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Transfer Ticker: Liverpool bolsters front line, Gosling bolts Everton and more

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

By AVI CREDITOR

Liverpool continued its busy offseason by signing Serbian striker Milan Jovanovic to a three-year deal.

Jovanovic scored the lone goal in Serbia's 1-0 victory over Germany in the World Cup, and he scored 13 goals in all competitions for Standard Liege last season.

The signing not only bolsters Roy Hodgson's front line, but it also provides some cover for the departed Yossi Benayoun on the wing, as Jovanovic is effective both up top and in the midfield.

Here are few other transfer items from around the soccer world:

GOSLING GETS OUT OF EVERTON CONTRACT

Dan Gosling, who scored a game-winning goal for Everton against Manchester United last season and is one of the up-and-coming young players in the Premier League, has gotten out of his contract with the Toffees and is now a free agent.

Gosling, 20, got out of Everton on a technicality, because the team couldn't offer the England youth international the five-year deal it wanted to when he was 17. Rules prohibit teams from locking up young players for that long of a period, so he signed a three-year deal and had a verbal agreement with the team to stay on for two more seasons at a substantial pay raise. That agreement wasn't put in writing in time by Everton, though, and the Premier League ruled that he is able to leave Goodison Park on a free transfer, meaning that not only does Everton lose the player, but it also misses out on any potential compensation.

West Ham, Newcastle and Sunderland are among the teams rumored to have interest in signing Gosling, who is coming off a major knee injury. 

KJAER CHOOSES WOLFSBURG

Denmark centerback Simon Kjaer has left Palermo to sign with Wolfsburg on a four-year deal.

Top-tier Premier League teams were rumored to be close to signing the budding defender, but he has instead wound up in the Bundseliga, where he will join newly acquired German international Arne Friedrich on the Wolfsburg back line.

KOSCIELNY SIGNS WITH ARSENAL

Arsene Wenger has brought in another French player to the Emirates after Arsenal inked Laurent Koscielny to play central defense.

Koscielny, who most recently played for Lorient, will partner with Thomas Vermaelen at the back and joins fellow countrymen Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy, Abou Diaby, Bacary Sagna and Armand Traore in London.

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What do you think about these moves? Do you think Gosling is a villain for leaving or just playing by the rules?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. That was a wonderful back-story but has nothing to do with this point:

    Step 1: He never develops

    Step 2: Everton doesn’t hold their end of the verbal agreement

    Whether or not Everton ” deserves ” a transfer-fee for his development is a completely seperate issue.

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  2. +1 for all of these hilarious NBA references haha. especially the saying he ‘carlos boozer’d’ the toffies haha.

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  3. Gosling intimated that he would sign – and then dragged it out – dragging Moyes and Kenwright through an FA tribunal to prove that he was free. Initial word was that it was a clerical error, noises from Goodison now say that it was a premeditated move to wriggle out of his contract. He claims he wanted playing time, in central midfield. I’m sure Moyes would be happy to give him that – if he was anywhere near as good as Rodwell, Fellaini, Arteta… Alas he isn’t. I won’t miss him, but I’ll miss the money we deserved for him…

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  4. You want a big name? Thierry Henry is available.

    You do remember that Henry, Viera, FabregasAdebayor, eboue and the rest were not big names whenthey were signed don’t you?

    Why spend money on brand names when generic is just as good or better and cheaper?

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  5. Can we just call Arsenal, “the team that should’ve gone to the World Cup”? If anything, I’d have taken Wenger on an interim basis since they already got Blanc and Wenger wants to stay with Arsenal. Wenger has coached half of the squad or possible squad(Henry,Viera,Nasri,Gallas,Sagna,Clichy,Viera,Anelka, Diaby), so leadership wouldn’t have been an issue.

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  6. Good catch. But he was already coming off of the injury. What if he were still looking at 7-8 months or more of rehab, like Gooch? And wasn’t the verbal agreement a bit of a sneaky way around the rules against locking up teenagers to long-term deals?

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  7. Ives,

    How bout some info on all the yanks transfer rumors. Dempsey to Milan? Where is Jozy going? Bradley, Donovan, Howard making a big move?

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  8. We don’t need another CB! We have Smalling who was just purchased.

    Give me a creative midfielder and I say bring on Chelsea!

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  9. Because Koscielny is younger and better at 1v1s.

    You don’t buy CBs individually, you buy to make a partnership. The Belgium is a great muscle man and 18 yard box presence. Koscielny is a 1v1 and game reader specialist.

    In other terms: Belgium = Vidic. Frenchman = Rio.

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  10. It’s not about paying alot of money for players if there are similar players that fit into your system for less.

    Who was Vermalaen before he was brought in last year?

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  11. It’s not show-friends, it’s show-business.

    Had Gosling failed to develop and show potential, you’re sorely mistaken if you believe Everton would have held to the verbal agreement.

    Reply
  12. I think Song and Diaby are going to be sick this year. I’d dump Rosisky, Bendtner, and Van P. All are constantly injured and over rated. Sign up Forlan for 2 years. Our D line will be much improved and we just need some wingers. Donovan?????????? 🙂

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  13. A nasty injury such as a blown ACL? Apparenty Everton was still going to comply despite that nasty injury.

    Dude just Carlos Boozer’d Everton.

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  14. In fairness to the kid, do you think Everton would have complied with the “verbal agreement” to re-sign him for two years with a bog raise if he had been awful this past season? If he had a nasty injury?

    Reply
  15. how is it that wolfsburg have cash to shell out on a player kjaer, and arsenal is only able to afford anonymous players like koscielny? i’m sure he’ll be good or whatever, but c’mon arsene, sign a freakin’ big name player.

    Reply

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