More signings talk

The Independent reports that West Ham and Barcelona have agreed a £6.8 million transfer fee for Eidur Gudjohnsen, but it is up to the Icelandic striker to decide if he wants to move to Upton Park. If a deal doesn't get done during the close season, the Irons would consider it during the January transfer window, the Independent said. West Ham, Manchester City and Bolton are all interested in Reál Madrid forward Antonio Cassano but Sampdoria vows that it will fight them off for the Italian. West Ham are also trying to buy Palermo midfielder Mark Bresciano, an Australian international who plays for Serie A's Palermo. He will cost £4 million. He was expected to move to Man City, but that move has stalled. Another striker would bring some much-needed depth, and Brescio would fill a need as a midfielder who can play on the right while Julien Faubert heals his Achilles injury.

As a life-long baseball fan who is following football for the first time, the level of player movement in the days leading up to the start of the season is astonishing. Baseball has a ton of player movement during the winter, but by the time teams begin training in the third week of February, there's not very much movement left. Partially, that's because baseball teams have deep player reserves in the minor leagues. I think it's also because only the Japanese leagues are close in stature to Major League Baseball, and the movement between them is limited contractually. (The level of play in the Japanese leagues is similar to the top minor league in America, but that league consists of players who are, essentially, forming the reserve side for the big-league clubs.) In football, however, there are multiple leagues that are comparable, and there is world-wide player movement. Not all the leagues start at the same time, so it's no surprise that there's movement right up to the first match of the season, because other clubs are in the early part of their training.