UPDATE: According to Stephen Crawford at Goal.com, the radio station talkSPORT reported that striker Carlos Tevez agreed to a deal with Manchester City.

June 4th, 2009 According to David Anderson at the Daily Mirror, last night Manchester United met with Kia Joorabchian to try and make one last attempt for Carlos Tevez. A source close to “the talks” said,

UPDATE: According to Aston Villa’s official website, boss Martin O’Neill denied the rumor that the club made an offer to striker Michael Owen.

June 7th, 2009 According to Chris Bascombe at News of the World, Aston Villa are interested in striker Michael Owen. However they are expecting to offer him a deal that is £70,000-a-week less than what he made in his last deal.

UPDATE: According to Juha Pal at Sky Sports News, Aston Villa have decided not to make a bid for Anderlecht defender Roland Juhasz.

May 26th, 2009 According to John Edwards at the Daily Mail, Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill is preparing a £5 million bid for Anderlecht defender Roland Juhasz.

According to Football Spy at the Daily Mirror, Burnley manager Owen Coyle is set to sign a new four-year deal with the club for three times his current wages.

According to BBC Sport, Birmingham had £3million and £5million bids rejected by Cardiff City for 26-year-old defender Roger Johnson.

According to kickoff.com, Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar admitted that he wouldn’t mind signing a long-term deal with the club. He said,

“It is true that I only have two years remaining on my contract … It has been a happy two years at the club so far and I am delighted to have played a small part in the success we have achieved in finishing fifth in consecutive seasons and reaching the FA Cup Final.”

“But you never know in football what tomorrow will bring. Who knows in one or two years’ time where I will be? I am a proud Everton player at present and would welcome it if the club moved to secure my long-term future, but that kind of thing is out of my hands.”

As for the rumors linking him with Atletico Madrid, Pienaar said,

“… at this time I can only reiterate that any speculation regarding my future is exactly that.”

UPDATE: According to ESPN Soccernet, Ajax defender Thomas Vermaelen told Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad,

“Moving to Arsenal is the right path for me … It is a great sporting challenge and I will also be financially better off. I think everything is going to be okay … In the coming days there will be more talks.”

June 7th, 2009 According to Tom Adams at Setanta Sports, there are reports in Belgium stating that Arsenal have signed Ajax captain Thomas Vermaelen for €13 million. The reports also say that the two are close to a four-year deal.

According to Sky Sports News, there is a report in Italy stating that Ezequiel Lavezzi’s agent Eduardo Rossetto confirmed that Liverpool made a bid for Lavezzi. Gazzetta dello Sport wrote that Rossetto said,

“There is a definite proposal from Liverpool … The one thing I can say, that so far I have kept confidential, is that (Napoli general manager Pierpaolo) Marino met twice with the Fifa agent Pablo Cosentino, who invited him to set a meeting in either Liverpool or Naples with the British club.”

“… we do not want to compel Napoli to sell the player … But I think it is appropriate that the club consider the offer: to judge that it is either sufficient or insufficient.”

According to Adam Scime at Goal.com, tuttomercatoweb reported that Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez said he is not interested in Lavezzi. Benitez supposedly said,

“We never contacted Lavezzi and we have no intention of doing so. We want to put a stop to these rumours”

** For previous updates regarding Liverpool and Ezequiel Lavezzi, click here. **

UPDATE: According to Robin Hackett at Setanta Sports, Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko’s agent stated that his client would be willing to play for Arsenal but not Manchester City. His agent Irfan Redzepagic said,

“It is not possible for Dzeko, who is a leading player in Germany and has the chance to play in the Champions League, to go to a mid-table club like Manchester City … Arsenal would be a different matter … The Londoners’ offer is one we treat very seriously.”

However the German newspaper Bild is reporting that AC Milan are prepared to make a £26.1million bid for Dzeko.

June 5th, 2009 According to John Cross at the Daily Mirror, Arsenal are the favorites to land Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko. They will go after Dzeko if they decide to let Emmanuel Adebayor leave.

According to Football Spy at the Daily Mirror, Birmingham striker Cameron Jerome is set to sign a new deal with the club for around £18,000-a-week.

UPDATE: According to Richard Torgerson at Sky Sports News, free agent Andres Vasquez made a statement saying that he never said he was going to Stoke City. Vasquez told Fotbollskanalen.se,

“I read in a Peruvian newspaper that I was on my way there (Stoke) and that I said to Aftonbladet that they were interested … But I have never said such a thing.”

“It is of course flattering if a club in the Premier League would want you … I have a dialogue with Zurich. They say that they want me for next season.”

“I am ready to stay. I am motivated. I want to play in Europe and it feels stimulating to maybe play in the Champions League … But the transfer window opens, so we will see what happens.”

June 5th, 2009 According to Sky Sports News, free agent Andres Vasquez recently stated that Stoke City have made him an offer. He told Aftonbladet,

According to Laurent Picard at Setanta Sports, Sevilla are interested in Tottenham midfielder Didier Zokora but he isn’t their main priority. Sevilla manager Manolo Jimenez said,

“Obviously he [Zokora] is a footballer that we like, but he is not at the top of our list … He is an option. I can tell you for sure that he is not in pole position and to my mind we are searching for a different profile of player.”

According to Martin Spinks at The Sentinel, Stoke City chairman Peter Coates is planning on giving manager Tony Pulis funds to make a few signings in the transfer window this summer.

UPDATE: According to Stuart Mathieson at the Manchester Evening News, Manchester United are close to signing Corinthians starlet Dodo.

April 23rd, 2009 According to Alan Nixon at the Daily Mirror, Manchester United are going to sign Corinthians‘ Jose Rodolfo Pires Ribeiro Dodo. The deal for the 17-year-old could potentially increase to £5 million.

According to ESPN Soccernet, Aston Villa striker John Carew will not be leaving the club despite rumored interest from Manchester City. Carew said,

“I will be here next season …There are always rumours when the window opens. One week it could be me, one week it could be Ashley Young or whoever. But I am so happy here. I love everyone here. I don’t see any reason for anything else to happen.”

“I know I am part of the manager’s plans. Rumours that come up, we can’t do anything about that. I am happy here. I can’t see why I should move.”

“I am used to speculation. I have been in the game so many years. I take it as a compliment if clubs are looking at you but I don’t relate to it at all. I am happy here.”

According to Adam Marshall at Setanta Sports, Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov will not be leaving the club. His agent Emil Dantchev told Dnevnik,

“Despite speculation that he may leave, I want to declare that Dimitar will play next season in Manchester United … There is no desire from the management for any separation.”

“He will stay and we hope that he will win what he missed out on this year.”