Football Dispatch

Summer Football
02 August 2007
Manchester City announced three more foreign signings, today. The most noteworthy of the trio is 26-year-old Brazil international and Copa America winner Elano Blumer. City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson paid 8M-pounds to pry the playmaking midfielder from Shakhtar Donetsk. Elano moved to Ukraine after four successful seasons at Santos. He has scored twice for his country in 15-apperances. Joining him at Eastlands are Spanish left full-back Javier Garrido and Vedran Corluka. Garrido, previously of Real Sociedad, was lured from Spain for 1.5M-pounds. Corluka, a 21-year-old Croatian defender, arrives via Dinamo Zagreb. The three bring Eriksson's off-season foreign acquisitions to seven.

West Ham have signed Kieron Dyer. The 28-year-old midfielder was desperate for a move southward in order to live closer to his children and arrives at Upton Park for 6M-pounds. Newcastle had initially expected to net 8M-pounds from his sale; but Hammers' initial bid was just half that amount. Appropriately, they found the middle ground and accomodated Dyer's Tyneside exit. Once a fixture on the England squad, Dyer has been plagued by hamstring injuries since 2005.

Chances are that Newcastle manager will not even see the 6M-pounds gained by Dyer's sale. The Magpies boss has agreed a fee for Manchester United striker Alan Smith of an identical amount. Smith, 26, suffered a horrific leg-break in 2006 and only made a full recovery late last season. And despite his good form and a call-up into the England squad, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson does not appear to have Smith in his plans ahead of the upcoming season. Both Sunderland and Middlesbrough were also interested in the former Leeds man; but the move to St. James' Park came down to Smith's personal preference.

Newcastle are also looking to sign Claudio Cacapa on a free transfer. The former Lyon captain was dismissed by the Ligue-1 Champions in the spring and is still looking for a new club. At 31-years of age, the Brazilian defender can still add some stability to the questionable Toon backline. He was reportedly spotted in Newcastle over the weekend.

Allardyce is also making overtures to Fulham captain Papa Bouba Diop. The 29-year-old Senegal international has indicated that he would prefer a move away from Craven Cottage, and the sale of Kieron Dyer to West Ham may have cleared the way for his place in Sam Allardyce's squad. Allardyce is expected to table a 3M-pound bid before the weekend.

Daniel Alves is prepared to bolt Sevilla in hopes to join Chelsea this season. The 24-year-old Brazilian right-back is contracted to the UEFA Cup champions through 2012 -- although he would be prepared to break the agreement in order to move to the Premier League. "I won all what could be won at Sevilla," stated Alves, yesterday, "so I feel this is the moment for following my career in another place." Sevilla want 20M-pounds for the player; and while Chelsea's latest offer was just 13M-pounds, a 19M-pound sale of Arjen Robben to Real Madrid could assist in financing the transaction.

Roy Keane will become the third Premier League manager to take a floater on Mido, this summer. The 24-year-old Egyptian striker wants out of West Ham and has already kiboshed moves to Birmingham City and Fulham. Keane will offer 6M-pounds to Tottenham Hotspur for his signature. The agreement of personal terms, however, are sure to be more difficult in attaining.

Manchester United believe they have already found the next Wayne Rooney. Aussie Rhain Davis has been signed by the English giants and will compete for a spot on the U-12 Red Devils squad this year. Davis' grandfather submitted a DVD of the 9-year-old to Old Trafford, recently, and the youngster's family was summoned to Manchester almost immediately after it had been viewed.

Yesterday's scores from the 2nd-leg of the Champions' League 2nd-qualification round were Danzole 1-2 Dinamo Zagreb, Besiktas 1-0 Sheriff, Ventspils 0-3 Salzburg, Astma 1-3 Rosenborg, Hafnaljordur 1-3 Bate, Crvena Zvezda 1-0 Levadia, Zilina 0-0 Slavia.