Transfers Galore

Plenty of signings to take notice of today, starting with Martin Petrov's move to Manchester City. The Bulgarian winger moved from Atletico Madrid in a 4.7 million pound deal, and should prove to be an astute signing for Sven. City desperately need midfield strength and width, and he can provide both, as well as having enough experience to ensure a relatively smooth settlement into the Premier League. City still need a few more signings, but they are starting to look more and more like a top 10 side, and I can see them pushing for UEFA Cup spot, people should never write off a man like Sven.

Middlesbrough have cmpleted the signing of Luke Young from Charlton for 2.5 million pounds He will prove to be a very good bit of business for Southgate. He's a tidy player, solid, and combined with Huth and Woodgate, the Boro defence is definitely their strong point. They lack a bit of depth in midfield but they might also suprise a few this season. It all depends on Southgate, last season was his induction and though he didn't get relegated, it wasn't a particulary great season and he didn't come across very well. But the second season is usually where the bad managers are found out so we shall see what happens, personally, I'm not sure he's the man to take Middlesbrough forward, not yet anyway. He needed a few years at a lower club to learn his trade, and to make his mistakes, but he hasn't had that time and it is a hard task to manage a Premiership Club whilst you are still learning the trade. This season is crunch time for him.

Sunderland have signed Paul McShane from West Brom in a 1.5 million pound deal that could potentially be raised to 2.5 million. He's a 21 year old defender with a lot of potential, and though he may not make a huge impact a first, he has the potential to become an establish first-team player for Sunderland. Keane has signed a few players from the Championship and it will be interesting to see how they do, they've been given a huge chance to prove themselves, and they need to take that chance because it might not come again.

Bolton are set to take Christian Wilhelmsson on loan for a season. He's an experienced international winger who will be a dangerous guy to defend against. He has that certain amount of flair that can create trouble in opposition defences and he will be a good asset to Bolton. There's a line of thought that he has never really fulfilled his potential, and he has 2 difficult seasons at Nantes and Roma, but the Premier League should suit his style of play and, hopefully, the chance to impress potential bidders will give him the appetite to perform to his highest level. He could turn out to be a gem of a player.

Lots more pre-season friendlies keeping us going, and it was good to see Albert Luque score twice in Newcastle's win over Celtic today. I've always rated him and he has the natural talent to become a huge player for Newcastle. He hasn't been handled particulary well since is move, he's definitely a player who needs constant one-on-one talks with the manager to give him confidence, and that isn't usually the British style of management. But Big Sam has always looked ofr any way to gain an edge in his management techniques and it seems like he has been chatting to Luque, and challenging him to stake a claim. It's too early to see if it will work, but if it does, and we get to see the best of Luque, then we should be in for a real treat.

I'm afraid that's it for today, tune in tomorrow for the Friday Night Review, which looks to be shaping up rather nicely. See you then.