Who will be packing their bags this summer transfer window?

  With a little over two months until the summer transfer window slams shut, there is still plenty of transfer business to be done. Now that most of next seasons managers are in place, barring Real Madrid and potentially PSG, they can begin to build their squads for the coming season. A number of deals have already gone through, most notably being: 

Neymar - Barcelona

Falcao, Carvalho, James Rodriguez and Moutinho - AS Monaco

Jesus Navas and Fernandinho - Manchester City

Iago Aspas, Kolo Toure and Luis Alberto - Liverpool. 

Stekelenberg and Amorebieta - Fulham

Schurrle - Chelsea

Llorente - Juventus

However, there are still some players who are still unsure of where they will be plying their trade next season. 

Gonzalo Higuain:  The Real Madrid forward has been linked with a move away from Real Madrid, with Juventus and Arsenal hot on his heels. Madrid have confirmed that they are prepared to listen to offers for the 25-year old Argentinian striker. There are even rumours that talks with Arsenal are in an advanced stage. Whatever that means! If this is true then it would be a real coup for the North-London club who are desperate for some much needed fire-power up front. 

Edinson Cavani: Another striker who has been linked with a number of top European clubs, including Manchester City, Chelsea and Real Madrid. The Uruguayan who netted 38 times in 43 matches for Napoli last season, has a rumoured buy-out clause in his contract of £54m. However, his recent performances for Uruguay in the Confederations cup have been somewhat disappointing which could leave some clubs wondering whether he would be worth anywhere near this sum of money. 

Wayne Rooooooooney: After a title-winning season with Manchester United, many have noticed that Rooney is clearly an unsettled player, especially when he handed in a transfer request! Potential suitors for the England striker are PSG and surprisingly, Arsenal. The Gunners have insisted that they would be able to accommodate the high wages that Rooney would command. The current project at PSG would seem to be a much more natural place for Rooney to get involved with, although he would find himself in a fierce competition for starting places against Ibrahimovic, Lavezzi and Lucas Moura. 

Gareth Bale: After picking up  this seasons awards for PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year, the young Welshman has become one of Real Madrid's top summer targets. Spurs are determined to hold on to the Welsh Wizard as he was so influential in last seasons campaign. For a player of Bale's calibre, a dream move to sunny Madrid would be extremely hard to resist. Furthermore, if Real were to offer a sum in the range of £60m it would be difficult for Spurs to turn that sort of money down. 

David Luiz: With the arrival of the so-called 'Special One' or as he would call himself, the 'Happy One,' David Luiz's tenancy at Chelsea is being questioned. The twizzler-haired, often clumsy yet entertaining Brazilian has been linked with a move to Barcelona. The question is whether Mourinho feels there is an available position for Luiz for next season. With Mikel being rumoured to leave Chelsea during this transfer window, maybe a defensive midfield position could be the key for David Luiz to remain at Chelsea. But in terms of David Luiz playing in a centre-back position, I think many at Chelsea might be running out of patience with his constant mistakes and questionable positioning. 

Paulinho: Since the end of the season, the majority of the transfer talk around White Hart Lane has been concerning the possible departure of Gareth Bale. However, there could be some good news for Spurs fans, as the Brazilian central midfielder, Paulinho, has caught the eye of Daniel Levy and AVB. Last week it was revealed that a formal bid for Paulinho has been submitted by Tottenham. A potential central midfield partnership of Paulinho and Sandro could be a force to be reckoned with for next season. 

Cristiano Ronaldo: Could the Portuguese talisman be heading back to Old Trafford for a second stint? He has excelled beyond belief in his time at Real Madrid, scoring 200 goals since his £80m transfer in 2009. He was also part of the team that knocked Barcelona off their La Liga throne in the 2011/12 season. However, he has stressed that he is yet to sign a new deal at Real, leading many to speculate that a return to Manchester United could be on the cards. What an ideal beginning to David Moyes' managerial term that would be! 

Luis Suarez: The fiery Uruguayan striker could be on his way to Madrid, after publicly stating his desire to leave Liverpool. Suarez received a 10-game ban for biting Chelsea's Brana Ivanovic, therefore he is set to miss the first few games of next season. This could be an added incentive for Liverpool to cash in on a substantial offer from Real Madrid, should it arise. One thing that is for certain is that Ivanovic will not be too sad to see the back of the hungry Uruguayan. 

     These are just a few of the many transfers rumours that could become a reality over the next couple of months but there are many other dealings that could be in the pipeline for various clubs. Keep your eyes peeled for those ever-present transfer rumours and done-deals over the course of the summer!

Injuries, Injuries and More Injuries - Abou Diaby's Struggle For Fitness

   

Abou Diaby

   Everyone who plays sport knows that injuries are something that can happen at any moment. Whether it be whilst you're competing, training for your next event or simply going about your day minding your own business. Bayern Munich defender, Jerome Boateng, fell victim to a rather unlucky injury during an aeroplane flight, when a drinks trolley aggravated a knee injury that he had recently picked up. Some would say this is a terribly unlucky injury, but I would say he shouldn't have had his knee in the aisle. However, for current Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby, injuries have plagued his professional career thus far,  and have ultimately prevented him from fulfilling his footballing talent. 

    Abou Diaby is a player that has been compared on numerous occasions to the legendary ex-Gunner and fellow Frenchman, Patrick Vieira. Many have pointed out that Diaby has the potential to be the strong, dominant box-to-box midfielder that Vieira was during his time at Arsenal. 

   Abou Diaby joined Arsenal in 2006 and has made 178 appearances scoring 19 goals. He started his senior playing career at Auxerre, a club that has nurtured talented individuals such as Eric Cantona and Laurent Blanc to name just a few. Since transferring to Arsenal, Diaby has constantly been on and off the injury table. The Paris-born Frenchman managed 40 appearances in the 2010-11 season. However, ankle and calf problems have prevented Diaby from having any other injury-free campaigns. 

   In the last couple of weeks, Arsenal have confirmed that Abou Diaby will be out of action for a further eight or nine months, after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. According to The Sun it will be his 36th injury in just seven years (The Sun Online). With absolutely no chance of playing again this season, Diaby is unlikely to play again until 2014. For any footballer this time away from the game is a hard pill to swallow, especially a player of Diaby's calibre, who has been lauded time and again by the Gunners manager, Arsene Wenger. Such praise and belief from 'the boss' must surely provide a huge amount of motivation for Abou Diaby to bounce back and repay the faith that Mr. Wenger has shown in him. 

   The fact of the matter is, that some players will go through their whole professional careers without picking up one serious injury. However, at the opposite end of the spectrum there are players, like Abou Diaby, who are labelled as 'injury prone.' The reason for this is difficult to pinpoint. It could be down to the competence of a club's medical team, the injury-risk of the position they play in or just simply pot-luck. Nevertheless, for the sake of Diaby's future at Arsenal, it is of paramount importance that he is able to stay fit for two or three successive seasons. Otherwise, he might find himself plying his trade somewhere other than the Emirates Stadium.