With the likes of Berbatov and Robinho being signed within minutes of the transfer deadline last year the deadline has become quite an anticipated event.  Many football TV shows and websites run live deadline coverage, with up to the minute news.

This year it was a bit of an anti climate with none of the “big four” making any last minute moves and no real superstar players being signed.  As a United fan I was a bit disappointed, I know Sir Alex had said there would be no further signing this summer, but I had thought this might just be a ploy to throw others off his trail.  I think United could have really used at last one “game changing” player to come into the squad, and I’m starting to wonder if that Ronaldo money was really available, or if the Glazers are bleeding the club dry.

It seems Spurs did the best on deadline day with the signing of Nico Kranjcar.  I had previous mentioned that Kranjcar was unhappy at Portsmouth and only had 1 year left on his contract, so when Luca Modric broke his leg it’s no surprise the Harry Redknapp swooped in for Kranjcar’s signature.  I’m starting to worry that Spurs could be a real force to contend with this season.

Another of the more notable signings was Richard Dunne from Manchester City to Aston Villa.  I would say that for a bottom-half-of-the-table club trying to break into the top half, this would be a good signing.  But I thought Villa’s goal was to break into the top 4?  Manchester City would seem to be one of Villas direct rivals this season, so I can’t understand buying a player who has been pushed onto the bench of your rivals?  Maybe Martin O’Neil thinks he can get something better out of Dunne…I’m not so sure there’s anything extra to get…

Tottenham have just announced that Pascal Chimbonda will be switching teams again.  This will be his 5th transfer to a Premier League team in the last 4 years!  The latest destination on his tour of England is Blackburn, with Rovers reportedly ready to pay a £2million transfer fee.

It’s hardly surprising that another switch was on the card seeing as Tottenham now have Benoit Assou-Ekotto at left-back, who’s looking like a top class player, and also Gareth Bale as a backup.  It seems unlike that Chimbonda would get much game time at all.

All the moving around has got to take a toll on a player and it appears to have taken a toll on Chimbonda, who has seen both his first team appearances and transfer fees eroded.  In 2006 he was worth £4.5 million from Wigan to Tottenham, now his value has been cut in half.

2005–2006		Wigan Athletic
2006–2008		Tottenham Hotspur
2008–2009		Sunderland
2009–2009		Tottenham Hotspur
2009–????		Blackburn Rovers

It’s always worrying when transfer talk starts to consistently circulate about a key player.  And recently there have been numerous stories about Nemanja Vidic leaving Manchester United.  The most recent reported destination was Barcelona; AC Milan and Real Madrid have also been mentioned.

There have also been reports that Vidic’s wife is unhappy in Manchester; but I’m not sure how true this story can be if she managed to live in Moscow before coming to the UK.

Vidic has put the gossip to bed by clearly stating that he will be staying at United for at least this season.

United need Vidic for at least this season; they have some great prospects coming through with Johnny Evans already proving last season that he is a top level center back and ready for first team football.  The red devils also have Craig Cathcart and Johnny’s brother Corry Evans who also look like quality players, but still learning their trade.

There are always a few transfer rumors about top class players, it’s what sells newspapers, but the talk about Vidic does seem to be above average, and I have a feeling he will not be with United forever.

Liverpool have just signed midfielder Alberto Aquilani from Roma, for a reported fee of around £20million, and it’s believe his salary to be around £80,000 per week.

I have to be honest I’ve not seen this guy play much, but looking at the stats it seems like a pretty big gamble by Liverpool manager, Rafael Benitez.

Aquilani is 25 years old, so not that “young” any more in football terms.  At 25 you’d expect a player to be reaching the peak of their career.  He has only ever played in Italian football; so will need to make a big transition to the Premier League pace.  He does have a lot of experience at international under-21 level and below, but only 11 full international caps.

The biggest question mark is his injury status.  During the last three years he has only managed an average of 24 games per year, which for a team competing in Europe is pretty low.

To top if off Liverpool have just announced that Aquilani will not be fit for another 4-8 weeks as he is still recovering from an ankle injury.

Rafa could prove me wrong, but £20million for a 25 year old, injured, untested player is a big time gamble, only time will tell if it pays off.

Everton have confirm they are in talks with Arsenal to sign Philippe Senderos for a fee of £6million.  Although they have said he is not a replacement for Joleon Lescott, who is currently being targeted by big spending Manchester City, it seems fairly obvious that he is in fact the replacement.

I think it would be a good bit of business to sell Lescott to City, who are reportedly ready to table a massive £22million bid. Lescott is a decent player, but he’s not in the same league as the top defenders such as John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, etc…  Whenever he plays for England I have my heart in my mouth, as he always seems to make some awful mistakes on the international scene.  It seems to me he cannot handle the pressure at the very top, and £22million is way over the top.

Having said what a good deal it would be a to sell Lescott, I’m stunned by the move to sign Senderos.  He is, in my opinion, terrible.  He plays a solid game most of the time, but it’s guaranteed that he makes at least one or two mistakes that cost a goal per game!  Arsenal seem to have a policy of hiring poor defenders, and to be signing Arsenal’s rejects is pretty low…

You’ve got £20million, surely you can find someone better than Senderos…such as my grandmother…Ok I’m joking, but seriously!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Mark Hughes seems to be determined to do himself in by the kind of players he is signing.

Sure Adebayor is a top quality striker, capable of playing at the top level of football.  But he also has a trait which seems to be a theme throughout the newly assembled Manchester City team; his temperament.

Every team usually has one or two players who tend to sulk or throw a tantrum when things are not going there way; when they are not scoring, not winning, or sitting on the bench.  In a normal team the rest of the players will come together to set this person straight.

When you load the team full of sulkers, such as Tevez, Adebayor, Robinho, Elano, just to mention some of the more prolific sulkers, you are asking for trouble.  Most teams don’t even have 1 player who sulks on the level of these guys.

There are a couple of dangers here, firstly if City do not start winning and continue to win these players will all be banding together looking for someone to point a finger at…which will be Mark Hughes.  Secondly, even if they are winning, some of these big ego players are going to have to be sitting on the bench, which is also going to cause problems when every player they have  signed is demanding first team football.

One could say it’s just sour grapes that I’m writing this; being a United supporter, and City have made all kind of signings.  But this couldn’t be further from the truth.  I’d like to see City succeed (obvious not beyond United), but in the same realm, and I’d love to see Hughes succeed, I think he has the potential to be a great manager, and he was of course a great player for United, but I can see things blowing up in their face with some of the moves they are making.

Aston Villa seem to be leading in the race to sign Stewart Downing from newly relegated Middlesbrough, with a £12million bid which has already been accepted by Middlesbrough.  Personal terms still have to be agreed, and other buyers could potentially crash the party.

The bigger question then becomes; why are Aston Villa so interested in signing a new left midfielder when they already have one of the country’s best in Ashley Young.  I can’t imagine that either Downing or Young would consider playing second fiddle.  Which leads me to believe Ashley Young could well be on his way out to bigger and better things, as there is no way I can see Martin O’Neill signing a replacement for Ashley Young, probably Villa’s best player, and then sitting Young on the bench.

Hopefully Sir Alex Ferguson was bluffing about the Manchester United’s transfers being completed, and has a secret deal to bring in Ashley Young; he is in my opinion a fantastic player.