TRANSFER BATTLES

Kolo Toure to join Liverpool

               

Liverpool have confirmed that they have agreed a deal with Manchester City defender Kolo Toure. The former Arsenal man will officially become a Liverpool player on July 1 after he completed a medical ahead of his move to Anfield.

               

The Merseyside club have agreed in principle a two-year deal with the Ivorian, who has taken a drop in the £90,000 a week salary he was being paid by Manchester City. His contract expires on June 30 and the formalities of the free transfer will be completed then.

Manager Brendan Rodgers has turned to the 32-year-old in order to add some experience to his back four following the retirement of veteran Jamie Carragher.

Carvalho joins Monaco, Falcao, Valdes set to follow

Ricardo Carvalho

Ricardo Carvalho has completed a move to Monaco. The Portuguese international now 35, has played for Porto, Chelsea and Real Madrid in an illustrious career and said he was happy to have signed a one-year deal with the club.

"I'm very happy to join AS Monaco," he said on the official website, "and be part of the new adventure. This is a new challenge for me."

Victor Valdez

Radamel Falcao

Falcao, 27, is expected to sign for a French record fee of £51.3m while no fee has been listed for 31-year-old Valdes who has only one year left on his contract at the Camp Nou.

According to AFP, both players were due to have medicals yesterday - and Colombia striker Falcao has now reportedly passed his.

Falcao has long been linked with a move away from Atletico Madrid with Manchester City and Chelsea mooted as possible destinations.
                                      

                                       

Team-mates: Falcao will join up with fellow new signings Joao Moutinho, top, and James Rodriquez at Monaco

However, it appears that Monaco have jumped to the head of the queue with the newly-promoted team having already recruited the likes of highly-rated Porto pair Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez for a combined fee of around £60m.

                                

President Dmitry Rybolovlev is highly ambitious, evidenced by his capture of the Porto pair, who are former team-mates of Falcao who has scored 32 goals in 36 appearances this season.

                                

Valdes has asked Barcelona to grant him a free transfer from the club given he has spent the last 10 seasons in the club's first team squad but club officials are reportedly reluctant to allow this out of the precedent it may set for other players further down the line.

Martinez on the verge of joining Everton after leaving Wigan

Roberto Martinez

Roberto Martinez has resigned as manager of Wigan and will be free to take the vacant job at Everton.

The Toffees made an approach late last week for the Spaniard and at an emotional lunchtime meeting on Tuesday, Martinez told Wigan chairman Dave Whelan he was quitting.

He spent time making his mind up over the Bank Holiday weekend while visiting family in Barcelona and now Whelan will seek £2million compensation from his new employers.

Whelan said on talksport: ‘Bill Kenwright rang me on Friday and asked permission to speak to Roberto and I said, “we are having a meeting today where we will decide his future”. So Bill asked to speak to him should he leave and I gave him permission.

Successful partnership: But Dave Whelan has given his blessing for Martinez to move on

‘Whether Roberto decided to leave or not, I would never stop a football club speaking to a manager of mine. One thing Everton have got is Bill Kenwright, who is one honest guy. I would trust him implicitly and if I was Roberto I would listen very keenly to what Everton have got to say.’ He added: ‘I would just say he’s a must for Everton. He’s a fabulous manager – a very honest person who plays football the right way, from back to front. He’s just tailor-made for Everton. I am sure Bill Kenwright will be very, very interested now.’

Rafael Benitez: Napoli appoint Spaniard as manager

Deal: Rafa Benitez shaking hands with Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis

Rafa Benitez has signed a two-year deal and will replace Walter Mazzarri, who has moved to Inter Milan. The Interim one can breathe a sigh of relief after enduring a torrid season from the fans of Chelsea .

                            

                           

                          

The Spaniard struggled to win over a section of the Chelsea supporters during his time in charge at Stamford Bridge.

Benitez is hopeful of a better relationship with the Napoli fans and is confident of bringing further success to a side who were second last season - their best finish in Serie A since winning the Scudetto in 1990.

Rafa Benitez

"Now that the agreement is confirmed, I can say I am very happy and very satisfied for having committed to a great club with an illustrious heritage like Napoli," he said on his official website, http://www.rafabenitez.com. "I understand the history of the city and how the club forms a fundamental part of the culture and traditions of Naples.

"I must confess that I am extremely excited because I can share my passion for football with the fans of Napoli; it is proven that they are very, very special. "

"I look forward to experiencing each and every one of the fans of Napoli and their strong support for this project that we will begin.