Wolfsburg Capture Russ

Wolfsburg manager Felix Magath was delighted after completing the signing of Eintracht Frankfurt defender Marko Russ for £2.7million.

The 25-year-old Germany youth international has signed a three-year contract with his new employers and will immediately challenge for a first-team place.

Russ opted to leave the club after they were relegated from the Bundesliga, breaking his 15-year association with the club.

Magath told the official Wolfsburg website: "I was always told right from the start that we would be out to sign a centre-back.

"I am delighted the deal to bring in Marco has finally worked."

Russ had become the talisman of the team having joined the club as a fresh faced 10-year-old and worked his way through the various youth teams.

Frankfurt had been desperate to retain his services after a career that has spanned 159 matches since making his debut in 2005.

But the size of the fee and the player's desire to return to top-flight football forced a reluctant sale.

Their general manager, Bruno Hubner, told the club's official website: "We absolutely regret seeing Marco Russ leave our club. He was a key player of our first-team line-up.

"However, we all knew we had to accept those offers after our relegation."

Santos Won't Sell Neymar

Santos maintains that they will not sell star striker Neymar to Real Madrid this summer.

Real boss Jose Mourinho wants a new forward and has been repeatedly credited with an interest in activating the 19-year-old's €45million (£39.6m) contract release clause.

It has been reported that Santos president Luis Alvaro Ribeiro has met with Real counterpart Florentino Perez in Paris to discuss the transfer.

But Ribeiro is quoted as saying by Intereconomia TV: "There was no meeting in Paris. That was already denied by other members of the board of Santos.

"They (reports) also said that I was in Barcelona to negotiate for Neymar. People have a very fertile imagination."

European champions Barcelona have been linked with Neymar, who is under contract until 2015, as have wealthy Premier League clubs Manchester City and Chelsea.

The Brazil international's agent claims that all that remains is for his client to make a decision on when he will leave, because he is said to want to play in December's Club World Cup, where he could face Barcelona.

Ribeiro added: "We have no interest in selling Neymar. Real Madrid might be willing to pay the buyout clause, but it all depends on the player.

"We are sure of his will to be world champion with Santos. We hope to fulfil his contract here."

Chelsea Tempt Tottenham With £39m Player Plus Cash Offer For Luka Modric

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas is poised to test Spurs’ resolve to keep Luka Modric by offering them £27million AND Daniel Sturridge.

But Spurs chairman Daniel Levy will be reluctant to flog the Croatian playmaker, 25, because he fears he may then lose Gareth Bale too.

The Stamford Bridge side has already made a £22m bid for Modric but will up the cash offer and throw in striker Sturridge, 21, as part of a new deal.

Harry Redknapp’s recent attempts to appease Luka Modric in recent pre-season friendlies by naming the Croatian midfielder as captain are not likely to have made the 25 year old change his mind about wanting a move to Chelsea so with that in mind this latest offer may well tempt the North London side into selling the want-away star.

Tottenham boss Redknapp stated that an offer of £35m would not be enough to land Modric but this latest offer is arguably worth nearer to £40m and would help resolve the White Hart Lane club’s striking problems at the same time.

Daniel Sturridge showed last season during his loan spell at Bolton that he is ready to make an impact in Premier League football. The England Under 21 international netted an impressive eight goals in 12 games whilst at the Reebok Stadium and knows that he is unlikely to garner regular first team football under new Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas.

The Portuguese manager has the likes of Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Fernando Torres and arguably Salomon Kalou, all ahead of Sturridge and is also linked with moves to bring either Hulk or Radamel Falcao from his former club, FC Porto.

Therefore a short move from West to North London may appeal to Sturridge and could help boost Redknapp’s attacking options. Tottenham’s quartet of Robbie Keane, Jermain Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Peter Crouch all struggled in Premier League action last term with their collective total of domestic league goals being less that Defoe’s personal total from the season before.

This has led to Redknapp making approaches, unsuccessful ones, for strikers across Europe in a bid to help resolve the problem.

Whilst Tottenham won’t want to sell Modric there may come a point where they realise that keeping a player who doesn’t want to play for the team may backfire and have an effect on the team’s morale. There is of course the fear that if Redknapp does sell, that other big name players, like Gareth Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart, may also push for a move, again this may be a risk the club has no choice other than to make.

Add to that the fact that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has stated that Redknapp must sell before he can buy and the weight may fall towards the club feeling a sale to Chelsea makes the most sense.

Redknapp is also looking to sell a number of squad players to help provide funds for new acquisitions and the likes of Robbie Keane, David Bentley, Niko Kranjcar, Giovani dos Santos, Alan Hutton and Wilson Palacios may all be sacrificed for the greater good of the White Hart Lane side.

Arsenal Set To Improve Bid For Phil Jagielka

Arsenal is reportedly ready to up their bid to land Everton defender Phil Jagielka to £12 million.

The Gunners conceded the highest number of goals among the top four in the Premier League last season, and questions were asked of the club's defence throughout the course of the campaign.

The north London club has been linked with a number of players with Premier League experience to bolster a defence that has also been depleted this summer by the departure of left-back Gael Clichy to Manchester City.

Arsenal reportedly had a £10m bid for Jagielka turned down by the Toffees last week, but now The Express claims that the bid will be increased by another £2m this week.

It is believed that Everton would agree to sell Jagielka if they receive an offer of £17m for the former Sheffield United central defender.

Bolton To Make Surprise £4m Swoop For Liverpool Striker

Bolton boss Owen Coyle is ready to swoop for Liverpool striker David Ngog in a surprise £4million raid.

Coyle wants Ngog to give his attack new pace and fire and hopes to do a deal with Kop chief Kenny Dalglish after the pacy forward turned down a move to Sunderland.

The flying Frenchman did not fancy being part of the Jordan Henderson deal, saying he wanted to stay at Anfield.

But although the 22-year-old has played and scored in pre-season games, he knows he is on his way out of Merseyside.

Coyle thinks Ngog would be an ideal addition especially as he may be quicker to answer his call than Barcelona’s Spanish under-21 attacker Jeffren Suarez.

Liverpool Keen On Winger Aiden McGeady

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish is considering a move to sign Spartak Moscow attacker Aiden McGeady as he looks to bring in another winger to Anfield. The former Celtic star has been a relative success in Russia since his move from Parkhead last August but may well be tempted by a move to the Premier League side.

Having brought in Stewart Downing to fill the left wing slot Dalglish has started to look at potential players to fill the right wing berth that has in the main been filled by Dutch international Dirk Kuyt, very much a makeshift option following his conversion by Rafa Benitez from his more familiar striking role.

Liverpool have spent over £100m on new additions in 2011, with the club’s new owners funding moves to bring Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll in January and Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Doni and Downing this summer. Dalglish is thought to be keen on bringing in even more natural width to help provide the ammunition for his strike-force.

McGeady spent seven seasons in the Celtic’s first team, notching up over 250 appearances for the Bhoys before he completed a £9.5m move to Moscow. The Glasgow born Irish international has also collected 40 international caps and is a regular in Giovanni Trapattoni’s national team set-up.

Any move to capture McGeady would clearly require a fee well in excess of that paid by Spartak Moscow and it seems that Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group, seem more than content to fund Dalglish’s transfer targets. The 25 year old is able to play on either wing and as a second striker.

To help balance the books it is thought that Liverpool are looking to offload a number of their squad players, Paul Konchesky having already left for Leicester City, and the likes of Milan Jovanovic, Alberto Aquilani, Christian Poulsen, Joe Cole and Raul Meireles strongly linked with moves away from Anfield.

PSG Join Pastore Chase

Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini has now claimed that Paris Saint Germain is in contention to buy Javier Pastore along with Chelsea, whilst he also says Real Madrid could make an offer.

Zamparini, who seems to comment every 24 hours on the situation of his star man, said on Saturday that the race was likely to be between Chelsea, Manchester Cityand Roma.

His vice-president, Guglielmo Micciche, stated on Sunday that Pastore was 'very probably' joining Chelsea.

Zamparini now claims that there are other offers and one is from PSG.

"There are three or four important proposals," said Zamparini.

"We'll exchange opinions, then go to France and England for negotiations. The interested clubs are Paris Saint Germain, Chelsea and also something in Spain, but that depends on who Real Madridmanage to sell.

"The newspapers make it look as if everyone is in the running, but I hope he won't stay in Serie A. That way he won't have to face us as an opponent.

"The club that comes to us with a serious offer will take him."

Palermo has also been linked with Pastore's young brother, Juan Manuel, as a possible replacement.

Blackburn In Petrovic Link

Partizan Belgrade have confirmed that they are ready to sell Radosav Petrovic, as Serbian sources claim Blackburn Rovers are interested.

Petrovic has already seen a move to Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem fall through as he was poised to pen a five-year deal.

Now Partizan have revealed that Petrovic is close to a move and reports in Serbia suggest the club in question is Blackburn.

The 22-year-old Serbia international midfielder has been with Partizan for three-years and was one of the top-scorers in the Super Liga last season as he helped his club to the title.

Now Partizan has confirmed that Petrovic does look like he will be moving.

"We have a serious bid for Petrovic and the chances are that there will be a transfer," said the club's sporting director Mladen Krstajic.

Vitesse have, for their part, confirmed that they are still interested in signing Petrovic, along with fellow countryman Slobodan Rajkovic from Chelsea.

Manchester United Considering Move For Joey Barton

Manchester United is believed to be considering making a move for Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton.

The 28-year-old has only one year left on his contract on Tyneside, and Magpies manager Alan Pardew has already confirmed that the former Manchester City man has not been offered a new deal.

Speculation has since been rife about the future of the former Eastlands man, and now The Sunday Times reports that Sir Alex Ferguson is considering making a cut-price move for the midfielder.

It is believed that a bid as low as £2 (€2.3) million would be enough to secure Barton's signature, despite Pardew having previously maintained that the midfielder could remain at St James' Park.

Lyon Ponder Swoop For Mahamadou Diarra

Free agent Mahamadou Diarra could be on his way back to Lyon this summer as the Ligue 1 giants are looking to add some more steel to their midfield ahead of the start of the new season, France Football reports.

New head coach Remi Garde is determined to fight for top honours in 2011-12 after the club missed out on the French league title in the past three seasons and he is said to see the 30-year-old as a good addition to the club's squad.

Lyon face stiff competition in the race for Diarra's signature though as the midfielder is allegedly in talks with clubs from England and Italy about a potential move.

Diarra previously wore the club's jersey from 2002 until 2006 and earned himself a move to Real Madrid following a number of fine performances for the Stade Gerland outfit.

The Mali international left Madrid for Monaco in January 2011, but decided to leave them again this summer following their relegation to Ligue 2 and has since been looking for a new club.

Frank de Boer Expresses Interest In Anderlecht's Dmitri Bulykin

Ajax coach Frank de Boer has revealed that the Eredivisie champions are considering making a move for Russian attacker Dmitri Bulykin, currently under contract with Anderlecht.

The Amsterdam giants are looking to add another striker to their squad to provide cover for Kolbeinn Sigthorsson and were previously linked with NAC's Matthew Amoah. However, they have now apparently turned their attention to Bulykin instead.

"He [Bulykin] is a very interesting player for us. He's the type of attacker who can make something happen in the closing stages of a game. We need someone like that," De Boer said to Eredivisie Live.

The 31-year-old Bulykin was farmed out on loan to ADO Den Haag last term and scored an impressive 21 goals in 30 Eredivisie games.

ADO were keen to hold on to their star striker but lacked the financial resources to make Bulykin's stay at the club permanent. He has a contract until the summer of 2012 with Anderlecht, but the Belgian giants are ready to cash in on the attacker if a good offer comes in.

Kaka: I Do Not Want To Leave

Real Madrid midfielder Kaka says he is happy at the club and will not be sold this summer.

Kaka has endured a tough spell at the Bernabeu since his £56 million move from AC Milan in 2009 but, following two injury-plagued campaigns, wants to prove himself in Spain.

"I always said I wanted to stay and I want to play for Real Madrid and convince," he is quoted as saying by Marca. "My friends have always helped me, the technical staff, the club. I always knew there would be much speculation, but I spoke to the club and with the coach and he was tranquil.

"I do not want to leave and the coach told me he wants me here for next season and the club told me there is no need to sell me."

The Brazilian, who has been linked to Chelsea and Inter Milan, also said he hopes that Real's summer signings will bring success to the club as they look to overcome rivals Barcelona in the league campaign.

"It will be very special for me because after two difficult seasons it can be a very good term,'' he added. "I hope to enjoy playing for Madrid, Mourinho has asked me this - that I enjoy it and play with confidence."

Kaka played a part as Real Madrid beat Philadelphia Union 2-1 in their tour of the USA, with Jose Callejon and Mesut Ozil scoring the goals.

Manchester City Set To Reward Joe Hart With New Contract

Manchester City is believed to be set to offer goalkeeper Joe Hart a new five-year deal worth £90,000-a-week.

The 24-year-old shot-stopper had a tremendous season upon his return from Birmingham City - where he had been on a season-long loan.

After displacing Shay Given as the first-choice, the relatively young 'keeper managed to establish himself as a regular first-team player for England. He also managed to help the club win their first trophy in over three decades, with the FA Cup being the first piece of silverware at Eastlands in 35 years.

Goal.com had previously revealed exclusively that City are poised to hand out new contracts to Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong, and now The Daily Mail reports that the Shrewsbury-born shot-stopper's wages are set triple when he is offered new terms.

Hart kept more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League last season.