Soccer moves on
EXCITING TRANSFERS AND MASSIVE BIDS
THE FIFA World Cup has come and gone and the best in the business showed their respective worth on the biggest platform that is available in the footballing world.
Some flattered to deceive, while others, who were previously low-key, rose to the occasion and shone.
New heroes were born, while we bid farewell to some of the illustrious greats who have now gone.
Among the names of legendary greats, who bid farewell to the game in this tournament, were Real Madrid icon and former player Alfredo di Stefano, who died at the age of 88.
Luis Suarez showed glimpses of his talent as well as his teeth and is now close to securing the services of a new dentist in the Spanish city of Barcelona after his dream move from Anfield to the Camp Nou.
Luiz Felipe Scolari looks set to step down from his role as Brazil manager, after he lost the plot before their sensational 7-1 semi-final defeat by Germany – when he changed his tactics and team selection less than six hours before the crucial game in Belo Horizonte.
With the upcoming English football season scheduled to begin on August 15, it is going to be interesting to see which footballers are going to be playing their football at which clubs as the transfer window is still open and in full swing.
Coach Louis van Gaal, Manchester United, is now ready to make a massive bid for Real Madrid winger Angel di Maria.
He is rumoured to be surplus to requirements at the Spanish giants, who want to invest the funds received from this pending sale to secure their own primary target, James Rodriguez, from Monaco.
Colombian poster boy, Rodriguez, has been a revelation at the World Cup finals and is one of the most in-demand football stars at the moment.
While they do face serious competition from Paris Saint-Germain in trying to sign Angel di Maria from Real Madrid, Manchester United, too, have been active in the transfer market, bringing in Luke Shaw and Anders Hererra from Southampton and Atletico Bilboa respectively.
The latest word from Old Trafford is that Louis van Gaal is close to securing the signature of Chilean international midfielder Arturo Vidal before the start of the new campaign.
The transfer of former Liverpool striker, Luis Suarez, to Barcelona has been confirmed with reports suggesting the player cost the Catalan club in the region of £76 million (about R1.3 bn), making a tidy profit for Brendan Rodgers’s club in the process.
Liverpool themselves are wasting no time in strengthening their playing squad with a number of new signings supposedly in the pipeline.
While the club has already secured talent like Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert (both from Southampton) and Emre Can (Bayer Leverkusen), there is talk that Swansea City’s Ivory Coast international Wilfred Bony could be heading to Anfield in the next few days. The transfer fee is likely to be £19 million but Liverpool also face competition from other clubs for this player’s signature.
The word from Anfield is that manager, Brendan Rodgers, will be given all the proceeds of the Suarez sale to add to his Liverpool squad.
Lille’s Belgium striker Divock Origi, Southampton defender Dejan Lovren and Sevilla's Alberto Moreno are rumoured to be the next three arrivals at the Merseysiders.
The other club that is grabbing all the headlines in the transfer market in England is Arsenal.
Having bought Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid last season, in what was a sensational move at that time, Arsene Wenger has pulled off another master stroke by securing Chilean World Cup star Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona.
Wenger is reportedly close to securing the services of German midfielder Sami Khedira from Real Madrid in what will be an amazing transfer that ought to make the north London club among the front-runners for this season’s top honours.
IN OTHER TRANSFER NEWS
Manchester City midfielder Jack Rodwell is a target for no less than 12 Premiership teams, including Sunderland and Newcastle United.
Stoke City are hopeful of concluding a deal to sign Barcelona striker Bojan, who has spent time on loan with Ajax, AC Milan and Roma in the past two seasons. Relegated Fulham are poised to loan Greek international striker Kostas Mitroglou to Turkish side Besiktas.
West Bromwich Albion have targeted Hannover left-back Sebastien Pocognoli, who has had a medical at The Hawthorns ahead of his proposed transfer.
West Ham United are keen on confirming a deal for £3 million-rated defender Vitorino Antunes, although his current club, Malaga, prefer a loan deal as opposed to an outright sale. West Ham are also hoping to sign Ghana winger Christian Atsu on loan from Chelsea.
Newcastle United are set to beat Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion to the signing of Monaco striker Emmanuel Riviere.
United has a rich history of bringing in French football talent and are now also close to securing midfielder Remy Cabella from his current employers Montpellier.
Crystal Palace are poised to sign defender Steven Caulker for £8 million from relegated Cardiff City.
Wolfsburg have joined the hunt to sign Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, who is expected to leave the club this summer.
Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid are also keen on signing the player.
Newly-promoted Queens Park Rangers look poised to launch a £6 million bid for former Celtic striker Gary Hooper.
Manager Harry Redknapp is working hard behind the scenes to bring in some top class players for the new campaign but the one player who looks set to move away from QPR is Loic Remy with Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur all interested in acquiring his services.