Latest EPL Transfer News – Yakubu joins Everton, Belletti joins Chelsea…

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Yakubu all set to join Everton:

Everton have agreed a club record transfer fee of 11.25 million pounds ($27.6 million) with Middlesbrough for Aiyegbeni Yakubu.

Yakubu, who trained with Middlesbrough on Wednesday, is now due on Merseyside to discuss personal terms and undergo a medical and if all goes according to plan he should be available to make his Toffees debut against Blackburn on Saturday.

Over the past four seasons, only former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry has scored more English Premier League goals than Yakubu.

Belletti joins Chelsea:

Chelsea Football Club and FC Barcelona have reached an agreement for the transfer of Juliano Belletti.

The transfer fee is around the 5.5 million Euro mark. Belletti will pen a three year deal after completing a medical and agreeing terms.

Well this has ended Chelsea's search for a right-back. While most of the fans were expecting Chelsea to sign Daniel Alves from Sevilla – but after Sevilla refused to budge from their 36 million euro valuation of the right-back, and in fact even raised it to 40 million - Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho moved quickly for the experienced Belletti, underlining chairman Bruce Buck's insistence that they would not be held to ransom in any transfer deal.

Kasey Keller joins Fulham:

Veteran goalkeeper Kasey Keller has joined Fulham.

The Cottagers have been short of options in goal this season, following an injury to first-choice Niemi and with a lack of cover for Tony Warner in the Finn's absence.

Most of you might remember Keller from his days at Spurs.

EPL Results – Chelsea beat Reading, Man Utd held by Portsmouth. Review of all Mid-Week Matches

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Portsmouth 1 - Manchester United 1
Cristiano Ronaldo and new Portsmouth signing Sulley Muntari saw red as Manchester United were held to another battling draw by Portsmouth.

The champions took the lead via a Payl Scholes goal assisted by United debutant Carlos Tevez. Portsmouth leveled in the 53rd minute through Mwaruwari Benjani.

The Manchester derby is up next for United while Portsmouth face Bolton at home.

Reading 1 - Chelsea 2
Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba ensured Chelsea didn’t drop any points at Reading. Both scored shortly after half-time to complete a fine comeback win. Earlier in the match, Andre Bikey capitalized on a mistake by Petr Cech to give Reading the lead.

Chelsea travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on Sunday while Reading play host to Everton.

Man City 1 - Derby County 0
Manchester City continued their perfect start to the season with a 1-0 victory over newly promoted Derby County at the City of Manchester Stadium.

19-year-old Michael Johnson scored a classy goal which was also his first professional goal.

Derby travel to Tottenham this weekend while City play hosts to Manchester United.

Birmingham 2 - Sunderland 2
The Premiership new-boys renewed their Championship rivalry after playing out an entertaining draw. Sunderland continued their late scoring antics as Stern John came off the bench to net the equalizer in the 90th minute.

Birmingham host West Ham United coming weekend while Sunderland travel to Wigan.

Fulham 2 - Bolton 1
Fulham dealt Bolton a second straight defeat after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Craven Cottage.

Ex-Fulham striker Heidar Helguson put Bolton in the front after a mistake by Fulham goalie Tony Warner. David Healy equalized for Fulham and Ex-Chelsea midfielder Alexi Smertin netted the winner.

Fulham play hosts to Middlesbrough this weekend while Bolton travel to Portsmouth.

Wigan 1 - Middlesbrough 0
On a night studded with goalkeeping errors, the costliest one came JJB Stadium when Mark Schwarzer's spill gifted Wigan a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.

Schwarzer could not hold Antonio Valencia's 55th-minute shot and Antoine Sibierski pounced to bundle the ball home for his second goal in as many matches.

Season Preview - Fulham

Last season: 16th, 39 points; FA Cup fifth round; Carling Cup second round

Transfers:

In: Diomansy Kamara (West Brom, £6m); Chris Baird (Southampton, £3.02m); Paul Konchesky (West Ham, £2m); David Healy (Leeds, £1.5m); Aaron Hughes (Aston Villa, £1m); Steve Davis (Aston Villa, £4m); Lee Cook(QPR, £2.5m)

Out: Heidar Helguson (undisc); Tomasz Radzinski, Mark Pembridge, Claus Jensen (all released)
Fulham gave a pretty decent account of themselves on the opening day of the season at the Emirates Stadium and were rather unlucky to go down to 2 late strikes.

Official Website: http://www.fulhamfc.com

Official Kit:

Last season Fulham just managed a paltry 39 points and just managed to stay up because of a vital winning strike from Clint Dempsey against a depleted Liverpool squad. Else it could have been Fulham chasing West Ham round the courts and not Sheffield.

Manager Lawrie Sanchez will begin his first full year in charge of the Cottagers with a revamped roster studded with more than half a dozen Northern Ireland players.

Summer recruits include Aaron Hughes, Chris Baird, Steven Davis, and David Healy - all played under him for Northern Ireland, and striker Diomansy Kamara and versatile defender Paul Konchesky came to Craven Cottage this summer as well.

Attacking options are limited but Sanchez would be looking at improving their defense – they were tied for the most goals allowed in the Premiership last year (60).

Schedule via English Soccer Talk:

Fulham's schedule appears to be quite easy. There's a five-game tough stretch that covers all of November and into December that brings road games at Manchester United, Liverpool, and Everton, as well as home games with Reading and Blackburn. January will be tricky as well, but Chelsea and Arsenal both come to Craven Cottage and Fulham have winnable road matches at Bolton and West Ham.

There are no runs of games of any real length other than those two so Fulham will have every chance to at least challenge for a top half position, though that seems unlikely.

EPL08.com prediction:
League Position – 16
Fulham were lucky to survive last season, mainly courtesy of a win against a pretty depleted Liverpool side. New manager Lawrie Sanchez has brought in a host of Northern Ireland players.

I expect the Cottagers to struggle this season too - though Sanchez might just be able to survive the drop.

Latest Results – Sunday Review: Chelsea & Arsenal Win. Man Utd held

[For results and reviews of all the games played on Saturday – Click Here]

Arsenal 2 – Fulham 1

The day’s first game saw Arsenal get off to a rather shaky start and Fulham took a shock lead after just 52 seconds through David Healy following a blunder by Gunners keeper Jens Lehmann.

However just as it looked that Wegner’s men were headed for defeat – Arsenal came from behind to snatch a dramatic victory. The first goal came via a penalty from Van Persie after a spirited run by Toure was ended abruptly Carlos Bocanegra. Hleb added the second in the 90th minute as all the Arsenal fans heaved a sigh of relief.

Chelsea 3 – Birmingham City 2

Ex-Chelsea player Mikael Forssell opened the scoring for Birmingham before Claudio Pizarro and Florent Malouda scored on their Premiership debuts for Chelsea. Olivier Kapo levelled matters leveled matters with a sizzling strike before Essien struck the decider five minutes into the second half with a sweet curling shot.

By not losing this game – Chelsea also set an English record for unbeaten league matches at home. Chelsea are now 64 league matches unbeaten at Stamford Bridge, one better than Liverpool's efforts between 1978 and 1981.

Manchester United 0 – Reading 0

Meanwhile Champions Manchester United endured a frustrating start against Reading at home. Marcus Hahnemann was the hero as he saved everything that came his way. The Red Devils had nearly 2 dozen unsuccessful attempts at goal.

Steve Coppell’s side were reduced to 10 men with nearly 20 minutes to go as Dave Kitson was sent-off for a late challenge on Evra. But they held on for a highly commendable draw.

[For results and reviews of all the games played on Saturday – Click Here]

EPL08.com - Predictions for the 2007-08 Season

Here's how we feel the tables going to look like at the end of the season:

1. Chelsea
Though there's more pressure on Mourinho to win the Champions League, I feel Chelsea will have to wait for yet another season to lay their hands on the elusive European title. The league will be a consolation of sorts, but something Chelsea should be able to get back from United.

2. Manchester United
Though they have loaded their team up with a lot of stars, I expect Manchester United to slip up in the league and shine in Europe this season. A Champions League final vs Barcelona at Moscow would be a classique!

3. Liverpool
With the massive amount of money which Liverpool have splurged this year - a non-top three finish might see heads roll at Anfield. In fact supporters feel that this is the season where they can actually end their 17 year title drought.

4. Arsenal
Theres not much pressure at the Emirates Stadium this year. Arsene Wenger is building for the future. No one expects miracles this year and this might play to their favour. We might get to see some exciting free flowing football from the young gunners this season.

5. Tottenham
The Spurs have an attacking line-up which could match that of Manchester United. Berbatov, Defoe and Keane - each had in excess of 10 goals last season and the addition of ₤ 16.5 million Darren Bent just adds to their attacking riches. But again, there's going to be lot of expectations at White Hart Lane - especially because of the amount of money spent in the summer.

6. Newcastle
Under-achievers for ages - this is finally going to be a season in which the Magpies will redeem themselves to a certain extent. Mainly because of the genius of Sam Allardyce. They'll need their strike force to remain injury-free too.

7. Everton
Andrew Johnson needs to start slotting in a lot more goals if Everton are to finish anything higher than 6th position. They might a fancy a decent run in the UEFA cup this time around and also expect them to reach the latter stages of one of the domestic cups.

8. Aston Villa
Martin O'Neill has been a winner for too long to accept another season treading water at Villa Park. A lot of names have left Villa this season but they've got in a couple of good players too. I definitely expect them to push for UEFA cup. Watch out for Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young this season.

9. Manchester City
A top 10 finish might be on the cards. Sven-Goran Erikkson has pretty much bought a truck load of players and that too not for cheap. I bet he's not even see half of them play! Language is going to be a serious problem at City this season, but I still have a feeling that Erikkson might be able to prove his managerial acumen and pull off a top 10 finish.

10. West Ham United
There's absolutely no chance that the Hammers are going to get caught in a relegation battle again. They've acquired some real good players - Ljungberg, Bellamy and Parker and coupled with Alan Curbishley's massive experience, I expect the Hammers to squeeze into the top half.

11. Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn has hardly seen any transfer activity this season with the only major signing being that of Roque Santa Cruz from Bayern Munich. But Blackburn have a pretty strong squad - able mid-fielders and plenty of striking options.

12. Portsmouth
Pompey owner Alexandre Gaydamak handed Harry Redknap a 25-million-pound transfer kitty and Harry's made quite a few signings. Portsmouth might lack the big names but have one of the most balanced squads this time around. Expect them to surprise a few teams but they've got the cruelest of schedules to start off with. After opening the year at newly promoted Derby County, it's home against Manchester United and Bolton, away to Chelsea and Arsenal, back home against Liverpool, at Blackburn, and then home against Reading.

13. Bolton
After four consecutive top 8 finishes under manager Sam Allardyce - the Trotters are going to find the going pretty tough this time around. A lot will depend upon Anelka - who might still leave before the transfer window shuts and even El-Hadji Diouf is keen on a move to Lyon. Kevin Nolan needs to stand up and deliver though I feel a player like him deserves to play in a top 4 squad.

14. Reading
Their fairytale premiership debut - in which they finished 8th - is definitely not going to witness a repeat. Reading over achieved last season and they have also lost arguably their best player in Steve Sidwell, who left for the greener pastures of Stamford Bridge.

15. Middlesbrough
Last seasons 12th to 16th places were separated by only 7 points and it's pretty much going to be the same this year. Not much separating teams at these spots. Gareth Southgate isn't going to find it easy this season either. A cannot see a repeat of a UEFA Cup final appearance in the near future. Yakubu really needs to put on his striking boots.

16. Fulham
Fulham were lucky to survive last season, mainly courtesy of a win against a pretty depleted Liverpool side. New manager Lawrie Sanchez has brought in a host of Northern Ireland players. I expect the Cottagers to struggle this season too - thought Sanchez might be able to survive the drop.

17. Birmingham
Many expect Birmingham to go straight back to the Championship, but I feel that the team has enough quality to avoid relegation. They've got in Liam Ridgewell and Franck Quedrue to bolster the back. The striking options are a little weak, Cameron Jerome and Mikael Forssell have to really perform if Birmingham are to stay up.

18. Sunderland
It's going to be real close dog-fight and the fiery Roy Keane might not be able to retain his cool at the end of it. Keane did wonders in his first year at Sunderland, but even he'll known that the going is pretty different in one of the best top division leagues in the world. We'll keep a special watch on the Desi flavour ala Michael Chopra.

19. Wigan Athletic
Without Paul Jewell in charge, Wigan don't look to have much chance of staying up. Season before last, Wigan surprised a lot of teams by finishing in the top half. Last year they barely managed to avoid relegation by beating Sheffield United on the last day of the season. Things are not going to be rosy for new manager Chris Hutchings.

20. Derby County
In 12 months, Derby County went from third last in the Championship to promotion to the Premiership. The roller-coaster ride should be complete in another 12 months when the Rams find themselves back in the Championship.


Those are my predictions for the coming season and I'd love to hear yours. Been really busy with other work, so haven't been able to put up a team by team season preview yet. Expect
some of it to be up real soon.

Cheers and be sure to stay with us for the entire season.

Latest EPL Transfer News - Ballack not leaving Chelsea and many other updates

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Newcastle United have signed Spain Under-21 international Jose Enrique from Spanish side Villarreal for £6.3m.

The 21-year-old left-back, who watched the Magpies beat Sampdoria 1-0 on Sunday, has agreed a five-year deal.

Meanwhile the deal between West Ham and Newcastle for Kieron Dyer seems to have fallen apart over valuation. Dyer was all set to join the Hammers for around £6 million but then Newcastle suddenly realized that they had under-valued the player their playe and demanded a further £2million causing West Ham to pull out of the move.

West Ham were pretty furious after the sudden price hike and still seem to be interested in signing Dyer - but will not go above the £6 million mark.

Mido still seems to be in demand. After not being able to agree personal terms with Birmingham there were rumours that he might have to stick around for some more time at Spurs – but Roy Keane is interested in signing Mido for Sunderland as he gets ready for his rookie season as a Premiership boss.

Sunderland face competition from Fulham – who were linked with Mido at the start of the summer, but a move did not materialize.

At Old Trafford, the transfer saga of Gabriel Heinze continues. due back to training with Manchester United today, and he's held face-to-face talks with Sir Alex Ferguson in a bid to resolve the row over his proposed move to Liverpool.

Over at Manchester City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson's is keen to sign a Goal Keeper soon and The Manchester Evening News claims that Scott Carson and Carlo Cudicini are his top targets.

Everton seem to have won the race to sign left-back Leighton Baines. Baines is expected to complete the switch from Wigan on Tuesday after he agreed personal terms and underwent a medical. The deal is around the £5million mark.

Over at Chelsea – who seem to be a little rattled with numerous injuries topped with the FA Community Shield defeat to Manchester United...
Michael Ballack has insisted that he won't be leaving Chelsea and that he has had "no contact with Real Madrid whatsoever". Reports that Barcelona were mounting a fresh move for Frank Lampard have been denied by the Catalans.

At Bolton, Senegalese forward El-Hadji Diouf is heard to be pushing for a move to Lyon. The 26-year-old joined from Liverpool around two years back but has reportedly been considering his future at the Reebok since the departure of Sam Allardyce, who has apparently even made moves to lure him to Newcastle.

Via: Sporting Life

EPL Transfer News – Birmingham City pull out of Ghaly deal, sign Ridgewell and Queuedrue

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Birmingham City have pulled out of the almost-confirmed £3million transfer of Tottenham midfielder Hossam Ghaly.

Why? Well they describe it as "footballing reasons".

This follows the collapse of the deal to sign another Spurs player Mido.

Meanwhile Steve Bruce signed Liam Ridgewell from bitter rivals Aston Villa.

Ridgewell ended an eight-year spell with Villa after joining Blues for £2million on a three-year contract deal with a further two-year option available.

Ridgewell followed hot on the heels of Fulham left-back Franck Queudrue in moving to St Andrews yesterday and became Bruce's 10th summer signing.

Birmingham completed Queuedrue’s signing from Fulham in a deal which could be worth £2.5million. The 28-year-old has signed a three-year contract and committed himself to Blues until the summer of 2010.