Latest Transfer Update at 24-05-11

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Steve Bruce - top-10 finish...just.
BRUCE AWAITS BUDGET NEWS

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce was due to discover his summer transfer budget on Tuesday as he met owner Ellis Short having delivered his season's aim at the death.
The manager headed into talks with the Texan businessman and chairman Niall Quinn in the wake of a board meeting held on Monday 24 hours after the final-day 3-0 win at West Ham which propelled the club into the top 10 in the Barclays Premier League.
That was exactly the aim with which the Black Cats set out in August and while the path to their goal may have been convoluted at times, it eventually took them to where they wanted to be.
However, Bruce travelled to Upton Park fully aware that the outcome could have been much, much better but for a late-season slump in the face of a desperate injury crisis, and ready to argue his case for further investment.
With football finances tight in general below the upper echelons of the Premier League, Sunderland know they could face a summer of tough negotiations to get the men they want, although the manager is convinced there will still be significant spending generally.
Asked if he believed there would be less money around, he said: "I thought it was getting there until Manchester City came along a couple of years ago, and it was Chelsea before that.
"You are not too sure. Certainly when I speak to other managers, there might be, but history tells you that clubs find the money somehow, so it will be interesting."
Bruce has always had to fully justify his outlay during his two years to date at the Stadium of Light, and while critics point to the fact that he has been handed £55million with which to strengthen his squad, sales of the likes of Darren Bent, Lorik Cana, Danny Collins and Martyn Waghorn have raked in around £35million.
But having indicated he may be on the look-out for as many as eight or nine players during the current transfer window - loan signings John Mensah, Nedum Onuoha, Danny Welbeck and Sulley Muntari are back with their parent clubs and only Ahmed Elmohamady has so far completed a permanent move - the hunt is on.
Strikers are a priority, with the former Manchester United defender having indicated he is in the market for three frontmen to join Asamoah Gyan on Wearside following Bent's departure, Welbeck's return and Fraizer Campbell's injury problems.
DJ Campbell is a player whose situation is being monitored, with Blackpool's relegation having triggered a release clause in his contract.
Bruce signed the 29-year-old, who scored 13 Premier League goals last season, from Brentford during his time at Birmingham, but the former Yeading player is sure to have attracted fresh admirers and his is only one name among a list of potential signings.
In the short term, Bruce will attempt to make progress on a series of Bosman free transfer deals, with Birmingham's Sebastian Larsson understood to be one of those in his sights as he looks for early breakthroughs.
He said: "Every club will be looking at the Bosman situation, of course, so we will be looking at that.
"Usually in my experience of the Bosman situation, they usually want to be fixed up early, so there might be a bit of movement there.
"But the transfer merry-go-round is usually kick-started by the big ones. The big ones swing into action and then that usually opens the door for a few others to see what they are doing with their players."

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Adam - will leave Blackpool this summer says Levein.
LEVEIN EXPECTS ADAM TO MOVE ON

Scotland manager Craig Levein fully expects Charlie Adam still to be plying his trade in the Barclays Premier League next season.
Adam and team-mate Stephen Crainey have both been named in the team to face Wales in the Carling Nations Cup on Tuesday night just a few days after they suffered the heartbreak of relegation with Blackpool.
Adam has been a hit south of the border and was linked with both Liverpool and Tottenham in January and Levein has predicted further interest in the highly-rated midfielder in the coming weeks.
And, if he does remain in the English top flight, that is good news as far as the Scotland manager is concerned.
He said: "I would love all of our players to be playing in the Premier League, at the top level.
"Charlie attracted a lot of interest in January and I would expect that just to be resurrected in the summer. My view is that he will be playing in the Premier League next season."
But Levein admits the national team does owe a debt of gratitude to Blackpool for their part in the development of some of his international players.
He added: "Blackpool have been wonderful for those two players this season. Of course, there has been major disappointment that the club has been relegated but Ian Holloway and Blackpool have been great for both Stephen and Charlie, and Matt Gilks for that matter. I think we have a lot to thank Blackpool for."
Although Crainey will be involved against Wales, he will have no part to play in Sunday night's clash with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
Levein said: "Stephen Crainey to his credit has travelled over and he will play on Tuesday night. He is going back on Thursday to have an operation on Friday.
"I'm grateful he has made the effort to come over because it would have been easy for him to say he had an operation at the end of the week. He was determined to come across."
However, one player he does not expect to be leaving the Scotland camp is Aberdeen forward Chris Maguire, despite speculation regarding a medical at Derby.
He said: "I did have a conversation very briefly with Chris but I'm sure that having an opportunity to be involved in the Scotland squad is far more important at this minute in time than having a medical."
According to Levein, the desire to win this tournament is strong within his players despite coming at the end of the season.
He said: "An obvious indication is the amount of withdrawals. From the original squad named we have lost Craig Mackail-Smith for a very good reason in that he is playing in the (League One) play-Off final, and Kris Commons.
"To lose just two, and one of them through no fault of his own, shows the commitment of the players and their willingness to come here and attempt to win this tournament."
Scotland's last meeting with Wales in November 2009 ended in an embarrassing 3-0 defeat and ultimately cost then boss George Burley his job and paved the way for Levein to take charge of the national team.
He said: "We know that every game of international football is very tough. Wales have had some call-offs but if you look at the strength of the Welsh team who managed to beat us recently, there is a warning there that we will have to be at our best to get what we want, which is to win this match."

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Pirlo - signed three-year deal at Juventus.
JUVE SNAP UP PIRLO

Juventus have confirmed the signing of Andrea Pirlo on a three-year contract.
The 32-year-old Italy midfielder, who announced last week he was ending his 10-year stay at AC Milan, passed a medical in Turin on Tuesday.
A statement from Juve this evening read: "Andrea Pirlo is officially a Juventus player. The signed contract will run from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2014."
Pirlo, 32, has been one of Milan's most consistent performers for the past decade, helping them win two Champions League titles.
He also won the World Cup with Italy in 2006.
Pirlo struggled with injuries and form this season, though, and made just 12 Serie A starts as Milan won the title.
His signing could impact on whether Juve choose to sign midfielder Alberto Aquilani, who spent the season at the club on loan from Liverpool, on a permanent deal.
Juventus finished a disappointing season in seventh place to miss out on European qualification.

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Martinez - Wigan do not have to sell.
MARTINEZ BRACED FOR BUSY SUMMER

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez is bracing himself for a busy summer in the transfer market, but hopes that he can keep hold of his leading names.
After watching his side secure top-flight survival with a 1-0 win at Stoke on Sunday, the Spaniard has already started work on planning his squad for next season.
It remains to be seen, though, if the likes of Sunday's hero Hugo Rodallega, winger Charles N'Zogbia and midfielder Mohamed Diame will all remain at the DW Stadium for another campaign.
Rodallega and N'Zogbia in particular have long been linked with moves away from the Lancashire club, while Senegal international Diame last week admitted he would find it hard to snub a move to potential suitors Sevilla.
But Martinez is adamant that chairman Dave Whelan has not told him he has to sell anyone, and that he will decide who comes and goes.
"Every individual is different, but we don't have to sell and that's very strong," he said on Tuesday.
"You get certain players that feel they need a new challenge and other clubs can offer that at a specific moment of their career, offer you something else in terms of a playing challenge. It's impossible to stop that.
"But the club will dictate. We are in a position where things and the timings have to be right for Wigan.
"It would be foolish for me to say that we're going to keep all the players. I don't even know if the best clubs in the world can say that. We've seen that. But whatever happens, we need to finish with a stronger squad than we had this season."
Diame joined Wigan from Rayo Vallecano and was one of Martinez's first signings after he arrived from Swansea in 2009.
The France-born player has emerged as a key cog in Martinez's side, and rather than allowing him to move back to Spain, Martinez is hopeful of tying him to a new, improved deal.
He said: "It wouldn't surprise me if he was attracting interest. I think Momo had a very good impact in the second division in Spain (with Vallecano) and I think a lot of clubs were thinking about Momo and didn't take the chance.
"If you look at the two seasons he's had with us, he hasn't surprised me at all. Momo is a very important player for us and we're looking to build something special over the next few seasons and Momo is a big part of that plan.
"We're hoping we can sit down and extend his contract more than listen to offers for him."
Having looked certain to be relegated to the Championship at one stage, Wigan left it as late as possible to retain their place in the Premier League, winning their last two games to pull off a great escape.
And although he always maintained calmness throughout that time, Martinez is now happy to admit he did have some concerns.
"The last few weeks have been really difficult," he said. "We had to be open-minded about how we'd do pre-season and the new season as we didn't know what competition we'd be in.
"It's a great feeling but we're back to work now and we don't realise how much work we have to do now that we'd put to one side."

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Mario Balotelli (right) - FA Cup winner with Man City.
BALOTELLI RULES OUT ITALY RETURN

Mario Balotelli has confirmed he will not make an immediate return to Serie A this summer after pledging his future to Manchester City.
The young Italian striker moved to City from Inter Milan last summer and despite making headlines both on and off the pitch at Eastlands, he is committed to the English club.
"For the time being, I am happy in England," Balotelli told Corriere dello Sport.
Balotelli, who is currently in Italy after helping City win the FA Cup, has never hidden his love for AC Milan but insists that a move to the Rossoneri is out of the question.
"I compliment Milan for winning the scudetto, but with regards to me, I am happy in England," he said.
Balotelli's agent Mino Raiola is confident his client's long-term future is at City, where he is under contract until June 2015.
"I'm 2000 per cent certain that Balotelli will remain at Manchester City," Raiola said.
The 20-year-old finished the Premier League season in good form and has been recalled to the Italy squad for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Estonia on June 3 and the friendly against the Republic of Ireland four days later.
Balotelli was dropped for the victories over Slovenia and Ukraine in March due to a violation of the team's code of conduct.
The Italy international was sent off during a Europa League match for a violent tackle on Dynamo Kiev defender Goran Popov.

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Rafael Benitez - linked with Turkey post.
BENITEZ 'NOT APPROACHED BY TURKEY'

The agent of Rafael Benitez has denied reports his client has held talks with Turkey about taking over the national team from coach Guus Hiddink.
Hiddink, 64, is reportedly Chelsea's main candidate to replace Carlo Ancelotti, who was sacked on Sunday.
The Dutch coach had a five-month interim spell at Chelsea back in 2009 during which he led the London outfit to FA Cup glory.
However, Hiddink is under contract with the Turkish Football Federation until the end of the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.
When asked if former Liverpool manager Benitez had been approached by Turkey, his agent Manuel Garcia Quilon said: "Absolutely not.
"He has not been approached by Turkey and hence, he has not held talks regarding coaching the national team."
Benitez has been out of work since being dismissed by Inter Milan in December, just six months after joining the Serie A giants.
The Spaniard is currently reviewing several offers to return to coaching.
"He has received some offers from several clubs," Quilon said. "His priority is to remain in England."