Latest Transfer Update at 04-05-2012

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Ray Lewington: Links up with Hodgson again

LEWINGTON TO JOIN ENGLAND STAFF

Fulham coach Ray Lewington is to work alongside new England manager Roy Hodgson during next month's European Championship in Poland and Ukraine, the Football Association have confirmed.
Lewington had been tipped to join former Craven Cottage boss Hodgson during the summer and now Fulham and the FA have agreed a deal for them to renew a working relationship they had at club level.
A statement issued by the FA read: "The FA and Fulham Football Club can confirm that Ray Lewington will join Roy Hodgson's England coaching staff at the end of the Premier League season to work with the team during the European Championship."


Hodgson said: "I'm delighted that Fulham have agreed to Ray joining the England coaching staff for the summer. I know Ray well and enjoyed working with him at Craven Cottage.
"He's a very good coach and the players will I'm sure enjoy working with him.
"We're currently finalising the rest of the coaching staff but it's great to have Ray confirmed.
"I'd like to thank Fulham for agreeing to this."
Lewington will return to Fulham in time for next season.

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Sasa Papac: Set for Ibrox exit

PAPAC TO LEAVE RANGERS IN THE SUMMER

Bosnian defender Sasa Papac will leave Rangers when his contract expires at the end of the season.
The left-back has yet to find a new club but has confirmed he will quit Ibrox after six years.
He told the club's official website: "After six seasons of playing for Rangers, the time has come for me to leave my place for someone younger who will be able to contribute to new successes at the club with passion and zest."
Papac was signed by Paul Le Guen from Austria Vienna in the summer of 2006 and is currently the longest-serving senior player in the squad aside from goalkeeper Allan McGregor.


The 32-year-old has been struggling with a groin injury in recent weeks and is unlikely to feature in Saturday's Clydesdale Bank Premier League meeting with Motherwell, meaning he has probably played his last game at Ibrox.
In a statement, Papac added: "I would like to use this opportunity to say thank you to all the staff at Murray Park, as well as all the club's staff who I had an excellent rapport with.
"I would also like to say thanks to all the players and trainers I have worked with in the last six seasons, when I achieved the biggest successes of my career.


"Special thanks go to Walter Smith, without whom all those achievements would not have been possible.
"Last but by no means least, I want to say a big thanks to the fans who have always provided the biggest support and made this club one of the greatest in the world.
"I wish them lots of luck and all the very best to the manager Coisty and the team in years to come. We are the people."

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Liverpool: Wage bill has risen

REDS TO HANDLE BILLS WITH CARE

Liverpool's owners admit transfer fees and salaries need handling with care after the club's latest accounts revealed a near-£12million rise in the wage bill.
Fenway Sports Group have bankrolled substantial investment in the playing staff since January last year, although that has been heavily supplemented by the £50million sale of Fernando Torres to Chelsea.
The departure of the Spain international, as one of the club's highest earners, will have lightened the burden on the wage bill, but there remains work to be done with contributions still being made to the likes of Joe Cole's reported six-figure weekly salary while he is on loan at Lille.


And there appears a determination to keep a tight rein on the spending on players, both transfer fees and wages, while "remaining as competitive as possible".
In the club's accounts, officially published on Friday, the club identifies that area - among others - as being key in terms of 'principal risks and uncertainties'.
The figure for salaries of all staff rose to £120.3m.
"Player transfer market and wage costs are those that need the most care, and the aim is to manage these costs within financial constraints whilst remaining as competitive as possible," said the directors' report submitted as part of the accounts.
The club posted a £49.4m pre-tax loss, as well documented on Thursday, compared to £19.9 for the year ending July 2010.
That was mainly as a result of £35m being written off on the doomed stadium project of former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
But the loss of Champions League football and changing managers twice have cost Liverpool more than £30million in less than two years.


The Reds' absence from Europe's elite club competition saw media revenue drop by £14.3m and matchday revenue fall by £2m in the year ending July 31 2011.
Roy Hodgson's departure, and that of associated staff, in January 2011 cost the club £8.3m.
That followed six months after Rafael Benitez left, having failed to finish in the top four, at a cost of £7.7m (money which was included in the 2010 accounts).
Liverpool did not play in the Champions League this season and will not do next, although they will compete in the Europa League again.
By comparison, tomorrow's FA Cup final opponents Chelsea will receive about £46m for reaching this year's Champions League final.
Overall turnover dropped by £900,000 to £183.6m but commercially it was up by £15m.
Net debt decreased from £123.4m in July 2010 (under Hicks and Gillett) to £65.4 in July 2011 and as a result interest payments dropped by £14.6m.
A £30.2m interest-free loan was provided by FSG, who last September refinanced credit facilities with RBS, Bank of America and Barclays to provide £120million for three years - £45m for the stadium project and £75m for general purposes.