The 2012 Summer Transfer Window thread

[Adam]

Hartlepool have signed ex-Leeds midfielder Simon Walton.

Any good?

I don't know how well he's done since he came back from that long-term knee injury, but by all accounts he was poor in his older days at Leeds, Ipswich and the other 400 clubs he turned out for. He also had some disciplinary problems at I believe Plymouth under Paul Sturrock.

[Baddar]

Wait, I'm allowed to like Park Ji Sung now? Awesome.

Nope, because he said the United fans are the best ever, just ahead of the Turks.

[db07]

It's really come out of left field this transfer. It is sorta like United have a 1 Asian player rule, and with the signing of Kagawa, had to move quickly to fix the problem

[Dynamite]

Sad to see Park leave, his work-rate and attitude have been priceless for us and instrumental in some very big wins over the years. Last season was a pretty poor one in terms of form for him so it's no real surprise to see him leaving. Nani, Valencia and Young will almost always be picked ahead of him on the wings, Kagawa will slot in that role behind Rooney that Park sometimes went into, and the times we had him in a midfield two were not very successful at all. Basically it seems to be a good move for all three parties - we don't really need him anymore and a potential £5mil fee is good business, QPR get a very experienced starter, and Park gets regular football.

[Lineker]

Salomon Kalou has joined Lille on a deal until 2016.

[IAceI]

Good signing for Lille that I think. They should still be a relative force in France next season depending largely on how PSG do, but still top 3 I'd think.

[Matt]

Wait, I'm allowed to like Park Ji Sung now? Awesome.

Nope, because he said the United fans are the best ever, just ahead of the Turks.

How's about go fuck yourself (Y)

[EddieG]

Dutch BBC said Verthongen to Spurs is a done deal for 8 million euros.

[Jimmy]

Really? That's like 6mil, isn't it? That's cheap as.

[Adam]

So in a way a swap for Hazard and Kalou.

I wonder who got the better end of that deal!

[Dingle]

So in a way a swap for Hazard and Kalou.

I wonder who got the better end of that deal!

Not really. Depends how much Kalou went for anyway, and how he performs next season, and if Hazard can bring his Lille form to the Premier League. To early to tell who got the better end of the deal really. I remember Liverpool fans claiming they got the better end of the Torres deal, but Newcastle got the biggest benefit really from it. Although I'm only sceptical because Kalou has been awesome for me on FM .

[Jimmy]

WEnt on a free, didn't he?

[Dingle]

Really? Well, Lille probably got the better end of that then. Money to buy some future players and an experienced Premier League player for nothing except whatever wages he's got. Not bad at all. Going to start watching ligue 1 games next year, so hopefully Lille can bolster a bit more and they and PSG can run wild.

[Grounded Wingman]

Really? Well, Lille probably got the better end of that then. Money to buy some future players and an experienced Premier League player for nothing except whatever wages he's got. Not bad at all. Going to start watching ligue 1 games next year, so hopefully Lille can bolster a bit more and they and PSG can run wild.

I'm sure I read that Lille signed Marvin Martin from Sochaux for €10M, which is a good bit of business for them.

[Adam]

I literally just meant the talents of Hazard vs the talents of Kalou. I know money-wise and everything Lille have done very well out of it.

[stokeriño]

Kalou's contract ended last week, so yes a free.

[Summers]

Villa being linked with Rennes players Tongo Hamed Doumbia and Yacine Brahimi.

[Dingle]

Villa being linked with Rennes players Tongo Hamed Doumbia and Yacine Brahimi.

I got excited and thought you were being linked to the real Doumbia then . Would love him at your club, even more pace and power up front with Bent and Gabby.

[Summers]

Villa being linked with Rennes players Tongo Hamed Doumbia and Yacine Brahimi.

I got excited and thought you were being linked to the real Doumbia then . Would love him at your club, even more pace and power up front with Bent and Gabby.

This Doumbia isn't fake, you know?

We also had a bid rejected for Bertrand, if you believe the papers.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

In more Tottenham-related cut price genius....

Tottenham are closing in on a £5 million deal to sign Emmanuel Adebayor on a permanent transfer from Manchester City, Goal.com can reveal.

The Londoners have reduced City’s initial asking price by half and will pay the Togolese striker a £5m signing-on fee as they look to supplement his current £170,000-a-week wage package.

Sources at City expect the deal to be completed within days as they look to free up their wage budget and space in their squad to make a move for Arsenal captain Robin van Persie.

The Premier League champions had hoped for a bidding war for Adebayor following interest earlier in the summer from Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan, but Tottenham have emerged as the only option.

Adebayor, 28, made it clear he was eager to return to White Hart Lane and new Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas also expressed his desire to sign the former Arsenal man.

“It didn’t look very likely at the end of the season but we’ve found a solution that satisfies City, Spurs and the player,” a source told Goal.com. “Spurs are the only team to have held talks over the transfer and City are desperate to get rid of him.”

Adebayor played a key role for Tottenham on loan last season under Harry Redknapp, scoring 17 Premier League goals and providing 11 assists in 33 appearances, building a particularly strong understanding with winger Gareth Bale.

His arrival will be a huge boost for Villas-Boas as he prepares for the start of pre-season on Monday with Jermain Defoe the only senior striker at the club.

Spurs will look to sign at least one more young striker with potential to improve, but Adebayor is expected to lead the line next term in Villas-Boas’ preferred 4-3-3 system.

Adebayor signed a five-year contract when he joined City from Arsenal for £25m in 2009 but has endured a miserable time at the Etihad Stadium since the appointment of Roberto Mancini as manager in December 2009.

He has made just 45 appearances for the club in all competitions and spent the second half of the 2010-11 season on loan at Real Madrid before moving to Spurs on a season-long loan last term.