What's Happened to Aaron Lennon?

With Tottenham's $30 million acquisition of David Bentley yesterday from Blackburn, it would appear that the meaningful tenure of Aaron Lennon, who was a boy wonder and the next big thing in English soccer just a few years ago, at White Hart Lane is over.

At 14, Lennon signed a cleat-sponsorship contract with Adidas, becoming the youngest player in Premiership history ever to do so. Lennon then became the youngest player to appear in a Premiership game -- 16 years, 129 days old -- when he entered as a substitute for Leeds, ironically at White Hart Lane against Tottenham in August 2003, right at the end of the West Yorkshire club's glory days. By the age of 18, Lennon had already played in 38 league games for Leeds, and it seemed like the sky was the limit for the speedy right winger.

Leeds then struggled with the most high-profile financial difficulties I've seen in any professional sport in a long, long time. A club that was a regular participant in European competitions and top-five team in England for most of the 1990's and into the early years of this decade suffered a dramatic fall from grace at the hands of inept ownership. The club was forced to sell a slew of quality players, most of whom were bought originally with money it didn't have, instead using loans to finance the deals, to pay off mounting debts, including Rio Ferdinand, Paul Robinson, Mark Viduka, Jonathan Woodgate, Lee Bowyer, James Milner, Scott Carson, Robbie Keane, and Alan Smith.

Lennon was sold during this period as well, as Leeds made a $2 million profit by moving the youngster to Tottenham in June 2005. He had a solid, if not great, year in his first season with Spurs, evidenced by the nomination by his fellow players for the PFA Young Player of the Year award, which was eventually won by Wayne Rooney. In October of '05, Lennon earned a call-up to the England U-21 team and after just three appearances for head coach Peter Taylor, he was picked in May for the 2006 World Cup squad by Sven-Göran Eriksson, despite having not even earned one senior cap at that point. The 19-year-old Lennon came off the bench twice in that World Cup, acquitting himself well for his age.

Lennon had another good year in 2006-2007, again being nominated for the Young Player of the Year award, although he again did not win. Tottenham obviously believed he was a big part of their future, signing him in January to a new contract that ran through 2012, replacing the first contract extension he'd inked in March of '06. At the end of the '06-'07 season, Lennon had established himself as a first-team regular under Jol, playing in 53 league games and 17 more in domestic cup competitions and the UEFA Cup combined.

He had it all: blindingly quick feet, a place in the England setup, a prominent role on a London-based club, good looks, and plenty of money. He was still very young, and although his skills were still raw, the vast potential was patently obvious. People were talking about him as the successor to David Beckham on England's right wing. He was playing for a club that was the best of the rest outside the "Big Four". With his slight stature (5'5", one of the smallest players in Premiership history) and build, he did have some difficulty staying injury-free in such a physical league, but when he was healthy, he was very good.

Then, as I talked about in yesterday's post, Jol was fired unceremoniously and replaced by Juande Ramos, who is the polar opposite of the player-friendly Dutchman. Ramos brought changes to North London immediately, making it clear that it was his way or the highway. He replaced England's starting goalkeeper and obviously a shoo-in starter under Jol, Paul Robinson, with longtime backup Radek Černý. He brought in a dietary and fitness staff to improve the poor consumption habits of the largely English roster and get them into top physical shape. He tried to put an end to the drinking culture that was and is a big part of the lives of British players.

His strict régime brought out the best in some players on the field, particularly Jermaine Jenas and Tom Huddlestone, but seems to have had a negative effect on others, like Lennon. After Spurs' Carling Cup final triumph over Chelsea on February 24, a group of players, including Lennon, went out to a nightclub and partied until the late hours of the next morning. Pictures of the players in various states of drunkenness and belligerence immediately surfaced in the media, and Ramos was not happy. From that point on, Lennon seemed to figure less and less into Ramos' plans, and his poor on-field performances and continued problems staying fit didn't help matters either.

Lennon's development has stalled considerably under Ramos, and now that David Bentley is in the mix, one would expect that Lennon may be on the way out. Ramos didn't spend big money on Bentley to sit him on the bench. He can't play two right wingers at the same time, and with the return from injury of Gareth Bale, who can play either left back or left midfield, and Giovani Dos Santos and Luka Modrić now on the roster, it's unlikely that Lennon would move to the left.

He's still only 21, so the potential is still there. He's got some mileage on his legs now, though, and most of the teams in the running for UEFA Cup places (Aston Villa, Portsmouth, Everton, West Ham) already have starters at Lennon's position. There seems to be an opening at Manchester City, another UEFA Cup contender, but it's unclear whether new manager Mark Hughes would be interested. This guy was a star-in-the-making and he's going to catch on somewhere, but he's probably going to have to take a step backwards in the short term to advance his career in the long term. For a player rated so highly as a youngster, it's fascinating how quickly his career seems to have regressed.

Sour Grapes From Daniel Levy

After the gutless manner in which former manager Martin Jol was fired last October, only learning of his sacking through a text message sent to his nephew, I knew never to expect anything of significance handled with class by club chairman Daniel Levy. Levy had also repeatedly denied in public that he was going to replace Jol with Juande Ramos, and guess what, he did just that. During his tenure at White Hart Lane, Levy has developed an unflattering reputation with a significant contingent of Tottenham supporters and other higher-ups across the Premiership for relying on politics rather than doing what makes soccer sense.

Levy demonstrated his own stupidity once again in the past couple days with his comments regarding Robbie Keane's $40 million move to Liverpool. He would have the public believe that Tottenham was a helpless victim in the matter, and big, bad Liverpool bullied his club around and railroaded him into selling the Irish striker:

"I have already made my opinion clear on the nature of this transaction. I don't regard it as a transfer deal - that is something which happens between two clubs when they both agree to trade - this is very much an enforced sale, for which we have agreed a sum of £19 million as compensation plus a potential further £1.3 million in additional compensation."

He also effectively accused Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez of tapping-up after Benitez had praised Keane's abilities in the media, although to be fair, he didn't pursue his claims any further than that. Liverpool made a donation to Tottenham's primary charity in acknowledgement that Benitez's comments were inappropriate, but that was unnecessary.

I don't see where Levy gets off saying any of what he said. He didn't have to sell Keane, who was under contract with the North London club until 2010. He had a choice in the matter, and he agreed to the move. Tottenham are in better financial shape than Liverpool as it is, so Spurs didn't exactly need the money. Liverpool didn't force Levy into anything. How can he not call it a "transfer deal", which, according to his own words, has to be agreed upon, when clearly it was. If it wasn't, Keane wouldn't be allowed to go anywhere.

To say that a potential $40.6 million is just "compensation" is insulting to those who work far harder than Levy for exponentially smaller salaries. It also implies that Keane was stolen from Tottenham without consent, and Liverpool just threw some money out of the rear window while escaping with the player to make everything better.

As for his comments aimed at Benitez, give me a break. What exactly is the definition of tapping-up? Robbie Keane is many things, some positive and some negative, but ignorant isn't one of them. He knows other clubs would love to benefit from his services. The guy is good for at least 15 goals per season, so of course he's in demand. His agent, Struan Marshall, also represents Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, and Keane is good friends with both of the Liverpool stalwarts, who surely talked to Keane about coming to Anfield at some point or another. Keane supported Liverpool as a boy like many other Irishmen, and it was his lifelong dream to play for the club.

Levy is nothing more than a spoiled sore loser who whines and moans when he doesn't get his way. As he showed during the Jol situation and now with Keane, Levy is as fickle as they come. He possesses the wrong personal traits to succeed as an executive in professional sports, and Tottenham's accomplishments over the last three seasons (Carling Cup, two 5th-place finishes, and appearances in the UEFA Cup Round of 16 and Quarterfinals) have come in spite of him, not because of him.

Martin O'Neill Would Be Wise To Play Barry This Weekend

In one of my recent poll questions, which you can find on the left-hand side of the homepage underneath the blog archive, I asked which story you believed to be the biggest so far this summer. One of the choices was Gareth Barry and his desire to leave Aston Villa for Liverpool, and although I can't remember the exact number, it got its fair share of votes.

Villa is a club on the rise, with young but underappreciated stars in Ashley Young (I can't emphasize enough just how high I am on him), and Gabriel Agbonlahor, and some very useful players like John Carew, Nigel Reo-Coker, Martin Laursen, and Wilfred Bouma. They had the smallest senior roster in the Premiership last season, but the quality of their young players and middle-aged veterans was enough to surprise many outsiders.

Losing Scott Carson and Olof Mellberg is a tough blow for manager Martin O'Neill, who led this team to a 7th-place finish last year and a place in the Intertoto Cup this summer, but he's already been working the transfer market, bringing in Steve Sidwell from Chelsea and Brad Guzan from Chivas USA. O'Neill is also actively shopping for a right back, and is close to acquiring Brad Friedel from Blackburn if you choose to believe various reports.

Barry is Villa's captain and has spent just over a decade at the club. He has established himself as one of the top central midfielders in the Premiership, catapulting into England's starting lineup alongside Owen Hargreaves in the process. He's also capable of playing left back and on the left in a diamond-shaped midfield, and that kind of versatility is always a plus.

As I'm sure all of you read or heard about a couple weeks ago, Barry was banned from training and club premises by his manager and fined $120,000 (two weeks' salary) basically in response to Barry's public comments regarding his desire to move to Liverpool. Barry has made it fairly clear that he'd like to go to Anfield and play in the Champions League with his good friend, Steven Gerrard, and questioned O'Neill's commitment to bringing in more firepower.

Barry also called O'Neill out right after Euro 2008, saying the manager had time to be a television pundit but not to reach out and communicate with his captain. Liverpool and Villa have been discussing a transfer all summer long, but the two clubs haven't been able to agree on cash valuations or player swaps combined with cash to get the deal done. O'Neill has admitted that although he would like Barry to stay, for the right price, he could leave.

On July 16, though, Barry returned to training, three days before Villa went to Denmark and picked up two critical away goals in a 2-2 draw against Odense BK in the third round of the Intertoto Cup. An obviously unfit Barry didn't play in that game -- Stiliyan Petrov got the start in the holding role behind Steve Sidwell -- but did appear in Villa's friendly victory against Walsall two days ago. He was booed, and maybe rightfully so, by his club's supporters, but played an hour in his effort to work towards full match fitness.

The second leg of the Villa-Odense tie will be played this Saturday in England, with the hosts needing either a victory or a 0-0 or 1-1 draw to advance to the UEFA Cup second qualifying round. O'Neill said today that he was considering playing Barry in the upcoming game:

"I think that in terms of fitness the game on Tuesday will have brought Gareth on, so if he's mentally tuned in and he wants to go and play, why not?

'He will be in contention for Saturday. He's a quality player and that's what we're looking for. I have never not been impressed with him in two years as to his attitude on the football pitch.

'In fairness the Intertoto gives us that chance to get into the UEFA Cup, which we set out to get into by one way or another, and Gareth was a major part of that last year."

He then added:

"Deep down we would all love him to stay at the football club. We haven't heard back from Liverpool for some time and we're not exactly sure where we all stand.

'When people say people are in limbo, I don't think that applies to anybody more than ourselves. We don't know whether to move forward or not with it. It's a long-running saga and I wouldn't mind it ending one way or another.

'My preference - and hopefully I'm speaking for a lot of Villa fans, if not all of them - is that we would like Gareth to stay at the football club. That would be great because it will be hard to replace him."

So, where does that leave us?

O'Neill should insert Barry into the starting eleven for Saturday's match. As the manager, his responsibility is to field the lineup he believes gives the team the best possible chance to get the result. There is no question that Gareth Barry is one of Villa's best players and would immediately bring that cool, savvy demeanor into an otherwise young and inexperienced -- at least in European competition -- team. He links up very well with his wide players, Young and some combination of Nigel Reo-Coker, Shaun Maloney, and even Agbonlahor on occasion, but also takes corner kicks and free kicks from the right side. Villa is deadly off the set piece with Laursen, Carew, and Zat Knight in the air, and Barry's in-swinging balls are always dangerous.

By playing Barry, O'Neill is also forcing Liverpool's hand, saying that unless Rafa Benitez comes up with a satisfactory offer to meet the valuation, Villa simply won't sell and will retain the services of their captain. Liverpool seems to want Barry desperately for some reason (if you go back to early May in the blog archive, you'll see why I don't believe he's a necessary piece to Liverpool's puzzle), so they're going to have make a decision sooner rather than later. The closer we get to the start of the Premiership season, the more Villa can dictate the situation and the more they can raise the desired price.

I think you'll find that as we move forward, the mutual hard feelings between Barry and O'Neill, which seem to be more of disappointment than anything else, will begin to evaporate. If Barry stays at Villa, the fans will eventually welcome back one of their club's most loyal players. They don't seem to understand or appreciate that when players want to change teams, it's usually business more than it is personal. Liverpool would be able to pay Barry more and give him a chance to compete in the Champions League, but that doesn't mean Barry has lost his love for Villa and his respect for their fans.

Martin O'Neill should bring Gareth Barry back into the fold this weekend. The Birmingham-based club have the ability to break into the top four with just a couple more impact signings, definitely at right back and possibly at right wing, and need a bit more depth. They have the talent right now to be a serious contender in the UEFA Cup. I believe Barry will get his wish to play in the Champions League at some point, and possibly next season for Villa if he stays where he is now.

It all starts on Saturday, though, and I'm extremely interested to see whether or not the skipper is leading the team out of the tunnel.

Update (07/26 -- Noon): Barry is amongst the substitutes named by Martin O'Neill. He's opted to use the same starting lineup that drew 2-2 last week.

Update #2 (12:30 PM): Barry is coming on after a horrific-looking ankle injury to Wilfred Bouma. Barry presumably will go to left back, showing the versatility I mentioned earlier in this post.

Solid Signing for West Ham

West Ham sealed their first major signing of the summer today, bringing in 23-year-old Switzerland international Valon Behrami from Lazio for $10 million.

Though clearly not to the same extent as Chelsea in their acquisition of Deco earlier this month, West Ham got away like bandits with what they paid for Behrami. He'd been originally valued at $22 million by Lazio, according to England's Daily Mail, but because his contract was expiring and could've soon left without the club receiving compensation, the Italian side opted to take what they could get.

He's a young 23, meaning that for his already relatively young age, there's not a lot of mileage on his legs like there is with some other wingers in the same age bracket -- Cristiano Ronaldo, David Bentley, Ashley Young, and Behrami's Swiss teammate, Tranquillo Barnetta, are just a few well-known examples who have significant first-team experience under their belts.

He's a very versatile player, something that West Ham can't have enough of given their horrific injury record in recent seasons. Behrami can play at right back if necessary, but is a natural winger and capable of playing both on the left, where he can cut inside with his right foot, and the right, where it's easier for him to serve balls into the box.

At 6'1", a rather tall height for his preferred position, Behrami is quicker on the ball than one might expect. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't have the fast-footed, change-of-direction moves like a Cristiano Ronaldo or a Robinho, but he can get down the field in a hurry if given the opportunity. He's also adequate with his left foot, so he'll demand more space from Premiership full-backs than someone who basically only uses one foot for everything.

If you saw him play for Switzerland, for whom he has 15 caps since making his debut in 2005, in Euro 2008 this summer, you had to have come away impressed. He started all three games for the Swiss opposite Barnetta, and along with Hakan Yakin, those three players really stood out for a country that had very little to offer going forward after the loss of Alexander Frei to a knee injury.

Behrami will bring his Champions League experience with Lazio to East London, where his new club has been starved for success in Europe for years now. West Ham has done absolutely nothing outside of England since 1999-2000, when they were joint-Intertoto Cup winners and reached the second round of the UEFA Cup, where they bowed out to Steaua Bucureşti. Now with Behrami, Freddie Ljungberg, and Craig Bellamy on board, the Hammers hope to make a serious push to get back into European competition.

The one major knock on Behrami is the fact that, like Ljungberg and Bellamy, he is injury-prone. There is a reason he hasn't played as many first-team games as the players I mentioned earlier and isn't because Behrami doesn't have the talent, it's because he's had a problem staying consistently healthy. If the "Swiss David Beckham" can get over that hump, he's going to be a very good player for Alan Curbishley and West Ham.

Portsmouth Purchases Peter Crouch

Portsmouth has completed a $22 million move to bring Peter Crouch back to Fratton Park after seven years, during which Crouch played for four other clubs and earned his way squarely into the England setup.

Crouch, the tallest player ever to put on a Three Lions shirt at 6′7″, spent the last three seasons at Liverpool, where he scored 22 goals in 85 league matches but led the club in ‘06-’07 with 18 goals in all competitions, including a hat trick in Liverpool’s 4-1 victory over Arsenal.

He was obviously out of favor at Anfield with the emergence of Fernando Torres, and manager Rafael Benitez found a formation that worked towards the end of the year — playing Torres as a lone striker with Steven Gerrard right behind him. Crouch was relegated to long stretches on the bench, usually coming in very late in games when Liverpool needed a spark. His playing style and body build wasn’t suited for Benitez’s preferred gameplan, and there was no way Crouch was ever going to be more than a role player as long as he stayed on Merseyside.

He’s come back to the South Coast now, where he’ll immediately link up with fellow England international Jermain Defoe. The two have the potential to feed off each other brilliantly — Crouch is very good at holding up balls and playing with his back to goal, allowing others to come into the attack, and the speedy Defoe should be able to run off Crouch and benefit from the big man’s dirty work.

There is no doubt that Crouch has superb technical ability, especially for a man his size, and he provides options that many teams aren’t built to defend against. His stats at Liverpool don’t truly reflect how good of a striker Crouch is; he was never put in a position to succeed and was playing in a system that limits individual creativity for the most part and focuses on the team and playing as a unit.

Under ‘Arry Redknapp, for whom Crouch will be playing for the third time in his career, he’ll have an opportunity to thrive. Niko Kranjčar and John Utaka are very good crossers of the ball from the wings and will give Crouch service he just wasn’t getting at Liverpool. He should be able to build more chemistry with the English contingent at Portsmouth (David James, Glen Johnson, Defoe, Sol Campbell, etc.) than he ever could with a semi-United Nations delegation at Liverpool, and that will come in handy.

For $22 million, Portsmouth signed a player who can score anywhere from 15-20 goals a season and almost as importantly, brings the skillset to allow guys like Defoe and Sulley Muntari and Utaka to come into the play and collect what Crouch starts out of the air. This was a very good signing for ’Arry’s club, and the regular first team games Crouch will get and the chance to continue to play in Europe (albeit the UEFA Cup, not the Champions League) will benefit the player as well. Look for Defoe and Crouch to form a productive partnership, certainly at club level, but I have a feeling they could be leading England’s front line as well in World Cup qualifiers this fall and beyond.

Frank Lampard to Inter Milan?

Born and bred in London on opposite sides of England's capital, Frank Lampard could very well be leaving home to rejoin former manager José Mourinho in Milan.

According to BBC Sport, Inter Milan have begun negotiations with Chelsea to bring the high-profile 30-year-old midfielder to Serie A. It is understood that Chelsea have received a fax from the Italian giant inquiring about Lampard, who has only one year left on his current contract at Stamford Bridge and so far has been hesitant to commit to a new deal.

With the arrival of Deco last week and the holdover presence of the rather large figure that is Michael Ballack, not to mention the fact that Zenit St. Petersburg and Russian national team star Andrei Arshavin is now being linked to Chelsea as well, it seems safe to assume that Lampard doesn't really figure into new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari's future plans. If Arshavin was to be signed, Chelsea would have three terrific attacking midfielders in a formation that, going by Scolari's past history, really only has room for one at a time. With Lampard and Arshavin, Chelsea would have four players for that one position, and simple mathematics tells me that that won't work out.

Inter's first offer is reported to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $13 million dollars, $3 million less than what Chelsea just paid for Deco. In an earlier post I talked about how $16 million for Deco is a steal, and with that in mind, $13 million for Lampard would be flat-out highway robbery. I understand that his value decreases the closer his current contract gets to expiring, but there is no way that a proven 20-goal-per-season player is only worth $13 million.

Chelsea and Luiz Felipe Scolari can continue to say all the right things in public about how they'd like Lampard to stay in West London, and they really have no choice but to say that or else his value will be slashed even more, but the fact of the matter is this is Lampard's decision to make and his alone.

It's no secret that he is one of Mourinho's favorite players and it's no secret how much Lampard loves playing for Mourinho, and to be honest, I think this is the perfect time for Lampard to move on. He's won two Premier League titles an FA Cup, and two Carling Cups, and been named to the PFA Team of the Year twice, all with Chelsea. The only major trophy he didn't win was the Champions League, and that was through no fault of his own with the way he carried the Blues in the later stages of that competition last year before they lost to Manchester United in PK's in Moscow. He can't accomplish any more with the club, and I think his tenure there has run its natural course.

Chelsea and Inter will surely go back and forth discussing a transfer fee for Lampard, because there's just no way Chelsea would only sell for $13 million. Remember, just one or two seasons ago, this is a guy who was valued anywhere between $35-$40 million, so a sum of not even half of that seems very outlandish. Lampard is in the prime of his career and would benefit from the slower pace of Serie A.

If I had to put a percentage on Lampard leaving for Inter Milan at this point, I'd say it's at least 50/50, if not 55/45 or even 60/40 towards him going. There's no room for him at Chelsea and Mourinho is a huge Lampard fan as I already mentioned.

Update (07/08-6:57 PM): Inter’s first official bid — nearly $16 million dollars — will be rejected by Chelsea, the West London club announced. Chelsea have also stated that they “will not enter into any discussions” regarding a possible transfer for Lampard, but come on, we’ve heard that plenty of times before and then that club eventually sells the player anyway.

$16 Million for Deco is a Steal

Manchester City paid nearly $38 million for Jô.

Tottenham spent $32 million on Luka Modric.

Bolton paid $20 million for Johan Elmander. JOHAN ELMANDER!

Chelsea bought Deco today for $16 million.

Something doesn't seem right here. Jô is a star-in-the-making, there's no doubt about that, but he's only 21 years old and hasn't really proved himself at either the club or international level yet. Luka Modric is a very good player, but I'm not sure he's worth the money Spurs paid Dinamo Zagreb. $20 million for Johan Elmander, who is average at best, is simply ludicrous.

The sheer fact that Chelsea paid $4 million less for Deco, a two-time Champions League winner, UEFA Cup winner, three-time Portuguese first division winner, two-time La Liga winner, former Champions League MVP and Best Midfielder, and European Silver Ball recipient, than what Bolton paid for Johan Elmander is outrageous.

Since 1999, everywhere Deco has gone, he's been a winner. Sure, Elmander has won a UEFA Cup, but that was in 2002 and he barely played for Feyenoord at that age. Other than that, he's been a part of two Swedish Allsvenskan champions (but wasn't even awarded a medal because he didn't play in enough matches) and won the Danish Superliga with Brondby in 2004-2005. Give me a break.

Sure, Deco turns 31 in August, but that doesn't mean he can't keep up with the pace of the Premiership. His new midfield mate, Michael Ballack, turns 32 in September, and everyone hailed him for his performances last season and in the Euros this summer, a tournament in which Deco played well also. Didier Drogba is 30 and can still goals with the best of them (when he's interested, that is). Trust me, Deco's age will not hold him back under Luiz Felipe Scolari at Stamford Bridge. I understand that he can be prone to injury and missed a lot of games last year, but I believe more of that is just the fact that he didn't want to play for Barcelona anymore and packed it in.

Deco's style will fit very nicely into the Premiership. He is as talented on the ball as there is in the world. He's a fantastic passer and because Chelsea doesn't have much in the way of team speed, pinpoint service is essential towards springing players in behind the opponent's back line. He is creative, but not to a fault where he won't make the short, close passes that aren't sexy for fans to watch. He holds up the ball in the center of the field and allows his wingers and strikers to get forward, where he can hit that 50 or 60-yard ball and put it on a line.

This guy is worth more than $16 million. Chelsea should be jumping for joy at the fact that they got him for this kind of bargain, because the impact he's going to have will more than repay their already meager investment. His arrival likely means that Frank Lampard is on his way out, possibly to join Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan, but you know what? Deco brings more to the table than Lampard, who needs others around him to shine. Deco is the type of player that makes everyone else better, not vice-versa.

Joining fellow Portuguese internationals Bosingwa, Ricardo Carvalho, and Paulo Ferreira, as well as the two Brazilians, Alex and Belletti (as well as the previously mentioned Scolari), will jumpstart Deco and put a spring in his step that he hasn't had in a while.

Even if it doesn't work out, which I obviously don't think will be the case, it's a low-risk move for Chelsea because they spent relatively little money on Deco. This isn't an Andriy Shevchenko-type situation, where Roman Abramovich threw money around like he was playing Monopoly. That move has been a complete bust for Chelsea and cost Abramovich $60 million, whereas this acquisition of Deco cost just over a quarter of that sum. If Deco doesn't deliver, no sweat off Chelsea's back because it was an inexpensive transfer in the first place.

This is low-risk, high-reward, and I believe Deco will ultimately prove that his $16 million price tag was a steal for Chelsea.

Feilhaber Secures Work Permit

Brazilian-born American international midfielder Benny Feilhaber has been granted a work permit by Britain's Home Office, clearing the way for him to complete his move to Premiership new boys Derby County from Hamburg SV, a Bundesliga club. A player must take part in 75% of his country's international games in the last two seasons to get a work permit and Feilhaber doesn't meet that requirement, which is why he had earlier been turned down.

Feilhaber was also eligible to represent Austria on the international level and turned down approaches from their coach, Andreas Herzog, to play for them.

After his second season playing for UCLA, Feilhaber was selected to play for the US U-20 team in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, hosted by the Netherlands. An impressive performance there led to a move to German club Hamburg SV that same year but he has appeared in only 9 league games for their senior team since he signed.

Feilhaber is doing what Eddie Johnson should've done: take advantage of interest from a Premiership club. Johnson's development as a player has been stunted by continuing to play in MLS. Yes, he's one of the league's top strikers and won't have any problem continuing to be one if he stays in MLS, but it won't make him any better of a player and it hurts his chances to play for the US National Team. Feilhaber turned in a breakout performace at the Gold Cup and turned some heads across the world. Moving to Derby County is just a stepping stone for him; nearly everyone is an agreement that Derby will be relegated from the Premiership after this season, but a good year (and he'll get more than his share of playing time) could result in moving to a bigger club, one that is a Premiership mainstay. He joins another talented young player, Giles Barnes, in the Rams' midfield, and fellow Americans Carlos Bocanegra, Brian McBride (captain), Clint Dempsey (who all play for Fulham), Tim Howard (Everton), Brad Friedel (Blackburn), Marcus Hahnemann, Bobby Convey (both at Reading), Johann Smith (Bolton), Jonathan Spector (West Ham), and Eric Lichaj (Aston Villa) in the Premier League.

Great Day for Blackburn; Rovers Enter UEFA Cup, Sign Santa Cruz

A 4-0 win today over Lithuanian side FC Vetra in the third round of the Intertoto Cup advanced Blackburn Rovers to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup as they won the tie 6-0 on aggregate. Morten Gamst Pedersen scored twice and Jason Roberts and Benni McCarthy each talled a goal. Blackburn now face the challenge of playing in a major European competition.

They'll enter the Premier League season and the UEFA Cup with Paraguyan international striker Roque Santa Cruz, who signed a four-year deal to come over from Bayern Munich. Santa Cruz's fate with the German club was sealed when they brought in Miroslav Klose from Werder Bremen, and now he joins a club that's loaded with strikers. McCarthy, Roberts, Matt Derbyshire, and new acquistion Maceo Rigters are all very talented, productive players. I'm not sure if this logjam will benefit anyone, but we'll wait and see. Blackburn scored 52 goals in the league last year; I think they would have been better served to go out and spend money on a defender or two as Blackburn gave up 54 goals. Hopefully this move pays off for Blackburn, a club expected to challenge for a European spot once again this season.

Freddie Ljungberg Completes Move to West Ham

Swedish international star Freddie Ljungberg sealed a move to West Ham yesterday, ending a decade-long run with Arsenal and with it, his tenure as the longest-serving player of the famed North London club. In total, he appeared 325 times in all competitions for Arsenal, scoring 72 goals, but injuries severely limited his impact with the team in his last three seasons, as he played in only 69 of the possible 114 Premier League games.

His move across London is just another of the flurry involving West Ham this summer. Ljungberg joins Craig Bellamy and Scott Parker at Upton Park, and one of the biggest reasons for his transfer is the club's chairman, Eggert (aka Elf-Ears) Magnusson, a fellow Swede:

“And why I want to join is because of Magnusson. He wants to bring them forward to be top of the country.

“He’s willing to go to the transfer market to buy top players and mix them with youth players. West Ham have a great academy.

“He wants to help take the club up and take them to the top in England. It’s a big challenge for me."

West Ham are not exactly stacked in midfield and if Ljungberg can stay healthy, he'll surely play a vital role for a team with European ambitions this season. If they can somehow hold on to Carlos Tevez, their fire would just be stoked even more and West Ham would be a serious contender for a European place.

Harewood to Aston Villa, Richardson to Sunderland

Marlon Harewood finally left West Ham officially today to sign a three-year contract with Aston Villa. The 27-year old striker scored 47 goals in 142 Premier League appearances with West Ham after joining the East London side from Nottingham Forest, and now gives Aston Villa four solid options at the striker position (Ashley Young, John Carew, and Gabriel Agbonlahor being the other three). Harewood may have been influenced by his old teammate Nigel Reo-Coker's move to Villa this summer. The transfer fee was $7.1 million US, which is a relatively cheap sum of money with the way strikers have been going this summer, especially when you consider Harewood is a proven goalscorer with the exception of this season.


Kieran Richardson moved to Sunderland yesterday, and I believe this signing will lead to nothing but good things for the newly-promoted club. Richardson was never given much of a chance with Manchester United as they had Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo playing on the wings, and the champions' acquisition of Nani over the summer basically shut the door on Richardson's career in Manchester.

That said, he's still only 22 years old and at one time, Richardson was one of the hottest young prospects around. He's signed a four-year contract to play for his former teammate at Manchester United, Roy Keane, and like I said before, this could be a very rewarding move for both parties involved. Richardson needs to play regularly to improve and to reclaim a spot on the English national team and Sunderland will benefit from Richardson's pace and considerable talent. The transfer fee is rumored to be somewhere around $11 million US, but that's not an outlandish price for a still-young player who can really help Sunderland for the next four seasons.

Benayoun to Liverpool, Nugent to Portsmouth; Baines to Everton?

According to the agent of Israeli midfielder and captain Yossi Benayoun, Liverpool and West Ham have agreed to an $8 million US fee that would send Benayoun to Liverpool. It is the second high-profile deal between the clubs this week (Bellamy to West Ham). Benayoun is just 27 years old and played as an attacking midfielder for West Ham, though Liverpool sees him as the perfect replacement for Luis Garcia, who left the club for Atletico Madrid. His acquisition seems to signal Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez's intention to reinforce the outside midfield positions this year. The move further strengthens a midfield that is probably the best in all of England, with Xabi Alonso, Gerrard, Harry Kewell, Jermaine Pennant, Javier Mascherano, and Mohamed Sissoko already signed through at least this season.


Former England U-21 striker David Nugent is reportedly set to sign for Portsmouth on Wednesday, according to BBC Radio Lancashire. Nugent has starred for Championship side Preston North End since 2005, scoring 33 goals in 94 appearances for the club, but the 22-year old has been seeking a move to a Premiership team and Portsmouth is a team where he would be able to play a lot of games and contribute at a high level. Sol Campbell has been pleading with management all summer for additions at the striker position with the departure of Svetoslav Todorov and the controversy surrounding Kanu and his return to the club, and this signing could be just what Portsmouth needs to contend for a European spot this season. The deal is rumored to be worth $12 million US with Nugent then having to agree to personal terms and pass a physical.

Updated Wednesday, July 11: Nugent's transfer has been confirmed and completed as he passed a physical and signed a four-year contract with Portsmouth, keeping him on the South Coast through the 2010-2011 season.


Another former England U-21 player, Wigan defender Leighton Baines, could also be on the move within the coming days. Wigan has rejected multiple offers from Sunderland but now Everton is lining up a $9 million US bid to bring Baines to Merseyside. New Wigan manager Chris Hutchings said that Baines would be part of his club next season:

"I have told (Sunderland boss) Roy Keane that Leighton is not for sale. He is part of this club.

"Every player does have a price but I am happy to keep him here as I am building a team."

With this being said, if Everton can match the price at which Wigan rates him, I would expect a transfer to be completed. At only 22 years of age, he's already been a part of Wigan's first team for five seasons, and he is still a young talent growing into his tremendous potential. Baines will only be looking to play for a bigger club in the future anyway, and I think Wigan would be wise to sell him if they can get full value so they can bring in more players to address their multiple needs.

Chelsea to Sign Malouda

According to the Premier League's official website, Chelsea and French giant Lyon have agreed to a deal which would bring Florent Malouda to Chelsea. The move, a $27 million US, £13.5 million pounds UK, has been confirmed by both a statement on Chelsea's website and Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas:

"It (the deal) is brilliant and it is good news for Flo," Aulas told OLTV, the French champions’ own television station.

The addition of the 27-year old French midfielder now gives the London side a glut of players who are capable of playing on the wing. Arjen Robben, Shaun Wright-Phillips, and Joe Cole have all played many a game on the outside and with Chelsea's formation being what it is (4-3-3, which often turns into a 4-5-1), it's most likely that only two of the now four players would start a game. Shaun Wright-Phillips seems to be the one who's out of favor with Chelsea's management and thus could be on the way out. Malouda has made 28 appearances for France, scoring 3 goals, but had a breakout World Cup in 2006. His performance raised his value considerably and he's now cashing in on his hard work.

Updated Tuesday, July 10: Chelsea and Lyon reached an agreement that will send an undisclosed fee Lyon's way and Malouda to London. He passed a physical yesterday and will now fly to Los Angeles to join his new squad for a three-game preseason tour of the US, headlined by their game against David Beckham's LA Galaxy.

Craig Bellamy Ready to Join West Ham

After spending just one year at Liverpool after joining the Reds from Blackburn, 27-year old Welsh striker and captain Craig Bellamy is set to play in East London next year for the Hammers. The move clearly indicates that West Ham are prepared to face life in the Premiership without last season's savior, Carlos Tevez, who is rumored to join Manchester United. West Ham had no choice but to be proactive in finding a capable replacement for the Argentine and with many big-name strikers already transferred and under contract, signing Bellamy is a solid move for the Hammers. He's agreed to personal terms, with a four-year, $18 million US contract (70,000 pounds/week) already confirmed, but Liverpool and West Ham now have to agree on a transfer fee or the possible swap involving West Ham midfielder Yossi Benayoun.

Bellamy was really never in favor with Rafael Benitez at Liverpool (for some reason Peter Crouch plays nearly every game though??) but can be a dependable goal-scorer when given the chance. He scored 13 goals for Blackburn in 27 English Premier League games in 2005-2006 and 7 in 12 Scottish Premier League games when he was on loan with Celtic in 2005. The knock on Bellamy, and it is a rather large one, is that he wears out his welcome very quickly. Controversy has followed him wherever he's gone recently, from his feud with Newcastle United to attacking Liverpool teammate John Arne Riise with a golf club while the team was training in Portugal.

West Ham are in desperate need of a number 1 striker with Marlon Harewood and Carlos Tevez on their way out. They have Bobby Zamora but realistically, he's not much better than a second option and the same can be said, at best, about Dean Ashton and Carlton Cole.

For Fox Soccer's article concerning the transfer, see
http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/6996556

Updated Tuesday, July 10: West Ham and Liverpool reached an agreement on the transfer fee to sign Bellamy. The Hammers will pay $15 million US to the Merseyside club for the Welsh striker's services, which is a club record signing for West Ham. Bellamy spoke to the media afterwards:

“I supported Liverpool as a boy and would have had the chance to play Champions League football again next season but I needed to look beyond that, in the same way that Lucas Neill did when he came here,” said Bellamy.

“I understood Lucas’s position. If he’d joined Liverpool, he would have been a squad player, like I was. Some people don’t understand it, but the opportunity to be a senior figure at an ambitious club like West Ham is very attractive.

“I’ve signed a five-year contract here, and I will be here for the long term. I’ve moved around a bit in recent years, and now I want to settle.

Nigel Reo-Coker Set to Join Aston Villa

The former West Ham midfielder and current England U-21 captain (though he won't play another game for the side due to his age, 23) has reportedly agreed to a four-year deal which would keep him at his new club until after the 2010-2011 season. Official word is pending as Reo-Coker still has to pass a physical and agree to personal terms, but Aston Villa have reached an agreement with West Ham concerning his transfer fee.

Reo-Coker would become Villa manager Martin O'Neill's first summer signing and probably would be inserted immediately into the starting lineup. Together with Craig Gardner, who had an impressive season last year, and Isaiah Osbourne, Reo-Coker will become an integral part of a young, promising midfield at Aston Villa for years to come. He's already proved he is capable of being placed in a position of leadership as he's been a club captain (at West Ham) and an international captain (England U-21) at the young age of 23. This will be invaluable to Aston Villa as he'll be counted on to assist the current captain, Gareth Barry, in mentoring those young midfielders.

Thursday afternoon update: Reo-Coker has completed the transfer to Aston Villa as he passed his physical and agreed to personal terms. West Ham and Villa agreed to a $17 million US transfer fee for the 23-year old midfielder.

Darren Bent to Tottenham?

This according to an article on the BBC's website, which also states that Liverpool are interested in Bent but that he would not be their top choice striker. His current club, Charlton Athletic, have rated him at 17 million pounds, which is no small sum of money ($33.5 million US). The fact that that sum is only half a million US dollars short of what Manchester United paid for Owen Hargreaves shows how highly Charlton values the 23-year old English striker and also greatly narrows down the list of teams who can afford Bent. He has scored 31 goals in two seasons for Charlton (68 games) and at his young age, the potential to become a special player is there.

Bent has already turned down a 17 million pound offer from West Ham which indicates his desire to play top-level soccer for a team playing preferably in the Champions League. Tottenham have been reluctant to offer that amount of money, which seems to be the only thing holding this transfer up, and Charlton are insisting that they will not sell Bent for less than their rated value. Charlton, at least publicly, are planning on having his services as they attempt to make a return to the Premiership this season:

"We look forward to Darren starting with us in the Championship next season, which is a massive boost to our chance of returning to the Premier League."

It would seem that the financially sound thing to do would be to sell him for as much as you can and then use that money to bring in some established, inexpensive veteran players and some affordable youngsters if possible. There's no real reason for Charlton to hold on to Bent if they can get full value for him, but there also doesn't seem to be a real reason for Tottenham to acquire him as they already are loaded at the striker position (Defoe, Keane, and Berbatov).

Tal Ben Haim Spurns Newcastle, Heads to Chelsea

After making 110 appearances for Bolton over three seasons, 25-year old Israeli defender Tal Ben Haim has agreed to personal terms on a four-year contract with Chelsea. Ben Haim rejected the outreaches of former manager Sam Allardyce to join the Blues at Stamford Bridge instead, and one can't help but second-guess this choice.

The best move for him as a player seemingly would've been to go to Newcastle because he would have immediately been plugged into their center of defense and gotten a start nearly every game. Chelsea already have their captain and England's captain John Terry in the same position, so you know he won't often come out of the lineup, talented Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho, and Brazilian international Alex, who featured prominently in the central defense for PSV Eindhoven for the past three seasons. At best, I can see Ben Haim fighting for second-choice at that position.

Of course, that would mean a starting spot, but he would probably be in a rotation with Carvalho and to a lesser extent, Alex. Chelsea most likely offered Ben Haim more money than Newcastle, but for me, it would have had to be a substantial amount more because I would rather start every game and make less money than play for a team where I may not play all the time but make more money.

Here is Chelsea's official press release concerning the move:
http://www.chelseafc.com/xxchelsea180706/index.html#/page/Homepage/article_1053189

Scott Parker to West Ham

Former Newcastle captain Scott Parker has signed a 5 year, $13.9 million US contract with West Ham as he reunites with his old manager at Charlton Athletic, Alan Curbishley. Parker had his eye on a return to London with the new management taking over at Newcastle and seemed especially eager to rejoin his first professional manager and in the end, he got his wish.

Parker is only 26 years old and looks set to replace England U-21 captain Nigel Reo-Coker in the center of West Ham's midfield. West Ham have to like this tradeoff as they get a relatively inexpensive, tenacious tackling, hardnosed midfielder and lose a player who was going to command a high salary on the open market and didn't seem to want to play for them anyway.

All in all, West Ham have acquired a player who will bring some grit and fire to the team but most importantly, one who actually wants to be there. He was a captain last season and the leadership he will bring to that club will be invaluable as West Ham look to build off a strong finish to last season.

Portsmouth Ink Ghana Midfielder Sulley Muntari

The 22-year old Ghanian international has signed a five-year deal to play on the South Coast. Muntari leaves Udinese, a Serie A squad, to join a talented midfield at Portsmouth (O'Neil, Taylor at times, Mendes, Davis, and Kranjcar). He's collected 26 caps for Ghana despite his young age and is earning his playing time with 8 goals already, including one against the Czech Republic in the World Cup last year. Terms of the deal were undisclosed, but Harry Redknapp looks to have a fairly significant amount of money in the transfer kitty as he attempts to manage his team into European competition next season, with 3 player acquisitions already.

For complete details, see the club's official press release: http://www.pompeyfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10396~1030887,00.html?ptvParm=

Notable Summer Transfers at a Glance

• Julio Baptista (from Arsenal to Real Madrid; Loan Recall)
• Juan Pablo Angel (from Aston Villa to Red Bull New York; Undisclosed)
• Jlloyd Samuel (from Aston Villa to Bolton; Free Transfer)
• Steve Sidwell (from Reading to Chelsea; Undisclosed)
• Florent Sinama Pongolle (from Liverpool to Recreativo Huelva; $5.3 million)
• Sylvain Distin (from Manchester City to Portsmouth; Free Transfer)
• Owen Hargreaves (from Bayern Munich to Manchester United; $34 million)
• Jonathan Woodgate (from Real Madrid to Middlesbrough; $13.9 million)
• Abel Xavier (from Middlesbrough to LA Galaxy; Undisclosed)
• Hermann Hreidarsson (from Charlton Athletic to Portsmouth; Free Transfer)
• Gareth Bale (from Southampton to Tottenham Hotspur; $10 million, with further additional payments that could end up totaling $20 million US)
• Lukasz Fabianski (from Legia Warsaw to Arsenal; Undisclosed)
• Sulley Muntari (from Udinese to Portsmouth; Undisclosed)
• Anderson (from FC Porto to Manchester United; Undisclosed)
• Nani (from Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United; Undisclosed)
• Claudio Pizarro (from Bayern Munich to Chelsea; $5.1 million)
• Titus Bramble (No Club to Wigan; Free Transfer)
• Antoine Sibierski (No Club to Wigan; Free Transfer)
• Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough to Newcastle; Undisclosed)
• Joey Barton (Manchester City to Newcastle; $11.4 million)
• Jeremie Aliadiere (Arsenal to Middlesbrough; Undisclosed)
• Scott Parker (Newcastle to West Ham; $13.9 million)
• Tal Ben Haim (Bolton to Chelsea; Free)
• Thierry Henry (Arsenal to FC Barcelona; $32 million)
• Maceo Rigters (NAC Breda to Blackburn; Undisclosed)
• Geremi (Chelsea to Newcastle; Free Transfer)
• Luis Garcia (Liverpool to Atletico Madrid; Undisclosed)
• Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid to Liverpool; $40.6 million)

•Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham to Aston Villa; $17 million)
•Phil Jagielka (Sheffield United to Everton; $8 million)
•Boudewijn Zenden (Liverpool to Marseille; Free Transfer)
•Steven Davis (Aston Villa to Fulham; $8 million)
•Andriy Voronin (Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool; Free Transfer)
•Greg Halford (Reading to Sunderland; $5.9 million)
•Younes Kaboul (Auxerre FC to Tottenham; $16 million)
•Teddy Sheringham (West Ham to Colchester United; Undisclosed)
•Craig Beattie (Celtic to West Bromwich Albion; $2.5 million)
•Darren Bent (Charlton Athletic to Tottenham; $33.1 million)
•Neil Lennon (Celtic to Nottingham Forest; Undisclosed)
•Craig Bellamy (Liverpool to West Ham; $15 million)
•Jason Koumas (West Bromwich Albion to Wigan Athletic; $10.6 million)
•David Nugent (Preston North End to Portsmouth; $12 million)
•Yossi Benayoun (West Ham to Liverpool; Undisclosed)
•Trevor Sinclair (Manchester City to Cardiff; Free Transfer)
•Ryan Babel (Ajax to Liverpool; $23 million)
•David Healy (Leeds United to Fulham; $3 million)
•Rolando Bianchi (Reggina to Manchester City; $16.5 million)
•Gelson Fernandes (FC Sion to Manchester City; Undisclosed)
•Marlon Harewood (West Ham to Aston Villa; $7.1 million)
•Kieran Richardson (Manchester United to Sunderland; $11 million)
•Robbie Fowler (Liverpool to Cardiff City; Free Transfer)
•Jerzy Dudek (Liverpool to Real Madrid; Free Transfer)
•Heidar Helguson (Fulham to Bolton; Undisclosed)
•Freddie Ljungberg (Arsenal to West Ham; Undisclosed, fee could rise to $6.2 million)
•Martin Petrov (Atletico Madrid to Manchester City; $9.4 million)
•Alan Smith (Manchester United to Newcastle; $12 million)
•Leighton Baines (Wigan Athletic to Everton; Undisclosed)
•James Beattie (Everton to Sheffield United; $8 million)
•Cacapa (Lyon to Newcastle; Free Transfer)
•Franck Quedrue (Fulham to Birmingham City; $4 million)
•Liam Ridgewell (Aston Villa to Birmingham City; $4 million)
•Elano (Shakhtar Donetsk to Manchester City; $16 million)
•Giuseppe Rossi (Manchester United to Villarreal; Undisclosed)
•Johan Djourou (Arsenal to Birmingham; Loan)
•Francis Jeffers (Blackburn to Sheffield Wednesday; Undisclosed)
•Hameur Bouazza (Watford to Fulham; Undisclosed)
•Craig Gordon (Hearts to Sunderland; $14 million with additional fees that could bring the total to $18 million)
•James Morrison (Middlesbrough to West Bromwich Albion; $3 million)
•Scott Carson (Liverpool to Aston Villa; Loan)


Obviously more transfers will occur as the summer transfer window heats up; this post will be regularly updated with other newsworthy names changing clubs.

All transfers listed here have been confirmed. Fox Soccer's website is a great source for rumors and pending transfers, but this site will only list those that have been cemented.