Transfer Gossip

 

Man United not after another striker, City agree De Bruyne fee, Juventus want Willian, Januzaj headed to Dortmund, Saints want Real Madrid star...

Arrival of Pedro meant either Moses or Cuadrado will move..while Juventus has enquired about Cuadrado, Totenham and Everton are locked in battle for Moses's signarure just as either Mikel or Ramirez will pave way for Pogba. While Turkish duo of Fenerbahce and Besiktas track Mikel, Intermilan knocks for Ramirez.
Chelsea bid £39million for Martial, De Guzman in Prem return, Liverpool back for Mkhitaryan, Everton chasing Dante, Willian offered to Bayern Munich and PSG...

Otamendi and De Bruyne for £88m to CityTurkey..?

MAN UNITED NOT IN MARKET FOR STRIKER
Louis van Gaal is insane. That is the only logical conclusion we can draw upon the above news, which comes from Jamie Jackson of The Guardian.

The Manchester football correspondent says Van Gaal is more than happy with his striking options of Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and James Wilson and is 'not actively pursuing a centre forward' in this transfer window.

Jackson does add that if an 'elite' option became available then he would be considered, with one of said 'elite' options coming in the form of Karim Benzema. The Real Madrid striker is 'being monitored' by the club, apparently.

Jackson also writes that the form of Rooney (0 shots in two Premier League games), 'is of no concern' to the Dutchman. It patently should be.


CITY AGREE DE BRUYNE FEE
Well, well. This comes from German newspaper Bild, who claim that Wolfsburg and Manchester City have agreed a £50m fee for Kevin de Bruyne. That's a lovely £32m profit for the Bundesliga club. Nice.

The Belgian is said to have agreed a contract worth around £140,000 a week. We have to say that a front four of David Silva, Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and De Bruyne is causing some arousal here.


JUVE WANT WILLIAN
You will not be surprised to learn that Juventus might be a tad reluctant to take Chelsea's cast-offs as part of any (very unlikely) Paul Pogba deal. Juan Cuadrado? No thanks, we will have Willian.

According to reports in Italy, Jose Mourinho is very reluctant to sell his little hairy run-bot, but if it means that they get Pogba? We imagine that a deal could be done.


JANUZAJ OFF TO GERMANY
He is the only Manchester United player to score in the Premier League this season, but reports from afar are linking Adnan Januzaj with a loan move away from Manchester United this summer.

German newspaper Bild are the culprits, and they appear to be in cahoots with Italian outlet Tuttomercato, with both tipping Borussia Dortmund for a move for the Belgian winger. He may not be a guaranteed first-team regular at Old Trafford, but would he get that many more games at Dortmund?

For what it's worth, Louis van Gaal said only last week that the 20-year-old is "not for sale". Would that include a loan? Who knows, but it doesn't seem too likely.


SAINTS EYE REAL MADRID MID
Asier Illarramendi isn't the only Real Madrid midfielder being linked with a move away, with Arsenal and Liverpool reportedly interested. According to reports in Marca, Southampton are considering a move for Lucas Silva.

Signed from Cruzeiro in January, the 22-year-old star has understandably struggled for minutes at the Bernabeu, with just nine appearances coming last season. Still, the Brazilian is considered a huge talent and could be lured away on loan.

According to Spanish paper Marca, Saints are one in a long line of clubs who are interested in taking Silva on a temporary spell this season, with the arrival of Mateo Kovacic likely to restrict his playing time further at Los Blancos.


CITY YOUNGSTER HEADED TO FRANCE
Nicolas Otamendi's arrival at Manchester City seems to be certain to have repercussions on the current defence at the Etihad. Read below for news on Martin Demichelis, but it seems that highly-rated youngster Jason Denayer could also be off.

It will be another loan for the Belgium U21 international, who impressed during a spell at Celtic last season. This time it's Marseille who want him, according to French newspaper L'Equipe. They don't make it clear whether it's a loan or permanent deal, but, with the news having filtered over the Channel, Sky Sports claim it will be a loan for City's young star.


DEFENDER CONFIRMS EVERTON DEAL
A centre-half has been linked with an exit all summer, but it looks as though Everton are set to actually sign one, according to the Argentinean press.

Newspaper Clarin, regarded as reliable on those shores, quote River Plate defender Ramiro Funes Mori as saying: "I'm living many things at once. I am very happy but also sad, to leave River is not easy." This ahead of boarding a plane to England. Basically, the deal is done. It will be for around £5.7million and on a five-year contract.

Interestingly, Clarin add River's interest in Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis as a footnote. The Argentinean has a year remaining on his deal at the Etihad, but could he be persuaded to return home?


POGBA AND STONES FOR CHELSEA
This is the big one on several back pages on Friday morning - 'a stunning £100m double swoop' (The Daily Star). There are a couple of rather big 'ifs' in this deal; Juventus have to be willing to sell their prize asset for £60m (though potential deals for Juan Cuadrado or Oscar could help) and Paul Pogba has to be willing to move to Chelsea rather than wait for an expected move to Barcelona next year. According to the Star, Roman Abramovich 'has set a £60m limit on 22-year-old Pogba, which would top the club record fee of £50m paid to Liverpool for striker Fernando Torres in 2011'.

A deal to bring in John Stones could be rather easier to complete, with Everton likely to accept an improved bid of £40m and Stones - according to The Sun at least - willing to put in a transfer request to force a move to the champions.


BALE THE MAN FOR MAN UNITED?
We wondered how long it would be before this over-played tune got another spin on the tittle-tattle turntable. It's back thanks to the Daily Mail, who claim that 'Gareth Bale is still the player who Louis van Gaal thinks can transform Manchester United into genuine Barclays Premier League contenders'. Apparently the Dutchman has told his friends, who have run off to tell the Mail's Ian Ladyman.

It does all get a little fuzzy after that, with the report admitting that 'the chances of Woodward pulling off that deal soon are slight'. Right. Thanks for that. There is yet more indication that Southampton wide player Sadio Mane is a target, though that has been very firmly kaiboshed by Southampton boss Ronald Koeman. The Daily Telegraph are claiming United will make a formal £20m bid for him, by the way.


ARSENAL AND LIVERPOOL WANT ILLARRAMENDI
After the arrival of Mateo Kovacic, Real Madrid need to offload central midfielder Asier Illarramendi, who is very much on the fringes of Rafa Benitez's plans. Liverpool have long been linked with the former Real Sociedad man, but now Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo claim that Arsenal are also interested after Francis Coquelin's less-than-stellar start to the season. The 25-year-old is also being strongly linked with a return to Real Sociedad or a move to Athletic Bilbao.

Meanehile, Leiva Lucas is set to leave Liverpool and join Besiktas in a season-long loan deal. Poor Lucas.


AND THE REST
Liverpool have offered Mamadou Sakho a new long-term deal in a bid to keep him at Anfield...West Ham are set to sign QPR goalkeeper Robert Green in time to deputise for banned Adrian on Saturday...Juventus targets Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela will not be leaving Tottenham, insists manager Mauricio Pochettino...Everton will meet the £14.2million release clause for Dynamo Kiev forward Andriy Yarmolenko...Sunderland are closing on £5million Napoli midfielder Jonathan de Guzman...Norwich want to set up a swap deal for Leigh Griffiths - with Gary Hooper going back to Celtic...Real Madrid are ready to offer Keylor Navas plus cash in their bid to sign David de Gea before the end of the month...Crystal Palace winger Yannick Bolasie is stalling on a new long-term contract as he is holding out for a £25,000-per-week pay raise following interest from Tottenham...

...Chelsea are showing interest in Monaco forward Anthony Martial and will listen to offers for Juan Cuadrado and Victor Moses...Burnley have bid £9million for Brentford striker Andre Gray...Tottenham are ready to sign Saido Berahino in a £20million deal - and let Federico Fazio go to West Brom in exchange...Mario Balotelli has agreed to join Lazio on a season-long loan deal, according to reports in Italy...Bayern Munich have put Brazilian centre-back Dante up for sale and Everton are among one of a number of clubs chasing him, according to reports in Germany.