Tottenham are weighing up an approach for Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva.
The Londoners are preparing for the seemingly inevitable departure of Luka Modric to Chelsea, who are believed to on the verge of submitting a £30m bid for the Croatian, and have identified Lucas as an option. With Wilson Palacios also likely to leave White Hart Lane with Stoke City interested in taking him on, the need to bolster the squad becomes clear.

Despite the pundits tipping Arsenal for another difficult season following the club's drab goalless draw away to Newcastle yesterday, manager Arsene Wenger is content with his players' efforts, particularly those in the much criticized Gunners defense.

The boss singled out first-choice defensive pairing of Thomas Vermaelen and Laurent Koscielny for praise, insisting that the two players must be lauded for helping goalkeeper Wojciech Szceszny keep an impressive clean sheet in a difficult atmosphere at St.

Every year, around this time of year or so, EA Sports has been releasing the latest FIFA edition's trailer. The upcoming FIFA 12 looks to have some of the biggest gameplay changes we'll see yet. With additions like precision dribbling and the player impact engine, along with revamped defending and matchday presentation, this looks to be an extraordinary game.

I know, you've been listless the past few weeks. Something's missing in your life, maybe you're not eating enough protein? Haven't called your mother recently? Or maybe it's the lack of Bolton Wanderers. Well, fret not dear reader, as the Men in White have quite the busy summer planned. We've known for a while about the jaunt over the pond, and your beloved bloggers will even be attending the Houston match.

Ray Wilkins has once again heaped praise on the players he used to work with and once more reiterates the hunger and desire the players have at Chelsea and issued a warning to the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City and the Liverpool's of this world.
He said:

"They are a wonderfully gifted bunch of guys and they will be back.

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images (Bleacher Report) With European home grown talent continuing to rise in its value, more and more Europea clubs will be searching for alternatives to high priced local boys.
In the next year or so, more and more young American based talent, whether it is North or South American, will be flowing over to Europe.

Thursday was the MLS SuperDraft, and as we did last year, we thought we would take a look at some of the business aspects of the proceedings. Before we explore the broadcast, a couple of notes on some of the coverage of the event. The Twitterverse was exploding with coverage of the draft. Journalists, fans, teams, players, bloggers and others drove the draft coverage to the top of the Twitter lists of trends.

By MIKE NASTRI

The Houston Dynamo came away as the big winner on draft day taking Kofi Sarkodie and trading up to select Will Bruin.

Sarkodie, the dynamic right back from Akron, fell a few spots lower than expected on draft day. Houston took the best player available with the seventh overall pick in Sarkodie despite just recently signing a right back in Hunter Freeman,.

Liverpool is one of the Barclays Premier League clubs being linked with a move for Josip Iličić.
The 23-year-old Slovenian international has been monitored by a number of clubs after a rapid rise to prominence in Italy, with Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish thought to be one of the managers taking a look at the player in January.

In the second part of the Lampard interview published in THE SUN, Frank Lampard has been talking about the run in to the end of the season and believes the additions of Luiz and Torres and our recent run of form has put us right back in it.
He said:

"Probably a month ago, if we'd have been honest, with our mindset at the time, deep down we probably would have thought it might have gone.

Major League Soccer Players Union released salaries and compensation for all players earlier this month. There were few surprises throughout the report as well as few additions to the top of the compensation table in the league.

Despite the trend of past seasons, 2011 proves to be the league's time to take one step back with regards to player compensation as the Reserve League is reintroduced, significantly increasing the pool of available players.

Heather MarikCHICAGO -- The Chicago Red Stars of the Women's Premier Soccer League announce the additions of defenders Leigh Jakes (McDonough, Ga.) and Heather Marik (Naperville, Ill.) to the team's roster for the 2011 season.
Jakes completed her tenure with Northwestern University last year.

**This week's guest post comes courtesy of Tony, who's been commenting regularly as Tropics Red. He discusses the impact that the surge of young talent might have on Liverpool's transfer strategy and the squad in general, as well as a look towards next season.

So, we heard from Arsene for the first time this summer and it has set some cats amongst some pigeons.

Speaking to Arsenal Player ahead of the Asian tour, it all started quite well. He spoke about how he would fight to keep Nasri and Cesc, which is good. Obviously we know the subtle differences between the two situations and I saw a report yesterday saying we're now offering Nasri £110,000 per week.

One of the key components of the Philadelphia Union's turnaround figures to be a fixture with the club for the foreseeable future.

The Union secured the full rights to Carlos Valdes on Friday, ensuring that the 26-year-old Colombian centerback does not return to the club that held his rights, Independiente Santa Fe.

As you would expect, Spurs players are talking in positive terms ahead of the new season and although there have been no major signings at the Lane this summer, skipper Michael Dawson is confident that the club can retain their top four status at the end of May.

"We're aiming to be in the top four, we've been in it, and the lads are hungry to be in it again," Dawson is quoted as saying in The Independent.

Skysports.com understands Bolton Wanderers have made a bid to sign Liverpool striker David Ngog.
Bolton boss Owen Coyle is in the market for attacking additions after Daniel Sturridge returned to Chelsea after an impressive loan spell and Johan Elmander joined Galatasaray.
Turkish forward Tuncay is close to finalizing a loan move to the Reebok Stadium and Coyle is now stepping up his interest in Ngog.

Who each Premier League team needs to sign in the transfer window

Despite having all the close season to do their summer shopping, it seems the majority of the clubs in the Premier League are still seeking additions to their squad for this season.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-08-16 16:27:56 from: The Mail

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

After months of anticipation, it is hard to believe that the first weekend of the Premier League has already come and gone. As we all look ahead to the second week, here are some additions that should be made to all fantasy squads on ESPN Premier...
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Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz

Philadelphia Union

The "2011 in Review" articles for the Philadelphia Union are now up on the MLS website. One provides decent insight, the other, not so much. In the Q & A cobbled together from the last press conference of the season, in addition to relating that Freddy Adu was at "60 percent" for much of the end of the season due to a back injury and the need for defensive additions and competition within the various positions on the field, Peter Nowak discusses the mindset the team needs to win a championship:

"I told you guys at the press conferences we've had all year long that we believe in what we're building, we believe what is the culture around the team.

There will be no more midfielders, strikers, or goalkeepers. The only question is cover for Thomas Vermaelen whose Achilles heel injury seems to be dragging on forever.

Vermaelen's been a fantastic addition but is a known injury risk. While at Ajax he missed a substantial number of games in four out of the five seasons.

Or rather, 'Argentines in Spain and Portugal,' with a few quick additions, since there wasn't a lot to write home about elsewhere aside from Carlos Tevez's goal in the FA Cup. Ben Shave and David Cartlidge, though, are here to ... Continue reading →

The Philadelphia Union introduced two new signings, Faryd Mondragon and Carlos Valdes, at a press conference today. The press conference was held at Fado's on Locust Street. It was well attended by the Sons of Ben and other fans. I appreciate the fact that the Union includes fans in events like these.

Ahead of our big FA CUP clash at Goodison Park tomorrow here is the view from www.themerseyjuror.co.uk.
As an Evertonian I am in no way looking forward to this game. Things off the pitch are taking over for us at the minute. We are absolutely skint, will not (by the looks of it) be making any additions to the squad.

Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has hit out at Chelsea striker Fernando Torres for turning his back on the club's fans, but claims the future is bright at Anfield without the Spaniard.
The 26-year-old completed a British record £50 million move on Monday after handing in a transfer request, while the Merseyside club brought in Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll for nearly £60m.

Liverpool continues to be linked with defender Simon Kjaer despite having a January bid rejected, according to reports.
The Danish international was being monitored by a number of English clubs in the summer before moving to the Bundesliga, and again in January. It was Liverpool who moved for the 21-year-old though, with German media outlets claiming a bid from Kenny Dalglish was rejected.

PHOENIX, Ariz. – I have a difficult time pegging where I think newly renamed Sporting Kansas City will go this year in MLS.

I have a less difficult time pegging where Sporting Kansas City will go in the longer run.

Basically, I really like the properly directed commitment ownership is showing.

Liverpool are reportedly preparing a summer swoop for Barcelona winger Ibrahim Afellay.
The Dutch wing wizard is out-of-favour at the Nou Camp after joining the La Liga outfit in the summer, and Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish is reportedly keen on bringing the player to Anfield.
Afellay was linked with a Liverpool switch in the summer as his PSV Eindhoven contract ran down, but the player moved to Spain instead in a bid to further his career.

Welcome back to State of the States, a monthly roundup of some of the top stories in US Soccer. You smell that? Is it the scent of greenery peeking out from beneath the mounds of snow decorating my North American yard? No, it's...

MLS First Kick 2011

We're just a week away from seeing the back of the long, cold Major League Soccer off-season.

Trinidad and Tobago youth international, Daneil Cyrus is now gone from camp with Kansas City. Cyrus did not play in the team's double header against Portland and Montreal last weekend and was again not in the lineup last night when KC took on the Arizona Sahuaros. There'd been no word on what had happened to him but some were speculating that he was gone.

"Unnamed Philadelphia Union Podcast": Episode 6: Season Preview With Keith Hickey (click the linked text for the podcast. Also available as a download on iTunes here or through the RSS feed)

Keith Hickey, of MFUSA.com and Goal.com, returns to the "Unnamed Philadelphia Union Podcast" (Up & Up).

There is one story that never goes away and that's the link between Jose Mourinho and Chelsea. Ever since he left Chelsea in controversial circumstances there is an argument that Roman Abramovich has struggled to find someone to fill his shoes.
Avram Grant stepped in led us to the Champions League final and was sacked.

Liverpool are reportedly keeping tabs on striker Marcus Pedersen.
The 20-year-old Norwegian has been impressing in the Eredivisie after joining Vitesse Arnhem in the summer, and tribalfootball claims Liverpool are again monitoring the player.
Pedersen had trials with Liverpool as a teenager, and the Reds have been monitoring his progress ever since.

[Editor's Note: Breakdown of the team's formations, good read and front page'd. Quality Fanpost.]

After watching the first game of the season, it is clear that this roster is much better than the one that took the field to start the inaugural season (David Myrie, anybody?). Beyond the obvious upgrade in net, development of the young guys and additions to the roster since then have provided many more options and much more talent.

Portland Timbers vs. Chicago Fire in the Good, the Bad & the Ugly style.

The Good: Timber Nation looked great. Portland, its fans and its team are great additions to MLS. Marco Pappa's goal looked very good. His confidence continues to grow. Dominic Oduro racked up the assist. It's positive to see Oduro connect with other players.

Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool might only be a couple of players away from being contenders for the top trophies next season.
The ultra-consistent Reds defender, who went second in the all-time list of Anfield appearance makers against Fulham, thinks its imperative the club gets back in the Champions League as soon as possible, but believes the right signings could help them get there sooner rather than later.

Andreas Davi does not play coy about the M.O. for his Milwaukee Bavarians team this summer.

"Our biggest strength is speed on top," he said. "It will make some people dizzy."

The second season for the Bavarians' resurrected National Premier Soccer League side under Davi debuts at home at 1 p.

Liverpool is being linked with a shock summer move for Barcelona defender Dani Alves.
The Brazilian full back helped the Catalan outfit secure the La Liga title in a 1-1 draw against Levante, and has been one of the club's most consistent performers since joining from Sevilla back in 2008.
Despite recently signing a new long-term deal, The Metro claims Liverpool are preparing an 'audacious' £20 million bid to bring the player to Anfield this summer.

Good Friday to you all. Rather grey and miserable here which, I suppose, is as good a sign as any that summer has arrived. Hurrah!

Arsene's press conference took place yesterday and, really, there was nothing out of the ordinary going on. Anyone looking for a revitalised, markedly different Arsene Wenger will have been disappointed.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard hopes new signings over the summer will ensure that the team can once again compete at the top of the Premier League.
After failing to qualify for the Champions League last season, the Reds have now been unable to reach the Europa League following their sixth-placed finish this term.