Ben Haim to Chelsea: report

Player: Tal Ben Haim
From: Bolton Wanderers
To: Chelsea
Fee: Free

Chelsea completed their third free signing of the summer transfer period after the signing of Sidwell and Pizarro. Ben Haim, who can play both as centre-back and right-back, put pen to paper and signed a four-year-deal at Chelsea.

After the Blues' defensive crisis last season, having another centre-back will help manager Jose Mourinho feel more secure about his defense.

Ben Haim said: "I feel fantastic to be part of that amazing club. If you ask every player, they want to play for Chelsea, for that team. It's one of the best teams in the world so I'm very happy to be part of that.

"I don't like to talk too much about myself but I can guarantee that I give 100% and hopefully I don't disappoint anybody, especially myself. 'I'm sure that everything will be okay and I'm waiting to start."

Capello future undecided

For much of the season, rumours spread that Real Madrid were looking towards Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho to replace their under-fire coach, Fabio Capello. Now, things have changed, with Real making a strong push towards the title towards the end of the season, and Jose Mourinho set to stay on at Chelsea despite differences with owner Roman Abrahamovic.

However, Spanish media reports suggest that securing the La Liga title on Sunday might not be enough for the Real Madrid coach to stay on at the club. Capello's relationship with Real owner Ramon Calderon remains strained despite a meeting that ended "cordially" according to a Real statement.

The statement went on to say that any decision regarding Capello's future would be taken after the weekend.

Gilberto-Trezeguet Swap Likely

Arsenal and Juventus are expected to swap David Trezeguet and Gilberto Silva.

It is no secret that Trezeguet wants out of Juventus, and speculation is rife that his preferred destination is Arsenal, where he would be united with fellow French striker Thierry Henry to recreate the attacking duo of AS Monaco.

This combination would undoubtedly appeal to Arsenal's manager Arsene Wenger, who would have no hesitation in trading away Gilberto Silva, who acted as captain during the final phases of last season.

However, Arsenal will probably face opposition from Liverpool and Valencia, who are also looking for Trezeguet.

Mechiot to Wigan: report

Player: Mario Melchiot
From: Rennes
To: Wigan Athletic
Fee: Free

Mario Melchiot, former Chelsea and Birmingham defender, signed for English Premier League club Wigan Athletic earlier today. Melchiot was an everpresent for French club Rennes last year, helping them to fourth place finish and a UEFA Cup spot.

Latics boss Chris Hutchings said: 'Mario is someone we've been keen on for some time. He's an experienced and versatile player and he's another real quality addition to the squad.'

Newcastle sign Barton

Newcastle, under Sam Allardyce, signed Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton for 5.8-million-dollars, beating West Ham United to the player who had had an altercation with fellow players and therefore was leaving the club.

Allardyce back to Bolton

Big Sam, Sam Allardyce, who resigned as manager of Bolton on the last weekend of the season, and then joined Newcastle United, will travel to the home of his former club in his first Premier League match with his new club.

Sam Allardyce spent 8 hugely successful years at Bolton. He started when they were in the second division of English football, and when he was done, they were favourites for a UEFA Cup or maybe even a Champions League spot.

It's sod's law, isn't it," Allardyce said with a smile after the 2007/08 fixtures were revealed on Thursday.

"It will be very interesting to go back to the Reebok Stadium and I look forward to it.

"I wasn't dreading it, I had nearly eight fantastic years there. They will be right up for trying to beat me so we'll see what we do when we get there.

"I would hope for a pretty good reception there after we finished the last four years seventh, eighth, sixth and eighth, qualifying for Europe twice. I think I left them in a very healthy and profitable state.

"At Newcastle we are hoping to build a side to start the season well. Bolton in the first game is a good start, then Villa at home, Middlesbrough, our local rivals, then I think to Wigan which is not too bad. So the start of the fixtures is reasonably good."

Sheva to Milan?

Chelsea's striker Andriy Shevchenko, bought from AC Milan for 30-million-pounds, might be on his way back to his old club, AC Milan, according to Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi.

The Ukraine forward has been repeatedly linked with a return to the Rossoneri club over the last six months following a difficult first season at Stamford Bridge.

The European champions are rumoured to be looking for Eto'o or Henry, but Berlusconi's heart is set on Shevchenko.

"I like Eto'o, he is young, but I am a romantic and I prefer Shevchenko," said Berlusconi.

Shevchenko will probably not come unless Chelsea allow him to, but that is pretty unlikely. Berlusconi, however, contradicted this by saying,"The last time I spoke to Galliani, which was a couple of days ago, the probability of Shevchenko returning to Milan was 80%. Had that percentage gone down, I'm sure Galliani would have told me."

Real and Barca neck-to-neck for last day

The eternal rivals, Real Madrid and Barcelona, are still neck-to-neck on the final day of the Spanish Primera Liga, with the former leading on a better head-to-head record.

Real failed to win last weekend, but Barca could only manage a 2-2 draw against city rivals Espanyol, which meant that the two sides were still level on points. Sevilla, who are still in the race, are two points behind them, and have to hope that both of them fail to win if they have a chance of taking the title and the 2nd part of their attempted treble.

However, it seems more likely that one of the two top teams in the Spanish Liga will take the title. Real and Barca have never been away from the Spanish first division. If Barca do not win, they will be trophiless for a season for the first time since 1941, whereas Real have not won any trophies for a while.

Fingers crossed to see who wins ...