Transfer Catch-Up: Early Doors, Part One

As activity on my blog ground to a halt until I posted like a bolt out of the blue - or something far less dramatic - yesterday, I thought I'd go classic 'end-of-August-tabloid' school and have a look at everything that has come to pass during a busy start to a still relatively infant transfer window, club by club. In a bold twist, I'm starting alphabetically, with the letter 'A'. Maverick!

Arsenal
In: Thomas Vermaelen
Out: Amaury Bischoff (released)
Possible Targets: Felipe Melo

Never one to splash the cash, of which there is believed to be little anyway, Arsene Wenger has been quiet so far this summer, apart from the early purchase of Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen. In fact, the Vermaelen buy aside, Arsenal's biggest movement has been to dismiss the possibility of selling Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona, regardless of the offer. Amaury Bischoff has been released, failing to make the grade, though there is better news for Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs, who impressed enough to secure long term deals with the club. Meanwhile, Wenger is believed to be attempting to attract Brazil international Felipe Melo who caught the eye at the Confederations Cup. A deal could be in place to send Emmanuel Eboue the other way to Fiorentina in a part-cash, part-swap. Hard to imagine many Gunners fans will shed a tear over that one...

Aston Villa
In: None
Out: Gareth Barry - Manchester City; Martin Laursen (retired)
Possible: Tom Huddlestone, David Bentley, Marcus Berg, Peter Crouch

Villa have been the subject of many a rumour throughout June and into July. The earliest signs suggest there could be a series of sparring sessions between Martin O'Neill and Tottenham Hotspur manager up until September; The Irishman could be looking to replace the finally-departed Gareth Barry with Tom Huddlestone, while a cut-price David Bentley could also be tempting, according to reports. Villa must move to replace excellent Danish defender Martin Laursen who was forced to retire through injury. Titus Bramble was linked, causing Villa fans to reach for their 'Easy-Burn Effigy' kits, before the club quickly moved to dismiss the story as nonsense.

Birmingham City
In: Giovanny Espinoza; Christian Benitez; Scott Dann; Joe Hart (loan); Roger Johnson.
Out: Robin Shroot - Burton Albon (loan)
Possible: Lee Bowyer, Patrick Vieira, Barry Ferguson

Alex McLeish has wasted no time in strengthening his squad in preparation for their return to the Premier League. The Scot has cherry picked two of the finest defenders from the Championship in Scott Dann and Roger Johnson, who will be getting their first taste of England's top flight. The capture of Joe Hart could be key to both the club and the player's career as he looks for first-team football after being displaced by Shay Given at Manchester City. Ecuadorian striker Christian Benitez is unproven in England, but comes highly rated from Santos Laguna and has been trailed by Wigan Athletic in the past. Meanwhile, David Gold has said the pursuit of Inter midfielder Patrick Vieira is still alive. While the former Arsenal man is out of favour in Italy, he could give Birmingham's spine a much-needed stiffening with his wealth of experience.

Blackburn Rovers
In: Elrio van Heerden; Steven N'Zonzi; Gael Givet; Lars Jacobsen.
Out: Roque Santa Cruz - Manchester City; Matt Derbyshire - Olympiakos; Aaron Mokoena - Portsmouth.
Possible: Ruud van Nistelrooy

Big Sam Allardyce has been busy putting his stamp on the Blackburn Rovers squad he inherited from Paul Ince and successfully guided to Premier League safety. His hands were tied during the January transfer window as funds were low at Ewood Park, but the sale of Roque Santa Cruz to Manchester City in the worst-kept secret in football has meant there is now money to spend; good news for a man who has a portfolio of signings including Jay Jay Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff, Ivan Campo and Fernando Hierro. Allardyce is yet to replace Santa Cruz or Greece-bound Matt Derbyshire, but has been linked with Ruud van Nistelrooy; though he admits Rovers are likely to be priced out of a move for the Dutchman. His defence has significantly improved though, as Gael Givet made his move to England permanent and Lars Jacobsen, who had some ill fortune with injury at Everton which subsequently limited his first-team opportunities, signed for free. Elrio van Heerden and Steven N'Zonzi are relative unknowns in England, but both operate in midfield.

Bolton
In: Sean Davis
Out: Blerim Dzemaili - Torino.
Possible: Miguel Veloso, Ferrie Bodde

Little news is emanating from out of Bolton thus far, though they have secured the signing of Sean Davis from Portsmouth, who appeared thoroughly fed up with the takeover rumblings at Fratton Park. He joins the list of players at Wanderers who look extremely similar from a distance (Kevin Davies, Gary Cahill, Johan Elmander, Gretar Steinsson, Matt Taylor; you know, white male, short hair, often sporting a full-sleeve tattoo). Boss Gary Megson has been trailing Portuguese midfielder Miguel Veloso for what feels like an eternity and that could continue this summer, while a bid for Swansea City's middle man Ferrie Bodde has been rejected as the Welsh club look to resist being stripped for parts after manager Roberto Martinez took over at Wigan Athletic. Megson could still come back in for Bodde with an improved offer.

Burnley
In: David Edgar; Steven Fletcher; Tyrone Mears
Out: None
Possible: Andrew Driver

The Clarets are making their debut in the Premier League this season and have started their recruitment with two players who have suffered relegation to the Championship in the past; Tyrone Mears with Derby County and David Edgar with Newcastle United. Mears enjoyed a spell on loan with Olympique de Marseille last season and the French club were interested in securing the signing on a permanent basis, while Edgar has been tipped as a prospect for the future and performed well despite biting the bullet with the Magpies. Steven Fletcher has been brought in to add firepower to The Clarets' front line, with the fledgling Scotland international impressing north of the border. Tricky winger Andrew Driver, who featured for the England Under-21s at the European Championships, could add to the Scottish connection before September rolls around.

Chelsea
In: Ross Turnbull; Daniel Sturridge; Yuri Zhirkov
Out: None
Possible: Andrea Pirlo; Alexandre Pato

Chelsea's biggest signing of the sumer thus far is undoubtedly Carlo Ancelotti. The former Parma, Juventus and AC Milan manager arrived at Stamford Bridge yesterday for his first press conference, quickly moving to deny John Terry would be sold, likening him to Paolo Maldini at Milan. The Rossoneri links don't stop there though, as The Blues have been.....umm......linked with Andrea Pirlo and Alexandre Pato, as is to be expected when a manager arrives at a new club. Pirlo has declared himself happy to stay in Italy, though the Pato deal could still go through, reportedly for around a whopping €45 million. Ross Turnbull has decided he'd rather pick up the big money pulling splinters out of his backside at the Bridge (or not, such are modern advances in bench technology) than take on Aussie Brad Jones for a starting berth at Middlesbrough next season. Yuri Zhirkov has moved from CSKA Moscow for around £18 million to bolster the Chelsea midfield and add some natural width to the left hand side, and Danny Sturridge pulls up the English-bred quota after letting his contract expire and refusing a new one at manchester City; a tribunal will decide his fee.

Everton
In: Anton Peterlin, Shkodran Mustafi
Out: Lars Jacobsen - Blackburn; Andy van der Meyde, Nuno Valente, Segundo Castillo (released)
Possible: Jo (loan)

Everton manager David Moyes will probably spend another transfer window making shrewd purchases and nurturing the young talent in his squad; his only two signings so far are young prospects. The Toffees have chewed some of the fat from their squad though, which could be in order to make way for new arrivals. Jo is all-but confirmed as an Everton player for another season after silencing some of his critics with a few goals at the back end of the 2008/09 campaign, while Yukubu's return from injury will be like.....let me just get my 'Big Book Of Football Cliches'........ah here it is; it'll be 'like a new signing'. Moyes will surely have his resolve tested with regards to defender Joleon Lescott as Manchester City, who are fast becoming the most mentioned club in this blog post, miss out on John Terry.

Fulham
In: Stephen Kelly
Out: Troy Brown - Ipswich; Collins John, Moritz Volz, Leon Andreasen
Possible: Roberto Aquafresca, Aruna Dindane

After an impressive season that has secured Europa League football for Fulham this season, manager Roy Hodgson will need to build a squad ready to deal with a busy year ahead. The signing of full-back Stephen Kelly is solid, though hardly the coup needed to put a run in Europe together. Hodgson is in the market for forwards and could pull in his links with Inter to bring in Roberto Aquafresca, if only initially on loan. The Cottagers cannot afford to lose defender Brede Hangeland, who was pivotal to their success last season, or Clint Dempsey who after top-scoring in the Premier League for the club, went on to help the United States to a Confederations Cup final with Brazil, in which he scored. Lose these men at your peril.

Hull City
In: None
Out: Dean Windass (released)
Possible: Bobby Zamora

After losing out on the signing of Michael Owen in a deal that nobody, not even manager Phil Brown, believed was possible, Hull City are now chasing Fulham's Bobby Zamora. They look set to miss out on Marc-Antoine Fortune as he had a medical at Celtic today, and Fraizer Campbell has stalled on a decision to join the club he once enjoyed a successful loan spell with. The Tigers will need to build on their current squad to avoid a repeat of last year's final day relegation decider.