Martin O’Neill is not getting much in the way of a summer holiday as it seems he has spent most of the post season planning a succession of swoops. The latest links Aston Villa with perpetually want-away midfielder Jason Koumas of West Brom (sportinglife.com). £5m plus a player, either Gary Cahill and midfielder Isaiah Osbourne, is the suggested asking price. I am sure that the Welsh international will not be at WBA much longer and a move to Villa seems like a big step up. Ranking - 8/10

On the subject of want-away stars, they don’t come much more want-away than Curtis Davies whose desire to leave West Brom is about as subtle as a sledgehammer! Now Spurs are joining Arsenal in the race to sign the talented defender according to the Daily Mail. Davies’s advisors are urging West Brom to drop their £10m evaluation, which in today's market seems a fair price to pay for a young talent such as Curtis. Rest assured he will leave The Hawthorns soon enough and I hope that the baggies get a decent return on a player whose stature they helped to increase. 7/10 for Spurs and 6/10 to Arsenal.

The Guardian are reporting that Harry Redknapp has made an audacious attempt to purchase Manchester United young sensation Giuseppe Rossi for £6m. No offence to Pompey fans but don’t expect this one to come off. Rossi is a burgeoning talent who has turned many heads including those of Juventus, Parma and AC Milan, so the idea that he might one day find himself in a blue shirt at Fratton Park is pure fantasy. 1/10, given Pompey’s penchant for veteran purchases, there is more chance that Paolo Rossi will be given a contract than Beppe!

Toure to Barcelona! Steady Arsenal fans, before you explode with rage and purchase air tickets to the Nou Camp in order to protest at buying up all the Gunners' quality talent. This is Kolo’s brother, who may be moving to join Thierry. Yaya is believed to be on his way from Monaco for 6m (sportinglife.com). This may lead to the rumour that it is all part of a grand plan to bring family members to Barca in order to entice their siblings. Expect Juan Laporta to be in talks with Arsene’s brother Claude (don’t look for him he doesn’t exist other than in my own sad mind) over a coaching job.

You’ll never believe it, apparently Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool are after Fernando Torres! In case you missed any of the previous 416 rumours surrounding this supposedly signed-sealed-and-delivered deal, the latest report comes from The Sun. Apparently Liverpool are about to set a record transfer deal of £25m for striker Torres who is, apparently, entitled to 10% of the fee, and this is what is to some extent driving the price up. Essentially it's just another angle into what is turning into a bit of a tedious affair. Torres to leave for Liverpool 5/10, tedium factor 10/10

Birmingham City are settling into Premiership life and are no doubt eager to get the season started, but first they need to upgrade their Championship squad. Steve Bruce is another manager whose partner cannot be happy about missing another Summer holiday whilst her loved one goes up and down the country trying to pick up young men (in the footballing sense off course).

The latest to catch the former United hard man’s attention are Arsenal's Mathieu Flamini and Celta Vigo's Daniel de Ridder (The Sun). De Ridder is a promising talent whose attacking midfield displays in La Liga have caught the eye of many, and should Bruce capture him it would be quite a coup, but is not beyond belief. Flamini joining them, however,  seems a work of fiction to me and I would imagine that his future lies away from the Premiership. 6/10 de Ridder and 1/10 Flamini.