West Ham United Agrees Deal with Marseille for Alou Diarra; The Daily EPL

West Ham United is on the verge of signing veteran French defensive midfielder Alou Diarra from Marseille. The 31-year-old French international can also play centre-back, but despite his age, he will certainly add steel, composure and skill to a Hammers midfield who will desperately need his help in the upcoming season.

Elsewhere today, there’s loads of Premier League-related news – most of it transfer-related.

And don’t forget that this afternoon there are three matches to choose from (or you can watch all three with the magic of DVRs) — Valencia vs Tottenham, Liverpool vs FC Gomel, and USA vs Japan (in their attempt to go for gold). I’m still trying to figure which one to do an open thread for. Any suggestions?

• West Ham United have agreed a deal with Marseille for Alou Diarra — Sky Sports
• Liverpool increase bid to £15m for Joe Allen of Swansea — The Telegraph
• Manchester Utd bid for Robin Van Persie stalls — BBC Sport
• Ferguson admits frustration in bid to land Van Persie — The Guardian
  
• Joe Cole is set to play no part in tonight’s qualifier against FC Gomel — Liverpool FC
  
• Tottenham make approach for Internazionale goalkeeper Júlio César — The Guardian
  
• Man United show their title ambitions by offering Robin van Persie wage parity with Wayne Rooney — The Telegraph
• Tony Hibbert finally scores for Everton, sparks congratulatory pitch invasion — Dirty Tackle
  
• Glazers have done Manchester United a favor — Financial Times
• Everton: Premier League 2012-13 preview – video — The Guardian
• Liverpool: Premier League 2012-13 preview – video — The Guardian
• Manchester City: Premier League 2012-13 preview – video — The Guardian
  
• Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch is now a Penguin Classic — The Daily Telegraph
• Steven Fletcher hands Wolves a formal transfer request; Is he Sunderland bound — The Guardian
  
• Man City target Daniel Agger just got ‘YNWA’ tattooed on his fingers — Dirty Tackle
  
• Stoke is cleared to complete a deal to bring Geoff Cameron from Houston Dynamo — BBC Sport
  
• Newcastle’s Mike Ashley is in talks with Rangers’ Charles Green over buying a stake in club — Sky Sports
  
• Manchester United on verge of becoming world’s most valuable club — The Guardian
  
• Sky Sports marketing campaign uses fans to welcome back Premier League — Football Marketing
  
• Talksport signs Premier League distribution deals — Sports Pro
  
• In pictures: Derby County v Sunderland pre-season friendly — This Is Derbyshire
  
• West Ham United top agent fee list during time in Football League — Sky Sports