Soccer: *Official* Transfer Thread

[OMEN]

Owen Hargreaves has refused to rule out a move to Manchester United.

Reports earlier this week suggesting that the England midfielder was mulling out a switch to Old Trafford were quickly snuffed out by his employers at Bayern Munich.

The Bundesliga giants insisted they had no intention of letting Hargreaves go from his contract, which spans until 2010.

The 25-year-old has now declared that the stories concerning his future were not entirely true, but opted not to play down the chances of a move to United.

"Obviously I'm still a Bayern Munich player," he told Sky Sports News after starring for England in the 4-0 win over Greece.

"There's a lot been said but what will happen in the future I don't really know myself.

"A lot has been said on the transfer front, some of it true, some of it not, and I'd rather leave it at that and see how things develop.

"I cannot go into specifics but we will see how things pan out over the next few days."

Skysports

[Dmac]

If he does actually sign, it will be a very good signing for Man U, I am being totally honest that before I never rated him as a player at all and plainly thought he sucked ass but now he is really impressing the right peopel and has got Man of the Match twice in a row playing for his country, the wrong country lol but I'm not complaining as you know he is canadian but plays for England, if it wasnt for him in the World Cup we may have lost before it got to penalties.

[aulit]

I read in a videotext of german tv, that Bayern told ManU that they will refuse any offer for Hargreaves. I'm about 99% sure that Owen stays in Munich.

I'd love to see Hargreaves playin' for ManU but refusing is a very intelligent move from Bayern. After the loss of Ballack theres no one (except for Scholl who is already 36 though) who can make the play. Hargreaves isn't the one who plays the final pass but he is a very smart player with a great fighting spirit. As you may have seen in the World Cup or in the past with Bayern. I watch Bundesliga every week, so I know him since he turned 18 and played his first league appearances. He always was a great player.

ManU desperatly needs a defensive midfielder. I hoped for Vieira but he moved to Internazionale.

[Dark Drakan]

If he does actually sign, it will be a very good signing for Man U, I am being totally honest that before I never rated him as a player at all and plainly thought he sucked ass but now he is really impressing the right peopel and has got Man of the Match twice in a row playing for his country, the wrong country lol but I'm not complaining as you know he is canadian but plays for England, if it wasnt for him in the World Cup we may have lost before it got to penalties.

I thought the exact same thing but id be happy to have him at United now but Bayern are saying they wont sell up according to reports now!

[Dmac]

Boulahrouz completes Chelsea move



Chelsea have completed the signing of Dutch international defender Khalid Boulahrouz from German club Hamburg for an undisclosed fee.

The 24-year-old passed a medical and agreed personal terms at the weekend, and was at Stamford Bridge to see his new side beat Manchester City 3-0.

Chelsea are thought to have paid in the region of £6m for the defender, who can play anywhere across the back.

Nicknamed Khalid the Cannibal, he has been capped 15 times by Holland.

"In a short squad and in a country where you can have only 16 players for a match, it's important to have cover for many positions," said Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.

"So now I can have Boulahrouz, Ricardo Carvalho and John Terry - three options for the centre. I can have Paulo Ferreira and Boulahrouz - two options for the right side; I can have Boulahrouz and Wayne Bridge - two options for the left side."

Boulahrouz started the last two World Cup games for Holland at the World Cup but he was red-carded in their defeat by Portugal in the last 16, a stormy affair in which he was accused of deliberately trying to injure winger Cristiano Ronaldo with a thigh-high challenge.

"He is a good competitive player and will be a good addition to our squad," Chelsea's assistant manager Steve Clarke told Chelsea TV.

"It is important to have one or two players around the squad who can play in a number of different positions."

Boulahrouz is available for Chelsea's European campaign because he was a non-playing substitute in Hamburg's Champions League qualifier against Osasuna.

He will go straight into Chelsea's squad for Wednesday's Premiership game at Middlesbrough.

Credit - BBC Sport

[Dmac]

Newcastle agree £10m Martins fee



Newcastle moved a step closer to signing Nigeria striker Obafemi Martins after agreeing a deal with Inter Milan.

The two clubs have agreed a fee of £10m for the 21-year-old.

It is now up to the player and the agent to agree terms on the offer," chairman Freddy Shepherd told the Newcastle website.

Magpies boss Glenn Roeder has been desperate to sign a new striker since Alan Shearer's retirement and Michael Owen's serious knee injury.

Martins has been unsettled at Inter since the club brought in Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Argentine Hernan Crespo to strengthen their forward line.

He said Newcastle's determination to sign him had played a major part in his decision to join the Magpies.

"Playing in the Premiership has been a long-term ambition and I am extremely delighted with the prospect of concluding that in the next couple of days," he added.

Credit - BBC Sport

[Dark Drakan]

Been a while since Chelsea paid less than £10 million for a player :tongue:

[Dark Drakan]

About time Newcastle upped their strike force with Shearer retired and Owen out.

[Dmac]

Martins completes Newcastle move



Nigeria striker Obafemi Martins has joined Newcastle United from Inter Milan for £10.1m.

The 21-year-old, seen as a replacement for Alan Shearer, signed a five-year deal after agreeing terms and coming through a medical.

Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder said: "There have been a dozen other strikers who were rumoured to be coming but he has always been the man I wanted.

"I wanted the pace. So for all the speculation, I knew who I was after."

Newcastle officials travelled to Italy earlier this week and successfully agreed a fee for Martins.

Martins had been unsettled at Inter since the club brought in Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Argentine Hernan Crespo to strengthen their forward line.

He said Newcastle's determination to sign him had played a major part in his decision to join the Magpies.

"Playing in the Premiership has been a long-term ambition and I am extremely delighted with the prospect of concluding that in the next couple of days," he added.

Martins is expected to be in the crowd at St James' Park for the Uefa Cup qualifier against FK Ventspils and he could go straight into the squad for Sunday's trip to Aston Villa.

Credit - BBC Sport

[Dmac]

Bolton sign Anelka in record deal



Nicolas Anelka has signed a four-year deal with Bolton after the Premiership club agreed to pay a club record £8m to Fenerbahce for the striker.

The Frenchman, 27, who has previously played for Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, successfully completed a medical with Wanderers on Thursday.

He has been in Turkey with Fenerbahce for the last 18 months.

"Nicolas is a player with an amazing track record in the Premiership," said Bolton boss Sam Allardyce.

"Patience is a virtue and I am pleased to say that all the waiting and hard work we've done behind the scenes has paid off."

"He was born to score goals. His talent and experience will be a valuable asset for us.

"It's an unprecedented amount of money for Bolton Wanderers to spend and fully underlines the club's ambition," Allardyce added.

Credit = BBC Sport