Transfer Gossip
We’re off to Italy now, and Gazzetta dello Sport’s claim that Liverpool and Manchester City are fighting with Juventus and Monaco for the services of Roma’s Leandro Paredes.
The 22-year-old midfielder spent last season on loan at Empoli having been signed by Roma from Boca Juniors in summer 2015 for a fee of €6m.
Already linked with a move away from Roma, the expectation is that Paredes will remain in Italy. We can’t help thinking that the Liverpool and City links are just naughty work from the agent to drum up some interest.
BONY ADDED TO STONES DEAL
Manchester City are ready to add striking flop Wilfried Bony as a £15m makeweight to help push through their £50m deal for Everton and England centre-back John Stones.
According to The Sun, Guardiola is happy to use the Ivory Coast forward who has continued in his struggles to make an impression since moving from Swansea for £28m in January 2015.
Ronald Koeman is eager to add another striker to his Toffees squad and so the deal is set to suit all parties involved. Bony, though, is not viewed as a replacement for Romelu Lukaku, with the Daily Mail stating that Chelsea have made no official bid yet to try and re-sign their former striker.
SWANSEA’S AYEW TO JOIN WEST HAM
What are Swansea playing at? Francesco Guidolin has already allowed Bafetimbi Gomis and Alberto Paloschi to leave the club, and now the BBC report that Andre Ayew is closing in on a move to West Ham.
Those four account for 20 of Swansea’s 42 league goals last season. The club have signed Fernando Llorente from Sevilla, but it’s a gamble to think that he can a) match that goals total, and b) be comfortable without any other strikers in the squad.
BBC report that Ayew will move to West Ham for a fee of around £20m, and is now finalising personal terms at the club. Remember Swansea: There is only a week left until the season starts.
AND THE REST
Leicester City could bid £25m for Brazil and Santos forward Gabriel Barbosa, 19, who is also a target for Juventus and Inter Milan… Arsenal and Everton target Julian Draxler has been fined by Wolfsburg after the 22-year-old Germany forward demanded a transfer… Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has warned Crystal Palace and any other clubs interested in signing Christian Benteke, 25, that the Belgium striker will not be sold below his value as a “present”.
Newcastle United’s France midfielder Moussa Sissoko, 26, could be set for a move to Paris St-Germain, though the French champions will have to pay £35m to sign him… Hull City have offered to quadruple Wales boss Chris Coleman’s wages to join the Tigers. The club are also talking to former Chelsea forward Gianfranco Zola about the vacant manager’s position… Midfielder Alex Pritchard, 23, said he “could not wait to get out” of Tottenham after signing for Norwich City… Defender Dani Ayala, 25, is the first of a number of senior Middlesbrough players who will sign new contracts over the coming weeks.
Christian Benteke may well want to leave Liverpool and Liverpool may well want Christian Benteke to leave, but there’s not a lot that can happen if the club don’t receive any offers.
With Jurgen Klopp insisting that Liverpool won’t accept anything below market value for Benteke, the player’s agent is upping the ante on Liverpool by revealing that no bids have yet been made. The hint is clear: Drop your price.
“We are waiting for any news but at this moment there is nothing concrete,” Eris Kismet told the Guardian. “There are several teams interested in signing him so hopefully we can reach a resolution soon.”
This comes after Klopp’s comments at the weekend: “If there are clubs that want a striker from us they have to make real offers and are not hoping for anything else, otherwise we will find solutions.
“If there is a need on the other side then go for it – but not as a present. That’s how transfers are.
“A few clubs try to gamble but we are not part of the gambling side. We are serious people, and if there is an offer we will think about it.”
NOW TALKS OF A NEW DEAL FOR LUKAKU?
With Paul Pogba’s move to Manchester United looking to be tied up soon, Romelu Lukaku’s potential move to Chelsea is the only true saga left. The striker is clearly keen to leave Everton, but the club are understandably digging their heels in.
Yesterday, this fine column brought you the news via The Sun that Chelsea were prepared to offer Asmir Begovic and Loic Remy plus cash in a bid to persuade Everton to sell, but in the Daily Express Paul Joyce has other news.
Joyce is reliable on all things Merseyside, and writes exclusively that Everton will open new contract talks with Lukaku this week. That’s all very well, but in order to have talks you need both parties to agree. Is Lukaku really ready to sign a new deal, whatever the money offered?
SOUTHAMPTON TO BID FOR GABBIADINI
We’ll be honest, this one comes from largely spurious Italian website TuttoMercatoWeb, but their claim that Southampton are about to approach Napoli over a deal for Manolo Gabbiadini is an interesting one. We didn’t know he was still playing after all those goals for Sunderland and Derby.
While both Sadio Mane (Nathan Redmond) and Victor Wanyama (Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg) have been replaced by Claude Puel, Southampton are still looking for a replacement for Graziano Pelle. Shane Long, Charlie Austin and Jay Rodriguez are the sum total of Puel’s available forwards, so it is no surprise that they’re looking around for another option.
Napoli have lost Gonzalo Higuain during this transfer window, but have already moved to replace him with the signing of Arkadiusz Milik from Ajax. Gabbiadini only started four Serie A games for Napoli last season, so the 24-year-old may well be available for a price.
ALL THE BIG CLUBS WANT LOOKMAN
Screw developing your own, all the cool clubs are buying their youngsters from League One clubs and cutting out the middle man. Tottenham signed Dele Alli from Tottenham, Arsenal signed Rob Holding from Bolton and now everyone wants to sign Ademola Lookman from Charlton.
Ademola is still just 18, but played 24 times in the Championship for Charlton last season, scoring five league goals. Following the club’s relegation to League One, the Daily Mirror report that Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Southampton are all interested in signing him for a fee of £2m before the transfer window closes.
Warning: We have a problem whereby we keep singing the striker’s surname to the tune of ‘Whoops Now’ by Janet Jackson.
AND THE REST
Swansea are set to splash a club-record £15million to land Atletico Madrid striker Borja Baston… Roberto Mancini is set to leave his post at Inter Milan with Frank de Boer the favourite to replace the former Manchester City boss… West Ham will complete the £20million signing of Swansea forward Andre Ayew this week and are also closing in on Olympiakos left-back Arthur Masuaku… Tottenham defender Dominic Ball, 21, has emerged as a loan target for Championship duo Leeds United and QPR.
We can’t help feeling that Everton have gone for the wrong transfer targets this summer. We’ve heard of interest in high-profile players, but then that interest has come to the sum total of nowt. Thursday brings another example.
The Independent report that Everton have made an approach to sign Wolfsburg’s Germany international Julian Draxler. That’s the same Draxler who has a release clause of £63m.
On Wednesday, an interview with Draxler was published in which he explained how keen he was to leave Wolfsburg, and Arsenal have regularly been mentioned with a move.
That’s all very well, but Wolfsburg don’t particularly want to sell. The Daily Mirror report that Draxler has been told he is going nowhere.
Still, that doesn’t change the fact that Everton have made the first move. Big talk, but can they walk the walk?
JANUZAJ CAN LEAVE FOR £10M
One player Everton could be interested in is Adnan Januzaj, with the Belgian emphatically unwanted at Manchester United.
David Moyes’ Sunderland are reportedly interested in taking Januzaj on loan, but The Sun say that the player is not interested in another loan move.
The Sun’s story is remarkably low on detail, but then drops in the line that Januzaj would be free to leave Old Trafford permanently for a fee of £10m. That seems about right, actually.
Cast your minds back to February 2014, when stories broke of Paris St Germain interest in Januzaj. ‘Man Utd will reject £40m Adnan Januzaj bid from PSG’ were the widespread headlines.
Reckon they wish they had taken the cash now?
TOTTENHAM STEP UP RAFA SILVA INTEREST
To the Daily Mirror now, and their claim that Mauricio Pochettino is not finished in the transfer market quite yet.
Pochettino has so far signed Vincent Jannsen and Victor Wanyama, with Georges-Kévin N’Koudou’s medical taking about a fortnight to complete. Reports in France suggest that move may in fact collapse.
Instead, the Mirror mention that Sporting Braga midfielder Rafa Silva might be the solution. Silva was part of Portugal’s European Championship-winning squad, and has been linked with a move to Porto this summer.
Darren Lewis, who writes the story, actually mentions N’Koudou as a done deal, so perhaps Silva is an addition rather than an alternative?
EVERTON AND SUNDERLAND IN FOR BENTEKE
Everton could make a move for Liverpool’s Christian Benteke, but face competition for the striker’s signature from former manager David Moyes.
According to the Daily Mirror, Everton have lined up Benteke to replace Romelu Lukaku, who could rejoin Chelsea if his former club meet the £75million asking price. Let’s face it, Benteke isn’t wanted at Liverpool.
However, Moyes is eager to recruit a new striker to ease the burden on Jermain Defoe after taking over at Sunderland. That’s completely logical, because Fabio Borini.
“It’s well documented we’ve only got one centre-forward in Jermain Defoe – we’ve others who can do the job at times. But I would like to strengthen in most areas if it comes up,” Moyes said earlier this week.
Crystal Palace have already come close to signing Benteke and were ready to meet the 25-year-old’s £120,000-a-week wages, but failed to agree a fee with Liverpool. West Ham have also been mentioned in more than passing.
AND THE REST
West Ham hope to sign both Andre Ayew from Swansea for £16million and the forward’s brother, Jordan, in an £8million deal from Aston Villa…Manchester City will continue their summer spending with the £15million capture of 19-year-old Atletico Nacional striker Marlos Moreno… Former Newcastle defender Davide Santon is set to join West Ham on loan from Inter Milan…Hull have rejected a second mid worth £5million from Middlesbrough for centre-back Harry Maguire…Rubin Zazan midfielder Yann M’Vila is set to return to Sunderland on a permanent basis as David Moyes’ first signing as new manager…Moyes is also considering handing a 12-month contract to former Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar…West Brom could unveil the £16million signing of West Ham striker Diafra Sakho today…Burnley have entered the race with Southampton to sign Anderlecht midfielder Steven Defour.
We’ll start at Anfield, with news from the Daily Mail that Liverpool will make a £20m move for Germany left-back Jonas Hector. How unloved do you think Alberto Moreno feels right now?
In truth, their story is pretty wishy-washy. Hector features in the headline, but by the copy nobody is convinced by the interest: ‘Recruiting a new left-back was a target for this window – Liverpool continue to be linked with Cologne’s £20million-rated Jonas Hector – and Klopp said: “Is the activity all over? I have no idea. I don’t think so. We will see what happens.”’
However, the Liverpool Echo then pour cold water on all of this. They report the story from Kicker which says that Hector will sign a new deal at Koln, thus ending Liverpool’s hopes of a deal. It was all going so well.
SISSOKO TO REAL MADRID COULD ACTUALLY BE A THING
You can’t doubt that Moussa Sissoko has earned his move to Madrid. He played so well in Newcastle’s relegation season, the brightest light on a dark night, that it is only fit he gets the high-profile transfer he’s always craved. He’s magic, y’know.
The worry is that he might actually get this Real move. The Guardian, among others, report that Wednesday will bring Real Madrid’s official first move for the Newcastle midfielder. The £35m price tag makes things tricky – because not everyone at Real Madrid is f**king mad – but the story is that Real will offer two loan players for a year to sweeten the deal. Those players are likely to be Mariano Diaz and Marcos Llorente.
You know what, fair play to Sissoko. Would you rather play with Cristiano Ronaldo or Paul Dummett?
STOKE CONFIDENT OF VAN PERSIE SIGNING
The future of Robin van Persie is still up in the air as the new season approaches ever so rapidly. The striker is not wanted by Fenerbahce, but links with various clubs have come to nought. Mark Hughes is hoping to be the gruff Welsh knight in shining armour.
Stoke are still interested in Saido Berahino for a fee of £20m, but Hughes would like to buy another forward too. Quite whether that constitutes a move for a striker who was paid £240,000 a week last season remains to be season, but it would be quite a coup for Stoke.
Hughes will be keen to add goal to his squad, having seen his Stoke squad score only 41 league goals last season.
AND THE REST
Pep Guardiola has not given up on signing Barcelona keeper Marc Andre ter Stegen after the German keeper called for clear the air talks at the Camp Nou…Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian is relishing competition for places at the club and has no intention of leaving this summer despite reports linking him…Stoke would consider losing one of Joselu, 26, Mame Diouf, 28, or Peter Crouch, 35, if West Bromwich Albion want a player exchange for Saido Berahino, 22…Jurgen Klopp has reassessed his transfer plans and is prepared to go back into the market to solve the problems with Liverpool’s defence…Leeds United have rejected a transfer request from highly-rated left back Charlie Taylor, who is wanted by Middlesbrough, Burnley and West Bromwich Albion.
Brighton and Hove Albion have agreed a club-record fee with Tottenham Hotspur for Alex Pritchard…Chelsea midfielder Jordan Houghton is joining Doncaster Rovers on loan… Diego Costa has been urged to quit Chelsea for Atletico Madrid – by former team-mate Filipe Luis… Swansea are confident of sealing a deal for Spain international Fernando Llorente… Sunderland boss David Moyes is targeting a £5m move for Croatia international defender Domagoj Vida… Southampton are primed to make a £6m move for Anderlecht midfielder Steven Defour… Celtic’s Scott Allan will travel to Rotherham tomorrow to put pen to paper on a season long loan deal.
The links between Arsenal and every available central defender show no sign of abating. Valencia’s signing of Martin Montoya from Barcelona surely makes Shkodran Mustafi the favourite to arrive at the Emirates as cover for Per Mertesacker, but there are plenty of alternative names flying about.
One of those is Torino’s Bruno Peres. An update on that deal comes via Toro news (passed on by the Daily Star), who claim that Arsenal have bid £13.5m for the defender. Toro News believes that Torino will want closer to £16m. No, we haven’t ever heard of Toro News either.
The Google translation of their news story is absolutely magnificent too. It’s like a passage from Don Quixote:
‘Sixteen million euro is far less than you pretend to date aspects and the patron Urbano Cairo, who evaluates the card Bruno Peres not less than 20 million euro. The president could possibly think of expanding the sleeve, falling to 17 more achievable bonus (on false Darmian line), but for now compared with 16 million in cash and just need the card of the Brazilian is not.It’s also worth pointing out that Bruno Peres is predominantly a right-back who can also play in central defence. Mustafi is surely a better bet.
‘Time passes, competition increases, but paradoxically decreases the amount of the tenders: and chapter Bruno Peres, begins to look more like that there some Alessio Cerci.’
LUCAS LEIVA SET FOR GALATASARAY MOVE
It feels like Lucas has been on the verge of leaving Liverpool for about three years, forever destined to be on the periphery of the squad without ever bringing himself to admit defeat in his quest for a first-team place.
However, that battle may be lost. With Jordan Henderson and Emre Can likely to fight for one place in holding midfield and Georginio Wijnaldum used as a central midfielder, Lucas is again going to struggle for starts, particularly as Liverpool have no European football to contend with. That’s despite Joe Allen’s departure for Stoke.
In the last few days we have heard that Galatasaray are interested in Lucas, and that Jurgen Klopp is happy to let him leave. All that is left is for the player himself to agree to the move, and Tuesday’s papers report progress on that front. The rumour is that Lucas is set for a medical in Turkey.
Somehow, Lucas has still not turned 30. Black magic.
SUNDERLAND WANT £30M GRAY
Woah there, he’s a big claim to blow open your Tuesday morning. The Daily Mail believe that Sunderland are eyeing a £30m move for Burnley striker Andre Gray.
David Moyes is acutely aware of the need to invest in his Sunderland squad before the transfer window closes. His new club have still not made a signing this summer, and the first-team looks wafer-thin. Moyes will push through moves for DeAndre Yedlin and Yann M’Vila, but this is a mighty step forward.
The Mail claim that Sunderland are prepared to bid £30m for Gray, but that Burnley are reluctant to sell. That’s hardly surprising given that Gray’s goals underpinned their promotion campaign; selling him a week before the new season would be tantamount to Premier League suicide.
Also, can’t help thinking that Sunderland are better concentrating on more readily available transfer targets, although Jermain Defoe could really do with some help up front.
AND THE REST
Romelu Lukaku has told his Everton team-mates he wants to leave this summer. Chelsea are confident they can strike a deal for him at around £60m…Tottenham have been told they must pay £17m to sign Rafa Silva from Porto…Newcastle United have met the release clause in the contract of Aston Villa defender Ciaran Clark. The 26-year-old had been linked with a move to West Bromwich Albion…Leeds United have agreed an initial six-month loan with Qatari club Al-Arabi for Spanish winger Pablo Hernandez.
Leicester City have given unlimited transfer funds to manager Claudio Ranieri as he looks to strengthen his squad for their Premier League title defence…Norwich City have rejected a £3m bid for Martin Olsson as West Ham seek cover for injured Aaron Cresswell…Hull City midfielder Mohamed Diame is in talks with Newcastle after they meet his £4.5m release clause…Hull City are hoping to make Wales head coach Chris Coleman their new manager this week…Chelsea’s Eden Hazard is likely to be played in a central role, behind the Blues’ main striker, by new manager Antono Conte…Everton are set to complete the £10m signing of Ashley Williams from Swansea in the next 48 hours.
West Ham are considering a move for £7m Germany star Mario Gomez to solve their problems up front…Everton boss Ronald Koeman has launched a £9m bid for defender Jose Fonte but may face stiff competition from Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United…Sunderland are ready to bid for Anderlecht giant Kara Mbodj, with new boss David Moyes already having an inquiry about the £8m-rated Senegal defender…Swansea will step up their interest in Nacer Chadli and Leo Ulloa after Fernando Llorente turned down a move to the Liberty Stadium…Fulham have told Norwich that Scotland striker Ross McCormack, 29, will not leave for less than his £15m buyout clause.
Massive alarm bells rung on The Sun’s ‘Tottenham want Danny Drinkwater’ story the minute we noticed that a) it was only on the website and not in the newspaper and b) it was not written by Paul Jiggins, the man actually on tour with Spurs who has claimed a back-page story with some Mauricio Pochettino quotes this fine Monday morning.
And then we read the story – by Duncan Wright – and the motivation and likely source becomes clear: ‘TOTTENHAM are poised to pounce for England star Danny Drinkwater after being alerted to the slow progress in contract talks at Leicester.’
Ah, so the man wants a new contract. Apparently, Tottenham ‘have been shocked that the champions have not already tied down the 26-year-old to a long term deal after his inspirational displays last season’. Right. By far our favourite line is this one: ‘Most of the Premier League clubs are keen admirers of Drinkwater…’ And presumably Wright has spoken to them all and not just the agent of Danny Drinkwater..
OSCAR CAN GO FOR £30M
We were only wondering the other day how Oscar was going to fit into Antonio Conte’s plans if he plays anything approaching a 4-4-2 or 3-5-2. It seems like he will not fit into his plans at all and will sell him for £30m to Inter Milan, now managed by Roberto Mancini. Apparently Conte ‘does not think the midfielder works hard enough for the team’. Or at least that’s what Justin Allen of The Sun thinks that Conte thinks.
LUKAKU PRICE SET AT £75M
That’s an awful lot of money, isn’t it? The Daily Mirror say that Everton have made it clear that Romelu Lukaku will not be going back to Chelsea unless they meet the Toffees’ £75m valuation of the Belgian striker. Apparently, Chelsea ‘are ready to offer up to £68m for the striker having had a £57m bid rejected’. The crux of the matter is that Everton are apparently willing to play hardball regardless of Lukaku’s feelings. With Alvaro Morata not for sale, will Chelsea have any choice but to cough up? Or will they stick with Diego Costa.
AND THE REST
Everton have moved ahead of Manchester United in the race to sign Southampton’s Jose Fonte after making a £9m offer for the defender…Hull are keen to sign Man City striker Wilfried Bony…Hull are poised to make a decision on their new manager in the next 24 hours, with Chris Coleman and Gianfranco Zola the frontrunners…The Gunners face competition from Chelsea to sign Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi…AC Milan striker M’Baye Niang has revealed he snubbed Leicester because he didn’t want to be Jamie Vardy’s No. 2…Southampton are set hand new deals to three of their stars – Jose Fonte, Cedric Soares and Dusan Tadic…New Sunderland manager David Moyes will try to sign winger Adnan Januzaj, 21, and forward Will Keane, 23, from his former club Manchester United…West Bromwich Albion are ready to offload Saido Berahino after agreeing a £15m deal with West Ham for Diafra Sakho…Burnley and Sunderland have joined Celtic in the race for Manchester United defender Paddy McNair…Celtic are preparing to launch a fresh £3m plus bid for Aston Villa winger Scott Sinclair.
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