Premier League Transfer Updates

Arsenal

Arsenal have joined Juventus in the race for Geoffrey Kondogbia, the Seville midfielder, who is valued at £14m. (Times)

In: Yaya Sanogo (Auxerre, Free).
Out: Vito Mannone (Sunderland, £1.5m), Martin Angha (FC Nuremburg, Undisclosed), Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St Petersburg, Free), Denilson (Sao Paulo, Free), Craig Eastmond (Colchester, Free), Kyle Ebecilio (FC Twente, Free), Elton Monteiro (Club Brugge, Free) , Sanchez Watt (Colchester, Free), Jordan Wynter (Bristol City, Free), Francis Coquelin (Frieburg, Loan), Johan Djourou (Hamburg, Loan), Reice Charles-Cook (Bury, Free), Andre Santos (Flamengo, Undisclosed)
Released: Samir Bihmoutinel, Daniel Boateng, Zach Fagan, Sead Harjovic, Conor Henderson, Jernade Meade, Nigel Neita, Josh Rees, Philip Roberts, James Shea, Sébastien Squillaci.

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Aston Villa

Aston Villa striker Darren Bent is likely to sign for Newcastle at some point during the transfer window. (Times)

In: Jores Okore (Nordsjaelland, £4m), Leandro Bacuna (Groningen £3m), Aleksander Tonev (Lech Poznan, £2.5m), Antonio Luna (Sevilla, £2m), Nicklas Helenius (Aalborg, £1.2m rising to £2m), Liam Prynn (Torquay, £50,000), Jed Steer (Norwich, Free).
Out: Courtney Cameron (Torquay, Free), Brett Holman (Al Nasr, Free), Eric Lichaj (Nottm Fst, Free), Jean Makoun (Rennes, Free), Derrick Williams (Bristol City, Free), Richard Dunne (QPR, Free).
Released: Calum Barrett, Joshua Barton, Daniel Devine, Andrew Marshall.
Retired: Stiliyan Petrov.

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Cardiff City

Cardiff City have agreed a €12M fee with Toulouse for defensive midfielder Etienne Capoue, however the player is yet to be convinced by the Welsh club (EPL index)

Cardiff City are believed to be interested in signing unsettled West Bromwich Albion striker Peter Odemwingie. (Super Sport)

In: Steven Caulker (Tottenham, £8m), Andreas Cornelius (FC Copenhagen, £7.5m), John Brayford (Derby County, £1.5m).
Out: None.
Released: Jese Darko, Nat Jarvis, Stephen McPhail, Elliott Parish.
Retired: Heidar Helguson.

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Chelsea

Manchester United have rejected a bid of almost £30m from Chelsea for England striker Wayne Rooney. (Sun)

Barcelona are confident that David Luiz will supplement his income sufficiently with commercial deals at the Catalan giants so he can accept a pay cut to move from Chelsea. (Times)

In: André Schürrle (Bayer Leverkusen, £18m), Marco van Ginkel (Vitesse Arnhem, £9m), Mark Schwarzer (Fulham, Free), Cristián Cuevas (O'Higgins, £3m), Stipe Perica (NK Zadar, Undisclosed).
Out: Jeffrey Bruma (PSV Eindhoven, £2.5m), Amine Aflane (Energie Cottbus, Free), Ben Gordon (Ross County, Free), Rohan Ince (Brighton, Free), Ross Turnbull (Doncaster Rovers, Free), Patrick Bamford (MK Dons, Loan), Thibaut Courtois (Atlético Madrid, Loan), Todd Kane (Blackburn, Loan), Marko Marin (Sevilla, Loan), Oriol Romeu (Valencia, Loan), George Saville (Brentford, Loan), Patrick van Aanholt (Vitesse Arnhem, Loan), Daniel Pappoe (Colchester, Loan), Milan Lalkovic (Walsall, Loan), Florent Malouda (Trabzonspor, Free), Sam Walker (Colchester, Loan).
Released: James Ashton, Samuel Bangura, Yossi Benayoun, Conor Clifford, Aziz Deen-Conteh, Hilario, Tom Howard, Archange Nkumu, Nortei Nortey, Adam Phillip.
Retired: Paulo Ferreira.

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Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace are the surprise leaders in the race to sign Aston Villa striker Darren Bent. (Mirror)

Arsenal's Marouane Chamakh has agreed to a six-month loan deal at Crystal Palace (Mirror)

In: Dwight Gayle (Peterborough, £6m), Stephen Dobbie (Brighton, £850,000), Jerome Thomas (West Brom, Free), Kevin Phillips (Blackpool, Free), Elliot Grandin (Blackpool, Free), Marouane Chamakh (Arsenal, Loan)
Out: Alex Marrow (Blackburn, Undisclosed), Jermaine Easter (Millwall, Free), Andre Moritz (Bolton, Free), Dale Banton (MK Dons, Loan).
Released: Aaron Akuruka, Kadell Daniel, Bayan Fenwick, Jack Holland.

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Everton

Everton boss Roberto Martinez is in the chase for Ajax’s Belgian defender Toby Alderweireld (Mirror)

In: Arouna Koné (Wigan, £6m), Joel Robles (Atlético Madrid, £2m), Antolín Alcaraz (Wigan, Free), Gerard Deulofeu (Barcelona, Loan).
Out: Jake Bidwell (Brentford, Undisclosed), Jasper Johns (Sheffield United, Free).
Released: Johan Hammer, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Sam Kelly, Jan Mucha.
Retired: Phil Neville.

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Fulham

Fulham are eager to sign QPR playmaker Adel Taarabt on a season-long loan. (Times)

Fulham are closing in on Sunderland's 25-year-old midfielder and former captain Lee Cattermole. (Mirror)

In: Maarten Stekelenburg (Roma, £4.76m), Sasha Riether (Cologne, £1.27m), Fernando Amorebieta (Athletic Bilbao, Free), Derek Boateng (Dnipro, Free), Ange-Freddy Plumain (Lens, Free)
Out: Mark Schwarzer (Chelsea, Free), Alex Smith (Swindon, Free), Dan Burn (Birmingham, Loan), Ryan Williams (Oxford, Loan)
Released: Chris Baird, Simon Davies, Mahamadou Diarra, Thomas Donegan, Corey Gamiero, Giorgos Karagounis, James Musa, Richard Peniket, Mladen Petric, Csaba Somogyi.

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Hull City

Hull are planning a £2m bid for Sunderland's Lee Cattermole. (Caughtoffside). Manager Steve Bruce has made the signing of a midfielder a priority for the rest of the summer. (Hull Daily Mail)

In: Curtis Davies (Birmingham, £2.25m), Ahmed Elmohamady (Sunderland, £2m), Allan McGregor (Besiktas, £1.8m), George Boyd (Peterborough, Free), Maynor Figueroa (Wigan, Free), Steve Harper (Newcastle United, Free), Yannick Sagbo (Evian, Undisclosed), Danny Graham (Sunderland, Loan)
Out: Corry Evans (Blackburn Rovers, Undisclosed), Sonny Bradley (Portsmouth, Free), Mark Cullen (Luton, Free), Andy Dawson (Scunthorpe, Free), Danny East (Portsmouth, Free), Mark Oxley (Oldham, Loan), Jack Hobbs (Nottingham Forest, Loan), Jamie Devitt (Chesterfield, Free), Tom Cairney (Blackburn, Loan).
Released: Paul McKenna, Seyi Olofinjana, Jay Simpson.

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Liverpool

Goalkeeper Pepe Reina will join Barcelona - rather than return to Liverpool - after his season-long loan with Napoli is over. (Star)

Brendan Rodgers remains insistent Luis Suarez is not for sale, although he adds that, if he were, the price tag would be closer to the £100m being touted for Gareth Bale. (Express)

In: Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo, £9m), Simon Mignolet (Sunderland, £9m), Luis Alberto (Sevilla, £6.8m), Kolo Touré (Manchester City, Free).
Out: Andy Carroll (West Ham, £15m), Jonjo Shelvey (Swansea, £5m rising to £6m), Peter Gulasci (Red Bull Salzburg, Free), Jamie Stephens (Newport, Free), Danny Wilson (Hearts, Free), Michael Ngoo (Yeovil, Loan), Suso (Almeria, Loan), Henoc Mukendi (Partick Thistle, Loan), Jack Robinson, (Blackpool, Loan), Pepe Reina (Napoli, Loan).
Released: Tyrell Belford.
Retired: Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard

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Manchester City

Juventus have launched a £12million raid for Aleksandar Kolarov. (Mirror)

City are on the verge of signing Real Madrid defender Pepe. (Manchester Evening News)

In: Fernandinho (Shakhtar Donetsk, £30m), Jésus Navas (Sevilla, £17m rising to £22.9m), Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla, £16,4m rising to £20.6m), Stevan Jovetic (Fiorentina, £22m).
Out: Carlos Tévez (Juventus, £10m rising to £12m), Jeremy Helan (Sheffield Wednesday, Undisclosed), Wayne Bridge (Reading, Free), Ryan McGivern (Hibs, Free), Roque Santa Cruz (Malaga, Free), Kolo Touré (Liverpool, Free), Maicon (Roma, Undisclosed).
Released: Filippo Mancini.

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Manchester United

Rooney has told new United manager David Moyes that he wants to leave the club and will submit a written transfer request this week. (Express)

Cristiano Ronaldo could be on his way back to Old Trafford as Manchester United and Real Madrid have spent the last 12 days thrashing out an £80 million mega-deal for the winger. (Daily Star)

In: Guillermo Varela (Penarol, £2.4m).
Out: Sean McGinty (Sheffield United, Free), Reece James (Carlisle United, Loan), Frederic Veseli (Ipswich, Free), John Cofie (Barnsley, Free), Reece Brown (Watford, Free), Ryan Tunnicliffe (Ipswich Town, Loan).
Released: Michele Fornasier, Luke Giverin, Luke Hendrie, Luke McCullough, Gyliano Van Velzen.
Retired: Paul Scholes.

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 Newcastle United

Newcastle are close to signing QPR striker Loïc Rémy, while Aston Villa striker Darren Bent is also likely to follow. (Times)

In: Olivier Kemen (Metz, Undisclosed).
Out: James Perch (Wigan, £750,000), Danny Simpson (QPR, Free), Steve Harper (Hull City, Free), Shane Ferguson (Birmingham, loan)
Released: Yven Moyo.

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Norwich City

Juventus striker Fabio Quagliarella is on the verge of leaving the club, opening the way for Norwich to make a move. (Sky Sports)

In: Ricky van Wolfswinkel (Sporting Lisbon, £8.5m), Martin Olsson (Blackburn, £2.5m), Nathan Redmond (Birmingham, £2.2m rising to £3.2m), Javier Garrido (Lazio, £1.275m), Carlo Nash (Stoke, Free), Leroy Fer (FC Twente, undisclosed), Gary Hooper (Celtic, £5m).
Out: Leon Barnett (Wigan, Undisclosed), Grant Holt (Wigan, £2m), James Vaughan (Huddersfield, £1m), Tom Adeyemi (Birmingham, Free), Olumide Durojaiye (Falkirk, Free), George Francomb (AFC Wimbledon), Chris Martin (Derby, Free), Korey Smith (Oldham, Free), Jed Steer (Aston Villa, Free), Marc Tierney (Bolton, Free), Elliott Ward (Bournemouth, Free), Declan Rudd (Preston, Loan).
Released: Lee Camp, Simeon Jackson, Ramil Sheriff.

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Southampton

Southampton are mulling a bid for Colombian striker Duvan Zapata after his transfer to West Ham fell through. (Mirror)

In: Victor Wanyama (Celtic, £12.5m), Dejan Lovren (Lyon, £8.5m).
Out: Sam Hoskins (Yeovil, Free), Ben Reeves (MK Dons, Free), Richard Chaplow (Millwall, Free), Dan Seaborne (Yeovil, Free), Steve de Ridder (Utrecht, Free), Frazer Richardson (Middlesbrough, Free).
Released: Danny Butterfield, Ryan Dickson, Tommy Forecast, Alberto Seidi.

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Stoke City

Stoke City have joined the host of Premier League clubs battling for Scott Sinclair’s signature. (Off The Post)

In: Erik Pieters (PSV Eindhoven, £3m), Alex Grant (Portsmouth, Free), Marc Muniesa (Barcelona, Free).
Out: Matthew Lund (Rochdale, Free), Carlo Nash (Norwich, Free), Matthew Upson (Brighton, Free), Dean Whitehead (Middlesbrough, Free), Rory Delap (Burton Albion, Free).
Released: Michael Clarkson, Matthew Gledhill, Jadan Hall, Andrew Musunga, Jermaine Pennant, George Rigg, Mamady Sidibe.
Retired: Michael Owen.

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Sunderland

In: Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar, £6.5m), Emanuele Giaccherini (Juventus, £6.5m), Vito Mannone (Arsenal, £1.5m), David Moberg Karlsson (IFK Gothenburg, £1.5m), El-Hadji Ba (Le Havre, £380,000), Duncan Whatmore (Altrincham, Undisclosed), Cabral (Basel, Free), Modibo Diakité (Lazio, Free), Valentin Roberge (Maritimo, Free), Jordan Pickford (Burton Albion, Loan).
Out: Simon Mignolet (Liverpool, £9m), Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull, £2m), Matt Kilgallon (Blackburn, Free), Adam Reed (Burton, Free), Ryan Noble (Burnley, Free), Danny Graham (Hull City, Loan), Alfred N'Diaye (Eskisehirspor, Loan).
Released: Titus Bramble, Anthony Callaghan, Wade Joyce, Matt Kilgallon, Ben Wilson.

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Swansea City

Arsenal could make a bid for Swansea captain Ashley Williams to ease their defensive injury worries. (Mirror)

In: Wilfried Bony (Vitesse Arnhem, £12m), Jonjo Shelvey (Liverpool, £5m rising to £6m), Jordi Amat (Espanyol, £2.5m), Alejandro Pozuelo (Real Betis, £425,000), Gregor Zabret (NK Domzale, Undisclosed), José Cañas (Real Betis, Free), Alex Gogic (Olympiakos, Free), Jonathan de Guzman (Villareal, Loan), Jernade Meade (Unattached, Free).
Out: Kemy Agustien (Brighton, Free), David Cornell (St Mirren, Free), Mark Gower (Charlton, Free), Kyle Bartley (Birmingham, Loan), Gwion Edwards (St Johnstone, Loan), Alan Tate (Yeovil, Loan)

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Tottenham Hotspur

Florentino Pérez, the Real Madrid president, insisted he does not want the cash part of Gareth Bale's proposed transfer to exceed £83m. (Times)

Tottenham say Alvaro Morata, the Spain Under-21 international, must be a part of any deal for Bale. (Independent)

In: Roberto Soldado (Valencia, £26m), Paulinho (Corinthians, £17m), Nacer Chadli (FC Twente, £7m).
Out: Steven Caulker (Cardiff City, £7m), John Bostock (Royal Antwerp, Free), Jack Bartram, Nathan Byrne (both Swindon, Free), Grant Hall, Massimo Luongo, Alex Pritchard, Ryan Mason (all Swindon, Loan), Tomislav Gomelt (Royal Antwerp, Loan), Adam Smith (Derby, Loan), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders, Undisclosed).
Released: David Bentley, William Gallas, Jack Munns, Jake Nicholson.

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West Bromwich Albion

West Brom in talks with Salomon Kalou, (27), over a £40,000-a-week move to the Hawthorns. (Sun)

In: Nicolas Anelka (Shanghai Shenhua, Free), Diego Lugano (Paris Saint-Germain, Free), Goran Popov (Dynamo Kiev, Loan).
Out: Marc-Antoine Fortuné (Wigan, Free), James Hurst (Valur, Free), Gonzalo Jara Reyes (Nottingham Forest, Free), Jerome Thomas (Crystal Palace, Free), Romaine Sawyers (Walsall, Free), Scott Allan (Birmingham, Loan)
Released: Zoltan Gera.

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West Ham United

Sam Allardyce has plans to pair Werder Bremen's 24-year-old Austrian striker Marko Arnautovic with Andy Carroll in attack. (Daily Mail)

In: Andy Carroll (Liverpool, £15m), Danny Whitehead (Stockport, Undisclosed), Adrián (Real Betis, Free), Razvan Rat (Shakhtar Donetsk, Free).
Out: Robert Hall (Bolton, Compensation), Jake Larkins (Leyton Orient, Free).
Released: Carlton Cole, Gary O’Neil, Jack Powell, Jami Rafati, Eoin Wearen.

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Eid-el-Fitri: F.G declares public holidays on Thursday and Friday

Nigeria’s Federal Government has declared Thursday 8 August and Friday 9 August as public holidays to mark the 2013 Eid-el-Fitri celebration.

According to a statement issued in Abuja on Monday on behalf of the Minister of Interior, Mr Abba Moro, Muslim faithful were urged to use the spiritual benefits of Ramadan to contribute to the development of the nation.

The statement also urged Nigerians to exploit the spiritual benefits of love, joy and peace in their daily living and to use the opportunity of the holidays to reflect on the imperative of peace in nation building.

The statement was signed by Mrs. Fatima Bamidele, permanent secretary in the ministry.

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New Video: OCHANYA BY @theAYOOLA ft @phynofino

Project Fame season 5 winner Ayoola, who was " out" of the scene, if you ask me I didn't know him.. *just saying* buh hey,he gets back with a beautiful joint with phyno..
Enjoy jare.

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FASHOLA Loses Dad

Lagos State Gov. Babatunde Fashola (SAN)

Pa. Ademola Fashola

The incumbent Governor of Lagos State,  Babatunde Fashola SAN, in the early hours of today lost his biological dad after a protracted illness at the age of 79 (he would have been 80 in September).

Fashola who was on holy pilgrimage to Mecca, cut short his trip and is back in Nigeria for his father's burial tomorrow. Pa. Ademola Fashola will be buried at the Vaults and Gardens, Ikoyi Lagos by 1 P.M, Tuesday, 6th Aug, 2013. This was confirmed in a statement by the special adviser to the governor on media and publicity, Hakeem Bello who quoted the Chief of staff to the governor.

The deseased is survived by wives, children, grand children and great-grand children among whom are the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Arinola Fuwa, Olayinka Fashola, Ademola Fashola, Omolara Fashola, Adewale Fashola, Ademola Fashola Jnr. and Ademola Keji Fashola.

Princeagama.blogspot.com sympathizes with Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola.

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Wizkid Ayo (@wizkidayo) loses 12million over greed??

Another baseless Tale or the truth?? Culled from Nigeria news;
It is no longer news, that Star Boy, Ayo ‘Wizkid’ Balogun, will not be performing at this year’s edition of the annual Nigerian Breweries PLC sponsored musical concert roadshow, Star Trek, the main reason why the artiste was dropped has been revealed. Inside sources privy to how the recruitment and negotiation of fee for  artistes for the concert are conducted said that the inability of the organizers and WizKid’s managers to agree on performance fee led to the musician’s absence from the oldest musical concert in the country. The source said that WizKid was offered N3 million per show and allotted four shows which would have seen him pocket a grand sum of N12 million but his managers allegedly turned it down on the grounds that it was too small for the highflying artiste. The original aim of turning the offer down according to our source, “was to force the organisers to increase the amount to N5 million per show. However, the marketing strategy backfired as Nigerian Breweries’ management called the bluff of the musician and his managers and replaced him with two other musicians for less the amount offered WizKid.” It was further revealed that when it dawned on WizKid that the organisers were not ready to add a dime to the N3 million offered him per show, he ran back to the Iganmu, the headquarters of the Lagos-based alcoholic drink brewers, this time, through long time mentor, Banky W. On getting there, Wizzy was told that he had been replaced by two other artistes and should try his luck next year.

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