So Gareth Barry finally moved from the club 'who's result I'll always look for first'. The fact that he has ended up moving to Manchester City for £12million raises inevitable questions about his motivation. If rumours were to be believed and logic dictated, it seemed likely that Aston Villa were going to have to cut their losses on a player who only had a year remaining on his contract. The most obvious target was of course Barry's long-term suitors of last summer, Liverpool.
Barry had explained last summer that a move to Liverpool was motivated by the ambition to play in the Champions League and to rise to the challenge of the next competitive level. This is a fair argument and one that could be grudgingly accepted in the PR stakes. When the transfer became increasingly strained Barry survived making disparaging remarks about the club and Martin O'Neill, and in the end he won back the majority of fans with his performances- even if the trust was no longer there.
There will be some bitter feelings over the way his exit from Aston Villa has eventually arisen. For all the potential that is spoken about Manchester City, they are still several signings and possibly a better manager away from seriously contending for one of the coveted top four Premier League places. Of course, by acquiring Gareth Barry the club has issued a statement of intent and have shown that they are looking for more established stars who will help the team, not just show pony's with individual flair such as Robinho. It may genuinely be an exciting summer of transfer activity for the blue half of Manchester.
As far as Barry is concerned, his motivation will be called into question, and for good reason. For all of their aims Manchester City are not Liverpool, for this moment in time they are not even of Aston Villa standards. The England international will not be playing in Europe at all next season, far away from the Europa League and further still from the Champions League that Barry wished for twelve months ago. What has become clear is that Barry has possibly doubled his weekly salary to £100,000, and in that process he rejected Villa's improved £80,000 a week contract extension.
It's not absolutely fair to accuse Barry of greed, but as far as his career choice has gone there is understandable doubt over his belief in Manchester City compared to the new found belief in his wallet. I still believe that for the immediate future, his career aims were more likely to be met by Aston Villa instead of 'City. I may be proven wrong in the next twelve months but I feel more positive about my chances than Mark Hughes should feel about his in taking his team into the Champions League.
Elsewhere there has been an increasing hive of activity, but more concerned with the managerial merry-go-round than with the players. Steve Bruce has moved clubs again and now finds himself at the helm of the Sunderland ship, it could be a match made in heaven as the Black Cats are now rumoured to have the transfer funds to match Bruce's lust for success. Meanwhile the opening left at his old club Wigan is being linked with the ever popular Roberto Martinez.
The Swansea City boss has attracted many admirers in the almost two and a half years that he has been in charge. He guided Swansea back to England's second football tier after almost a quarter of a century, and last season they made an admirable push for the Championship play-offs and consecutive promotions. All this has been done whilst also playing an attractive brand of football, they are a team that isn't afraid to pass along the floor and maintain possession.
Martinez is being courted by Celtic too, the Scottish Premier League runners-up are keen to produce their own attacking brand of football and are seriously considering him. When you take into account that Martinez spent almost half of his playing career with Wigan, it does appear that Swansea may be fighting a losing battle to keep hold of one of the most highly rated young managers in Britain today.
Celtic's other options do not appear to include Tony Adams though. The Arsenal legend has reportedly been talking up his chances of being thrown a managerial career lifeline, mostly on the back of a suggested move to Parkhead with Wim Jansen. The one-time Celtic boss worked with Adams back when Portsmouth's ex-manager was doing some coaching with Feyenoord.
Unfortunately for Adams the story has quickly become one that is lampooning him and will cause embarrassment. Jansen has denied any such talk or suggestion of working with Adams at Celtic, in whatever role. Unless something miraculous happens soon I fear that all the hopes of him ever becoming a manager of any note will evaporate, that is if they haven't already. As great a player and leader on the pitch as he was, he just comes across as far too aloof to succeed from the dugout.
The soap-opera of Newcastle United meanwhile has been quiet by its usual standards. Mike Ashley has decided again that there is no time like the present and that he should sell up the Geordie franchise, he will expect a big loss but in the long run it might just save his health! The Alan Shearer question is still yet to be resolved and may be made more difficult by the potential sale of the club. He is still widely expected to stay on as manager in the Championship and whoever takes over would be wise to leave it that way, even if it is for the sake of their sanity and some peace until the results go too awry.
Elsewhere Jim Magilton has quickly recovered from losing his job at Ipswich Town in order to take the somewhat poisoned chalice of QPR manager. The almost richest club in the world has descended into farce at times in the last season or two. Managers have been sacked and replaced frequently and there is still to be any significant moves in the transfer market, even by Championship standards. Magilton will need to hit the ground running to keep up with the inflated expectations at Loftus Road.
As for transfers of players Barry's is the major story thus far, although I'm sure there will be several exciting moves amongst the scores of rumours and conjecture this summer. Birmingham have broken their transfer record in celebration and preparation for their Premiership return next season. It is believed that they have parted with the sum of around £9million for Christian Benitez from Santos Laguna in Mexico. Although he is relatively unknown on this side of the Atlantic Ocean, he has a good reputation and is viewed as an exciting prospect, let's hope he is for Alex McLeish's sake.
There are naturally many other stories gathering pace, it has been generally accepted that Kaka will be leaving AC Milan this post season, either to follow Ancelotti to Chelsea or to be sucked in by Real Madrid. Either way it promises to come close to breaking the world record for a transfer fee, if not smash it. The usual rumours around Cesc Fabregas and Chrisiano Ronaldo also persist, I still think and hope that the former will not be swayed by any approaches. Ronaldo on the other hand is more difficult to predict, but again I expect him to remain in the Premiership come August.
If you're already tired of the what-ifs, speculation and down-right fantasy that is being projected since the end of the season, then I suggest you really distract yourself from the news for a couple of months. On the other hand, if you love the endless gossip and the rumour-mills, settle back for what promises to be a fascinating spate of transfer activity. At some point there should be a signing that will get everyone talking…