Indeed, it’s a surprise to many of us that Charles Insomnia, sorry N’Zogbia, has stuck around at St James’ Park for so long. The Frenchman seems to have been trying to engineer a move away from Tyneside for some time now, linking himself to Spurs and Arsenal, despite the North London clubs not showing much in the way of interest. Now Setanta report that Wigan are taking a punt on this clearly talented player who needs a fresh start the way a fish needs water.

N’Zogbia vowed to never play for The Magpies again after Kinnear referred to him as Charles ‘Insomnia’ following their midweek defeat to Manchester City.

Kinnear excused his faux-pas as a slip of the tongue and accused the player of trying to engineer a move away from St James Park.

N’Zogbia’s £6.5 million transfer is thought to involve Wigan’s Ryan Taylor moving in the opposite direction.

Not a bad bit of business for Newcastle, especially if Taylor scores as prolifically for United as he did when playing against them. The ex-Tranmere full back is arguably on a par with N’Zogbia, although Steve Bruce has done well recruiting players for cut-price deals before flogging them for vastly more than he paid for them. Are Magpies fans glad to see the back of a player who clearly didn’t want to be at the club?

Everton were another side near the bottom of the division, until 1-0 wins against Bolton and Fulham steered them up the table. Nevertheless, it goes to show that a run of wins from any team can send them shooting up the Premier League, and leave someone else in the mire. ESPN reports that David Moyes is predicting a wide open relegation race this season.

“I think a lot of teams will be involved in the relegation battle. We have seen a few teams down at the bottom picking up points that nobody expected. We have won a couple, but then so have several sides at the bottom. The situation has been turned on it’s head again.

“I don’t know how this will work out, and what points total people will need. Over the years it was said that it was 40 points for safety, but it was lower than that last season.

“It is very difficult to judge, but at the moment things are very tight.”

Which teams do you reckon will be going down this season? Everton are now seventh and appear to be moving in the right direction, and Tottenham fans surely expect to see their team clamber out of the drop zone. Are supporters of Wigan, West Brom, Fulham and Bolton concerned about the possibility of relegation, and will Stoke and Hull City manage to keep clear of trouble?

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The Daily Mail report that Birmingham are getting sick to the back teeth of Bruce nicking all their backroom staff, who are joining him at Wigan. Eric Black, Nigel Spink and Will Royall have all made the switch and the Midlands club want to bring an end to this or they’ll be pressing charges.

Sullivan’s co-owner, David Gold, speaking on behalf of the board, said: ‘The Premier League states you are not allowed to poach other people’s staff. What do we want? Compensation. It’s not sour grapes.

‘All of these people had to be replaced and most have cost us. While people are saying we got £3m for Steve Bruce that does not allow Wigan to rape and pillage us for the next 20 years.’

A Wigan source said: ‘Along with the management staff, we have signed Wilson Palacios, Daniel de Ridder and Olivier Kapo. They didn’t take up the option on Palacios, gave de Ridder a free transfer and received their money back on Kapo. So we cannot understand what all this fuss is about.’

It’s perfectly normal for a manager to leave a club and want to bring his backroom staff with him. However, there’s been bad blood between Bruce and Birmingham’s co-owners ever since the former left the club for Wigan, with a dispute over image rights creating a storm which still hasn’t died down.

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The Daily Mail report that Boro have agreed a fee with Wigan for Lee Cattermole, with a deal close to completion for the tough-tackling player. With George Boateng also having jumped ship to Hull, does that leave a gaping chasm in the middle of the park?

Boro manager Gareth Southgate told the club’s official website, www.mfc.co.uk: ‘We have had a revised offer from Wigan and we felt that he was probably not in the right frame of mind to play.

‘It’s not a done deal, but the offer gives us something to consider and we thought for all parties it was best for him not to play.

‘It’s not agreed, but it’s pretty close to what we are looking for. He is still our player and with us on the trip, but something could happen in the next 24 hours.’

It was rumoured last season that Liverpool were in the hunt for Catts, although they ended up signing Javier Mascherano on a permanent basis instead. Steve Bruce is clearly showing his intent, with this kind of signing, with the midfielder one of the best players for Middlesbrough in the past couple of season. Boro fans, are you worried ahead of next season?

One reason for Fulham fans to be cheerful has been the presence of Jimmy Bullard in their squad. This popular midfielder returned from a serious knee injury last season and played a vital role in ensuring the club remained in the Premier League. However, the Daily Mail report that Steve Bruce has asked permission to speak with the player concerning a return to his former club. Will he be granted his wish?

Fulham midfielder Jimmy Bullard could be heading back to Wigan, who have asked for permission to speak to him two years after he moved to Craven Cottage in a £2.5m deal.

Bullard’s original reason for leaving Wigan was his desire to live in the south of England, although perhaps he sees a club going places in the guise of the Latics, while sometimes players need some fresh impetus after returning from a long-term injury. Nevertheless, it’s hard to see Fulham agreeing to sell one of their best players, that would surely leave them in the mire!

The Independent reports that:

Everton manager David Moyes have been linked with a move for the Tottenham striker Darren Bent as Fulham emerged as the latest club to be interested in signing Andy Johnson. Bent is surplus to requirements at White Hart Lane, though a stumbling block to any deal could be Spurs’ insistence on recouping most of the £16.5m the forward cost from Charlton last summer. Meanwhile, it is reported that Johnson, who joined Everton from Crystal Palace two years ago, is keener on a return to London. That will disappoint both Sunderland and Wigan, who are both strongly interested in the England forward, with Fulham expected to make a bid this week. (Independent)

Wherever Johnson ends up, one thing is certain – David Moyes must be pleased with the amount of interest that his striker is generating, even though he professes not to want to sell him. What must be worrying to Evertonians though is that Everton are having to sell in the first place; do Everton’s transfer funds lie in an Andy Johnson sale?

Argentina international Milito, a clever forward with outstanding aerial ability, has emerged as front-runner to take over the soon to be departed Johnson’s mantle.

Real Zaragoza were relegated from La Liga last season but that did not stop Milito maintaining an outstanding average of scoring a goal every two games. He was second top scorer in Spain in 2006/2007 with 25, just two behind Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Everton – who are also keeping tabs on Tottenham’s Darren Bent – could face competition for Milito’s signature from newly promoted Stoke City but they would be favourites to sign the 29-year-old on a 12-month loan deal. (Liverpool Daily Post)

There is no doubt that Milito has pedigree, and with Stoke the only other reported English club sniffing around him, he could be a great addition to Everton’s foward line.

Wigan manager Steve Bruce is ready to smash the club’s transfer record with a £8million bid for Everton striker Andy Johnson.

Bruce will try to outbid rivals Middlesbrough, West Ham, Manchester City and Aston Villa for the England forward. (Daily Mail)

So what makes all these clubs think that they can turn AJ back into a goal machine?

Long-running transfer sagas have beset most Premier League outfits. With Arsenal chasing Nasri (almost a done deal), Liverpool chasing Barry, Tottenham eyeing up Bentley (among others), Manchester United wanting Berbatov and Chelsea wanting Kaka.

Other seemingly-endless rumours connect the following players with these interested clubs

Arsenal – David Villa, Karim Benzema
Aston Villa – David Bentley
Blackburn Rovers – Joey Barton
Bolton – Johann Elmander
Chelsea – Ronaldinho
Everton – Darren Bent
Fulham – Steve Finnan, Kris Boyd
Hull City – Peter Halmosi
Liverpool – David Villa, Gareth Barry, James Milner
Manchester City – Jo, Ronaldinho
Manchester United – Dimitar Berbatov, Wesley Sneidjer
Middlesbrough – Paul Robinson, Jimmy Bullard
Newcastle United – Aaron Lennon
Portsmouth – Peter Crouch
Stoke City – Randolph Austin
Sunderland – Aiden McGeady
Tottenham – Diego Capel, David Villa
West Bromwich Albion – Ferrie Bodde
West Ham United – Andy Johnson, James Harper
Wigan Athletic – Dave Kitson

This is your chance to tell your fellow fans who, of the myriad of targets, your manager should actually bid cold hard cash for.

So who is the ONE player you think your club should sign this summer?

ASTON VILLA will lead a £7million chase for Everton striker Andy Johnson.

But they face competition for AJ from Wigan, Middlesbrough and West Ham. (The Sun)

Johnson – who could have pursued a career as a sub-standard and pint-sized Beckham lookalike if he hadn’t decided to be a sub-standard Premier League striker instead, was at one point Everton’s record signing, but AJ’s goals have been few and far between, especially for a former record signing. Will the Goodison faithful be sad to see him go?