So which summer transfers were the best? Cristiano leaving Man United? Johnson arriving at Liverpool? Adebayor moving from Arsenal to Man City. Goal.com conducted a big fat Poll, want to see who won?

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A frenetic start to pre-season has seen the world record transfer fee broken twice in the space of ten days by Real Madrid, causing many top bosses to place ludicrous price tags on their stars.

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This source came up with a list of the top ten free Transfers of all time, what do think?
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With the gap between the Championship and the Premier League getting wider with each passing season, newly promoted teams are finding it harder and harder to conjure up enough points to maintain their place in England’s top league. In fact, in every season except 2001–02 at least one Premier League newcomer has been relegated back to the Football League. [Read the rest of this entry »]

With Martin O’Neill adamant that Gareth Barry isn’t leaving the club for any less than £15m, Rafa Benitez is looking to raid his old club Valencia for winger David Silva.

This will be good news for many Liverpool fans, who feel the club already have enough talent in a midfield which includes Gerrard, Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano, and those who feel the club is just a world-class winger away from contending for the Premier League crown.

Although Barry wants to move, Benitez may not have the financial backing to sign him, especially with the imminent signing of Dossena. Which will disappoint the England international.

“Gareth has spoken to Martin since he returned from England’s game in Trinidad and told him how he feels.
“At this stage of his career Gareth wants to be playing Champions League football and believes this is his chance to do it.” Barry’s agent told The Sun

However, Silva could leave for Anfield for far less than his £20m price tag, as Valencia look to pull themselves out of their precarious financial postion. Rafa is hoping to land him for just ten million pounds.
Key to the Silva transfer will be Liverpool’s chief scout Eduardo Macia, who was close with the Spanish superstar in his time working at the Mestalla Stadium.

Publically, Valencia insist they do not want to lose one of their most influential players, but privately they are reported to have contacted several clubs throughout Europe to gauge interest in Silva and David Villa(The Telegraph)

With Silva on one side, and the ever-improving Ryan Babel on the other, many a Liverpool fan will have their fingers crossed that this could be the real deal.

The Euro 2008 semi-finals might be upon us, but that hasn’t kept Tottenham boss Juande Ramos from making sure that his London club are well in the spotlight with the transfer window nearing the boiling point. [Read the rest of this entry »]

New Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has always wondered what £100m gets you on the football open market, and he’s about to find out.

Multiple sources are saying that Roman Abramovich has decided to get back in the transfer race, and will give Scolari a blank cheque to chase the top players in the world.

New Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari will be handed a £100m transfer kitty to lure the best players in the world to Stamford Bridge. (Various)

The Daily Mirror reports that Scolari will not waste any time trying to bring the best and brightest to Stamford Bridge, and will prepare a £55m super bid for a certain Milan midfielder.

Scolari will target AC Milan star Kaka and will spend £55m on the midfielder. (Daily Mirror)

Oh, and those Rumours about Valencia ace David Villa being linked with Liverpool? Well apparently the new Chelsea man will be happy to squash them by making an ambitious swoop for the Spanish star.

David Villa is the most wanted striker in Europe with Scolari favourite to land the £25m Spaniard. (Daily Mirror)

It’s sure going to be an interesting summer at the London club!

If Chelsea supporters had £100m to spend this summer, who would you bring to the club?

With Manchester City slowing things down just a tad in their pursuit of CSKA’s Brazilian Jo, Ac Milan and a mysterious unnamed Spanish club are having a sniff around the striker….

“Manchester City’s desire to slow down negotiations for the £18m-rated Brazilian striker Jo to give their new manager, Mark Hughes, a proper sight of him, appears to be a luxury they cannot afford with Milan and an unnamed Spanish club expressing interest.” (Independent)

So it looks like Man City better move sharpish for their Brazilian or someone could hijack the deal!

From the looks of it, Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso is ready to walk away from the Merseyside club after coming to terms on a weekly salary with Juventus.

The Sun reports that Alonso and Juve have agreed on a deal that would pay him £70,000-a-week, however any possible deal that could be concluded quickly is being hampered by Liverpool’s inability to part with Alonso for anything less than £16m.

Juventus have agreed terms with Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso but have to agree a fee with the Reds, who want £16m compared to the Italian club’s £14.5m offer. (The Sun)

Do you sense a common theme here? First Rafa couldn’t part with Scott Carson for anything less than £10, and now he won’t let go of Alonso for £14.5m. I understand the need to be a shrewd businessman, but if Rafa is planning on buying any big names this summer, then he’s going to have to make some compromises when it comes to moving some of his bigger name players.

Do Liverpool supporters think Rafa is correct in telling Juve to pay £16m or leave? Or do you think it’s time the ‘goateed-one’ got going on his transfer plans and sold Alonso for £14.5m?

If there’s one thing I learned when I was in school, it was that ginger haired Norwegian footballers and sunny Rome are never a good mix. Can you imagine that fair skin in the blistering sun? Now that is a third-degree sunburn waiting to happen. But honestly, when has my opinion ever mattered?

It seems like Roma are well and good paying current Liverpool left-back John Arne Riise in Euro’s and sunscreen in the hopes of wooing him to the historic city.

John Arne Riise is set to lead the exodus from Liverpool by sealing a 5million move to Roma. (Daily Express)

Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Roma.

So what’s your take Liverpool supporters? Is Riise good to leave for £5m? Or would you rather hold out hope that someone else is crazy enough to offer more than Roma?

If you’re type of person that believes the words coming out of Liverpool gaffa Rafa Benitez’s mouth, you’d know be part of a fairly small minority that believes his 15 million pound valuation of strike Peter Crouch was A-OK! For those of us not living in a dreamland, you’d know that no team in all of Europe would pay that hefty sum — even if they knew they were getting a player twice the size of the average footballer!

Well apparently you can count Peter Crouch among those currently living in the non-Liverpool dreamland. The Daily Star is reporting a source close to Crouch as saying that he’s prepared to play out the the final year of his contract at Liverpool and leave in the summer for free! This would of course keep Rafa from peddling the striker off on another team and adding more to the transfer kitty.

“Peter’s been treated appallingly by Benitez,” said the source.

“First there’s been the lack of games, then Benitez claiming Peter had been offered a new contract.” (The Star)

So what’s your take Liverpools supporters: Will Rafa ever end up getting anything for Crouchigol this summer, or will he ride the pine for another season before leaving for free?

Reports are emerging that Chelsea have bid 50 million pounds for Liverpool hot shot Fernando Torres.

The Daily Mail reckons Roman Abramovich is ready to tempt the Anfield hierarchy with a massive fifty million, a figure that would help Rafa Benitez rebuild his squad.

An unnamed Chelsea source claims:

“There is a desire among certain people at Liverpool to sell at the right price. It’s just a case of whether they have the nerve to incur the wrath of the Liverpool fans.”

Let’s hope this is a severe case of early summer madness. Or someone inside Anfield is just winding Chelsea up.

If Torres goes, Gerrard will go too! No doubt about it. There’s no way the captain would accept the first decent striker at the club departing to another Premiership rival regardless of matter how much money the deal would bring in. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Benitez follow suit, either.

In the past, Liverpool fans would have laughed this story out of town. Trouble is, with Tom Hicks desperate to make money to secure the new stadium, there may be may be a grain of truth in here somewhere.

The Reds are desperate for world class talent. But selling the hottest striker in the league would be totally out of order.

What next, Chelsea to make a move for Rafa Benitez himself?

With Fernando Torres, Liverpool number nine in form at the moment, it’s likely the Reds top scorer will find himself playing plenty of football at this summer’s Euro 2008. Now that might be good for Spain, but is it good for Liverpool?

The club don’t want a tired or possibly injured Torres slowing down the start of next season’s campaign. Let’s hope Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has persuaded Tom Hicks and Co to cough up a bit of cash to purchase another top class striker. If not, the red half of Merseyside could find themselves with a very blunt set of strikers come August.

With Peter Crouch expected to move on and Andriy Veronin hopefully on his way too after firing blanks all season, it’s obvious Rafa needs a top-draw striker to cover Torres. At least, if the club has any hope of challenging United or Chelsea who are both expected to improve their squads this summer.

United have a potent set of attacking players, what with the likes of Tevez, Ronaldo, Nani and Rooney. And expect Sir Alex to add a new name to that list. To challenge the momentum that’s building at Man U, Liverpool need to dig deep into the coffers (Yes, Mr Hicks, that means you if you’re listening!) to bring in new striking talent to keep the quest for that elusive Premiership title on track.

David Villa might be nice, but it’s unlikely the Spanish ace would be prepared to play second fiddle to Torres, given Benitez’s preference for 4-5-1. Dutch striker Huntelaar might also tempt Benitez given his penchant for hard-working Dutchmen, although it remains to be seen whether the lad can cut it at the top level.

Another option might be to move Ryan Babel up a notch. The Dutchman with the occasional silky skills has done well in his first season at Anfield. Expected to feature for Holland at Euro 2008, the experience against Europe’s finest might be all he needs to set the premiership alight. Then again, probably not.

Personally, I’d like to see Zlatan Ibrahimovic make a move to the Premiership. He’s at the peak of his game, big enough to cause defenders trouble and capable of moments of outstanding sublime football.

I don’t really see it happening though. Rafa doesn’t go for prima donnas. Ask Djibril Cissé.

Who do you want to see partnering Torres come August?

What with the mass exodus and all going on over at the Emirates, you’d think that the entire world was coming to an end around Arsène Wenger. With Flamini fleeing for AC Milan and Hleb jumping ship for Inter, the opening to the transfer season has looked as dismal as a Zenit/Rangers UEFA Cup Final. (ooops, that already happened!)

But fear not Gooner supporters, apparently there is hope on the horizon in the form a swashbuckling Paraguayan footballer — one Roque Santa Cruz.

The Telegraph is reporting that Wegner is Interested in making a move for the Blackburn star that bagged 19 league goals in 37 appearances.

Wenger has been impressed by the way Cruz adapted quickly to the particular demands of English football is keen to bring in a player who is familiar with the physical nature of the Premier League and as such would be able to offer a reliable option in an area of the team that was at times found wanting last season. (Telegraph)

If the deal were to go through, the move would further bolster the Arsenal striker group that already includes Theo Walcott, Robin van Persie, Eduardo, Nicklas Bendtner and Emmanuel Adeb.. oh, that’s right, there is one hitch to the Roque rumor.

To add more gasoline to an already flaming bonfire, Barcelona is keen to make a swoop for Adebayor in the summer, thus adding another Arsenal dressing room “stalwart” to go right along with Thierry Henry.

“For the moment I’m very happy at Arsenal FC,” Adebayor said. “but we’ll see what happens next.”

In Togolese, “see what happens” means “when’s the next flight to Barcelona?”

Sky Sports reports that the English FA have appointed the Lord Stevens-headed Quest to undertake the auditing job of the January transfers carried out by the English Premiership clubs. Quest was also responsible for undertaking the inquiry into bungs but failed to come up with anything concrete to prosecute anyone.

FA Director of Governance Jonathan Hall says:

We are very pleased to have engaged Quest given their excellent credentials and experience. However, this transfer audit is a very different undertaking to their previous inquiry carried out for the Premier League. It will focus specifically on reviewing The FA’s processes in respect of the new Agents Regulations, assessing compliance with FA Rules and identifying any areas of poor practice within the industry.

Of course this auditing business is not an inquiry but a careful analysis of the transfers that have been going on in the top flight of English Football last month. But who knows, Lord Stevens and his comrades might well come up with a few shady-looking transfer deals.