Everton Live Scores

Blackpool

Strengths – Much talk has surrounded the defiiencys of the side and the supposedly doomed fate of a squad that seems painstakingly ill equipped to make a step up no one would have envisaged theyd be making so soon. But Blackpool were one of the entertainers of the championship last year and a similarly gung ho approach to the big boys could provide some scalps. Bloomfield Road will be house a the longing of an entire community to give its people a season to be proud of once more and a few teams could come unstuck at a venue that some of the prima donnas of this league could find an unwelcoming experience. Holloway, provided his alleged rifts with the board do not engulf his well overdue premier league experience, will maintain a team spirit and morale that saw them shock everyone last season. Plus, lets face it, no none is giving them a shred of hope of even getting off the foot of the table and without the shackles of an ounce of expectancy and pressure, who knows the tangerines could thrive.

Weaknesses – They wont thrive. Holloway is apparently at his wits end with a summer of inacitivy when what was required was a summer of immense activity. Charlie Adam aside, its hard to identify a player in the blackpool ranks who wont feel out of their depth in this league, and an unforgiving opening run of fixtures could see their beleif deal some painful early knocks that will be hard to recover from. A defence that was far from mean in the championship, could absolutely crumble when the likes of Rooney, Drogba and Van Persie line up against Holloways remarkable overacheivers.

One to watch.- Charlie AdamThe obvious choice, call me ignorant, but maybe the only choice. The seasiders record signing will have to orchestrate the midfield with as much poise and dominance as he offered the sides midfield in the championship last season if Blackpool are not have a season of getting bent over and raped hard.

West Brom

Strengths – The perrenial yo yo club are looking to finally establish themselves this year. The side remains relatively unchanged since their last relegation in 09 and that continuity will prove invaluable. The players from that campaign will have priceless experience and will not crumble in the pressure cooker of relegation 6 pointers. Graham Dorrans looks like he will make a seamless transition to the premier league while Chris Brunt and Scott Carson have all proved themselves in this league before. Di Matteo adopts a brave philosphy and west brom will go for the 3 points at home which could make all the difference.

Weaknesses – Not making their presence felt in the window could prove to be the root cause of a demise next season. Seemingly just one or two quality big money additions away from standing a great chance of survival, the chairman has again played it safe. Such prudence allows them to rebound from the championship time and time again, but without a real injection it seems they are destined to keep falling back out the trap door at the first time of asking.

Key Player – Scott Carson The popular choice would be Dorrans who undoubtedly has a huge role to play but im going for someone whos likely to be the baggies busiest player next season. Once on the cusp of being englands no1 keeper, carson has the ability to put in some top drawer performances and keep the baggies in the division.

West Ham

Strengths -  New manager, new owners, times have changed recently for the hammers. They will be expected to push on from the mediocrity of zolas regime and will not want to run relegation so close again. West Hams strengths lie in a side that has a spine of quality players. Forget the Demspey debacle, Green remains a great keeper, Upson a solid centre back despte some slip ups last year, Parker as dynamic a ball winner in the division and Carlton Cole for me remains a real handful on his day. If West Ham start well , they can make upton park a difficult place to come again and if grant follows zolas route of blooding kids into the side there could be a fresh hunger about the hammers next season.

Weaknesses - Alot of the squad seems full of merceranies, on too much money, not possesing the quality to back it up. The likes of dyer, Mccarthy, Da Costa, and Spector all appear not fully geared towards the success of the club and can only sap morale. The club were inconsitent last year, and showed an inability to deal with the pressure of crunch cames, crumbling at times notably in that 3-1 reverse at home to wolves. Good on the day but when their bad it seems their really bad.

Key Player - Scott Parker Seems interest in the talismanic midfielder has been succesfully warded off and his thrust, energy and drive in the midfield is what grant will look to build the team around.

Wigan Athletic

Strengths – Martinez seems to have the ability to fire his troops up and get them playing in the big matches. Notable victories over Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool were proof of this last season. Creative talents of Nzogbia and Rodallega, not to mention the exciting talent of victor moses, has seen them able to create a host of chance and score goals. James Mcarthy’s performances last season add to the exciting feeling of a bright future for Wigan.

Weaknesses – No side has conceded more goals then wigan did last year and stayed in the division and Martinez’ insistence on sticking to his footballing ethos no matter the opposition has seen them susceptible to a battering. I was there for the 9-1 at the lane and it was the most meek surrender from an opposition side ive ever seen. Their inconsistency shows no sign of fading.

Key Player – RodallegaIf he picks up where he left off last year, Wigan can live to fight another premiership season.

Wolves

Strengths – Defensively robust in comparison to the sides who struggled around them last season and theyve strengthed in the summer with hunt and fletcher arriving. Improvement has been made off the pitch in the summer, and an upturn should follow on the pitch. Doyle and Fletcher could strike up a partnership that banishes the goal scoring phobia that had them fortunate to survive last year.

Weaknesses – If that partnership doesnt work or if anything happens to doyle theyll end up scoring 3 jody craddock headers next season. Big season from Fletcher and a drastic improvement from ebanks blake is required to ease over reliance on doyle.

Key Player – Steven Fletcher Doyle is vital but if there going to ease the burden on him fletcher must follow up an eye catching debut premier league season with burnely.

Check out the football odds for who will be relegated this year at http://www.odds1×2.com

JERMAINE Beckford’s first goal for new club Everton helped condemn Huddersfield Town to a Carling Cup exit.

The former Leeds United striker – jeered all night by the travelling supporters – scored a 50th-minute penalty just as Town sensed the possibility of a comeback.

It was cruel luck on Lee Clark’s men who had grabbed a lifeline just before the break and started to ask questions of the Premier League club. But Beckford’s goal, following a foul by former Everton defender Gary Naysmith on Jack Rodwell, put Everton 3-1 ahead and firmly in command. As if rubbing salt in the wounds, Beckford then laid on the pass for substitute Louis Saha to score Everton’s fourth.

The margin of victory could have been even greater if Beckford had not allowed team-mate Johnny Heitinga to take Everton’s second penalty of the night, which was duly saved by substitute goalkeeper Ian Bennett after 71 minutes.  Defender Lee Peltier was sent off for the challenge on Seamus Coleman – his second bookable offence, but Leon Osman’s late header still made it 5-1 to the Toffeemen, underlining the gulf in class.

Town, who had completed the signing of Crystal Palace striker Alan Lee yesterday morning, were two goals down after just 14 minutes . Yet winger Gary Roberts – a lifelong Evertonian – dragged his side back into the contest just before half-time. Everton, who finished eighth last season in the Premier League, were the highest-ranked side in this stage of the competition but had rested six players from the weekend.

Only defenders Sylvain Distin, Heitinga, and Leighton Baines, winger Steve Pienaar, and striker Jermaine Beckford survived the squad rotation. Town manager Clark made four changes – presumably with one eye on the important League One game against Charlton Athletic this weekend. Both Jordan Rhodes and Joe Garner dropped to the bench while midfielder Kevin Pilkington was absent after taking a knock at Peterborough.  Naysmith returned from suspension and replaced Graham Carey while Theo Robinson, a surprise inclusion, played as a lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation.

Although Jamie McCombe tested Everton’s debutant goalkeeper Jan Mucha with an early header, it took just seven minutes for the home side to score through Marouane Fellaini.

The towering Belgian arrived unmarked at the far post, met a cross from Magaye Gueye, and sent a header into the roof of the Town net. When Jack Rodwell doubled Everton’s lead seven minutes later – striking a low drive beyond the reach of Smithies – the scent of a landslide home victory was hanging in the air.

Clark started to show signs of frustration in the away technical area while the 5,100 travelling supporters briefly lost their voices, although they could still raise a jeer for Beckford. Without a goal in his first two appearances since a summer move from Town’s local rivals Leeds, Beckford shrugged off the stick and was always on the look out for the ball.

At 2-0, Everton may just have been feeling the game was over. If that was the case, Town had other ideas. Roberts had achieved a boyhood dream simply by playing on the Goodison Park pitch for the first time, but his evening got a whole lot better when he scored five minutes before the break.

Released by Liverpool as a schoolboy, Roberts initially turned a cross from Joey Gudjonsson onto the Everton bar from close range. The ball appeared to be dropping over the line when Heitinga, under pressure from Robinson, put a head on it. Roberts wheeled away in celebration, leaving no-one in any doubts about who was claiming it.

Town changed goalkeepers at the interval with veteran Bennett coming on for his debut as a replacement for Alex Smithies. But Bennett was soon picking the ball out of the net as Beckford restored Everton’s two-goal lead with a penalty following a foul by Naysmith on Rodwell.

Buoyed by the goal, Beckford nearly grabbed a second but Bennett tipped over his angled drive. New signing Lee had completed his move to Town yesterday morning but was cup-tied last night. Lee, 32, signed a two-year deal and should make his debut in Saturday’s home game with Charlton. The fee for the former Rotherham United and Republic of Ireland international has not been disclosed but was actually agreed in the summer and is likely to contain promotion- related incentives.

Chief executive Nigel Clibbins said: “We will not disclose the detailed terms but suffice to say that the speculation regarding a three-year deal, £500,000 transfer fee, and wages which emanated from quotes in the London media are once again hugely exaggerated. In fact, the initial outlay and the structure of the deal represent excellent business for the club.”

Manchester City are set to complete the signing of Aston Villa midfielder James Milner with the player undergoing a medical on Wednesday.

Stephen Ireland, who is poised to leave Eastlands as part of the deal, is also having a medical at Villa.

“Stephen is down with us having a medical, finalising arrangements, while James is doing the opposite up there,” said caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald.

“Hopefully by the end of the day, he will have signed for us.”

Milner is set to become City boss Roberto Mancini’s sixth major summer signing following the arrivals of Jerome Boateng, David Silva, Yaya Toure, Aleksander Kolarov and Mario Balotelli.

“I think that Milner is a good player, an English player which is important,” Mancini said on Tuesday. “I think that Milner can play in different positions.”

His switch was thought to have been held up by Ireland’s reported demand for a £2m payment to leave Eastlands.

City offered Villa £18m, with Ireland moving the other way as part of the deal, but City were thought to be unwilling to pay him the sum he was seeking.

After teh shock exit of Martin O’neil Vill are on the lookout for a new maanger before the start of the premiership season on Saturday. Let’s take a look at what we think are the reasons for the resignation of Martin O’neil.

O’Neill stormed out of Villa after failing to receive assurances from chairman Randy Lerner that he would be given the transfer funds to take the club forward. O’Neill’s fractious relationship with the board broke down completely yesterday amid concerns that he would not be given all of the proceeds from James Milner’s sale to spend on new players. After taking training yesterday morning the Irishman quit with immediate effect following crunch tallks with chief executive Paul Faulkner, with Lerner back home in America. There has been friction between the manager and the chairman since O’Neill was told that he must generate funds for new players by selling off his unused fringe players.

The cracks first started to appear when O’Neill was allowed to spend over his budget to recruit defensive trio Stephen Warnock, Richard Dunne and James Collins last August. In return for the outlay of more than £16 million, Lerner asked O’Neill to get a batch of unused players on big wages off the payroll in the January transfer window. But it came to a head yesterday when O’Neill decided that striving for the Champions League without significant squad strengthening was a task too far for him. Throughout pre-season, the formerly autocratic O’Neill has replied to questions about the club’s transfer plans by saying: “You’ll have to ask the chairman and chief executive.”

Speaking following his final game – Friday’s friendly draw with Valencia at Villa Park – O’Neill hinted at his growing frustrations over his transfer budget. “Losing your best players at the club would cause anyone a headache. It’s a problem because I am trying to build something. “It happened a couple of seasons ago with Gareth Barry and it didn’t get resolved and I’m not sure anybody here wants to go down that route again.” O’Neill was showing concerns over how much money owner Lerner would make available for new signings only 72 hours before quitting the club.

Reserve-team coach Kevin MacDonald will be in charge for Saturday’s league opener with West Ham at Villa Park. James Milner’s £20million-plus transfer to Manchester City is earmarked to be completed after the midfielder has returned from England duty later this week. And there has also been speculation that winger Ashley Young – hailed a “genius” by O’Neill – could be tempted away from the club with Tottenham thought to be interested.

It is unclear at this stage whether any development regarding Young was the final straw for O’Neill. But the former Celtic boss had indicated before the weekend that he needed to speak to Lerner about what funds would be at his disposal. Now the Northern Irishman has called time on his four-year spell at Villa, with the news of his departure breaking shortly after 4pm yesterday afternoon. O’Neill seemed less than convinced that he would receive all the money for new signings from the Milner deal when asked about the situation after the friendly clash with Valencia.

In response to being told Lerner had said money raised from selling players would be used for new signings, O’Neill said: “Did he?” He then added: “I need to speak to the chairman. “For a number of days in this transfer saga with Manchester City, you have known my position in terms of what I have been advocating and thinking about. “But it really has been the chairman (Lerner) and chief executive (Faulkner) who have been dealing with it.”

Lerner has backed O’Neill fully in previous summers and 12 months ago Stewart Downing, Warnock, Fabian Delph, Dunne, Collins and Habib Beye cost a combined £40 million. But this year the American businessman had said he would prefer to implement a “sell-to-buy” policy at Villa. In addition to Milner’s likely departure, six other players had been made available for transfer but so far none of them has left Villa, including Luke Young who rejected a move to Liverpool.

O’Neill was hailed by hundreds of Villa fans when he arrived at the club as successor to David O’Leary in 2006 after a year’s break from the game. There has been a steady upward progress with Villa finishing sixth in three successive campaigns and last season also reaching the final of the Carling Cup. But at the end of last season O’Neill, recognising the progress made by Manchester City and Tottenham, conceded Villa “had to improve just to stand still.”

To date, he has not made a single signing during the close season. Perhaps O’Neill, not the kind of manager content to just tread water at a club, felt he would not have the backing to realise his dream of Champions League football (check out the Football odds for the Uefa Champions eague here). But that will not become clear unless Lerner, not known for making public statements, breaks his silence on losing the services of O’Neill. He had predicted in May that O’Neill would stay after an earlier bout of speculation surrounding the ex-Leicester boss which had started on the internet. But O’Neill never made a public response to Lerner’s statement and now has decided to call time on the latest chapter in a colourful and mainly successful career.

In a statement released by the club, O’Neill said: “I have enjoyed my time at Aston Villa immensely. It’s obviously a wrench to be leaving such a magnificent club.

“I would like to pay tribute to the Villa players, my coaching staff and the Villa supporters for all the support and encouragement they have given both the club and me personally during my time as manager.”

Faulkner added: “The club would like to thank Martin for the great work he has done at Aston Villa over the past four years.”

Jonathan Fear, editor of the Villa fans’ website Vital Villa, said: “I’m not altogether surprised that Martin has left but I am shocked at the timing.”

While fans and football pundits were quick to offer opinions, one man staying quiet was former Villa chairman Doug Ellis. Mr Ellis, who was at the helm of the club through many a stormy period, said he was reluctant to comment on O’Neill’s departure because he wanted to honour a pledge made to Lerner that he would never interfere with the running of Aston Villa. “I promised never to interfere with any club politics,” he said.

Everton have hit back at claims by Dan Gosling’s agent David Hodgson that they wanted rid of the departed midfielder.

Gosling joined Newcastle as a free agent last week after Everton failed to formally offer him a new deal in May.

Hodgson accused Everton of complacency over Gosling’s contract and assuming the knee injury he suffered in March would deter other clubs’ interest.

But Everton described both claims as “ludicrous”, adding they had verbally agreed on a new contact for Gosling.

In a statement, Everton claimed an interview given by Hodgson to The People newspaper had “distorted” the events which led to Gosling’s exit.

It read: “In the article, Mr David Hodgson suggested that not only did this club not wish to extend Mr Gosling’s stay at Goodison Park but that it had been deliberately tardy with regard to the formal offer of a new contract, presuming that an injury sustained by the player during the course of last season was of such a serious nature it would prevent him from signing for another club.

Sol Campbell has signed a one-year contract with Newcastle United after opting against staying at Arsenal

The 35-year-old made 14 appearances for the Gunners last season after re-joining Arsène Wenger’s side in January, but was unable to reach an agreement over a new deal with the north London club.

“At this stage of my career I couldn’t have wished for a better move,” Campbell told the club’s official website. ”To join a club such as Newcastle United, with its proud tradition, heritage and magnificent support, is absolutely tremendous for me.

“I’d like to thank Chris Hughton for putting his faith in me and aim to repay him and the supporters by giving everything I possibly can to help re-establish this great club in the top tier of English football.

“I just want to play and can’t wait to get started. There’s a real buzz about the place and that’s great. I’ve played at St. James’ Park numerous times and always found it a fantastic place to play, there’s always a tremendous atmosphere.”

Newcastle manager Chris Hughton said: “I have known Sol since he was a lad at Tottenham and am fully aware of what he has to offer. That is experience, quality, calm assurance and leadership. He’s a dedicated professional, a terrific addition to the squad, and I look forward to working with him again.”

Campbell will wear the No5 shirt at St James’ Park next season.

They say that you can often judge the popularity of someone that leaves one club for another by how much it is claimed otherwise they’ll not be missed. Based on that having seen some of the comments made here on Vital Liverpool by some Chelsea supporters about Joe Cole he’ll be missed a lot at Stamford Bridge and most would expect him to do well with Liverpool. Even some Chelsea supporters visiting VL have said as much.

Jamie Carragher is more than happy to see his former England International colleague join him at Anfield and believes that this sends out a message of intent, as I’d said after he signed, that the Reds mean business this season, as he explained to Liverpoolfc.tv:

‘It’s great news and it is a message that Liverpool mean business.

‘We have signed a top international player who has been really important for Chelsea.

‘A lot of clubs wanted to sign him but it is a real coup that he has chosen to come here and you have got to give the manager and the board a pat on the back for convincing him to come here.’

Carra believes that Cole’s arrival has given the club, and the city, a boost as it was the kind of signing that was needed as we look to rebuild under Roy Hodgson following last season’s disappointment, with him adding:

‘Every supporter that I have spoken to is absolutely delighted and all the players are the same – it’s given everyone a boost, just at the right time.

‘It has been a long summer and we have been in a transitional period but now the World Cup is out of the way, we can start to look forward again.

‘The fact we have got him has given everyone a boost around the city.

‘It’s good news again and, hopefully, there will be more to come. It’s the kind of signing that we needed to make.’

Cole’s has had problems with his serious knee injury in recent times however in my honest opinion this transfer wouldn’t happen unless the medical staff were 100 percent certain on his fitness so this is a good signing for us and is something to be joyful about. We’ve got to look at it this way really, we’ve lost a very good player to Chelsea in Yossi Benayoun but we’ve brought in a better, and slightly younger player with Joe and have also brought in Milan Jovanovic too (who is also younger and better) for nothing when we’ve signed two quality international players for nothing and sold Yossi for more than £5m, that isn’t a bad bit of business is it.

Chelsea have joined Manchester United in the chase for Holland World Cup star Wesley Sneijder. The Blues have contacted midfield dynamo Sneijder via third parties at the Dutch HQ in South Africa after Mirror Sport revealed United wanted him. Sneijder has been made aware Chelsea will match any United offer and increase his wages to land a player that owner Roman Abramovich is willing to break the bank for. And while Sneijder has claimed his ‘heart’ is with Champions League winners Inter Milan, Chelsea believe they are in with a strong chance if it becomes a bidding war. The war won’t stop untill the Dutch Midfielder announces which fans will be getting to see him play live football next season.

United made an approach for Sneijder, 26, after being tipped off that he was interested in a move, and Sir Alex Ferguson rates him as his No.1 target. Inter president Massimo Moratti has admitted to United’s interest and have not slammed the door shut in case new boss Rafa Benitez has other plans or a massive offer comes in. United would want to pay around £25million, but Chelsea are capable of going well beyond that.

Carlo Ancelotti would do well to land a player as in form as the Inter Milan man and now that Jose Mourinho has left the San Siro it would make sense for club’s such as Chelsea to make their feelings known to the Dutch international.

The 26 year old had an excellent season last term after a horror spell at Real Madrid and the playmaker has followed up a treble in club football with an excellent display at the World Cup, a display that could see him lift the trophy as well as the Golden Ball award.

The Stamford Bridge outfit have of course allowed Michael Ballack and Joe Cole to run out their contracts and Deco looks set to leave as well, so there is indeed a good deal of sense in looking to nab the former Ajax man.

It may take a bid of around £33-35m to get the Italian side’s attention and clearly Roman Abramovich can afford to shell out such a sum and has told Ancelotti that money is available to bring in new additions to help retain their Premier League crown as well as looking to mount a Champions League assault to boot.

Machester City owners have opened their cheque books once again this summer to sign Yaya Toure from Barcelona. They have paid what is to believed a fee of around £24 million for the Ivorian bringing their spending spree this summer already to a whoapping £100 million. Shocked? well you will be afte reading the reports about the wages of the young midfielder as he becomes the highest paid player in the premier league.

Toure will become the first footballer in England to smash the £200,000-a-week wage barrier. And today we lift the lid on the craziest contract in English football – signed off by City chief executive Garry Cook. The staggering sums will astonish fans already fed up with over-paid stars failing to justify their super-sized salaries. Ivory Coast midfielder Toure – who played just 16 games for the Spanish champions last season – will receive a guaranteed £4.1million a year basic salary AFTER tax. On top of that he will get an image rights payment of £1.65m a year (with a profit-share on his shirt sales) PLUS an £823,000 bonus each time City qualify for the Champions League PLUS a £412,000 bonus for winning Europe’s top competition PLUS additional bonuses for winning the Premier League and FA Cup – all tax-free. It means City will pay him a basic salary this season of a whopping £185,000 a week before tax.

That figure will rise to an incredible £221,000 a week next April when the Government’s new 50 per cent tax bracket comes into force – dwarfing the wages of England stars Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and John Terry.

It also means City will have to fork out a basic £55.6m in wages over the five years – with that figure set to soar if Roberto Mancini’s team are successful. That is on top of the £24m transfer fee – making the total deal a minimum £79.6MILLION.

Toure – younger brother of City defender Kolo – passed his medical in Manchester last Monday after the transfer had been ratified by incoming Barca president Sandro Rossell, and the move was completed on Friday. Toure, 27, has joined a squad full of inflated salaries as City go in search of the silverware to justify billionaire Arab owner Sheikh Mansour’s remarkable outlay.

“This is a dream come true,” said Toure.

“I have always wanted to play for the same club as my brother and I am so happy that it has finally happened. It’s great for our family. Kolo told me that it’s an amazing time for the club and a very exciting project. I love the Premier League and I watch it all the time. City did very well to finish fifth last season but I hope we can improve on that by qualifying for the Champions League. This is a big club and that has to be our first objective and then we have to look at winning championships as well.”

City have also signed David Silva from Valencia for £24m and £11m Hamburg defender Jerome, and are still aiming to complete a £25m deal to buy England midfielder James Milner from Aston Villa. But it is the details of Toure’s mega-contract which will send shockwaves through football. After lengthy talks with Barcelona and Toure’s agent Dimitri Seluk at the end of the season, Cook finally made his offer in the week before the start of the World Cup. City’s in-house lawyer Simon Cliff, appointed from Shearman and Sterling in April 2009 and previously a consultant for Sheikh Mansour, helped mastermind the extraordinary deal.

Toure made just 13 starts for Barcelona in all competitions last season after losing his place to Spanish World Cup star Sergi Busquets and completed 90 minutes just nine times. But now he will become the highest-paid player in the history of the Premier League. Toure will earn a basic £5.75m a year AFTER tax, meaning he will take home £110,500 a week. A trifle excessive perhaps for a player who has never played a full league season for any of his previous clubs.

And a trifle excessive perhaps for a Barca substitute who manager Pep Guardiola told was surplus to requirements at the Nou Camp. Granted, Toure was outstanding in Barca’s 2009 Champions League final victory over Manchester United in Rome. But, incredibly, City believe his arrival suddenly turns them into major players and are convinced fans will all soon be wearing City shirts emblazoned with Toure’s name on the back. And, despite having four defensive midfielders on the books in Gareth Barry, Vincent Kompany, Nigel de Jong and Patrick Vieira, City still felt the need for a fifth. The figures went through the roof just as Seluk was threatening to pull the plug on the entire deal. Cook held several meetings in Barcelona with Seluk, along with football administrator Brian Marwood and various other City officials. During City’s amazing bid for Toure, they also offered to use their considerable “muscle” with sportwear manufacturers Nike and Umbro to get the midfielder a better boot deal. Italian coach Mancini now has to somehow shoe-horn Toure into City’s bulging team. And Mancini has been left in no doubt by Cook they want Premier League title glory this season.

After the signing it seems that the odds of Manchester City winning the league have shortened so make sure you keep track of all the action of the most exciting football league in the world by watching as many live football matches as you can over the coming season.

The player’s advisers and officials from both clubs have finalised the details over a four-year contract, which will bring the 24-year-old to City of Manchester Stadium. He will complete his medical and officially become a City player once his involvement in the World Cup is over.

Speaking from his South Africa base, where he is currently fully focussed on his involvement with the Spanish national side preparing for Saturday’s World Cup Quarter Final clash against Paraguay, Silva expressed his delight at securing his move to City.

He said: “Firstly I would like to thank Valencia as a club and all of their loyal fans, and my team mates there and staff. I have enjoyed six years at Valencia, they discovered me as a footballer and they will always be a special club for me.

“The time is right for me to seek a new challenge, and I am thrilled about playing in England with Manchester City. I believe the Premier League is one of the best competitions in the world and I want to bring success to City and win trophies for them.

Why not watch the best of David Silva by watching the Live World Cup Football