Football Rumours – 31 July 2009

Here’s a quick round-up of transfer rumours doing the rounds in Europe. Xabi Alonso has put in a transfer request which will see him seal his move to Spanish giants Real Madrid. A fee of £30 million has been quoted in the press. Another of Liverpool’s stars Javier Mascherano is also biding time in order to secure a move to Catalan superpower Barcelona. In a very underwhelming scenario, Liverpool are looking at Lee Cattermole and Michael Turner to replace the departing pair. Arsene Wenger is poised to make a shock bid for former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira. Also, Wenger wants Saint-Ettiene midfielder Blaise Matuidi to be Vieira’s understudy at the Emirates Stadium. Tottenham are ready to offer Andreas Dossena an escape route after his move to Napoil snapped due to wage problems. He might be joined at the White Hart Lane by Klass Jan Huntelaar as Redknapp refused to rule out a move for him even after signing Peter Crouch.

Elsewhere, Aston Villa are launching an ambitious £12 million bid for West Ham centre back Matthew Upson. Villa need defensive reinforcements after the sale of Knight and retirement of Laursen – hence Upson constitutes as a good signing. Fulham have made a cheeky £2 million bid for Robert Huth offering him a return to Premier League football. Portsmouth’s expected signing of Hadjuk Split striker Nikola Kalinic has hit a snag due to the two clubs disagreeing on how the £5.5m fee would be paid out.

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