Latest Transfer Update at 18-08-11

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Haroun: Belgium international signs for Boro
BORO COMPLETE HAROUN DEAL

Middlesbrough have completed the signing of Belgium international Faris Haroun.
Haroun arrives from Beerschot on a free transfer and has penned a three-year deal at the Riverside.
The 25-year-old goes straight into their squad for the clash with Birmingham City this weekend.
Boro boss Tony Mowbray said: "It's good to get the deal completed. Faris has looked good in training.
"He's fit and athletic, has a love of the game and is full of enthusiasm."

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Tony Fernandes: Completes takeover
FERNANDES COMPLETES QPR TAKEOVER

Malaysian airline entrepreneur Tony Fernandes has completed his takeover of QPR, the club have announced.
Fernandes' company Tune Group has bought a 66% stake, buying out previous majority shareholders Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone.
"QPR is a raw diamond and hopefully I can contribute into turning it into a diamond," Fernandes told the club's official website, www.qpr.co.uk.
Fernandes, the founder of AirAsia, and his business partners will work alongside the Mittal Family, who have retained their 33% stake.
The 47-year-old West Ham fan, who is also the team principal of Formula One's Team Lotus, will become chairman of QPR Holdings Ltd.
"I lived in Uxbridge Road for many years and grew up around the area," Fernandes continued.
"Everyone knows I've followed West Ham all my life, but I've always had a soft spot for QPR.
"Rangers were one of the first teams I watched as a child at Loftus Road.
"The opportunity to get involved with the club was mentioned to me by the previous owners and here I am.
"I've always wanted to be involved in football and the appeal of a London club, like QPR, was too good an opportunity to turn down.
"It's funny how life has a way of spinning things round. It goes full circle sometimes."
Fernandes' personal fortune was estimated at £200million in 2010 when he was ranked Malaysia's 19th-richest person.
The hope of QPR fans is that his arrival at Loftus Road will see funds made available to manager Neil Warnock to strengthen his squad.
QPR are among the favourites for relegation from the Barclays Premier League following a summer of underwhelming transfer activity.
But this week they have been linked with a move for West Ham's England midfielder Scott Parker with further signings likely to follow now that Fernandes has completed his takeover.
The Malaysian, however, is wary of making any lofty predictions for the club.
"I have ambitions in the long term," he said.
"I could easily say we're going to win the Champions League and the Premier League, but that's really not my style.
"I don't want to make big promises I can't guarantee.
"I want the fans to be proud of what we're doing and be involved as much as we can.
"The fans pay good money and are stakeholders, so whatever we do, I want the fans to be proud. We'll do it in style and with integrity.
"I'm keen to create a good academy, so that there's a constant supply of players.
"We're in a fantastic part of London and we should be bringing kids through.
"The third aspect is to be a strong partner in the community and to make a difference in the community.
"Of course you don't go into anything in the sporting world and not want to be the best, but these things take time and I'd rather let the results speak for themselves."
Vice-chairman Amit Bhatia, who resigned in May following a disagreement with the board over ticket price increases, will return to his former role.
Bhatia joined the board as a representative of father-in-law Lakshmi Mittal in 2007.
"I'm very excited to welcome Tony to QPR and having spent considerable time with him, know that we share the same vision and values," he said.
"We have discussed in great detail how to restore pride at the club and I'm very pleased with the outcome of these discussions.
"It was a very difficult decision to resign from the board when I did, so I'm thrilled to be back.
"Tony and I will work alongside each other to try and make this season as exciting and successful as possible.
"I love this club and this is a very happy day for me."

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Romelu Lukaku: Signs for Chelsea
CHELSEA SIGN ROMELU LUKAKU

Teenage Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku declared it was a dream come true after completing his transfer to Chelsea from Anderlecht.
The London club have confirmed on their website that the deal has been finalised after the two clubs agreed a fee, thought to be between £15million and £20million, for the highly-rated 18-year-old earlier this month.
He underwent a medical at the Blues' training ground in Cobham last week and will now be available for Saturday's Barclays Premier League game against West Brom.
"Amazing. It's a dream come true," he said on www.chelseafc.com.
"I dreamed to play here since I was 10 years old, thinking about shaking hands with all those players like John Terry and Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.
"It's amazing to arrive here in a big club with big ambition. It was just what I was searching for."
Lukaku caught the eye of a number of Europe's top clubs after his free-scoring efforts for Anderlecht, but made it clear he was determined to move to Stamford Bridge.
His power, pace and eye for goal have seen him likened to new team-mate Didier Drogba.
While flattered by such comparisons, Lukaku believes he also offers something different and can learn a lot from the 33-year-old Ivory Coast forward.
"It's nice, I like it a lot," he said on www.chelseafc.com.
"We have similar playing styles, but I am also very fast. I want to learn off him how it is to play here at the Bridge and how to prepare for games.
"I can also learn off the other strikers and experienced players in the squad. I think if you are clever on and off the pitch you will get accepted and that's what I want."
Lukaku's record in Belgian football is impressive. He made his first-team debut at Anderlecht when he was 16 and has averaged almost a goal every two games in the Jupiler League.
His goals helped Anderlecht win the Belgian title in 2010 and he scored three times in the Champions League qualifying round last season, although the team went out before the group stage.
Lukaku, whose father Roger played for Zaire in the 1990s, has won 10 caps for Belgium, scoring two goals.
He will wear the number 18 shirt for his new team and cannot wait to get started for a side he has supported for the past decade.
"I watched the Premier League since I was nine," he said. "Every weekend I watched the games, I used to watch Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scoring goals and remember one against Manchester United, the volley at Old Trafford, and I decided I wanted to support this team."
"It was a good experience to play in Belgium but I wanted to take a big step to join a big club and I said from day one that I wanted to go to Chelsea. To be here now is so good, there are guys with a lot of experience at international level and they won everything, but I didn't, I don't have the same feeling as them. I just want to win something so I am very hungry to start with these guys."
Chelsea failed to lift any silverware last season but Lukaku is confident that will be rectified this term.
"I understand there is a lot of pressure on the team but with the players that we have, so much experience and so much talent, and with a great boss also, you can see that we can be confident we can make a successful season," he said.
On his targets for the campaign ahead, he added: "First of all I just want to learn and train as much as possible to improve myself and show the coach that when he needs me I am ready.
"Then I hope to make minutes for the team and be helpful for the team, because the team is the most important thing. If you think positively about the team it will be positive for you."

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Traore: Joined Marseille
TRAORE COMPLETES MARSEILLE MOVE

Mali international Djimi Traore has set his sights on winning silverware after joining Marseille.
The 31-year-old was a free agent after being released by Monaco at the end of last season, and will compete with fellow new signing Jeremy Morel for the left-back berth in Didier Deschamps' line-up.
OM are this term looking to wrest the Ligue 1 title back after finishing second behind Lille last season and Traore, a Coupe de France runner-up with Monaco in 2010 and Champions League winner with Liverpool in 2005, cannot wait to add to his medal collection.
"I want to win titles," he told www.om.net.
"In France, I have never won a trophy. I missed out on a lot of titles. I was runner-up in France with Lens, I lost a cup final in France with Monaco.
"But Marseille primarily recruited me to do my job as best as possible."
On working under former France midfielder Deschamps, Traore said: "I have spoken to him on the phone and he is one of the reasons I signed. He was clear with me. He had a simple and honest discourse, which I like. I wanted to work with such a coach and I am very happy.
"I am very pleased to be joining a great club like OM. This is one of the most popular and most prestigious in France. For me, who played in England for a club like Liverpool, Marseille is the equivalent in France."
Traore will be available to Deschamps straight away but admits he is lacking match-fitness.
"Unfortunately, I was injured six months ago at the Parc des Princes," he said.
"I've recovered, I had a good rehabilitation. I was lucky to have people in Monaco who took very good care of me. I have come back well. I'm just missing the pace of matches.
"I'm lagging behind the group. It's only been a month since I got back to work. It will take me some time but I will work hard to return quickly."
Meanwhile, Marseille confirmed on Wednesday midfielder Edouard Cisse had left the club.
An OM statement read: "Marseille and Edouard Cisse have reached an agreement for the termination of the player's contract. A free agent, the midfielder looks to be close to signing for AJ Auxerre."

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Tony Fernandes: Completes takeover
FERNANDES COMPLETES QPR TAKEOVER
Malaysian airline entrepreneur Tony Fernandes has completed his takeover of Premier League new-boys QPR.
Fernandes' company Tune Group has a 66% stake after buying out previous majority shareholders Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone and his business partners will work alongside the Mittal family, who have retained their 33% stake in the club.
Fernandes has labelled the club a "fantastic diamond" and pledged to help the club reach its "limitless" potential over the coming years.
The 47-year-old, who has previously attempted to buy boyhood heroes West Ham, believes QPR have huge potential and has vowed to utilise it.
"You are in London, which is fantastic," he said.
"The potential of developing this ground at some stage or to another ground nearby is there. There is the potential to develop an academy and good training facilities.
"The potential to take QPR to other parts of the world is also there, with Amit [Bhatia]'s relationships and my relationships in Asia. [The potential is] limitless and it is a fantastic diamond, which just needs a bit of polishing."
Fernandes' personal fortune was estimated at £200million in 2010 when he was ranked Malaysia's 19th-richest person.
The AirAsia founder's deal sees vice-chairman Bhatia return to the board after resigning in May following a disagreement with the board over ticket price increases.
Bhatia joined the board as a representative of father-in-law Lakshmi Mittal in 2007 and Fernandes is relieved to have completed the deal.
"I got this big grin on my face as I was driving down because I have walked past this ground so many times," said Fernandes, who lived on nearby Uxbridge Road for several years.
"To think that I am chairman of this club now is kind of unbelievable.
"I'm relieved to have completed the deal.
"It has been up down, up down and obviously with the last couple of experiences of English football clubs it would have been a terrible blow to have invested all this time for nothing to have happened."
Fernandes, who is also the team principal of Formula One's Team Lotus, has promised to bring in new faces to the Barclays Premier League club before the transfer window closes in a couple of weeks.
QPR's start to life back in the top flight after a 15-year absence got off to the worst possible start last weekend with a 4-0 home defeat to Bolton.
Fernandes was at the game and has promised to support Neil Warnock's bid to strengthen the team, but was keen to temper short-term expectations.
"I think my major issue is dampening down everybody's enthusiasm that tomorrow everything is going to change," he added.
"This will take time. The next couple of weeks will be hectic and I think Neil is released from the cage so to speak and is bouncing up and down because he can speak to other people and stuff.
"It is not that the previous owners were wrong, it is just they knew they were going to sell so they had a different investment paradigm.
"Having said that, they picked up some great players.
"The one great thing out of the Bolton game was our strike force looked as good as anybody's.
"DJ Campbell looked fantastic, Jay Bothroyd looked great and up to about 40 minutes I actually think we outplayed Bolton.
"I think the previous owners did good on a lot of things and I am just hear to strengthen it."

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Peter Odemwingie: New deal done.
ODEMWINGIE COMMITS TO WEST BROM
West Brom striker Peter Odemwingie has ended speculation over his future by signing a new and improved contract to keep him at The Hawthorns until June 2014.
Albion boss Roy Hodgson had earlier confirmed that the club had rejected a £4million bid for the 30-year-old from Wigan last weekend.
Tottenham were also reportedly monitoring the situation, but the player has now penned a new three-year deal - much to the delight of Hodgson.
He said: "I'm obviously very pleased that Peter has pledged his future to West Bromwich Albion.
"I always believed this would be the case and I am grateful to both him and the club for reaching an agreement.
"We can now look forward to benefiting once again from Peter's goalscoring prowess and seeing him play an important part in our campaign to stay in the Premier League for a second successive season."

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Simon Vukcevic: Heading for Blackburn
BLACKBURN CLOSE ON VUKCEVIC
Blackburn are closing in on the signing of Sporting Lisbon forward Simon Vukcevic.
Rovers have confirmed to Sky Sports News that the Montenegro forward, who can also play in midfield, is undergoing a medical.
The 25-year-old has long been linked with a switch to England and he finally looks set to get his move to the Premier League.
It is reported a fee of £2million has been agreed with Sporting for Vukcevic, who could pen a deal in the next 24 hours.
Vukcevic looks set to be one of three new arrivals in the coming days.
Rovers have endured a frustrating time in the transfer market, with only striker David Goodwillie and midfielder Radosav Petrovic arriving, from Dundee United and Partizan Belgrade, respectively.
This week they missed out on one of the biggest names in European football when former Real Madrid striker Raul decided to reject an offer and stay with Schalke in the Bundesliga.
Kean has received more positive news from three other players, though, and an unnamed midfielder and defender will have medicals with the Lancashire outfit over the next two days.
Kean said of the Raul offer: "We said we'd be interested if he was available. We were waiting on something to come back from Schalke and then it got into the press that it had moved forward but we got a fax from Schalke on official headed notepaper to say he wasn't available at any price.
"That was the extent of it. We were excited about it, we had funds available to try to go after him but it never materialised, so that was disappointing.
"But that's one player. Last week we had active bids out there and that's progressed. There are bids that have been accepted. We're at a point of having medicals so that's positive, because it's been slow.
"The lads are going to come here, we've agreed terms with a couple of players so we're hopeful next week we'll have another couple of faces to add to David Goodwillie and Radosav.
"The good thing is we've followed through with things. It's been slow but we've stuck with it and it's coming together."
Reinforcements cannot come quickly enough for Rovers, who battled against relegation last season and have seen 11 players leave the club over the summer, including highly-rated defender Phil Jones, who joined Manchester United.
Injuries to established centre-back pairing Ryan Nelsen and Christopher Samba meant Kean was forced to go with teenager Grant Hanley and midfielder Steven Nzonzi in defence for their opening league match last weekend, a home defeat by Wolves.
However, Kean is optimistic Nelsen and Samba will both be fit to face Villa while imposing midfielder Petrovic is also in line to make his debut.
"To get Ryan Nelsen and Chris Samba back on the training ground, being such imposing figures and when you see how well they did last year, is fantastic," he said.
"I thought last week Steven Nzonzi adapted very well considering he'd only played there as a 12-year-old boy, I thought he showed good composure and confidence to go back there, but we missed him then in the middle of the pitch.
"But if we get the centre-backs back, Steven can move back into the middle and all of a sudden it's a different outlook."