At last, the season is over in Europe. Fight till last minute became a reality in Spanish League and finally Real Madrid won the league title after four years. Interestingly, the defending champion Barcelona also had same points and a better goal average but head-to-head advantage helped Real to lift the cup on the final day. Now, all big and small clubs will be active in the transfer market. Italian giants like Milan, Inter, Juventus, Roma, Lazio are already in the market and trying to bid the best players. Meanwhile, big buyer of last three seasons, Chelsea is keeping a low profile this time. Entry of Real and Barca will heat up the market and the price for match winning players will go up. Before others entered in the market, English Champion Manchester United did their business by capturing the signatures of Oven Hargraeves from Bayern Munich, Andersson and Nani from Portugal. They have already splashed more than 50 million GBP in the market and still looking for an ace striker.

This is just an attempt to analyse the transfer news appeared in media and its worth and reality. The new Television Deal by Football Association made English Premier League  more rich than other leagues and the clubs in the league started thinking about their pruchase based on this new income. The new revenue is attracting new investors from different continents. Today one of the main club in the league was brought over by a Thai politician. Americans and Russians started this move and Arabs, Scandinevian, Africans started showing interest in this money miniting league. In this juncture, spending power of a club is not a joke and ther performance in the next season will depend on this factor. Here i am trying to analyse the transfer spending power of clubs on the basis of one article appeared in Times newspaper published from London. This news item is almost one month old, so it helps us to see what all happend in last one month and what will be the next in coming days.

On 20th May, Times carried an article on the spending power of each English League Clubs. They made a list according to the money power of the club and their requirements for next year. According their list, it shows two clubs have kept GBP 50 million to buy players this time. It says five clubs have kept 30 million and another 5 has 20 million and two clubs saved 25 millions to spend and 5 more clubs raised 15 million for spending for players in the market. But the remaining three is in a different league of spending power. 2 clubs have 50 million and another one have 40 million.
There were some miscalculations in that list. They counted 21 clubs, kept Manchester City free from spending and added West Brom in the table. This list was prepared before the playoff of the promoted clubs from Championship. In the playoff, Derby made it to EPL and West Brom stayed back. The table shows the purchasing power of clubs and the table is minus West Brom. Don't ask me this is a real estimate of not. While calculating the whole amount together, English Premier League market is worth more than GBP 500 million.

While including West Borm in the list the money available for clubs was 515 million.We have to deduct 20 million of West Brom and add 15-20 million minimum for Manchester City. This is a huge amount and bigger than GDP of many small countries.

Till today (21 June), it seems the money is not spend properly and spending is still below hundred million mark. Interestingly more than half of that spent money belongs to one club -Manchester United. That means, others together spend less than 50 million. Transfer market is open till 30th August but clubs will be interested to buy their players before the start of league, even before the friendly matches starts.

The Champion, Manchester United started their headhunt just after the last day of the league. Last year, they sold out their key striker Rudd Van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid and signed Michel Carrick in midfield position and Sir Alex attempted lost out in signing Oven Hargraves to Bayern Munich was not interested in the deal. By January, Bayern made it clear that Oven is ready to leave if Manchester matches with their demand. Ferguson didn’t think twice and moved in for Oven Hargreaves as his first target by shelling out 17 million. This was just a beginning and he moved further to out bid Tottenham to capture two young talents in Anderson and Nani. Performance of Christiano Ronaldo gave him confidence in raiding Portuguese clubs again for new talents and he got winger Nani from Porto and Brazilian midfielder Anderson from Sporting Lisbon. For these three players, Manchester United has spent more than 50 million and still ready to spend on an established striker. Today, the news is Manchester is linking up with Italian striker Fabio Quagliarela from Sampadoria. If they succeed in this bid, Manchester United will cross 60 million this year and so far they haven’t sold any of their player. Their quick move was enough to keep the transfer market in boiling condition.

Big spender of last 4 years, Chelsea, decided to keep their money in the bank for the time being. Interestingly they collected the players who were available for free in transfer market. Steve Sidwell, who played well for Reading refused to renew his contract and joint with Chelsea. Coludio Pizzaro joined them from Bayern Munich on free and Chelsea got Tel Ben Haim, established defender of Bolton also on free. So far they spend some nominal amount on Danny Phillskrik, who joined them from Oldham, the club plays in lower division. But, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is less satisfied with the low profile approach but he makes the point that this time pressure will be on big spender, who is not Chelsea. Mourinho is interested in signing some players in key positions. He knew, his club will loss the service of African players during the African cup. So, replacement for them is his key concern and for striker, he is interested in his former striker in Porto –Bene Mc Carthy of Blackburn Rovers. There is also pressure from the players to sign Florent Malouda from Lyon, who is a proved winger. Latest news is about Chelsea’s interest in Dutch under 21 and Feyenoord player Royston Drenthe. Few days earlier, there was some news that Chelsea are competing for Valencia’s Portuguese defender Miguel to out bid Arsenal.

Another expected big spender is Liverpool, the club that was brought over by two American billionaires. Rafael Banetiz is expected to splash 50 million in the market. He is still searching for his best players. Till today, he tried to bid players like Folrent Malouda –a left winger of Lyon, Fernando Torres –striker of Athletico Madrid, and Diego Forlan –Striker of Villa Real. If his bid come reality, the cost will exceed 50 million barrier. Apart from them, Benetiz has eye on Simao Sabrosa who plays for Portugal and some good players who can play in defence. They have already acquired a striker in Andrey Voronin from Bayer Leverkusen for free and brought two Hungarian players; Kristian Nemeth and Andras Simon, both from MTK Hungariam, and the fee is undisclosed. He also snapped up another 6 million player in Lucas Leiva from Brazil. Once the Champions league final got over, Benetiz decided to test the integrity of the new owners Gillet and Hick. He declared that for winning the league title, we require very high quality and for buying them we need heavy financial support from management. Then he suggested some names like Samuel Eto’o, Florent Malouda, Diego Forlan etc. This week, Liverpool was linked up with Spanish striker Fernando Torres and Diego Forlan and made a formal 3 million bid for Bolton defender Yossi Benayoun. If Benetiz manages to land up Eto’o or Torres, we can expect he will spent major part of his transfer kitty this time on quality players.

Arsenal is going through a chaotic patch. Take over bid from an American millionaire and resistance from the board put them in a fix position. They lost their vice chairman David Dien, who resigned from the board due to difference of opinion. He was the person behind all business deals and transfers for Arsenal in the market for more than a decade. Uncertainty in the future of their manager Arsen Wenger whom completes his contract by the end of coming season, and confusion on future of players like Henry and Fabrigas holding their activity in transfer market. The player they were looking for some time, Frank Ribery joined in Bayern Munich and Wenger is known for his reluctance in spending money in market. So, their expected 30 million will remain with them.

Tottenham is one of big actor in the transfer market. They are known for bidding for all good players and coming up talents in Europe and other places. So far, they splashed 10 million on Garth Bale and expected to spend another 20 million on few more players. Till the date, they are in a pole position in landing English striker Darren Bent by spending 16 million. Apart from signing established players, they are also snap young talents for fewer prices. The agreed to buy Adel Taarabt from France. We can see their name behind players like Curtis Davis –defender of West Brom, and Younes Kaboul from Auxerre –France.

Astonvilla, who lost out in the market last year due to takeover decisions will be very active this time. They have a very good manager in Martin O’Neill, who is thinking to create a good team for future will be very busy to purchase good players. According to Times, they have 25 million to spend. So far they haven’t spend much for players but they allowed releasing few good players who were not interested in continuing in Villa. O’Neill placed bids for players like Nigel Reo-Cocker, Diego Forlan, Bruno Alves, Nigel de Jong, Jason Koumas, and Jussi Jaaskelaien. If he is able to land up all these players, Villas modest budget will go up and touch 30-40 million. Till today, nothing has happened and O’Neill still searching and bidding for players.

West Ham United, the club brought over by Iceland consortium somehow managed to keep a position in the EPL in the last days. Their big buys of last year Carlos Tavez and Javier Mascherano ended up in high-level controversy and still cases are haunting them. Mascherano has left for Liverpool in January and Tavez is under observation of many big clubs in Europe. Even though, the captured the signature of two well established players along with a team which ended in first 7 positions of EPL a year earlier, struggled to keep position in EPL this time. Their management has changed; manager Alen Padrew lost his place and replaced by Alan Curbhisly who is now looking to rebuild the team. They are planning to sell off many players and replace with better and committed. According to Times, West Ham is expected to spend 30 million and so far they have already spend 7 million for Scott Parker and lost out in bidding Charlton’s Darren Bent for 17 million. They are also looking for bidders for players like Nigel Reo-Coker, Merlon Harewood, Yossi Benayun, and Mathew Ethertington and also waiting for right kind or price for their ace striker Carlos Tavez. Once they clear their issues, we expect they will come out with more money than expected to rebuild the team.

Another expected big player in the market is Newcastle United. They are the third largest club in the EPL on the basis of stadium capacity. Before the end of last season, the sacked their manager Glenn Rodier and replaced with Sam Allardyce. They also released players like Titus Bramble, Antonio Sibriski, Craig Moore, and Oliver Bernard, and sold Scott Parker to West Ham. Meanwhile, the ownership of the club also has gone through changes. English billionaire Mike Ashley started buying shares from the market and till now he has managed majority of the shares and nearing to complete ownership. He is also planning to make the club great again. Times says they have 30 million to spend but it seems they will be more active in the market and most probably cross that amount. On the other side, they will definitely sell few of their key players. So far they have brought Joye Barton from Manchester City for 5.7 million and received Mark Viduka on free. There are lot of interventions to keep their key striker Michel Oven from other big clubs, and also trying to land established players like their former striker Craig Bellamy, defender Curtis Davis, David Rozenhal, and Samy Hyppia of Liverpool. They lost their bid for Ben Haiem, to Chelsea.

Clubs like Reading, Wigan Athletic, Birmingham, Fulham and Derby, will be active but try to find low profile players who require less money as transfer fee. So, the spending expectation of Times will remain with them. They will go for the released players from big clubs and also try to capture young players and established players who costs low, from other leagues. Their first intention will be keeping a place in the Premier League than winning the league.

Sunderland, the club, who finished top in championship under the guidance of former Manchester United Captain Roy Keane, is expected to spend more this time. The paper says they have 30 million estimate to spend for players. Some other channel says they have 25 million war chest only. But they started their activity in the market by signing Greg Halford from Reading. They are trying their best to capture the signature of David Nugent who costs more than 7 million. It is expected that Roy Keane will try to lure his former colleagues Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and Diego Forlan to Sunderland. If he manages this, the estimated budget will go up and cross 30 million mark.

David Moyes, the manager of Everton is not known for big spending. His biggest spending was last years 8.5 million for Andrew Johnson. Times says they have a war chest of 20 million to spend. But, their activity in the market says that they won’t be able to spend that money and they will focus to strengthen their remaining squad with some proved players who costs lesser. This year, it seems their first priority is to go for a new stadium with capacity of 55000 seats, and they are trying their best to find a suitable place for that. So far, they managed to sign only one player in Phil Jagielika from Shefield United for 4 million. To strengthen the squad, they are bidding Jason Koumas from West Brom and also for David Nugent from Preston.

Harry Redknapp was very active in the market for last summer. This time we expect Portsmouth will be more active. Times says they have 20 million in their pocket and it seems Redknapp will go for big purchase this time at least to better the position of Portsmouth in the league table. So far, they managed to buy Sully Muntari – young established Ghanaian midfield player by spending 7 million. He also added Sylvian Distin and Hermann Hreidarsson for free and now looking for some more vibrant players. Harry is trying to sign Lyon’s Alou Diarra for 5 million but seems it will cost more. He is also trying to lure his former striker Yakubu from Middles borough. Recently, Redknapps name started linking with bidding of his former striker Federic Kanoute, who now plays for Spanish club Seville. Move for Yakubu will cost more than 10 million and Kanoute will be nearly 7 million. It seems, Portsmouth will surpass the estimate of Times. Harry is known for signing senior players from big clubs when the complete their contract with them. He signed Sol Campbell and Lauren, Kanu, David James, and Andrew Cole from various clubs and used them in the best way. It is also known that he is waiting for the release of Arsenal’s Freddie Lungberg and the latest news is his interest in the oldest playing player in the league Teddy Sheringham, who is 41 years now.

Middlesbrough, under the least experienced manager managed a middle level position in the league table. Gareth Southgate lost their main striker Mark Viduka to Newcastle, who was out of contract by the end of the season. But he managed to sign on loan defender Jonathan Woodgate from Real Madrid for 7 million. Times expect that Boro will spend around 25 million this year. So far they spend nearly 10 for two players in Woodgate and striker Jermine Aliadiere from Arsenal. They also managed to sign Tuncay Sanli from Turkish club Fenerbahce for free. Apart from signing new players, their focus will be keeping their established players with them. Protecting Yakubu from the interest of Portsmouth will be difficult and the money they offer is not bad to refuse. So, we can expect more players to Boro. So, priority will be not keeping Yakubu but keeping their midfield player Stewart Downing from big clubs. Southgate is trying to get West Borm’s Diomansy Kamara and Chelsea’s Cameroon international Germi who played one season for Boro on loan from Real Madrid.

Sam Allardyce left Bolton to better challenges for his coaching and management credentials. He took Bolton to the highest position in the league table so far. He built up the team with very less money. Strengthened them with good young players and adopted a winning method which was allergic to many teams in the league itself. He found talents in Kevin Davis, Kevin Nolan, Tal Ben Haim, Ricardo Gardner and organized them in team mixed with experience of Jay Jay Okocha, Gary Speed, Ican Campo, Stelios Giannokopoulos, etc. Later he added strength with Abdoulaye Faye, El-Hadji Diof, Abdoulaye Miete, and later he made his biggest purchase in Nicolas Anelka. His shrewd approach took them to Europe and produced same impact in some level. By the end of last season, he found that Bolton’s ambition is not matching with his plans and they are not ready to spend money to rebuild the team with more talents. He resigned and another Sam -Sammy Lee took over the charge. Sammy Lee also followed the steps of his former Sam. He decided to buy some established players who were left out of contract. He paid 1 million for Gavin Macann of Astonvill and also signed Villa’s Jlloyed Samuel for free. They lost their defender Tal Ben Haim to Chelsea who was also out of contract and also released a few players like Henrik Pederson, David Thomson, and Quinton Fortune. Time says Bolton has 15 million to spend, but it seems they will save that money and develop a team from existing resource.

Mark Hughes is keeping his hands close in the transfer market. Blackburn Rovers are so far silent in the transfer activity but they are busier to keep their existing squad intact. Time shows that Rovers have 20 million budget to spend but more interested in keeping their key striker Benedict McCarthy from Chelsea’s bid. They are trying to keep their midfielder, 36 year old, Tugey in the team for another year by extending his contract. Along with, they showed interest in signing their former striker Craig Bellemy from Liverpool. It seems, their 20 million budget will be sufficient for them at least till January, when the transfer market reopens.

Manchester City is left out in the table of the Time. Till the end of the season Stuart Pearce managed the team and kept them above the relegation table. But disastrous performance of city team forced the club management to step down Stuart Pearce from the position. Disciplinary problems and dressing room chaos, especially the issue of Joey Barton put Stuart Pearce in a vulnerable position. Meanwhile, there were a lot of news on takeover of City and management slow down their search for new manager. May be, because of this situation, Time left them out from the budget analysis. For the last one month, lot of names appeared for manager position including former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri, Seville coach Juande Ramos, Co Adriaanese, Koeman, and at last it reached in former England manager Sven Eriksson. Today only, the picture of Manchester City’s future is getting clear. Former Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawarta made a formal 82 million bid to take over the club and also announced that he has had a word with Sven Eriksson for the position of manager. Now rumors started spreading about the transfer kitty of City. It seems another club is coming out with GBP 50 million as transfer budget.