Eriksson's sign Geovanni

(News from soccernet.com)

Brazilian attacker Geovanni believes his experience with Barcelona and Benfica will stand him in good stead as he looks forward to fulfilling his 'dream' of playing in England.

The former Barcelona player, who has four caps for his country, has agreed a one-year deal with Manchester City

The 27-year-old becomes Sven-Goran Eriksson's third signing since taking the reins, following striker Rolando Bianchi and midfielder Gelson Fernandes

Geovanni, who cost around £11million when he moved to the Nou Camp in 2001, last played for Brazilian side Cruzeiro but had a trial at Portsmouth earlier this summer, scoring in a 2-0 friendly win against Yeovil.

He passed a medical at City's Carrington training complex on Tuesday and will link up with his new team-mates when they return from their Swedish tour.

'I think I've got some good experience having played at Barcelona and Benfica, and having played for a few years in Europe I think I'm ready to play in the Premier League,' he told the club's website.

'It's been a dream for me to play in England, and this is a dream as well to come to a club like Manchester City.

'It's great to be here after playing in Europe for a few years already, and I can't wait to get started.

'Playing in England has been an ambition of mine, I watched a lot of Premier League games when I was at Benfica and now that I'm here I just want to start playing.'

City fans may have fond memories of their new signing after he scored for Portuguese side Benfica against local rivals Manchester United in 2005 - a goal that contributed to the Red Devils' Champions League exit.

'That was a special night for me and for Benfica, and I'm hoping to get more goals like that now that I'm here at City,' he continued.

Geovanni also scored once in his short Brazil career, against Bolivia, and found the net 17 times in 94 games during his time at Benfica.

Sunderland sign Richardson from Man Utd

Written by: AFP

England midfielder Kieran Richardson, seen here in 2006, on Monday completed his move from Premiership champions Manchester United to top-flight newcomers Sunderland for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal.

LONDON (AFP) - England midfielder Kieran Richardson on Monday completed his move from Premiership champions Manchester United to top-flight newcomers Sunderland for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal.The 22-year-old, who could make his debut in Wednesday's friendly with Darlington, becomes manager Roy Keane's fourth summer signing to follow the captures of Greg Halford, Russell Anderson and Michael Chopra.

"I'm delighted that we've been able to bring Kieran to Sunderland," said Keane who played with Richards0on during his own Old Trafford career.

"Having worked with him in the past I'm well aware of what a good player and a good lad he is. He's ready for a fresh challenge and hopefully Sunderland will provide that for him."

Richardson spent 2004-05 on loan at West Brom and was instrumental in Albion's last-gasp escape from top-flight relegation.He earned an England call-up in May 2005 and scored a brace on his debut against the USA. He has won eight caps.

"It's an exciting move for me," said Richardson"I know all about Roy Keane and I'm looking forward to playing for his team. Sunderland is a big club and it's a great move for me."

Spanish Golden Boy went Anfield....

LONDON (AFP) - Spanish striker Fernando Torres on Wednesday finalised his transfer to Liverpool from Atletico Madrid.The 23-year-old signed a six-year contract to play for compatriot Rafael Benitez at Anfield and he was unveiled in the number nine shirt vacated by Kop favourite Robbie Fowler.

"I'm very happy to be joining the club. It is a fantastic opportunity to be joining one of the best clubs in Europe with a fantastic history," said Torres who is reported to have cost up to 26.5 million pounds (53 million dollars).

"You don't get opportunities like this every day of your life."Torres passed a medical at the club's Melwood training ground on Tuesday and briefly flew back to his homeland to say an emotional goodbye to fans in Madrid where he had a record of 82 goals in 214 league games.He then returned to Merseyside to complete the formalities of the transfer.

Asked what impact manager Benitez had on his decision, the Spain striker said: "It was important, the confidence shown in me by him. When you hear a club like Liverpool is interested in you it is something that fills you with a lot of surprise and a lot of pride."Torres insisted he was ready to work hard to live up to his high price tag.

"The figures that have been mentioned are bound to bring an added pressure, but when you sign for a club like Liverpool you've got to bear pressure.

"I know the demands are high but I believe in hard work and think I can work hard to fulfil those expectations."

Asked whether it would be hard to adapt to the English top flight, Torres added: "Liverpool are a slightly different case, I have spoken to my team-mates who have come from the Spanish league so that will help with settling in.

"Torres would not be drawn on reports that Chelsea had been interested in signing him last summer."I don't think it does any good to speak about what happened in the past. As soon as I heard of Liverpool's interest that was the only club I wanted to consider," he addedThe Torres transfer brings Benitez's spending spree in the three years he has been at Anfield to a whopping 121 million pounds (180 million euros).

He passed the three-year mark in Merseyside last month and the arrival of his young compatriot will leave him with no excuses for lack of success in the new season.The Spanish coach has been quick to criticise the supposed lack of funds at Anfield to allow him to compete with the financial muscle of Chelsea, but his three year spending spree is the biggest in the club's history.

Torres is the big name that Benitez believes will fire Liverpool into a title-challenging position challenging the might of Chelsea and arch rivals Manchester United.He will find himself under pressure to produce the 20 goals a season tally crucial to a title-chasing side.

Fans will certainly expect him to do better than Benitez's previous striking purchases. Fernando Morientes, Craig Bellamy, Dirk Kuyt, and Peter Crouch have all failed to provide the dynamic goals-per-game ratio Benitez craves.

But with Torres on board, the manager now knows excuses will not be tolerated next term if a title challenge fails to materialise.

Arsenal Latest Signing

Can he replace Henry who had just left??

(From SkySports.com)

Arsenal have completed the signing of Eduardo da Silva from Dinamo Zagreb

The Croatian has signed a four-year deal at Emirates Stadium after Arsenal paid an undisclosed fee for his signature.

Arsenal announced they had agreed a deal with Dinamo on Monday and they have tied up the formalities of the transfer, with the move now just subject to a work permit being obtained.

The highly-rated striker will help fill the void left by Thierry Henry's departure to Barcelona last month.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger believes da Silva will prove a valuable addition to his squad for the coming season.

"We are delighted to have signed Eduardo da Silva," Wenger told the club's official website.

"He has great qualities and will integrate very well into our style of football. He is a very good finisher and although he is predominantly a striker, he is a very adaptable player.

"I have known about him for a while but his performances against us in last year's Champions League really showed what a dangerous player he is.

"Da Silva is a pacy, intelligent player. Also, he is hardworking and has a very good team ethic to his game.

"Eduardo will be a great asset for us and we are all looking forward to him joining up with us."
Brazilian-born da Silva expressed his delight at making the move to North London.

"I am so happy and proud to be joining Arsenal Football Club," said da Silva.

"Arsenal is one of the biggest clubs in the world with many great players and I am looking forward to helping my new club challenge for trophies

News from Sunderland

Some latest news from the newly promote team to EPL, lead by previous Man Utd skipper Roy Keane...

Preston North End have confirmed that Sunderland are no longer interested in signing England international David Nugent.

The Black Cats were given permission to discuss terms with the striker, along with another unnamed Premier League club, but have now withdrawn an offer which was believed to be in the region of £7million.

Reports in the English media have claimed that Nugent could be holding out for a potential move to boyhood club Everton, with Portsmouth also understood to be keen on the player who scored on his England debut in March.

Sunderland held talks with the striker before he went on holiday at the end of June, and Black Cats chairman Niall Quinn recently rated his club's chances of completing the signing at 50-50.

However, the North East club will now turn their attentions to other targets after Preston confirmed that Sunderland had officially withdrawn their interest.

"North End chairman Derek Shaw received a phone call from Sunderland chief executive Peter Walker at 3.15pm on Monday 2nd July which explained that after discussions with manager Roy Keane, Sunderland football club would be pulling out of their interest in Preston striker David Nugent," confirmed a statement on Preston's website.

Black Cats chief executive Walker has also confirmed that Nugent is no longer a target, stating: "I can confirm that we have withdrawn our offer for the player.

"Naturally, work continues behind the scenes to strengthen our squad ahead of the new season and talks are ongoing with a number of targets."

2 News from Pompey

NEWS 1 : Svetoslav Todorov will leave Portsmouth Football Club after rejecting a new contract.

The Bulgarian striker was offered a one-year deal at Fratton Park with the option of another, yet he has turned down the offer as he has concerns over the amount of first team opportunities he would get next season. "We have told Portsmouth Toddy will not be accepting their offer of a contract," agent Mark Donaghy told the News. "It's time for him to move on and we are currently speaking to a number of clubs, many of them English." Leicester City and Stoke City are believed to be interested in Todorov.

NEWS 2 : Harry Redknapp admits he would love to sign Chelsea Football Club’s Claude Makelele.

The future of the France international at Stamford Bridge is uncertain with just a year remaining on his contract, and Portsmouth are believed to be looking to strike a £2million deal. "We could do a lot worse than sign Makelele," Redknapp told The Mirror. "If he was available, I'd love to have him in my team." Makelele is believed to be considering leaving the FA Cup winners due to the amount of midfield players currently in Jose Mourinho’s squad, and he could be assured of a starting place at Fratton Park.

GoodBye England!! Hello Spain!!

After 6 months of rest, I am back to my blog again. Well, I really hope this time I won't be tie down by my job and hope that I can come in her more often and update as much news as possible to my readers...

Well, the biggest headline so far at England Soccer this few weeks, will be the departure of Thiery Henry from Arensal and joining of Spain Giant Barcalona

From my personal point of view, this was a WIN-WIN situation for both the club and the player. Herny was already near to 30 years old this year, and if he continues to stay at Arsenal, he might not have a chance to win the Champion League Trophy. And as a soccer player, who is near to 30, the stamina might not be better than those who are in the 20s. Thus, it was the best time to go now.

And to the club, it was also a right choice to sell off Henry at this timing, as once pass the age of 30 or even older, they will not be able to fetch a better price than now. Though Henry had always been playing an important role in the team, but as a business point of view, selling off Henry at the price of 16million pound might be a right choice as they can use this amount of money to bring in some better players.

Now, Henry had gone, who will replace his role as the skipper of the team and how long will Arse Wenger remain as the boss of the team is the questions that the Arsenal Fans might be interest to find out.....