Transfer Deadline 2011: News And Rumors From EPL, Serie A, La Liga And More

The Israeli international will play in his country’s upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers then join his new club in North London. There were initially some work permit concerns, but the work permit proved to not be the slightest of issues so Benayoun will join the Gunners for a year.

For everything on Arsenal transfer rumours and news, visit the Short Fuse.

For more Villarreal transfer news and rumors, check out SBNation’s Villarreal blog, VillarrealUSA

Gago has found it difficult to get on the field at the Bernabeu. He was signed from Boca Juniors and got playing time from the start. His playing time decreased a bit though until Jose Mourinho arrived last year though when he was completely pushed aside. He played just seven times last season and then Madrid brought in Nuri Sahin, sealing Gago’s fate.

At the moment, Simone Perrotta and Fabio Simplicio are the first choice central midfielders for Roma, but both are aging. Whether because of need to rest the two or the likelihood of the two older players to be injured, Roma could use another quality midfielder and they have one in Gago. Some may have forgotten just how good Gago is because it has been so long since he played regularly, but he’s a 25-year-old who was playing more than 40 times per season for Madrid not too long ago. It’s tough to see this move as anything except tremendous for Roma.

“I thank everyone involved in the move, I wish Real Zaragoza, the loving and exciting fans, as well as my former teammates all the best,” the 27 year-old Nigerian told a press conference. “The new phase in my career starts here now and I look forward to an exciting time in the colours of my new club.“Classy words from the exciting striker, though they don’t really explain what actually went on between the three clubs involved in this deal. Reports indicate that there was some talk before the deal between the three teams, so it is likely that this was a pre-arranged move, rather than an impulsive one from Villarreal as was originally reported.

Uche is a dangerous forward with lots of pace who has the ability to take defenders on off the dribble, and make lightning-quick penetrating runs into space. He’ll be an important reinforcement for this recently-promoted Granada squad, who will be locked in a relegation battle all year.

For all things Real Madrid, why not check out Managing Madrid?

Anyway, Santos played 54 games for Fenerbache between 2009 and 2011, scoring ten goals in the process. He’s a two-ways fullback, although just how good he is at attacking and defending largely depends on who you happen to be asking. Arsene Wenger praised (of course he did) his new man’s quality, highlighting Santos’ versatility, while the club revealed that the 28-year-old was be signed to a long-term contract and wear the number eleven jersey.

For everything on Arsenal transfer rumours and news, visit the Short Fuse.

The fee is undisclosed but believed to be in the region of £6M, which represents good business for each of Tottenham West Ham and Parker, who are all benefiting from the move. Spurs receive a talented midfielder who vastly strengthens their flagging centre, West Ham shed payroll they couldn’t afford after relegation, and Parker gets to play top level football again. Everyone’s a winner!

For the latest in Tottenham Hotspur rumours and news, visit Cartilage Free Captain.

This is being lauded as a brave move for Cole, because so few English footballers succeed overseas and the’ll have to deal with a culture shift etc, but that’s kind of silly when you look at all of the foreign players coming into the Premier League, who never get lauded for their bravery in having deal with England. If not brave, this is interesting, and I suspect most are curious to see just how Cole does in his new surroundings. It’s probably a little bit late on to tap into that undeveloped talent of his, but you never know.

Due to his high-profile flop at Stamford Bridge and his indifferent performances in an England shirt, Wright-Phillips’ early form, when he burst onto the scene as a young goalscoring winger with City tends to be forgotten. It’s doubtful that the 29-year-old will regain the form of yesteryear, but he doesn’t have to to be worth a flier for a team that needs help, and QPR, like every club up from the Championship, need help.

The sordid tale of 19-year-old American Gale Agbossoumonde took another interesting turn on Tuesday when he was apparently loaned out to 2. Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt. Agbossoumonde’s contract is still owned by Brazilian agency Traffic Sports. Since signing a 3.5-year deal in 2009, Boss, as he’s commonly known, has played for in various leagues around the world, never for very long.

Among his stops have been Miami FC, then of USSF Division 2; Sporting Braga, a Portuguese team where he never made a league appearance; and, most recently, with Swedish side Djurgården. There had been rumors that Bundesliga side FC Koln had been interested in purchasing his rights, but nothing has since materialized.

The reports state that Getafe will have an obligation to buy Leon at the end of the loan period for €6 million. Seeing as they were paid €10 millon for him just a year ago, they managed to not get relegated, and Real Madrid will be paying part of his wages this season, Getafe made out like bandits in this deal. However, even with the addition of Leon, Getafe have a fairly weak squad and will struggle to challenge for a European place.

For more Real Madrid news and transfer rumors, check out SB Nation’s Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid.

For the latest on Liverpool transfer news and rumours, check out Anfield Asylum.

Needless to say, the deal which “could happen today,” according to Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath, would be a win for all parties involved: the poor Bielorussian won’t have to spend his prime wasting away on the bench, Barcelona won’t have to pay his salary, and Wolfsburg will acquire a serviceable central midfielder to replace recently loaned-out Diego. Win-win-win.

While the terms of the deal have not yet been solidified, it seems like a no-brainer if Wolfsburg are really interested; if not, they could take the opportunity to throw out a super low-ball offer, and see if Barça will take the bait (which is something they should probably do anyways). If everything runs smoothly, we will have the pleasure of once again seeing Alexander Hleb play football on a real pitch in a real match.

Ruiz, 26, has been excellent in his spell with Twente, scoring 39 times in 61 matches, and he also has almost 50 international caps for Costa Rica. His track record of scoring goals means that 11M was about the cheapest that he was going to go for, but Ruiz is also a very well-rounded player who can play almost anywhere on the forward line, coming in off the wings or holding off play as well as being a lethal finisher. Fulham fans are going to be very pleased with their new forward, one suspects.

For the latest in Fulahm transfer rumours and news, visit Cottager Confidential.

At six foot six inches, Martesacker stands at three Andrei Arshavins tall and will add a much-needed physical presence to what has recently been a worryingly frail Arsenal back line team. It’s unclear just how much he’s been bought for or what sort of wages Arsenal will be paying the German international, but considering the club is swimming in money and desperately needed defensive help, this is probably a pretty good buy.

For the latest in Arsenal transfer rumours and news, check out The Short Fuse.

Atlético Madrid have agreed to terms with German side Wolfsburg to acquire Brazilian playmaker Diego on loan for the next season. Atlético directors Clemente Villaverde and José Luís Pérez Caminero flew to Wolfsburg yesterday to negotiate for the Brazilian, and will fly back to Madrid today with a one year loan deal. With this signing, Atleti will close their squad for the rest of the year.

A few years ago, Diego was one of the absolute pearls of the Bundesliga, scoring majestic goals in the mold of Kaká or Portugal’s Deco; since then, his name has been bandied about every year, but nothing has come of the rumors. Incidentally, he’s still a top-quality player with an incredible eye for the game and knack for making the right pass at the right time.

Santon has every chance of succeeding in England, and if he fulfills his potential he may not be at Newcastle for very long. For the sorts of figures that were being bandied around for the fullback, however - 5M according to most reports - the Magpies won’t mind if he moves on one bit. There’s a tidy profit in it for them along with the services of a very good player.

For the latest in Newcastle transfer news and rumours, visit Coming Home Newcastle.

Less than one year after making his move to Atletico Madrid from Corinthians, Brazilian international central midfielder Elias is on the move again, for about the same price he was purchased for. Sporting Clube de Portugal, better known to most of the English-speaking world as Sporting Lisbon, has picked him up to strengthen their midfield, according to reports out of Portugal.

Elias was fantastic with Corinthians in Brazil, but was fairly average during his half of a year at Atletico Madrid. Still, he’s a fairly young player with a great track record, while Atletico Madrid are incredibly thin in the middle. The move is worth €8.8 million, which isn’t really a win for anyone. Atletico sell a player at a thin position and don’t make a profit on him, while Sporting spend a good deal of money on a player who has failed to impress in his time in Europe. Time will tell whether or not this works out well for either team.

Yeah, they probably will understand. Over to you then, Tottenham?

33 year-old David Trezeguet, who spent last season with recently-relegated la Liga side Hércules, has agreed to a contract with United Arab Emirates side Baniyas that will pay him €2 million per year. Trezeguet, who was instrumental in France’s 1998 World Cup triumph, passed a medical examination in Abu Dhabi today, and put ink to paper on his new contract.

This news will come as a minor blow to Scottish side Celtic, who had entered into negotiations with the player and his representatives last week. According to sources, Celtic is in the market for a new center forward, and Trezeguet could have been a relatively low cost fix. They had also been linked to Portuguese side Maritimo’s striker Baba Diawara, though their interest has cooled in the last few days.

Yesterday, Santon’s agent claimed that negotiations with Newcastle were ongoing and that Santon had turned down a move to AS Roma. Then, today, Sky Sports News claimed via twitter that a deal is done and that Santon will become a Newcastle player. There’s nothing on either Inter Milan or Newcastle’s official site confirming or denying the news, but we expect to have it soon.

Santon can play either right or left fullback and has extensive experience in Serie A and the UEFA Champions League, an impressive resume for a player of his age. If Newcastle bring him in at a reasonable price, it could be a serious transfer coup.

nPower Championship side Leicester City have been looking for an impact player to flash the cash at, and it seems as though they’ve settled on a target: Glasgow Rangers striker Nikica Jelavic, he of the 18 goals in 28 Scottish Premier League matches. Leicester, of course, are both in need of a striker and filthy rich, so they might as well bring in a legitimate talent, and Jelavic fits the bill.

However, Rangers aren’t ready to give up on their classy forward, and the Foxes’ £6.5M offer hasn’t swayed them so far. Leicester are almost certainly going to come in with a better bid at some point in order to sort out their problems up front, and it’ll be interesting to see how both teams handle this over the next couple of days. It’s definitely something to keep one’s eye on and could have a major impact on the battle for promotion to the Premier League