By Michael Sinnerton

Amir Zaki, football's Mr Unprofessional, wants to return to the Premier League. He may well still be able to do so but perhaps returning late from International duty five times in a row, might come back to haunt him. I kind of hope so.

Zaki has today claimed Aston Villa failed with an £11million bid to sign him in January. If that's true it casts some doubts on Martin O'Neill's judgement but it may well be just an attempt to get him some headlines at a time when it looks more likely he will be playing football for a lower league French club than anyone with profile in the Premier League. Zaki's arrogance and lack of respect towards Steve Bruce is enough to put any manager off, let alone his huge dip in form which points to Premier League defenders working him out. Good riddance to bad rubbish? Or a waste of talent that could prosper under the right guidance?

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Are Man City completely mad or genuinely onto something? Signing John Terry from Chelsea, to me seems an utterly impossible task. When Steven Gerrard almost moved from Liverpool to Chelsea he was moving from a team who he loved but were 4^th to a championship winning and potentially league dominating team. Terry, arguably more associated and in love with his club than Gerrard, would be almost moving in the other direction.

Perhaps City are just stirring and I don't think Terry would be move but it's strange that he hasn't come out to distance himself and end the speculation. At least Hughes and they owners have changed tack from simply attempting to buy any decent striker on the market. If they do manage to sign a couple of top-quality defenders, I still think City have the possibility to give the Big Four (possibly now the big 3 and a half) a real battle.

By Michael Sinnerton

As Manchester City eye-up a new set of world-class strikers in a Real Madrid-lite move, should Arsenal fans be worrying about their position in the top four?

If City do line up with Eto'o, Tevez and Robinho next season then their fire power doesn't seem far off Arsenal's, a slightly weaker back-line and attacking midfield is countered by a much stronger goalkeeper and huge strength in depth in defensive midfield - one of Kompany, Barry or De Jong could make a huge difference to the balance of Arsenal's midfield.

Having a look at two feasible line-ups for next season:

Arsenal: Almunia; Sagna; Vermaelen; Gallas; Clichy; Nasri; Song; Fabregas; Rosicky; Arshavin; Van Persie

Man City: Given; Zabaleta; Richards; Dunne; Bridge; Ireland; Barry; De Jong; Robinho; Eto'o' Tevez

My combination line up would see: Given; Sagna; Gallas; Dunne; Clichy; Nasri; Barry; Fabregas; Ireland; and then any of the strikers interchangeably. So four City players to five from Arsenal. Of course this does depend on City signing two world-class strikers but the potential strength in depth at City, with Elano, Johnson, Kompany, Wright-Phillips, Petrov and Santa Cruz all not making my potential first XI above, is frightening.

As a Liverpool fan I find myself more often than not worrying about dropping out of the top floor than whether we can make a title charge. I hoped this year would be different, and if we can sign one more world-class player without losing anyone I could be right. It seems pretty unlikely that City have what it takes to win the title just yet but their strength in depth given a few more top quality signings is already good enough to match the top four.

Where they lack at the moment is go-to-guys, the players who seem to win your club most of their points. Liverpool, of course, have Torres and Gerrard; Chelsea have Lampard and Drogba, and Arsenal Fabregas. With Manchester United selling their main go-to-man the title race is wider open than it has been in the few seasons. At the moment City do not have that player, Robinho has shone in patches but mainly when they have dominated while the same could probably said of Stephen Ireland (who probably comes closest to filling this role).

Without this kind of player City may find themselves struggling to crack the top four but if someone at the club steps up, or one of their world-class potential singings really comes off then the Champions League elite could see a newcomer making waves quicker than we think.

By Michael Sinnerton

Barcelona are in talks with Palmeiras over £12.8m rated striker Keirrison, something which raises several interesting talking points. Firstly and perhaps most obviously it seems to increase the possibility of an Eto'o to Manchester City story (City have just made a £25.5m bid). Personally I would rather see Eto'o stay and have one more, probably, glorious season with the new ‘dream team' but presuming he adapts to the Premiership ok there's no doubt he'll be a great signing (and will force Craig Bellamy out).

Secondly £12.8m is a huge amount of money pay for a 20 year old that has no experience of European football. On the plus side Keirrison was last year's top scorer in the Brazilian championship with 20 goals, has career stats of 89 goals in 158 games and has been linked with the big clubs before. Personally I hope that if Barca do sell Eto'o they sign David Villa as a replacement and use Keirrison as a replacement as I don't think Bojan is ready to step into the main role. Alternatively of course they could switch Thierry Henry to centre forward and bring in Franck Ribery.

The other interesting thing about this transfer is that it has cost the Palmeiras coach, Vanderlei Luxemburgo, his job. "Keirrison showed a lack of professionalism and respect towards me and the squad so, while I'm coach, he will no longer play for Palmeiras," Luxemburgo had said on his blog. Palmeiras were knocked out of the Libertadores Cup last week and Luxemburgo was sacked.

All this points to a further increase in player power given Luxemburgo is the most successful coach in the Brazilian championship (5 titles, 2 previously with Palmeiras). As if this small transfer story didn't have enough Keirrison is 80% owned by Traffic Sports Marketing so Palmeiras will only get 20% of any transfer fee. Perhaps some of it will go to Luxemburgo as a compensation package meaning the club will be nearly back where they started only without a manager and their best player.

Unfortunately for Brazilian clubs this process of 2 steps forward, 2 steps back shows little sign of abating.

by Joel Abraham

So what exactly does Mark Hughes plan to do with all these strikers? They don't even have any European games to give them a run out. The list as it stands:

Jo
Bellamy
Caicedo
Vassell
Bojinov
Benjani
Santa Cruz
Ched Evans
Sturridge
Robinho

What a list! Considering Hughes likes to play with a lone striker, that's a nine-man depth chart. Carlos Tevez looks likely to be the latest addition. Nobody else is stupid enough to pay £25m and £120 grand per week for him. Even Real Madrid don't want him. It's nice to see Tevez reject a move to Liverpool out of respect for Man United, and then start negotiating with City instead. Top marks to the man. Come August, I'm holding out for a starting lineup of:

           Santa Cruz Benjani
Robinho Bellamy Tevez Wright-Phillips
                 Barry De Jong
           Kompany Richards
                      Given

I can hardly wait! In the meantime, here to keep you amused is a list of Pele's 10 worst predictions:

http://www.goal.com/en/news/2377/top-10/2009/06/23/1338375/top-10-wrong-pele-predictions

By Michael Sinnerton

£18million for Roque Santa Cruz? Are you having a laugh? I know prices are inflated but we're talking about a player who has played ten seasons in Europe and scored more than 5 goals in only one of them.

Maybe he's built to play in the Premiership. After all he did score 19 goals in 37 games for Blackburn in 2007/08. The price seems way too high though, it seems this summer is going to be filled with clubs paying over the odds from Cristiano Ronaldo to Glen Johnson, so perhaps it's a bit harsh to pick on Santa Cruz but despite his goals for Blackburn I'm not totally convinced about him as a goal scorer.

Given Manchester City's aim is to at least break into the top four, a strike force of Craig Bellamy and Roque Santa Cruz seems a little short in quality to me (I'd like to see at least one world class striker, all the other top 4 clubs have one). Albeit a midfield of Elano, Barry, De Jong and Robinho sounds fairly decent. I'll stick my neck out now and call Roque Santa Cruz's move a flop and a waste of money.

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What odds on a football version of 20/20? We already have the format, 5-a-side football and I imagine fans would absolutely love a weekend tournament but to be honest there's probably too much football in the calendar already. Valdes, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi against Cech, Terry, Essien, Lampard and Drogba sounds pretty good though, Barca wouldn't have a bad "B team" either.

By Michael Sinnerton

It's not just the transfer market for players that's causing waves at the moment with compensation for managers being almost as hotly contested. Steve Bruce having gone for £3million, Students of the Game runs the rule over the other managerial contenders looking for moves this summer.

Tony Mowbray

Bio: The West Brom boss seems more and more likely to move, despite the reluctance of his current chairman Jeremy Pearce. Mowbray's strengths are well-known, he builds teams that are attractive to watch and on the whole successful, he has a good scouting set-up (at West Brom at least) and given a bit more financial clout may have been able to keep the baggies up last year. Any manager who's team is relegated but is still adored by the fans must be doing something right.

Value: 1-2m

Chance of a move: 8/10

Managerial Achievements: 5/10

Roberto Martinez

Bio: The current Swansea boss has been fantastic for the Swans and is another who likes his teams to play attractive passing football. I think it's great for the game that these sort of managers are moving onwards and upwards but the move to Wigan must be seen as a gamble by both sides. However, Swansea's performance in the FA Cup this season make you think that Martinez may have the tactical nous to compete with the some of the top managers in the world.

Value: 2m (Backroom staff thrown in)

Chance of a move: 9/10

Managerial Achievements: 3/10

Sven-Goran Eriksson

Bio: Most of it we know, decent job for England despite a lot of criticism although his management was style was clearly too conservative and he seemed to rely on his senior players a little too much. His spell with Mexico was also short and must be deemed a failure. At club level though his record is very good with success in Portugal, Italy and in England with Manchester City.

Value: No compensation, huge wages.

Chance of a move: 6/10 - Portsmouth

Managerial Achievements: 8/10

Aidy Boothroyd

Bio: After an injury ended his playing career at 26, Boothroyd gained a wealth of league coaching experience in a short time before being surprisingly appointed Watford manager at 34. After steering the club away from relegation, Boothroyd got the club promoted very impressible, albeit with a style of play not loved by the neutrals. After losing star striker Marlon King on the first day of the season, Watford never really stood a chance of avoiding relegation and after Watford struggled on their return to the Championship he left by mutual consent. Seems desperate to get back into management.

Value: Should come relatively cheap

Chance of a move: 5/10

Managerial Achievements 4/10

by Joel Abraham

You'd have to have spent the last few months living under a rock to have missed out on Wolfsburg's astonishing title triumph, the first in their history. The side are solid at the back, with a fantastic team work ethic, and deadly in the final third. The team is built upon endless running and players working their socks off for the cause, with wing-backs Christian Gentner and Sascha Riether embodying the team spirit instilled by manager Felix Magath. Proving themselves equally important are left-back Marcel Schafer and Brazilian defensive midfielder Josue.

Yet the standout players have been the ones racking up the goals. In the mires of this summer's tedious transfer tattle, expect to hear plenty about Wolfsburg's "golden triangle": Grafite, Edin Džeko, and Zvjezdan Misimović.

Grafite, Misimović and Džeko

Džeko, a tall and skilful 23-year-old Bosnian striker, netted hattricks against Hoffenheim and Hannover within the space of a fortnight, finishing the season with the handsome tally of 26 goals and bagging the player of the year award to boot. He scores all sorts of goals with either foot, from three yards to thirty yards, and is dominant in the air. He can play comfortably as a lone striker or as a pair, having led the line superbly on his own when Grafite was sidelined by injury. Europe's elite will be falling over themselves to get their hands on this superb young player.

As for Grafite? Have a look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSuiI9WY2uY

The 30 year old Brazilian is a rampant beast blessed with great control on the ball, the perfect accomplice to the rangy Džeko. He's the top league scorer this season, with 28 goals in 25 appearances. All the more impressive when you consider he's had his share of injuries this season. He enjoys the big games, having netted decisive braces against Hamburg, Bayern and Leverkusen as well as a hat-trick against Schalke. Powerful and quick, his well-timed runs from deep have made him the ideal figurehead for Wolfsburg's counter-attacks. Also a model professional off the pitch, Grafite will be hot property this summer.

Džeko and Grafite have become the most prolific striking duo in Bundesliga history. They also might be the most religious, with Džeko a devout Muslim who reads from the Koran before each game as his teammate Grafite recites from the Bible.

Pulling the strings behind the pair is Zvjezdan Misimović. The 26-year-old captained the Bosnian national side before his international retirement, although he has been coaxed into reneging upon this decision. He is regarded as the top creative midfielder in the Bundesliga. He lacks pace, but his passing more than makes up for this, with 16 league assists this season.

On the topic, it is worth noting that the future of the Bosnian national side looks very bright indeed. With Misimović at the helm, the likes of Džeko, Lyon midfielder Miralem Pjanić, Hoffenheim duo Sejad Salihović and Vedad Ibišević, Hajduk Split's explosive winger Senijad Ibričić, and centre back Emir Spahić will all be looking to make their mark in South Africa next year. They are set up nicely for a playoff push, and may catch more than a few teams off guard should they make it to the finals.

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Rather than fill endless columns with pointless transfer gossip, here's a list of done deals so far this summer, with more than a couple that catch the eye:

Ivica Olic, Mario Gomez > Bayern
Diego, Fabio Cannavaro > Juventus
Sami Hyypia > Leverkusen
Lukas Podolski > Koln
Yoann Gourcuff > Bordeaux
Thomas Kahlenberg > Wolfsburg
Diego Milito, Thiago Motta > Inter
Fabio Quagliarella, Luca Cigarini > Napoli
Hernan Crespo, Roberto Acquafresca > Genoa

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Another transfer completed today is the £12m move of Gareth Barry from Aston Villa to Manchester City. I won't mince words here - Barry is mad. He's leaving behind one of the most promising young teams in the country led by one of the top managers, and has joined the circus. City are far, far inferior to Villa, and shame on Barry for believing whatever the moneybags owners have promised him. Or maybe his ambition doesn't quite match his greed, being paid a reported £100k a week at City.

A Villa-supporting friend of mine said: "I feel like I've been personally insulted. It's like hosting a party and having one of your best friends not show up because he's gone to the party of another guy you don't like very much. I wouldn't have minded him leaving for Arsenal or Liverpool, but going to Man City is an insult to Villa."

by Joel Abraham

I like Manchester City. I wrote a few months ago about how I was relishing the prospect of a star-studded City XI, and with Kaka seemingly close to becoming the newest recruit, I can't bloomin' wait.

People are constantly lecturing us on how £108m could be better spent, how Mark Hughes needs a team of grafters and warriors to shore up the defence. Maybe, but wouldn't you much rather be watching Kaka?

I think Man City should be applauded for their pursuit of players like Robinho and Kaka, who make the game worth watching. Surely this is preferable to the philosophies of cloggers like Gary Megson and Tony Pulis, whose sole aim to to strangle the life out of any game they take part in?

At worst, Kaka becomes a hilarious expensive flop. At best, we get to see one of the world's finest footballers producing his artistry on a regular basis. This does of course beg the question as to whether any footballer could ever live up to such a price tag, but it's a question we should ignore for the sake of the beautiful game.

It's an obscene amount of money. Yet I find the idea of Abu Dhabi's oil money being poured into football a lot more palatable than Abramovich's cash, which by all accounts should've remained in the Russian public services sector.

Arsene Wenger is claiming this is terrible for football, immoral, unfair. Possibly, but until every other Premier League club is owned by oil barons, I suggest we enjoy Man City for the novelty act that they have become.

P.S. On a side note, I find the moral dilemma for Kaka himself utterly fascinating. As a devout Christian who allegedly has no interest in money, is he about to sell his soul for £1m a month?

by Michael Sinnerton 

With all four Premier League teams either top of their Champions League groups or having taken maximum points it's time for that age old argument about the best league in the world.

The Premier League is the most watched league in the world, has the European Champions, the European runners-up and the top four have all made the Champions League final in the last 3 years.

The League still has a veil of unpredictability with Arsenal already losing to Fulham and Hull, Liverpool being held by Stoke and Manchester United by Newcastle. Admittedly the top four will probably end up the same as last year (Aston Villa may challenge Arsenal) but then Spain's top four is likely to contain at least 3 of Barcelona, Sevilla, Atletico and Valencia whilst Italy's will surely contain at least 3 from Inter, Juventus, Fiorentina and Roma.

However the league's second tier sides are where the argument has weakness. With Everton going out of the UEFA cup to Liege, Tottenham bottom of the league and struggling past Wisla. (The two teams to most closely challenge the top 4 in recent years) whilst Valenica and Espanyol (Getafe amongst others) regularly do well in Europe as do AC Milan, Sampdoria and sometimes Lazio.

Having said that Valencia struggled last year, and it may be that Aston Villa and Manchester City may be the Premier League's next strongest representatives rather than an Everton team who may have peaked (at least temporarily). Both Vila and City have the finanical capacity to go one step further something which Spanish and Italian teams probably lack.

The League's wages are higher, the clubs spend more money on transfers and this is bound to attract the best players and managers. If England had Spain's climate there would be very little reason for foreign players not to move.

Despite this there were less goals/game in the Premiership last year than in most of the other European leagues, with the Bundesliga the best value for goals. La Liga still has an element of the unknown and is the breeding ground for young South American talent. The likes of Messi, Aguero, Fernandez and Dani Alves (to name but a few) were always much more likely to join LA Liga, partially due to a technical capacity for football that can arguably not been found in the Premierships  "kick-and-rush" culture.

I am a huge La Liga fan but I don't think you can beat the Premiership for pure excitement and adrenalin.

But my favourite League in the world, despite it's dimunitive size and lack of status has to be the Isles of Scilly (where else) Football League which is a scilly little league with only two teams.

http://www.worldssmallestleague.co.uk/html/league_table.html

The Garrison Gunners and the Woolpack Wanderers make up the League (a massive 12 game fixture list) as well as having four cup competitions. The league whilst perhaps more predictable than the Premiership (the same two teams make the finals every year) has a charm about it that I can't help but love. Obviously I've never seen a game but the Gunners are running away with the league this year largely thanks to the hugely unheralded Adam May, a part-time retailer who you shouldn't expect to be gracing our shores any time soon despite his impressive goal record.

The Garrison Gunners against Manchester United for a best league in the world title? Don't count on it.