As one door closes, another door opens. As it is in life, so it is in football, and the first Championship Transfer Talk of the summer is dotted with rumoured moves for players who narrowly missed out on promotion with their respective clubs.

Jermaine Beckford (pictured) - he of the insouciant post-match interview - was a member of the Leeds side that were beaten 1-0 by Doncaster in the League One play-off final, and the Daily Star reckons Norwich, Ipswich, QPR and Reading are all poised to offer him Championship football next season, albeit without the grandiose self-aggrandising that is such a cherished part of life at Elland Road.

Another man potentially set for bigger and better things is versatile Bristol City defender Liam Fontaine, who the Daily Mail claim will be the subject of a £1 million offer from Liverpool - presumably as soon as their scouts can provide manager Rafa Benitez with inconvertible proof of his Spanish and/or Argentine heritage.

Incredibly, Welsh heritage seems just as likely to guarantee you a place in the tabloid transfer chatter these days, with many of John Toshack's promising young guns being linked with transfers to top-flight clubs.

Today's Daily Mail says Wolves goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey could be a £5 million target for Middlesbrough, while Toshack has warned 17-year-old Cardiff starlet Aaron Ramsey - linked with Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United in recent weeks - that a move to a big club might not be in his best interests at this stage of his career.

Burnley striker Kyle Lafferty is the subject of a particularly unloving tug of love - perhaps 'tug of hate' would be more appropriate - between Rangers and Celtic, with The Independent claiming he is on the brink of a move to the former while the Daily Record says a rival bid is being considered by the latter.

His Clarets team-mate James O'Connor is set for a free transfer to Sheffield Wednesday according to the Daily Star, while the Daily Mirror says Leicester midfielder Matt Oakley will be saved from the ignominy of relegation to League One by newly promoted Nottingham Forest.

Moving to a new country can be an unsettling experience for a footballer, but Heerenveen defender Pim Balkestein should feel quite at home when he swaps his native Holland for the dreary flatlands and strange speaking folk of East Anglia, where Ipswich are assembling a £200,000 offer.

Tom Williams / Eurosport