The silly season is upon us. Transfers are the name of the game in the absence of meaningful football so expect to see plenty of coverage here on Soccernet.

The Gareth Barry saga of last summer was not repeated. In fact, this time it was over before it had begun. And he ended up at Manchester City...so much for Champions League football. Liverpool meanwhile have had to reset their targets. And maybe keep hold of Xabi Alonso.

So, it's Kaka that looks likely to be the big story. Until the Cristiano Ronaldo roadshow gets underway, that is. Expect both to roll on for some time yet. Real Madrid are back as key players and the hapless Ramon Calderon has been replaced by Florentino Perez as club president.

Perez, of course, is the man who gave the footballing world the concept of a galactico though that label comes with a caveat; Real won nothing for four years despite boasting Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo (the fat one) and Beckham. That seems a warning that Perez is not prepared to heed, judging by his open courting of United's Portugese star and the machinations already in place for AC Milan's Brazilian.

If and when Kaka does arrive at one of Real Madrid, Chelsea or Manchester City, the transfer fee will be one to break the all-comers' record. Real Madrid's 2001 purchase of Zinedine Zidane for a cool £46m looks to be small beer compared to the cash likely to be lavished on Kaka. And few would bet that any money paid for Ronaldo's transfer would not trump that.

Another leading name seemingly up for grabs, at the right price, is Franck Ribery, the mercurial Frenchman who looks to be too good for Bayern Munich and the Bundesliga. He's already been linked, with some incredulity, with a £73m move to Manchester United. That story seemed to rely on Ronaldo being sold on. The Glazers, with debt piling up, surely don't have the resources to keep both at Old Trafford.

That story seemingly came out as an attempt from Bayern to ramp up the price for an asset they know they will be forced to cash in. Real Madrid and Barcelona are both in the frame and Ribery is said to favour the current European champions. After all, who wouldn't want to play among that group of players? Their performance in Rome would have had many a megastar hitting the speed-dial to their agent.

Pep Guardiola's moves in the transfer market this summer will attract plenty of interest. Their 2008-9 season was unsurpassable yet it is better to build from a position of strength than failure. Last summer, Barca's buys were a mixed bag. Dani Alves cost big money but was proven quality. Alexandr Hleb came for £13m but has not looked of sufficient quality to match his team-mates. The Belarussian must hope he repeats the pattern that followed his indifferent first season at Arsenal.

Uruguayan Martín Cáceres was signed as a central defender for 16.5m euros yet found it difficult to force his way into the first team. That came as a result of the far cheaper purchase of Gerard Pique, a Manchester United reserve who had previously left the Nou Camp for pastures new. Pique was one of the stars of Barca's win in Rome, as was Sergi Busquest, another Catalan native of the type Guardiola seems to work best with.

Guardiola took over a side blessed with riches but little motivation and then encouraged them to new heights. How he builds his own side is the next question he needs to answer. Talk of Samuel Eto'o being sold to pay for Zlatan Ibrahimovic raises a note of caution considering the Swede's temperament.

That Ibrahimovic may be sold by Inter Milan shows the new parameters that Jose Mourinho is forced to work within. The latest player he is linked with is Elano, Manchester City's malingering midfielder, to follow recent links with Deco and Ricardo Carvalho. Premier League cast-offs all, Mourinho may wonder where his next Champions League title is coming from.

Yet again, all roads lead to Ronaldo, with the pink-wearing one repeating last year's behaviour of saying one thing to English cameras and something else to Portugese and Spanish interviewers. Those Real rumours will just not go away. Erstwhile team-mate Carlos Tevez is being touted around by Kia Joorabchian and his shadowy MSI operation. At present, Manchester City are favourites. United's neighbours have the necessary cash and Tevez is understood to be not keen on uprooting his family again.

There are other names to throw into the pot: Karim Benzema's stated desire to play in the Champions League again with Lyon may be tested by a bid from Manchester United. Antonio Valencia is wanted by Manchester United and Real Madrid. And David Villa, whom Valencia look ready to sell, with Liverpool, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Chelsea all linked.

All of the above will feature in our Transfer pages and can expect to be heavily rotated in our Paper Round and On The Move blogs. Until August 31 we're going to be hearing an awful lot of them.