Whilst Bundesliga clubs Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have already acted swiftly to prize away Xherdan Shaqiri and Marco Reus for the 2012/13 campaign, clubs in this country are still toiling away behind the scenes, drawing up lists of potential summer bargains to be had.

We thought we would make their selections a little easier by drawing up a list of the transfer bargains that can be picked up from the continent this summer.

Click on Jefferson Farfan to unveil the top 15 bargains to be had

There is no doubting that in the past two decades we have witnessed some fantastic sides, brilliant matches and individual performances that will live long in the memory and if you support Manchester United, you certainly have witnessed something of a golden period – with no fewer than 12 League titles that sees the Red Devils surpass Liverpool as the most successful side in England. Fergie has certainly had his challenges, notably in Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho, but has always managed to come back time after time to recapture their crown.

One of the great aspects of the Premier League, since its inauguration, has been the array of players plying their trade from all corners of the globe in English football, which has made the League richer for their presence within it. We have been privy to some of the very best players in the world, although it is fair to say we have witnessed some absolute shockers as well. It is fair to say that it is not necessarily down to their lack of ability, but for one reason or other their spell in England was simply a disaster.

This article is a celebration of the latter and the top 20 ‘waste of spaces’ that the Premier League has ever seen:

Click on Tomas Brolin to unveil the top 20

Spanish outfit Espanyol could be ready to offer Sebastien Squillaci a way out of Arsenal according to reports on TalkSport. The 31-year-old defender only joined the Gunners just over a year ago but he has failed to make a positive impression on either the manager or the fans.

There were reports recently that Sam Allardyce wanted to take the Frenchman on loan to Upton Park but the Arsenal board blocked the move preferring to sell the defender. Arsenal have put a £4m price tag on the former Sevilla man. Spanish newspaper Sport reports that the Barcelona based club have made an offer for Squillaci but that it is significantly lower than the asking price. Espanyol have had well-documented financial problems recently and their inability to tie their players down to new contracts has forced them to seek replacements. However, even with the lower than expected offer, with Wenger’s patience with the centre back seemingly running thin the club could be keen to cash in on the defender while they can.

Mega rich Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala have also been linked with a move for the defender and whilst the £4m price tag would be no issue they are yet to make a move for the Arsenal man.

After another busy round of fixtures in Spain, here is a round-up of the league that includes 13 of the shortlist of players to win the Ballon D’or.

The Big Two

No La Liga conversation is complete without reference to Real Madrid and Barcelona, and this is where our review starts. Despite surprise package Levante topping the table for the first few rounds of La Liga, their bubble has now been burst somewhat and all attention is back on the top two. Real, under the Special One are in scintillating form, scoring for fun and managing to keep clean sheets to boot. Both Higuain and Benzema are on fire, giving Mourinho the dilemma of his life when picking his starting striker. Add to this the form of Ronaldo and the resurgence of one Kaka, and the fact that Real can now offer solutions when Xabi Alonso is effectively man marked during games, they are looking more than a match for Barca.

Of course they went into the first Classico and mauling one point ahead of their fierce rivals, so Barca will not be unduly worried. However, one thing that Real have in their locker this season is the ability to grind out a 1 – 0 win – something that was lacking last season during games where teams effectively parked the bus in front of their goal and closed down Alonso. This was shown on the weekend where Sociedad literally played with a back five at the Anoeta, yet Madrid scored early courtesy of Higuain and held on for a hard fought win. Not a vintage Madrid performance but one that shows how far they have come under Mourinho.

Regardless of Los Blancos topping the table by as point, most people’s favourites for the La Liga crown is reigning champions Barcelona, who looked back to their best at the Camp Nou, with Messi making a clear signal to fans and the media with his goal celebration after his hat trick – the prolific striker had failed to score in 3 games yet after being played in his preferred position down the centre not the dreaded wing for the game, with Barca putting a grand total of 5 past a hapless Mallorca.

The Surprise of the season

Most people thought that the team wearing blue and red stripes would be the ones to top la liga throughout the season, and they have been for the past few rounds – yet it was Levante not  Barcelona doing this. Levante have been everyone’s surprise of the season and have looked to be living some sort of footballing fairy tale thus far, before this weekend being unbeaten, even being able to claim a victory over Mourinho’s men at the Ciudad de Valencia.

In players such as Sergio Ballesteros, Valencia have a core of seasoned professionals who offer much more to the team than their average age would suggest, and new coach Martinez settling into life at Levante quicker than anyone could have expected.

However this weekend the bubble was somewhat burst with a 2 – 0 defeat at the hands of Osasuna. Several things were said after the game – Martinez praised his players for their unbeaten run, the media inevitably predicted a rapid slide down the table to mimic that of Espanyol last season and it was noted that due to their small squad who are mostly the wrong side of thirty, a couple of injuries and suspensions will have serious effects on the team from Valencia. Yet should they take the lead, especially at home, Levante are dogged in their defending and whilst they are probably not going to finish in the European places, they should manage to avoid the relegation fight they were involved in last tie round.

The best of the rest

Valencia – after a  slightly slow start, Valencia are picking up pace, and have been fast climbing the table. They now occupy 4^th place after the weekend’s victory and have their eye on the third place that is currently held by local rivals Levante. After losing their three best players – Villa, Silva and Mata over the last couple of seasons, huge amounts of credit has to be given to long-time coach – well for a league famous for waving white handkerchiefs at Managers, being at the helm since 2008 is a long time – Unai Emery, who has weathered all of this and still managed to keep Valencia widely viewed as the ‘best of the rest’.

Sevilla – Currently sitting in 5^th place, there is now a gap opening up between the top four and the rest after a shock victory for Granada at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. In a season full of surprises, this can be put down to a bad day at the office for Sevilla who next up face  a flailing Mallorca side and will expect to bounce back and take all three points.

Atletico Madrid – one side who expect to e doing much better are the second best team in Madrid, Atletico, who fully expect to be sat in the top four. However, after a poor start to the season they sit 10^th, with a sizeable gap between themselves and the champion’s league places. After a good victory against Zaragoza, Atletico will be looking to this as a kick-start to their season.  With few goals scored this season and fan protests calling for Aragonez to return, the pressure on Gregorio Manzano has been alleviated slightly, yet improvements are vital.

Malaga – the Andalucians were the team that, after a huge influx of money then players, not to mention coach Manuel Pellagrini were everyone’s favourites to break into the top four this season. However this, so far, has not come to pass, and Malaga have been struggling, and were so lucky against Espanyol receiving a penalty for a very dubious handball and do not seem to be gelling quite in the way they should be.

The relegation Battle

Getafe sit rock bottom and after a heavy loss last weekend things look no brighter with local rivals Atletico up next. A shock victory for Granada gave them much needed points, yet the newly promoted Andalucians need to improve their form and fast if they don’t want to go straight back down.  The final club to occupy a spot in the bottom 3 is Racing, and the victory by a single goal over Betis cannot be underestimated in importance. Hector Cuper and his team will be looking to now climb the table, starting with the away tie at Granada next round.

Whilst Betis and Rayo have made decent starts, only 4 points separate both these promoted sides from the relegation zones, and they are still in danger and will be looking over their shoulders until a real gap is formed.

Villarreal – after a vital 2 – 0 win over Rayo this weekend, despite the missed penalty from skipper Marcos Senna, the yellow submarines have shot up the table and out of the relegation zone to 13^th.  With an European campaign still to worry about, not to mention keeping their head above the relegation zone, Garrido has his work cut out for him.

The bottom half of the table is so tight, with only 5 points separating rock bottom Getafe and 11^th placed Rayo, so anyone who has a poor run of form or can piece together a run of victories can drastically change their fortunes so early on in the season.

Game of Next round –  Levante v Valencia

3^rd play host to 4^th in a real test of Levante’s credentials. A must see.

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The West London club are eyeing up the Cameroonian as a replacement for Mark Schwarzer. The 38-year old Australian has been at the club for 3 years but continues to be linked with a move across London to Arsenal. However, Arsene Wenger is yet to make a move for the ex-Middlesbrough player.

Kameni started his career in France before moving to Catalan side Espanyol in 2004. He has since made 222 league appearances for the club but now could be set to move to England.

The 27-year old has won 60 caps for Cameroon and was last month linked with a move to Manchester United. However, it seems new Fulham manager Martin Jol will be first to make a move for goalkeeper with the bidding expected to start at £2 million.

Kameni won the Copa del Rey with Espanyol in 2006 but was racially abused by his own fans in 2009. However, he has remained an ever-present in the side but could still become Martin Jol’s first major signing since taking over at Fulham.

Coach Javier Clemente selected Song for a game that Cameroon must win to keep alive hopes of qualifying for next year’s finals.

“It has always been the wish of the national coach that this very talented young midfielder should return to play for his country,” football association (FECAFOOT) secretary general Tombi Aroko Sidiki said.

“But each time he has been invited he has always asked for some time to think over it and never showed up at the last minute.”

“Our greatest hope is that he makes it this time.”

Song was among three key players left out of the squad following the country’s poor performance at the World Cup in South Africa and reports of a rift in the camp.

The others were midfielder Achille Emana and Espanyol goalkeeper Idriss Carlos Kameni, who returned for the 1-0 defeat by Senegal in their last group match in Dakar in March.

But they went one better, with a goal in the 55th minute from Argentine midfielder Leonardo Ponzio securing three vital points that to move Zaragoza one point behind Deportivo.

Javier Aguirre’s Zaragoza are away to Levante on the last day of the season next Sunday, with Deportivo at home to Valencia.

Getafe are 16th and one point clear of the drop after they won 2-0 at home to Osasuna.

The defeat leaves Osasuna still in trouble at two points outside the bottom three, in 13th place.

Mallorca, in 14th, are another team that could go down on the final day after they lost 3-1 away to relegated Almeria.

Levante managed a point with a 0-0 draw away to third-placed Valencia.

In what makes for a nervy finish to the season, 12th-placed Levante are one of seven teams that could join Almeria and Hercules in the second tier next season.

In other matches, Real Madrid defeated Villarreal 3-1 away from home.

Real’s Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo netted twice in the victory to take his tally to 38 league goals for the season, equalling the all-time Spanish top-flight record.

He is now seven ahead of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and on course to collect the Pichichi trophy for the La Liga top scorer.

Sevilla could yet secure Europa League qualification after beating Real Sociedad 3-1.

Former Tottenham striker Frederic Kanoute struck twice in the home win for Sevilla, which sees them join sixth-placed Athletic Bilbao and fifth-placed Atletico Madrid on 55 points.

Bilbao drew 1-1 at home to Malaga while Atletico won 2-1 at home to relegated Hercules, with ex-Arsenal forward Jose Antonio Reyes scoring the winner.

Sporting Gijon came from a goal down to beat fellow mid-table side Racing Santander 2-1.

Real have second spot sewn up but they travel to meet fourth-placed Villarreal who need to claim full points if they are to have any chance of catching Valencia and securing automatic Champions League qualification.

Although Jose Mourinho’s team have little to play for but pride, they still want to finish the season with two more wins.

“The coach has asked us to finish the league by winning our games and we will try to do that,” said star striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 36 goals for the season, just two behind the all-time record of 38 set by Athletico Bilbao’s Telmo Zarra in 1951 and Real’s Hugo Sanchez in 1990.

Villarreal are five points behind Valencia and are already guaranteed fourth spot and a place in the qualifiers, which looks like their most likely path to glory with Valencia needing only a point from their home clash with mid-table Levante to be sure of third.

Most of the action centres on the tussle for fifth and sixth place, and the Europa League places that go with them.

Athletic Bilbao are in fifth on 54 points, trailed by Sevilla (52), Atletico Madrid (52) while Espanyol (49) are also still in the mix.

Espanyol travel to Real Zaragoza, who need a win to escape the bottom three, while Bilbao will be looking to rebound from their 2-1 loss at Deportivo on Tuesday.

Atletico have the easiest match of all four Europa League contenders, taking on the already-relegated Hercules at home.

Getafe are just one point outside the drop zone, but will have to beat an Osasuna side who are riding a hot streak of form.

Osasuna have picked up three big wins in succession – posting a 1-0 win over Valencia on May 1 before thrashing Zaragoza 3-1 a week later and then coming from 2-0 down to beat Sevilla on Wednesday.

Sporting Gijon are still an outside chance to go down, and they play host to Racing Santander, while only pride will be on the line when Almeria – who are already relegated – tackle mid-table Mallorca.

Levante struck back in the 41st minute, when Felipe Caicedo got the better of Barca shot-stopper Victor Valdes.

Lionel Messi almost put the visitors ahead midway through the second half, but his shot rebounded back into play off the post.

That was as close as either side came to scoring in the closing stages, Barca doing enough to seal thei 21st La Liga title and third in succession.

The final whistle sparked jubilant scenes from the all-conquerin Barcelona outfit, which can go on to claim a trophy double if they beat Manchester United in the Champions League final later at Wembley Stadium in London later this month.

Elsewhere in Spain, Real Zaragoza’s hopes of escaping the relegation zone were dealt a serious blow after they went down 2-1 to fellow strugglers Real Sociedad.

Tamuda gave Sociedad the lead after 24 minutes at the Estadio Municipal de Anoeta, but Gabi looked to have given Zaragoza a share of the points when he equalised on 54 minutes.

But Aranburu broke Zaragoza hearts when he netted in the 88th minute, sending Sociedad five points clear of the drop zone, while Zaragoza remain one point from safety.

Almeria snapped a seven game losing run when they held on for a 0-0 draw against fourth-placed Villarreal.

“I started the other day, but I don’t consider myself a regular,” Dealbert, 28, said.

“It was an important game, taking three points after two consecutive defeats.”

“The team reacted well and took three important points. I was able to play, which was also important for me.”

Dealbert said Emery leads by example.

“The manager always talks to the players and tells us what he is happy or unhappy with,” he said.

“He makes us watch videos, individual videos of every player and sometimes you think you’ve played well and he shows you your mistakes.”

“You always try to improve and we are very well prepared, whether you play in eight games or all of them.”

“That is what Valencia demands of you. We want to be ready when the manager needs us.”

“This isn’t with anyone in mind. I hope that Levante stay up and in the fight for third.”

“We will try just as hard against them as in any other game. If Levante beat you and are the better side, then so be it.”

“Playing at the Mestalla, we have to do our best. This is football.”

After Espanyol, Valencia have a home game against Levante, before ending the season away to Deportivo La Coruna.

After two consecutive defeats, the 3-0 win over Real Sociedad has boosted the morale at the club who will finish at least fourth in La Liga, securing a route into Champions League qualification.