Liverpool have completed their signing of Middlesbrough goalkeeper Brad Jones.

According to SkySports.com, Jones was at Anfield for a medical after Liverpool finally agreed on a £2.3million fee for the Australian with Championship side Middlesbrough.

Jones has signed a three-year deal at Liverpool after passing a medical and agreeing personal terms.

Liverpool have been chasing Jones for the last few weeks as Reds boss Roy Hodgson looks to bring in cover and competition for current goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

Jones is Liverpool’s seventh signing of the summer.

On many football forums and TV-shows around the world, fans and experts voice their opinion on what is the best football league in the world. Is it the Serie A with its grace and sophisticated tactics, the Bundesliga with its power and where the collective is favoured ahead of the individual, La Liga with its flair and flamboyance or is it the Premier League with its sheer ferocity and passion?

Let’s ask ourselves what makes a football league the best and then take a closer look. We have picked four criteria (Audience, Competitiveness, European Performance and World Class Players) and compared the German Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A, Spanish La Liga and the English Premier League.

(Note that we are working from the assumption that the European leagues are considered to be the best ones in the world today. It is in these leagues that the best players (including South American, North American, Asian, African and Australian) end up – so we are concentrating on the European leagues here.)

Audience

How many people that follow a league should serve as a good indicator of how good it is. The football league with the highest average attendance is the German Bundesliga (41,802 in 2009-2010 season), Premier League was number two (34,151 in 2009-2010 season) – far ahead of both Italy and Spain. Arguably the Bundesliga has a terrific average and all credit to them, however it should be considered that the ticket prices are considerably lower than in England and this is likely to influence the average. In addition the Premier League is broadcast in an impressive 211 countries, which is said to be more than any other league.

Competitiveness

An open league where more than only a couple of teams can win generally means a league that is more exciting and interesting to watch. How does the Premier League compare here? La Liga has two real giants, 51 times (64%) in the past 79 years either Barcelona or Real Madrid have won the league. Serie A has 3 giants, 62 times (58%) in the past 106 years Internacionale, Juventus or Milan have won the league. The English League has 3 giants (although since the start of the Premier League it is often referred to as the big-4), 49 times (44%) in the past 111 years Man U, Liverpool or Arsenal have won the league.  Note that we are not comparing with the Bundesliga here due to the complexity and turbulence in the history of the country through the course of the 20th century. As we can see, the Premier League does have a lower % of wins by giant teams than La Liga and Serie A.

European Performance

Doing well in European competition shows how strong the best individual teams are. Serie A and La Liga have since the start of Champions League 1992-1993 each had winning teams 5 times and the Premier League has had winning teams 3 times (Man U twice and Liverpool once). Bundesliga teams have won the Champions League twice. So, looking at the performance of Premier League teams relative to others in Champions League, they may need to work a little harder to reach the top.

World Class Players

The best players should play in the World Cup. Let’s look at the World Cup in South Africa this year. When it started on the 11th June 2010 there were a total of 115 players representing Premier League clubs – this equals almost 16% of all players in the World Cup and is the highest representation of any league in the world. Germany was the second biggest contributor with 84 players (11%), Italy had 79 players (11%) and Spain 59 players (8%).

To the neutral observer above facts might not help decide which league is the best, it might still be inconclusive. But, what is clear is that out of the four areas we looked closer at the English Premier League shines in competitiveness and boasts an impressive display of World Class players – no other league in Europe comes close. While it could improve on its European performance and increase its audience, isn’t an exciting league showing off incredible football talent what it is all about?

Also, what we haven’t looked into is drive, pace, power, ferocity and not least the atmosphere in the arenas, all things that cannot be measured in numbers. Many fans would agree with us here that the Premier League delivers on every promise of passionate football.

As August 14^th is now around the corner, let’s all sit back and enjoy a new season of the greatest sport in the world being played in the best league in the world, which in our opinion clearly is the Premier League.

Spain international Cesc Fabregas has confirmed he is staying with Arsenal for the new Premier League season.

The 23-year-old Gunners ace has been heavily linked with Barcelona this summer and has admitted that he received two formal offers for his talents.

The Gunners rejected Barca’s advances and never changed their position throughout the summer, stating consistently that the star midfielder was not for sale.

While Fabregas admits he was tempted to rejoin the top Spanish La Liga side, he is now fully focused on performing for Arsenal.

He has been with Arsenal since he was 16 after leaving Camp Nou and appreciates everything the club has done for him over the years.

“Firstly I would like to apologise to all the Arsenal fans for not speaking sooner about my future but I have not known what I was going to do until this moment,” he said.

“I cannot deny that joining a club like Barcelona was not an attractive move for me. This was the club where I learnt my football, it is my home town where my friends and family are and a club where I have always dreamed of playing. There are not many players in the world who would not want to play for Barcelona.

“I have had many conversations with Arsene Wenger both in person and over the phone over the last few months and although the content of those conversations will remain private, the conclusion is that Barcelona have had two formal offers rejected by Arsenal.

“I am a professional and I fully understand that it is Arsenal’s prerogative not to sell me.

“I owe a lot to the club, manager and the fans and I will respect their decision and will now concentrate on the new season ahead with Arsenal.

“I can assure all the fans that now the negotiations have ended I will be 100 per cent focused on playing for Arsenal.

“I am an Arsenal player and as soon as I step out on to the pitch, that is the only club I will be thinking about.

“I am looking forward to the start of the season and putting this speculation behind me.”

Bolton have completed the signing of left-back Marcos Alonso from Real Madrid for an undisclosed fee.

The 19-year-old is now the third signing of the summer for Trotters boss Owen Coyle, following the arrivals of Martin Petrov and Robbie Blake.

Alonso joins Bolton on a three-year deal, with the highly-rated defender set to compete with Paul Robinson and Jlloyd Samuel for a place in the starting line-up.

Real Madrid gave Alonso his debut for the first team in April last season, coming on as a substitute for Gonzalo Higuain in their 2-0 victory over Racing Santander.

Coyle was delighted at sealing the deal with Alonso, saying the Spaniard is one to watch out for in the future.

“He is an exciting young player who has undoubted quality and he will bring that into our mix. I think that we have a real talent on our hands,” Coyle said.

“I have said before that when we are investing money in transfers that I want to do it with young, talented players.

“He isn’t the finished article yet – he’s a young player making his way – but you don’t get through at Real Madrid without having a bit about you.”

Sunderland have completed their signing of defender Titus Bramble from Premier League rivals Wigan.

Bramble has signed a three-year deal with the Black Cats after passing a medical test.

The former Newcastle defender has been signed on at the Stadium of Light for an undisclosed fee and will link up again with former Wigan boss Steve Bruce.

Bruce believes Bramble will prove to be a valuable addition to his squad for the new season.

“Titus was absolutely outstanding for me at Wigan,” Bruce told the club’s official website.

“He matured into a very, very good player so there was absolutely no hesitation when the chance came to bring him to Sunderland.

“He was certainly the right player at the right price and this is a great deal for the football club.”

Liverpool have successfully secured England international Joe Cole on a four-year deal, subject to a medical.

The midfielder became a free agent at the start of the month when his contract with Chelsea expired, with the Blues choosing not to extend his seven-year stay at Stamford Bridge.

New Reds boss Roy Hodgson claimed at the weekend that he had not held talks with the former West Ham player, but the deal has now been concluded.

Cole moved to Chelsea from Upton Park in a £6.6 million switch in the summer of 2003, but was shown the door with the Blues not willing to meet his wage demands.

The 28-year-old has three Premier League winners’ medals to show from his time with Chelsea and also helped the Blues to two FA Cup successes.

Spain’s Football Federation (SFF) has confirmed Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has ruptured a muscle in his left thigh.

The 26-year-old Spain international was a substitute in Sunday’s World Cup final against Holland, but pulled up as the end of extra-time approached.

Torres returned to Spain following the triumph, along with the rest of the victorious squad, and has now undergone a scan on the injury to ascertain the full extent of the blow.

A statement on the SFF’s website confirmed Torres had a magnetic resonance scan at the Cemtro de Madrid Clinic and evidence was found of “a Grade 1 muscle fibre rupture in the left thigh.”

Torres struggled to make the World Cup after missing the end of Liverpool’s season with right knee injuries and looked to be below par in South Africa.

The former Atletico Madrid striker earned four starts in the tournament after coming on in their opening group game defeat to Switzerland before being dropped for the semi-final against Germany.

Spanish news network Cadena Ser confirmed on Wednesday the scan results would be sent to Liverpool and it was unlikely Torres would play before the new Premier League season starts next month.

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is remaining coy on his club future following Spain’s World Cup triumph on Sunday.

His value no doubt soared after he was brought on as a substitute in the late stages of Spain’s decider against Holland to help seal World Cup victory for his international side.

After the 23-year-old had tested Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenberg, he then made a cushioned pass to Andres Iniesta to set up the extra-time winner.

Fabregas, who has five years remaining on his contract with Arsenal, has been strongly linked with a move back to his boyhood club Barcelona, with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger having already turned down a €35 million offer for the midfielder.

But the Gunners skipper, who has expressed his desire to make a Camp Nou comeback, is keeping coy about whether the switch will materialise.

“All I can say is that this (World Cup victory) is for all the Arsenal players and fans, they are a world-class club,” Fabregas said after Spain’s 1-0 victory.

“I am an Arsenal player and proud to be.”

Liverpool and England international ace Steven Gerrard insists he will not walk away from his international career despite England’s World Cup disappointment.

The midfielder captained the England national team through their faltering Group C World Cup campaign followed by their 4-1 second round loss to Germany.

Since the defeat, Liverpool team-mate Jamie Carragher, who was persuaded to come out of retirement for the tournament by Fabio Capello, has again announced his withdrawal from the England international football scene.

Capello is also understood to be planning to make wholesale changes to his side, replacing some of the ‘old guard’ with younger blood.

But 30-year-old Gerrard insists he will not be quitting England duty and he desperately wants to add to his 84 caps and make amends for the disappointing match against Germany at the World Cup.

He told Liverpool’s official website: “There is no way I want the disappointment of the Germany game to be my last for England.

“It was such a low and I am determined to do as much as I can to make amends for what happened.

“I expect there to be a lot of changes to the squad and it is up to the manager whether I am selected, but I am going to continue to make myself available for my country.”

Manchester City have reached an agreement with Valencia over the transfer of David Silva on a four-year deal.

Man City boss Roberto Mancini has been busy trying to strengthen his squad since City’s disappointing end to last season, when the club missed out out on UEFA Champions League qualification.

Mancini set his sights on Silva as a player who could help the club step up their game for next season.

Silva had also been linked with a move to Chelsea, but City have now officially won the chase and finalised the details of his contract.

The 24-year-old Spain international will complete his medical and officially become a City player once his involvement at the World Cup is over.