It’s time for another installment of Sports Pundit’s weekly transfer update with a number of top European clubs making moves for quality players this week.
English Premier League
Big-spending Manchester City made the splash of the week when they went out and signed Atletico Madrid’s Argentina international Sergio Aguero for a reported €45m fee. With Carlos Tevez’s future at the club still unclear, this is an important signing.
Aston Villa also got some business done with the signing of French midfielder Charles N’Zogbia from Wigan, who have lost arguably their most important player.
It’s been a busy week for Bolton who completed a deal for ex-West Ham and Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker on a free transfer, along with moves from Chris Eagles and Tyrone Mears from Burnley, where Owen Coyle formerly worked.
Ben Foster has left Birmingham City for West Bromwich on loan, while *Boaz Myhill has gone the other way on loan.
Other moves:
David Stockdale > Fulham > Ipswich Town - Loan
Michael Johnson > Manchester City > Leicester City - Loan
Carl Dickinson > Stoke City > Watford - Undisclosed
Spanish La Liga
It’s been a particularly busy week for Javier Aguirre’s Real Zaragoza who completed a deal for Spanish goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez to join from Benfica for €8.6m. Zaragoza also landed Celtic’s Mexican full-back Efrain Juarez on loan.
Elsewhere, champions FC Barcelona have seen young striker Jeffren Suarez leave the club for Sporting Lisbon for a fee of €5m, while Sergio Aguero has left Atletico Madrid for Manchester City as previously mentioned.
Real Madrid have loaned the talented Sergio Canales to Valencia, while Sevilla sold Ivory Coast international Koffi Romaric to Turkish club Bursaspor for €2m. Cameroon international Pierre Webo has left Real Mallorca for Turkey as well, joined Eskisehirspor for €1.25m.
Other moves:
Yohan Mollo > Monaco > Granada – €1m
Jukka Raitala > Hoffenheim > Osasuna – Loan
Enrique Corrales > Real Mallorca > Espanyol – Free
Michu > Celta Vigo > Rayo Vallecano – Free
Lautaro Acosta > Sevilla > Racing - Loan
Hernan Pellerano > Almeria > Newell’s Old Boys - Loan
Italian Serie A
Italian clubs have been hit hard this week, in particular by big-spending French outfit Paris Saint-Germain. AS Roma have lost French attacker Jeremy Menez to PSG for €8m with a €1m bonus.
Elsewhere, Mali international midfielder Mohamed Sissoko have left Juventus for PSG for €7m with a €1m bonus. Palermo’s talented Argentine midfielder Javier Pastore has also moved to PSG for an undisclosed fee along with goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu.
Fiorentina’s French goalkeeper Sebastien Frey has left Florence to join Genoa for an undisclosed fee, while Atalanta Bergamo have swooped for Argentine attacking midfielder Maximiliano Moralez to join from Velez Sarsfield.
Other top clubs
In Germany, VfL Wolfsburg have completed a big move to sign international midfielder Christian Trasch from VfB Stuttgart. Stuttgart also have lost goal poacher Ciprian Marica to Schalke 04. Elsewhere, Knowledge Musona joined 1899 Hoffenheim from South African club Kaizer Chiefs.
In France, Paris Saint-Germain’s big week of spending wasn’t only directed at Italian clubs, with the Parisians completing deals for Saint-Etienne’s French forward Blaise Matuidi and Valenciennes’s Serbian defender Milan Bisevac.
In Portugal, Sporting Lisbon completed a five-year deal for French youth international Atila Turan who joins the club from Grenoble. There is reported to be a €30 million buy-out clause inserted into the deal.
In Scotland, Rangers agreed a deal with Palermo for Romanian defender Dorin Goian who has signed a three-year deal for a fee rumoured to be around €850,000. Rangers signed Hearts midfielder Lee Wallace last week.
