Man City sign Barry, close on Tevez

Manchester City completed the first major transfer of the summer yesterday, surprisingly snapping up Gareth Barry from Aston Villa for the relatively small sum of £12m. Barry, a long-time Liverpool target, will be paid £100,000 a week at Eastlands, and appears to have shelved his oft-stated aim to play Champions League football - which the Anfield club would have offered him. Now Manchester City are expected to turn their attention to luring Carlos Tevez to the club, but Rafa Benitez is likely to put up more a fight for the Argentinean...

One player who Benitez does appear closer to signing is Napoli striker Ezequiel Lavezzi, who has had a bust-up with his sporting director at the Serie A club and looks ready to move to the Premier League, according to the Guardian. The 24-year-old would provide striking cover for Fernando Torres, with Ryan Babel likely to leave Anfield to help Benitez balance the books. However Manchester United are also reported to have also met the player's representatives...

Carlo Ancelotti sealed the first deal of his Chelsea career yesterday when the Londoners picked up the out-of-contract Manchester City striker Daniel Sturridge. The 19-year-old had been at loggerheads with City boss Mark Hughes after the club refused to accede to his £55,000 a week wage demands, and it's not known whether Chelsea have made Sturridge the highest-paid teenager in English football. Now Ancelotti is turning his attention to his old club, AC Milan, looking to bring Brazilian teen Alexandre Pato to Stamford Bridge for £45m, says the Daily Mail...

Florentino Perez has set his sights on reconstructing the famous Galacticos team of his previous stint as president of Real Madrid, having reportedly offered £56m to AC Milan for Brazilian star Kaka. Over the next couple of weeks he is also expecting to pick up Xabi Alonso from Liverpool, Franck Ribery from Bayern Munich and David Villa from Valencia, before turning his attentions to Cristiano Ronaldo, reports the Times...