Four-year Villa deal for Reo-Coker

Nigel Reo-Coker will sign a four-year contract when he finally completes his move to Aston Villa from West Ham in an £8million deal.The clubs have agreed on a compromise fee after Villa made an initial £7million offer while the Hammers were looking for £8-9million for a player who cost them £500,000 when he joined from Wimbledon three and a half years ago.

I'll admit to having a soft spot for NR-C ever since the opening weekend of the 2005-2006 season when he was listed as a defender and kick-started my fantasy triumph that year. But now he's the next domino to fall after Parker to WHU and McCann to Bolton.  Good bit of business for WHU as they make a ton of money on NR-C, selling him for even more than they spent on his replacement, Parker, who is probably the superior player. But perhaps a change of scenery and the chance to work with Martin O'Neill will help NR-C who didn't have a stellar sophmore season in the Premiership.

McCann Completes Bolton Move

Bolton have announced the signing of Gavin McCann on a three-year deal from Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee.

The 29-year-old midfielder was undergoing a medical at the Reebok Stadium and is thought to have cost Wanderers around £1million plus add-ons.

He becomes manager Sammy Lee's second summer signing since taking over from Sam Allardyce.

McCann began the O'Neill regime as a first-team regular and was one of Villa's best players during the first half of the campaign.

But his form dipped in the New Year and he eventually made way for academy product Gardner.

With the promise of Gardner plus the expected arrival of Nigel Reo-Coker from West Ham, it was obvious McCann would be down the pecking order next season.

Second domino.

Parker Poised For Hammers Switch

West Ham appear to be on the verge of clinching the £7million signing of Newcastle and England midfielder Scott Parker after fighting off late interest from Tottenham.

...

West Ham manager Alan Curbishley sees Parker as a potential captain and the ideal replacement for current skipper Nigel Reo-Coker, who has handed in a transfer request.

Parker, who is celebrating the birth of his third child this week, is keen on a return to London where his family is based and a move to Upton Park would see him link up again with Curbishley, his old boss at Charlton.

Newcastle's new manager Sam Allardyce is reported to be eyeing out-of-favour Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton as a potential replacement for Parker.

Quite the midfield carousel, isn't it? And as they say, "where she stops, nobody knows".

So, based on this, does ManCiteh build around NRC? And why were Spurs interested in Parker? Don't they have the center of the midfield covered with Jenas, THud, Zokora, Tainio, etc.? Or are Spurs now linked to any young(ish) English player, regardless of actual need or interest. I'm surprised he wasn't rumoured to be heading to Villa, to be honest. They have dollars to spend and have been linked with anyone and everyone else.