


CONNOR WICKHAM:
Initial fee: £8.1 million from Ipswich Town to Sunderland, aged 18, in 2011.

After joining Ipswich as a trainee in July 2008, the striker made 72 first-team appearances, coming off the bench 33 times and scoring a total of 15 goals.
Wickham made his first-team debut for Ipswich at the age of 16 years and 11 days against Doncaster Rovers in April 2009.
In May 2010 Wickham helped England to victory in the European Under-17 Championship, scoring the winning goal as they beat Spain 2-1 in the final.
On 29 June 2011, Wickham signed a four year deal with Premier League club Sunderland for a fee of £8 million. The fee has the potential to rise to £12 million over the course of the contract. Wickham made his first competitive appearance for Sunderland when he came on as a substitute in the 1–0 defeat to Newcastle United in the Tyne–Wear derby on 20 August 2011.


GARETH BALE:
Fee: £5 million from Southampton to Tottenham, aged 17, in 2007.

At 16 Bale became the second youngest player after Theo Walcott to play for Southampton when he made his debut against Millwall. His efforts on the south coast were enough to persuade Spurs to spend £5m on him a year later, fending off interest from Manchester United
On a personal level the winger got off to a good start scoring in three of his first five games.
But Spurs were beginning a downturn in fortunes and they failed to win a single game in any of Bale's first 24 Premier League matches he played – a record!
Rumours of a loan move to the Championship were rife just last year, but an injury to Benoit Assou-Ekotto gave him a rare run in the team and he hasn't lost his place since. Last season he captivated the world with stunning performances in the Champions League and topped his year off by picking up the PFA Player of the Year award.


MARK KENNEDY:
Initial Fee: £1.5 million from Millwall to Liverpool, aged 18, in 1995.

Kennedy began his professional career at Millwall, making his senior debut in April 1993 in a win over Charlton, when still only 16. Kennedy joined Liverpool in March 1995 for an initial £1.5 million fee (potentially rising to £2.3 million), making him then the most expensive teenage footballer in British history.
However, opportunities at Anfield were scarce, as he failed to fit into a midfield boasting the likes of Steve McManaman, Patrik Berger and John Barnes. Kennedy was in the starting line-up four times in his first season, but astonishingly was given only one chance in the first eleven over the next three seasons. In total he managed just 21 appearances in all competitions.
In the summer of 1998 he was transferred to Wimbledon for a fee in excess of what Liverpool initially paid for him, despite only making fleeting appearances for the Reds!
Kennedy only spent one season at Wimbledon before signing for Manchester City. Kennedy's career has also seen him turn out for Wolves, Crystal Palace and Cardiff. Kennedy, now 35 currently plays for Championship side Ipswich Town.

The Physio Room - Injury Update

With the new Premier League season only four days away, spare a thought for the English Premier League clubs' physios and medical teams and their 'healing hands.'



However following three nights of rioting in London, England's friendly at Wembley tomorrow night against the Netherlands has been postponed on police advice - which in the light of the seriousness of the trouble is in my opinion the correct decision.



The FA chairman David Bernstein said the FA had consulted with the police, Government and Brent Council, and in a statement said: "We were unable to host the fixture under the terms of our safety certificate or guarantee the safety of the fans."



I am sure there is a peculiar, almost selfish sense of relief on the part of any club manager who had players involved in the England set-up, so close to the opening weekend of the English Premier League season, but no satisfaction in the reason for the postponement.



The English Premier League is littered with 'foreign players' from all over the world, and there are still plenty of international fixtures involving them on Wednesday and Thursday. On that note tonight's game between Ghana and Nigeria at Vicarage Road, Watford has also been postponed for safety reasons. As well as full internationals there are a number of UEFA Under-21 Championship Qualifying games being played tonight and tomorrow.



International teams involved in friendlies with Premier League players on their books include: Scotland, Wales, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, France, Spain, Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Russia, Belgium, Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, Bulgaria, Australia, Croatia, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Denmark and the USA.



Those managers with players involved will be praying all of them return from international duty injury free.



Meanwhile there is a full programme of English Premier League fixtures this weekend, so here is your chance to catch up on which players are definitely out injured, who is doubtful or struggling, and who will be fit to play for their clubs. Also some players are carrying over suspensions picked up at the tail end of last season, so they will also be unavailable for selection.



There are some Premier League teams who have players that are already out before a ball has been kicked, and other clubs have players that are struggling to be fit for the opening fixtures this weekend.



Some of the more high profile players carrying injuries at the moment include: Arsenal's Thomas Vermaelen and Jack Wilshire, Aston Villa's Darren Bent, Tottenham's Rafael Van Der Vaart (right), Manchester United's Danny Welbeck , Liverpool's Glen Johnson and Chelsea's Frank Lampard.



Click on the 'link' to find out the latest on your Club's injury woes, and how soon it will be before some of your teams players will be back in action.



Those players that are definitely ruled out through suspension include: Chelsea's Daniel Sturridge (right), Manchester City's Kolo Toure, and Everton's Seamus Coleman.