Soccer Tactician: Transfers: Top Summer Transfers

Two of the biggest transfers have already happened (NYTimes article):

Kaka ($92 million) and Cristiano Ronaldo ($131 million) to Real Madrid from Milan and Manchester United, respectively. Real Madrid also seem destined to land Spain star David Villa, amongst others. However, while there will be plenty of attention devoted to the semi-predictable moves Ribery, Valencia, Benzema, Ibrahimovic, Eto'o, et al, here are three more unlikely moves that I would like to see:

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edin DZEKO: probably going to AC Milan, but would bring some youthful excitement to Chelsea, or could prove a useful replacement to Adebayor at Arsenal. This 6'3" Serbian is really something of an unknown quantity for non-Germans, but isn't that half the fun of the transfer window?

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guiseppe ROSSI: the Italian powerhouses are probably salivating to get their hands on Italy's up-and-coming starlet, currently at Villareal. With Pellegrini's departure, he may be unsettled. Really, though, I would like to see Manchester United exercise their buy-back clause and get him to replace Tevez (if-- and this is a big if-- he is interested). An even more delicious prospect: Barcelona. It happened in my FM2009 game, albeit after a stint where he failed to displace Pato at Milan.

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landon DONOVAN: any team from La Liga or the EPL that is not doomed to relegation. Is this going to happen? I haven't read anything to make me think it will. I doubt that a team from the top half of the EPL (i.e. Everton) would make a move for an aging American-- but maybe Steve Bruce can spot a bargain and bring Donovan to play off of Kenwyne Jones at Sunderland. Really, if he laid down one good season at any EPL team (6 goals, 8 assists), he might be competing in the Europa League in two years time. On the other hand, his biological clock is ticking like a time bomb. Tick. Tick.

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Other notes: would Atletico really sell both Aguero and Forlan when they are set for Champions League football next year? I doubt it. I see them cashing in on the aging Forlan, but keeping Aguero, whose stock could rise even higher if he shines in the Champions League next year. We'll see.

Altidore and Adu: I like Villarreal, and would ideally like to see Altidore stay there and eventually establish himself in the first team if/ when Rossi leaves. Adu's situation is more complicated, and has me more nervous, but in an ideal world perhaps he'll get and seize chances at Benfica.

Speaking of Benfica: I really, really liked what I saw from young Portuguese winger Fabio Coentrao at the U-20 World Cup two years ago and I'll be eager watching to see if he gets chance at Benfica next year. In fact, Benfica is loaded with young talent: keep your eyes out for Argentine left winger Angel Di Maria, who is rumored to a transfer target for some big teams.

-Alex D