Transfer rumours

Late news: Deadline extended to 1 September.

Less than one week to go to the 31 August transfer deadline, and still the market is sluggish. All of that could change though if Robinho gets the move he wants to join Scolari at Chelsea, and if that happens it could spark off a last minute spending spree. Egged on by an avaricious agent, the Brazilian star has made it clear that he is not happy at Real Madrid, and he is doing all he can to pressure the club to let him go (curiously a tactic often used by Madrid themselves!). Meanwhile club president Ramón Calderón is reportedly lining up a massive bid for David Villa, and if rumours are to be believed Valencia have already turned down an offer of €47 million. Cazorla is also on Schuster's shopping list.

Otherwise the main movers this week have been Atlético Madrid, their management supposedly unhappy at their pre-season performances. Valencia's Banega is already close to a loan move to Mestalla, and as Diego would appear to be an impossible dream, Brazil's Olympic star Thiago Neves is the new target. Cléber has already moved on to Mallorca and Motta could be the next to leave to make room, although Maniche will apparently be staying on after convincing Aguirre of his good intentions. The club say that they will make the changes irrespective of the result of their Champions League qualifier later this week, although that will obviously influence how much cash they have to spend. (25.08.08)