Both Manchester United and Liverpool are tracking the progress of former Chelsea holding midfielder Lassana Diarra. Hamit Altintop has become a target for Spurs and a host of other clubs including Atletico Madrid as his contract with Bayern Munich is due to expire in a couple of months. With Joe Hart being called back to Manchester City as a result of the injury suffered by Shay Given, Birmingham are now looking at loaning United custodian Ben Foster.

Elsewhere, Wolfburg forward Edin Dzeko has dropped a hint for the Premier League clubs by stating that he would be interested in moving away from his current club at the end of the season. Arsenal have opened talks with Gael Clichy over the possibility of a new deal. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona have been monitoring Clichy’s progress and Wenger would not want to lose the French left back.

AZ Alkmaar’s £5m-rated forward Jermain Lens is attracting a lot of attention from Wigan, Wolves, Sunderland and Newcastle. Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has his eyes on Paraguay international midfielder Cristian Riveros who could well become the Black Cats’ first signing of the new season. And finally, in what could be the biggest transfer of the summer, Barcelona are edging closer to the services of Spanish star striker David Villa.

United’s 4-0 defeat of AC Milan was greeted by hostile chants by fans against the Glazer family, who currently own the Manchester based club. The Glazers have come forth and suggested that it would be business as usual, even though the club has been in debt of around £700million. Protesters against the Glazers have donned gold and green scarves in recent weeks as a mark of protest. And their cause received a huge endorsement when United’s returning golden boy David Beckham donned a green and gold scarf himself to show his support to the cause.

The meeting with England boss Fabio Capello lasted only for ten minutes during which the decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy was made. A statement from Fabio Capello read, “After much thought, I have made the decision that it will be best for me to take the captaincy away from John Terry. As a captain with the team, John Terry has displayed extremely positive behaviour. However, I have to take into account other considerations and what is best for all of the England squad. What is best for all of the England team has inspired my choice.” John Terry has also graciously accepted Capello’s decision.

The world collapsed for Terry when news about his four month fling with Wayne Bridge’s ex-girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel was made public by a British newspaper. Carlo Ancelloti has pitched his support for the Chelsea captain. On the other hand, Roberto Mancini has also spoken of the trauma Wayne Bridge had to undergo due to the scandal. The Manchester City star is believed to have coped well with the situation.