Premier League / Mike Norman / 08 June 2009 / Leave a comment

The summer transfers are just about to hit full swing, and here at betting.betfair we will be keeping you up-to-date with all the Premier League ins and outs. "Mystical" Mike Norman rounds up what's happened so far....

They say fans can be fickle - well, what about footballers?

Twelve months ago, Gareth Barry - after hearing of Liverpool's interest in him - openly admitted that he wanted to play for a club that was competing in the Champions League. The Liverpool hierarchy refused to meet Villa's £18m valuation, Barry subsequently became ineligible to play in the group stages of the world's greatest club competition, and the two month 'will he/won't he' transfer saga was off.

One year on and Barry is now a Manchester City player. City, let me remind you, are a club that won't be playing in the Champions League next season, nor will they be playing in any other European competition.

So what prompted Barry to revise his future and make the £12m switch to a club that won just twice on the road last season and finished in a disappointing mid-table position?

In his own words it wasn't money, and it certainly couldn't have been the lure of playing European football. So what was it? Well, according to Gareth Barry, the reason he left was because of the fear of going stale at Villa, and that once he'd spoken to Mark Hughes, there wasn't another club in the world he would rather join. I wonder if he'd have felt the same if Sir Alex Ferguson, Rafa Benitez or Carlo Ancelotti had have asked to speak to him.

Barry is an exceptional player and someone I rate very highly. But I only rate him as highly as I do in a defensive midfield role... and Man City have recently signed Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong to vie for that position.

It all means that the signing of Barry is a questionable one from both parties. City have a strong central midfield make-up, and perhaps the cash (although I'm sure there is plenty available) will have better been spent in other positions, whilst from Barry's point of view, there is no Champions League football this season for him, and absolutely no guarantee of any next season either!

Manchester City are available to back at [29.0] to win next season's Premier League, and at just [3.8] for a Top 4 Finish.

There are likely to be a lot of high profile transfers to report next week, including the likes of Wigan's Antonio Valencia, and the possible capture of Thomas Vermaelen by Arsenal, but one big money transfer that has already been completed is the signing of Christian Benitez by Birmingham City.

Benitez is an Ecuadorian striker who has reportedly received interest from all over Europe. He stands at just 5 ft 6 in tall, but is described as a creative and explosive player who has an excellent eye for goal. His record of ten goals in just 17 international appearances suggests he has a lot of talent, but the doubt at this stage has to be how well this youngster will settle in England, and to the demands of Premier League football.

If Benitez can score the goals that help Birmingham finish 17th or higher it will have been money well spent by manager Alex McLeish. The Blues can be backed at just [2.04] in the Relegation market, and at [5.7] in the Rock Bottom market.

The only other notable transfers involve Blackburn Rovers. South African Aaron Mokoena has signed for Portsmouth, which along with the retirement of Tugay has left a hole in the centre of Rovers' midfield. Sam Allardyce has moved quickly to fill the hole, signing Mokoena's compatriot Elrio van Heerden from Club Brugge on a free transfer.