Soccer / football transfers

Hertha Berlin have continued their preparations for life in the Bundesliga with the signing of Japan international Hajime Hosogai from Bayer Leverkusen. The second-division champions, who will make a return to the Bundesliga after one season out, have signed the 26-year-old midfielder on a four-year contract. Meanwhile, Hertha have extended coach Jos Luhukay's contract through to 2016.

Departing Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson received a standing ovation after his final match at Old Trafford, a 2-1 win against Swansea City, and then confirmed Wayne Rooney has requested a transfer. Ferguson added, however, that the club is not interested in selling him. Before Rooney moved to United in 2004, his manager at Everton was Ferguson's successor David Moyes, and the two did not end on good terms. Moyes successfully sued Rooney over statements that the striker had made in his autobiography. The player had written that Moyes was controlling, overbearing and the reason he left Everton.

New Zealand forward Marco Rojas has signed a four-year deal with Stuttgart. The 21-year-old arrives on a free transfer from Australia's Melbourne Victory, where he scored 15 goals and provided nine assists in his second season with the club. Rojas has just been voted player of the year in Australia.

Stuttgart have signed Konstantin Rausch on a free transfer from Hannover. The 23-year-old midfielder has agreed a three-year contract effective July 1. Rausch joined the Hannover youth academy as a 14-year-old and has gone on to make 148 appearances in the Bundesliga. Stuttgart had already signed Sercan Sararer and goalkeeper Thorsten Kirschbaum on free transfers from Greuther Fuerth and Energie Cottbus, respectively.

Attacking midfielder Daniel Caligiuri has agreed a four-year contract with Wolfsburg and will leave Freiburg in the summer after four years at the team. Caligiuri, 25, is the latest Freiburg player to leave the surprise club, currently fifth in the Bundesliga. Max Kruse is joining Borussia Monchengladbach, Jan Rosenthal and Johannes Flum are heading to Eintracht Frankfurt, and sports director Dirk Dufner has gone to Hannover.

Borussia Dortmund's preparations for Wednesday's UEFA Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid have been hit by news that attacking midfielder Mario Goetze will move to rivals Bayern Munich in July. The newly-crowned Bundesliga champions have triggered the release clause in the 20-year-old's contract, reported to be €37m which, if confirmed, would be the most ever spent on a German player. Goetze is regarded as one of the country's most talented young players. Bayern have already signed former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola as coach for next season.

Wolfsburg have confirmed the departure of Brazilian midfielder Josue to Atletico Mineiro on a free transfer. The Bundesliga club say they released the 33-year-old from his contract so he could join his homeland side with immediate effect. Josue was the captain of the Wolfsburg team that won the Bundesliga title in 2009. He played 164 Bundesliga matches and scored two goals.

Anji Makhachkala have signed centre-back Emir Spahic on loan from Sevilla until the end of the season. Anzhi hope the Bosnia captain will be a solid replacement for Congo international Christopher Samba, who left Russia to join English Premier League strugglers Queens Park Rangers just before the January 31 transfer deadline. Spahic, 32, had spells at Lokomotiv Moscow and Montpellier before arriving in Sevilla in summer 2011.

Willian is set to move from Shakhtar Donetsk to Anzhi Makhachkala in the most expensive move of the January transfer window. The Brazilian playmaker recently attracted the attention of both Chelsea and Tottenham, but big-spending Russian outfit Anzhi have lured the 24-year-old in a reported €35m transfer deal. Willian started his professional career in 2005 at Corinthians before signing a five-year contract with Shakhtar in August 2007. He has played 202 matches and scored 31 goals for the club from the Ukrainian club, winning four league titles and four national cups.

Malaga have moved to fill the void left by Arsenal-bound full-back Nacho Monreal by snapping up Portuguese international defender Antunes on loan from Pacos Ferreira. The 25-year-old will remain at the Spanish club until the end of the season. Chile midfielder Pedro Morales, 27, also arrivies on a free transfer from Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb. Meanwhile, Malaga midfielder Diego Buonanotte joins league rivals Granada on a deal until June 2017.