The last of transfers from this transfer window…
Latest updates: Thursday 1 September

From Tottenham Hotspur: Striker PETER CROUCH to Stoke City for a fee of £10 million. The England international has signed a four year contract. He is the third Spurs player to have joined Stoke in this transfer window (the other two being Jonathan Woodgate and Wilson Palacios).

From Tottenham Hotspur: Right back ALAN HUTTON to Aston Villa on a four year contract.

From Birmingham City: Striker CAMERON JEROME to Stoke City on a four year deal.

From Liverpool: Midfielder RAUL MEIRELES to Chelsea for a fee of £12 million. The Portuguese international has signed a four year contract.

From Everton: Midfielder MIKEL ARTETA to Arsenal for a fee of £10 million.

From Manchester City: Midfielder CRAIG BELLAMY to Liverpool on a free transfer. The Wales international has signed a two year contract with the club he previously spent the 2006/07 season.

From West Ham United: Midfielder SCOTT PARKER to Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £5.5 million. In the deal David Bentley will also go on a season long loan from Tottenham to West Ham.

From Birmingham City: Centre back SCOTT DANN to Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £6 million.

From Manchester United: Midfielder OWEN HARGREAVES to Manchester City on a free transfer. The injury plagued, former England international, has signed a one year deal.

From Palermo: Midfielder ANTONIO NOCERINO to AC Milan on a five year deal.

From Borussia Mönchengladbach: Midfielder MICHAEL BRADLEY to Chievo Verona on a two year deal.

From Sunderland: Centre back ANTON FERDINAND to Queens Park Rangers for a fee of £4 million.

From River Plate: Right back MAXIMILIANO PEREYRA to Udinese on a five year deal.

From Celtic: Winger SHAUN MALONEY to Wigan Athletic for a fee of £1 million.

From Liverpool: Striker DAVID NGOG to Bolton Wanderers after having spent three years at Anfield.

From SV Ried: Midfielder DANIEL ROYER to Hannover 96 on a four year deal.

From Manchester City: Winger SHAUN WRIGHT-PHILLIPS to Queens Park Rangers for a fee of £3 million.

From Fenerbache: Centre back DIEGO LUGANO to Paris Saint-Germain on a three year contract.

From Hamburger SV: Winger ELJERO ELIA to Juventus on a four year deal.

From FC Twente: Striker BRYAN RUIZ to Fulham for a fee of £10.6 million.

From Nacional: Centre back SEBASTIAN COATES to Liverpool for an undisclosed fee.

From Atletico Madrid: Midfielder ELIAS to Sporting Clube de Portugal for a fee of €8.8 million. The Brazilian has signed a five year contract.

From Auxerre: Striker IRENEUSZ JELEN to Lille on a free transfer.

From Internazionale: Full back DAVIDE SANTON to Newcastle United on a five year deal.

From Sevilla: Right back MOUHAMADOU DABO to Olympique Lyonnais on a four year contract.

From Napoli: Centre back VICTOR RUIZ to Valencia on a five year deal.

From Almeria: Winger ALBERT CRUSAT to Wigan Athletic for a fee of around £2 million.

From AS Monaco: Striker PARK CHU-YOUNG to Arsenal for a fee of around £3 million.

From Red Bull Salzburg: Goalkeeper GERHARD TREMMEL to Swansea City on a free transfer.

From AEK Athens: Midfielder PAPA BOUBA DIOP to West Ham United on a free transfer.

From Werder Bremen: Centre back PER MERTESACKER to Arsenal for a fee of €9 million.

From Fenerbache: Left back ANDRE SANTOS to Arsenal in a £6.2 million deal.

From Atlético Madrid: Striker DIEGO FORLAN to Internazionale on a two year deal. The Uruguayan veteran has been brought in to fill the gap after Eto’o left the club.

From Tottenham Hotspur: Midfielder WILSON PALACIOS to Stoke City for a fee of £6 million.

From AS Monaco: Defender CEDRIC MONGONGU to Evian on a four year deal.

From Newcastle United: Midfielder JOEY BARTON to Queens Park Rangers on a free transfer. The 29 year old has signed a four year contract.

From Aston Villa: Right back LUKE YOUNG to Queens Park Rangers on a three year deal.

From Liverpool: Left back EMILIANO INSUA to Sporting Clube de Portugal on a five year deal.

From Cesena: Forward EMANUELE GIACCHERINI to Juventus for a fee of €3 million.

From Espanyol: Striker PABLO OSVALDO to AS Roma for a fee of €17.5 million.

It only took 20 minutes for Robbie Keane to deliver his first goal for LA Galaxy. Keane was played through by David Beckham and showed off his confident experience rounding the goalkeeper before putting the ball into the net. Keane, who is Ireland’s all-time greatest goal scorer, followed up by showing off his famous cartwheel celebration in front of the sold-out 27,000-capacity stadium.
Keane’s wife Claudine cheered on from the stands with other family members as he played 70 minutes of the match, which LA Galaxy won 2-0 against San Jose Earthquakes. Manager Bruce Arena said they’re elated with Robbie at the club. Keane has still got in in him and could be a great goal scorer in the Major Soccer League.

Former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson is the man who shall lead Leicester City back to the top tier of English football. He is to do what Ian Holloway, Nigel Pearson and Paulo Suosa failed to achieve. In fact there has been a long string of managers since Martin O’Neill left the club in June 2000. O’Neill took the club to the Premiership in 1996, followed by four successive top ten finishes. Under O’Neill the club won the League Cup in 1997 & 2000 and were runners-up in 1999. They were relegated after the 2001/02 season but went straight back up the next season, however the 2003/04 season is so far their last in the Premier League.

In 2002, soon after having moved into their new stadium, Leicester went into administration with debts of more than £30 million. A consortium led by former great Gary Lineker managed to get the club back on its feet. In 2008 they hit further lows as they were relegated to League One, the only time in Leicester’s long history outside the top two tiers of English football. That was the end of Ian Holloway and he was replaced by Nigel Pearson. They were promotoed back to the Championship after only one season, as League One champions. The following season the reached they play-offs for promotion to the Premier League but failed to take the step up. Pearson was then replaced by Suosa ahead of last season but they had a disastrous start to the season and he was sacked in October. Under newly appointed Sven-Göran Eriksson the club recovered to a 10th place finish.

Sven-Göran Eriksson has a solid track record and the Foxes faithfuls hope he can bring them a new O’Neill era of success. In his native Sweden he lifted IFK Göteborg to European prominence by winning the UEFA Cup in 1982. That led him to Portuguese giants Benfica, where he won several titles, followed by more titles won with Italian clubs AS Roma, Sampdoria and Lazio. After having been Lazio’s most successful ever manager, Eriksson went on to manage Manchester City and the national teams of England, Mexico and Côte d’Ivoire before his move to Leicester City.

Eriksson has had the financial backing from the Thai-based Asia Football Investments consortium who now owns the club. He has been very active in the transfer market and complemented the squad with several strong signings. He had already in January brought in Souleymane Bamba, a 26 year old Ivory Coast defender, who he knew from his recent spell as coach for the Côte d’Ivoire national side. Japan international defensive midfielder Yuki Abe had arrived at the club ahead of last season.

In this transfer window Eriksson has captured:
Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel from Leeds United, a 24 year old Denmark international.
Right back Lee Peltier from Huddersfield Town, a 24 year old who can also play as a midfielder.
Right back John Paintsil from Fulham, a 30 year old Ghanaian international.
Left back Paul Konchesky from Liverpool, a 30 year old former England international.
Centre back Matt Mills from Reading, a 25 year old former England U19, named new captain by Eriksson.
Centre back Sean St Ledger from Preston North End, a 26 year old Ireland international.
Midfielder Neil Danns from Crystal Palace, a 28 year old who previously played in the EPL for Birmingham.
Striker David Nugent from Portsmouth, a 26 year old with one England cap.

He has also signed midfielder Michael Johnson on a season long loan from Manchester City and Gelson Fernandes, a Swiss international on loan from St Etienne, which could become permanent.

The squad already boasted the young midfielder Andy King, a Wales international who will turn 23 in a couple of months time. There is also plenty of experience to draw from the likes of midfielder Richie Wellens, a 31 year old and the club’s 2011 Player of the Year, midfielder Matt Oakley, a 33 year old former U21 player for England, the 33 year old former Switzerland international, Bruno Berner who plays both in midfield and defense. There is also winger Lloyd Dyer who has wowed to stay on and fight for his place, while the injury prone centre back Aleksandar Tunchev, a 30 year old Bulgarian international, has been sent on a one month loan to Crystal Palace.

Leicester played their season opener away to Coventry. They took home all three points after Lee Peltier nodded home a perfect cross from Richie Wellens. The first step of a long 2011/12 season.