ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP GOSSIP
![Mario Gomez](http://cdn-football365.365.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/04100542/GettyImages-166757926-700x367.jpg)
Well this is all very strange. The Daily Mail are claiming that Roman Abramovich have rejected a £35m offer from Monaco for manager Jose Mourinho. Now we don’t want to call bulls**t on something out of hand, but… ok, we’re calling bulls**t.
The Mail’s source for the story is company called Proto Enterprises. If you’ve never heard of them, it’s because they are owned by a man named Alessandro Proto, who happens to be a shareholder at Monaco. The story claims that a Monaco shareholder met Abramovich and made the £35m offer in person. The name of that shareholder is Alessandro Proto.
So basically we’ve got a man claiming something, but putting the statement through his company. And this is news?
They also claim that Chelsea would be happy to do a deal for £71m. We’re speechless.
ARSENAL WANT JORGINHO
To Italy now, and Corriere dello Sport’s claim that Arsenal are eyeing up a move for Napoli midfielder Jorginho. It’s a rumour that has been hanging around for a while.
The Daily Telegraph report that Arsenal were again scouting Jorginho at the weekend, with the player in sumptuous form so far this season. He’s due a call-up from Brazil, although is also able to play for Italy.
We also have quotes from Jorginho’s agent, who unsurprisingly doesn’t rule out a move.
“I don’t know if the Arsenal scouts were in Genoa for Jorginho,” Joao Santos said. “I’m not surprised that the player is doing very well – especially in light of the change of coach – and has top clubs interested in him. One of the head scouts of Arsenal is well-known, and so I know he was at Marassi for the Napoli match. Right now we’re more thinking about Jorginho at Napoli than the transfer market.
“I’m in Brazil, and when I’m back we can discuss my client’s contract. The priority is getting a call-up for the national team, then there’s the January transfer market. If Napoli receive an irrefutable offer for Jorginho in January then it’s normal that we’d make our assessments.”
Elsewhere at Arsenal, the Evening Standard report that Tomas Rosicky, Mathieu Flamini and Mikel Arteta are set to leave the Emirates Stadium with Arsene Wenger unlikely to offer them new deals.
MANCHESTER UNITED WILL SIGN MARIO GOMEZ
Yeah, this one isn’t going to happen. But still, we’d like it to. Is that enough?
Calciomercato.com, which roughly translates as transferguesswork.co.uk, claims that Manchester United will sign Mario Gomez in January. Please, please, please.
Gomez has struggled at Fiorentina after joining from Bayern Munich, but has found form on loan at Besiktas.
The entire story comes from these quotes by Louis van Gaal in which he praised Gomez’s form at Bayern: “I was manager of Bayern Munich, and there the striker was Mario Gomez. He touched the ball nine times as an average in a game. The highest was 14 balls, but he scored every game and I don’t think that our strikers touch the ball less. It’s how the balls are coming to him, how he decides, how quick he is in dealing with the situation, it’s much more complicated than everyone is thinking.”
Yep, it’s definitely happening.
AND THE REST
Chelsea have made a €4 million bid for Red Star Belgrade midfielder Marko Grujic… Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool are all monitoring Inter striker Mauro Icardi… Leicester are interested in Ajax striker Arkadiusz Milik… Tottenham winger Andros Townsend, 24, could leave in January after a disagreement with the club’s fitness coach… Everton will not consider selling 28-year-old Belgium winger Kevin Mirallas… Metz have given permission for Robert Duverne to leave the club to become Remi Garde’s assistant… Newcastle could move for Crystal Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni… Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce wants to finalise a new deal with 21-year-old striker Duncan Watmore.
Well this is all very strange. The Daily Mail are claiming that Roman Abramovich have rejected a £35m offer from Monaco for manager Jose Mourinho. Now we don’t want to call bulls**t on something out of hand, but… ok, we’re calling bulls**t.
The Mail’s source for the story is company called Proto Enterprises. If you’ve never heard of them, it’s because they are owned by a man named Alessandro Proto, who happens to be a shareholder at Monaco. The story claims that a Monaco shareholder met Abramovich and made the £35m offer in person. The name of that shareholder is Alessandro Proto.
So basically we’ve got a man claiming something, but putting the statement through his company. And this is news?
They also claim that Chelsea would be happy to do a deal for £71m. We’re speechless.
ARSENAL WANT JORGINHO
To Italy now, and Corriere dello Sport’s claim that Arsenal are eyeing up a move for Napoli midfielder Jorginho. It’s a rumour that has been hanging around for a while.
The Daily Telegraph report that Arsenal were again scouting Jorginho at the weekend, with the player in sumptuous form so far this season. He’s due a call-up from Brazil, although is also able to play for Italy.
We also have quotes from Jorginho’s agent, who unsurprisingly doesn’t rule out a move.
“I don’t know if the Arsenal scouts were in Genoa for Jorginho,” Joao Santos said. “I’m not surprised that the player is doing very well – especially in light of the change of coach – and has top clubs interested in him. One of the head scouts of Arsenal is well-known, and so I know he was at Marassi for the Napoli match. Right now we’re more thinking about Jorginho at Napoli than the transfer market.
“I’m in Brazil, and when I’m back we can discuss my client’s contract. The priority is getting a call-up for the national team, then there’s the January transfer market. If Napoli receive an irrefutable offer for Jorginho in January then it’s normal that we’d make our assessments.”
Elsewhere at Arsenal, the Evening Standard report that Tomas Rosicky, Mathieu Flamini and Mikel Arteta are set to leave the Emirates Stadium with Arsene Wenger unlikely to offer them new deals.
MANCHESTER UNITED WILL SIGN MARIO GOMEZ
Yeah, this one isn’t going to happen. But still, we’d like it to. Is that enough?
Calciomercato.com, which roughly translates as transferguesswork.co.uk, claims that Manchester United will sign Mario Gomez in January. Please, please, please.
Gomez has struggled at Fiorentina after joining from Bayern Munich, but has found form on loan at Besiktas.
The entire story comes from these quotes by Louis van Gaal in which he praised Gomez’s form at Bayern: “I was manager of Bayern Munich, and there the striker was Mario Gomez. He touched the ball nine times as an average in a game. The highest was 14 balls, but he scored every game and I don’t think that our strikers touch the ball less. It’s how the balls are coming to him, how he decides, how quick he is in dealing with the situation, it’s much more complicated than everyone is thinking.”
Yep, it’s definitely happening.
AND THE REST
Chelsea have made a €4 million bid for Red Star Belgrade midfielder Marko Grujic… Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool are all monitoring Inter striker Mauro Icardi… Leicester are interested in Ajax striker Arkadiusz Milik… Tottenham winger Andros Townsend, 24, could leave in January after a disagreement with the club’s fitness coach… Everton will not consider selling 28-year-old Belgium winger Kevin Mirallas… Metz have given permission for Robert Duverne to leave the club to become Remi Garde’s assistant… Newcastle could move for Crystal Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni… Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce wants to finalise a new deal with 21-year-old striker Duncan Watmore.
MOURINHO ‘STAY OF EXECUTION’ AS CAPELLO WATCHES ON
‘Jose Mourinho will be given a stay of execution as Chelsea manager – but must win back the players,’ begins a piece by John Cross for the Mirror Online concerning under-pressure Mr. Mourinho. Cross believes that the Portuguese will be given ‘at least’ until the international break – a period involving games against Dynamo Kyiv and Stoke – to turn things around at Stamford Bridge.
Simon Mullock of the Sunday Mirror claimed Mourinho ‘could be gone by Wednesday’ this week, but Cross has other ideas.
With Carlo Ancelotti, Guus Hiddink and other rather familiar names being constantly linked with Mourinho’s job, The Sun have thrown another name into the hat. His name is Fabio Capello, and he criticised Mourinho’s methods a few weeks back.
Capello is currently out of work since being sacked as Russia manager. His last post before that came at England, and his last club job ended in 2007 at Real Madrid. Roman Abramovich must be itching to phone him.
UNITED IN FOR MAHREZ
While Jamie Vardy is busy breaking Premier League records and being linked with Real Madrid, Liverpool and Spurs, Leicester team-mate Riyad Mahrez has earned links with a big club with his own excellent performances.
According to French magazine France Football, Manchester United are interested in signing the Algerian international. Mahrez has scored seven Premier League goals in 10 appearances so far this season.
France Football report that United ‘have approached’ Mahrez with regards to the move. PSG are also interested in the 24-year-old who is contracted to Leicester until 2019.
MANCHESTER CLUBS SET FOR BATTLE
The Daily Star have a big old EXCLUSIVE on their hands, folks. Paul Hetherington reckons Manchesters City and United will battle it out for Anderlecht midfielder Youri Tielemans.
We’re not sure this can really be dubbed as an EXCLUSIVE considering both sides have been regularly linked with the 18-year-old since he first broke through two years ago, but there you go.
Anyway, the Star claim that while United have been tracking Tielemans for at least a year, City have entered the fray and are keeping an eye on proceedings. The midfielder, dubbed ‘the latest exciting discovery’ from Belgium by the Star – despite playing regular first-team football for Anderlecht since 2013, has also been linked with Chelsea, Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund.
SUAREZ NOT JOINING LIVERPOOL
Every football outlet had a bit of fun reporting on Liverpool’s interest in Suarez (Mario, not Luis) last week, but it seems that the Fiorentina midfielder himself has dismissed the rumours.
“I am extremely grateful to the club,” the Spaniard told reporters after scoring his first goal of the season on Sunday. “I’m especially thankful towards the Della Valle brothers and [Fiorentina sporting director, Daniele] Prade, as well as the fans who shown their confidence in me.
“Today the coach decided to use me and I’m glad for both for myself and for the team. I’m staying here, I’m very happy at Fiorentina,” he added.
That’s that, then.
EVERTON IN FOR MUNIR
After Gerard Deulofeu finally confirmed the rumours that he used to play for Barcelona with an excellent performance against Sunderland on Sunday, Everton might be considering returning to the Catalan club to steal another of their young prodigies.
The man in question this time is Munir El-Haddadi. The Spain international of Moroccan descent made his debut for Barca last season, but has found first-team opportunities a little more difficult to come by this season. Spanish magazine Don Balon adds that Munir is growing tired of the constant comparisons with Luis Suarez, Neymar and the injured Lionel Messi.
According to Don Balon, the 20-year-old has ‘a foot and a half’ out of the Nou Camp exit, and Everton are likely to be at the front of the queue to sign him. Roberto Martinez is thought to be a fan of the forward, and Don Balon feel Munir ‘could explode’ under Martinez’s tutelage.
AND THE REST
Diego Costa will escape any retrospective action over his clash with Martin Skrtel during Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat against Liverpool…Remi Garde will be named today as the new manager of Aston Villa…Southampton forward Gaston Ramirez is a January target for Lazio…Didier Drogba is weighing up a loan switch to Serie A side Bologna…West Ham target Alexandre Pato is set to spark a transfer rush in January after confirming he will leave Paulo at the end of his loan spell, with parent club Corinthians keen to sell the former AC Milan star.
Jesse Lingard – “He has to wait for his moment and maybe his moment has arrived now,” said Louis van Gaal on October 20 after Jesse Lingard – now 22 – played 45 minutes in that one match where Manchester United have looked like a potent attacking force this season. Since then he has started twice against CSKA Moscow (including a man-of-the-match display at Old Trafford), played two hours against Middlesbrough in the Capital One Cup and came off the bench twice more in the Premier League.
Not too shabby for a player who was not even a substitute for the COC tie against Ipswich in mid-September and seemed well-placed to go out on loan to a lower Premier League club at around 12.15am on January 1. Some cynics might have suggested that Lingard was only given a new Manchester United contract in February to protect his value.
“Lingard’s competitor is Juan Mata and his competitor is also, for example, Ander Herrera or Wayne Rooney,” said Van Gaal in October. “Or, when he is played on the left, because he can also play on the left, his competitor was Memphis. So it’s not easy to come in.”
It turns out that when your competitor is Memphis, it really should be quite easy to come in.
Joel Campbell – “It’s now or never” said Arsene Wenger, giving Joel Campbell his first Premier League start just four years after initially signing for the Gunners. After loan spells with FC Lorient (three goals in 25 league games), Real Betis (two in 28), Oympiakos (eight in 32) and Villarreal (one in 15), it was probably Danny Welbeck’s long-term injury that kept Campbell in England this season. It certainly wasn’t his goal record.
Further injuries to Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky meant that it really was time for Arsenal’s seventh-choice right-sided forward to step up. And step up he did – with a well-taken goal and an incredibly dilligent yet creative 84 minutes against Swansea.
As one fan wrote in Tuesday morning’s mailbox: ‘Joel Campbell, decent goal Saturday, in a 3-0 win, nothing dramatic – but for me he literally is like a new signing for Arsenal.’
Now Wenger just needs to find another defensive midfielder down the back of the sofa.
Joao Teixiera – “I had a chat with Brendan during the summer and in that conversation he told me that I could have my chances here,” said the Portuguese youngster on October 1, by which time it was pretty clear that Brendan had been talking b*llocks. Teixiera – Brighton’s Young Player of the Year last season – had not even made it to the bench for the Capital One Cup clash with Carlisle, never mind the Premier League. Having been left out of Liverpool’s Europa League squad entirely, things were looking bleak for the 22-year-old.
And then came Klopp. On the bench for the German’s very first league match against Tottenham because of a raft of injuries, Teixiera then played 90 excellent minutes against Bournemouth in the League Cup that earned him a place on the bench for the big Chelsea clash. This time it was entirely on merit.
Gaston Ramirez – ‘Southampton flop Gaston Ramirez is negotiating to tear up the final 10 months of his £65,000-a-week contract’ reads a report in the Daily Mirror on September 12. The £12m man had not played for the Saints since August 2014. Two weeks and a raft of Southampton injuries later, the Uruguayan was playing 25 minutes against MK Dons in the Capital One Cup. A month later the rehabilitation was complete when he came off the bench to play ten minutes against Liverpool. Three days later he started against Aston Villa in the cup.
“He was one of the team and that was very positive,” said Ronald Koeman with perhaps the world’s faintest praise. Ramirez might be back in the fold but he is highly unlikely to replace Dusan Tadic or Saido Mane any time soon. But at least he’s not on loan at Hull.
Cheick Tiote – “I know Cheicky, you know Cheicky,” said Steve McClaren last week. But at the start of the season it seemed like McClaren had forgotten Cheicky as he started the season with Vurnon Anita and Jack Colback as his first-choice midfield pairing. Tiote played just 34 minutes of Newcastle’s first four Premier League games – and 90 minutes in the Capital One Cup – before a knee injury sidelined him altogether. After just ten PL starts last season, it looked very much like Tiote’s Newcastle career was pretty much over, four years after he was a granite-hued machine in that fifth-finishing Toon side.
When Tiote returned in October, McClaren was suddenly finding Tiote’s energy ‘infectious’ – helped, presumably, by watching the sterile Anita get torn apart by Manchester City in a 6-1 defeat. Tiote has started three straight Premier League games since that drubbing, with early bookings cited as the only reason for early substitutions. We know Cheicky, alright.
Sarah Winterburn
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