TRANSFER GOSSIP..............

PATO TO CHELSEA? ACTUALLY?
Forgive us for seeing Alexandre Pato rumours as the stories that cried wolf, but we won’t believe it until he’s paraded on the Stamford Bridge pitch.
ESPN Brazil are claiming a deal between Chelsea and Corinthians has been agreed for £9million. All that remains is for the player to sign the deal.
Pato is out of form, fading and injury prone. He also hasn’t played since the end of November.

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If this hard work pays off, Pato’s two agents should treat each other to all the celebratory drinks they can manage.

UNITED (OR CITY?) NEED TO PAY £65M FOR LUKAKU
When The Sun are mocking up Romelu Lukaku’s face on the body of Memphis Depay, you know they’ve got a little bit too excited about a transfer story. The entirety of their claim is that Everton want £65m for Lukaku. We’re sure they do, because he’s bloody good and bloody young. But that’s an awful lot of money
The Sun say that United are very keen to sign the striker, but that Real Madrid, Paris St Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City are all also interested. Can we have a bidding war please?
This was our favourite line: ‘The Red Devil’s have been monitoring Lukaku’s goals, and more importantly all-round performances, this season.’
1) Strong apostrophe work.
2) We’d be more surprised if a club wasn’t ‘monitoring the goals’ of a top striker.

TOTTENHAM BID FOR JACKSON MARTINEZ
We can’t have this one at all. Spanish newspaper Marca claim that Spurs have made an opening offer of £23m for Atletico Madrid striker Jackson Martinez. Those claims are relayed by the Daily Express.
That would be mightily surprising given that Atletico paid £26.6m for Martinez in the summer, and he has been wholly uninspiring since. The Colombian has scored three goals in 20 games.
“I am training like never before, yet playing as bad as ever,” Martinez said ahead of Atleti’s league game against Las Palmas. Way to talk yourself into form, Jackson.
Add in Atletico’s impending transfer ban, the fact that Martinez is 29 and that we are dealing with Daniel Levy and you have an altogether unlikely move. Sorry.

WEST HAM LINE UP STURRIDGE BID
Oh wow. We’re not quite sure how only the Brentwood Gazette would have the story, but they claim that West Ham are preparing an £18m bid for Daniel Sturridge.
With Jurgen Klopp recently hinting as his lack of patience with Sturridge’s continuous injury problems, a move away from Anfield does look increasingly likely.
You’d wonder why it’s a good idea to buy a player when very injured, but it would mean West Ham can jump up the queue. It would be the biggest transfer fee of his career.
The article does also mention interest in Juventus striker Simone Zaza, which seems a great deal more likely.

CHELSEA WANT IGHALO IN THE SUMMER
Watford’s Odion Ighalo might be a prolific Premier League striker for many years, or he might be a half-season wonder. Nobody can really be sure.
Which would make it all the more surprising if Chelsea decided to drop a huge sum of money on the striker this summer, as a replacement for Radamel Falcao and Loic Remy.
The Daily Mirror say that Chelsea ‘are monitoring’ Ighalo. We’ll say the same as always, which is that the Premier League’s biggest clubs are continuously scouting hundreds of players.
The Mirror also give us this line: ‘He [Ighalo] has already been the subject of interest from Spanish title challengers Atletico Madrid and Italian Champions League chasers Roma, and is being eyed by Arsenal.’
Having signed a new five-year contract in September, he’ll cost a massive packet.

AND THE REST
Real Madrid are set to excersise their option to resign Juventus striker Alvaro Morata… Manchester City have joined the race for Athletic Bilbao attacker Inaki Wiliams… Aston Villa are interested in a £4.9m move for Hadjuk Split’s Croatia goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic… West Ham are hoping to sign Reading defender Jake Cooper, 20, to follow the capture of Leeds full-back Sam Byram… Cheick Tiote’s proposed move from Newcastle United to Shanghai Shenhua could fall through… Tottenham want to sign Coventry City midfielder James Maddison.


Last week, Roberto Martinez said that Gareth Barry was one of England’s best ever players, and we all giggled to ourselves. We now a little bit worried about Everton’s manager.
After John Stones was criticised for his role in Everton’s defeat to Swansea on Sunday, Martinez leapt to the defence of his centre-back. And how.

“My take is the one I always have with young players. John is 21, he’s played 68 games in the Premier League and I wouldn’t judge or assess it until a player has played 100 games in any division,” Martinez said.

Quite right, Bobby. No point making grand predictions when Stones has only just got started. It’ll only pile more pressure on him. Oh what’s that? You haven’t finished?

“What I will say is that he has incredible potential, he is still young and in the right environment to develop.
“Whatever criticism from outside we accept, but John Stones is in the right environment to fulfil his potential as one of the greatest players England has ever seen.”

Hughes for United. Why not?
The season has been appalling, but that we all know. The passion the drive and the excitement only glows when discussions of Fergy time and the class of 92 are mentioned. But if Van Gall goes it should be noted that in the summer the spending was awful. One recognised striker and an expensive gamble on Martial was not the building blocks for a successful campaign, but I digress.
I feel that there is one name which hasn’t been mentioned for the job who would be an excellent replacement and has learned from the school of Ferguson. Of course this man managed the competition but his transfers during that time were fairly decent (Vincent Kompany the big one)… Mark Hughes.
Why I like Hughes for the role is that all of the teams he has managed have been built on their core skills, Blackburn – tough tackling, QPR – relegation, Stoke – efficiency. But what is changing at Stoke is the style, not every manager is able to create teams that transition well (take note Ed). But where Moyes and Van Gaal will probably end up failing is building a team for the short and the mid-term. Stoke now have a wonderful attacking line-up and are fluid on the ball. And if he can still pull of shots like this on the training ground (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6LvYRab2U8), then maybe he can get Wayne playing again.
But I doubt he will or would be offered, but I like the sound of Sparky back at Old Trafford don’t you?
Tom (If Van Gaal stays, Europa disappointment is the best we can hope for) P, MUFC

It’s all about the shoes
Mourinho has gone from incapable of handling the pressure of the Premier League to potentially saving Man Utd a la Ferguson because he is going to walk BAREFOOT into Old Trafford.
If only Roberto Martinez would take those f**king brown loafers off, we might start defending leads.
Dave (imagine the stink from PL dugouts) Allen, IoM
Woodward: The real villain
Amidst all this talk of whether LVG should stay or go I find it strange that Ed Woodward has so far escaped any criticism, to say that I’ve been less than impressed by his leadership thus far would be a massive understatement.
In his short time at the club Woodward has managed to balls up a couple of transfer windows and his singular desire to sign a “galactico”, instead of concentrating on achievable targets that we actually need, is part of the reason why we have such an unbalanced squad. Of course discussions will have taken place between LVG and Woodward over new signings but does anybody actually believe we have any hope of signing Bale, Muller or Neymar? No chance.
When Fergie retired a lot was made at the time of the huge void that he would leave at the club but I think Gill going at the same time was a major mistake, he should have stuck around for another season or two to oversee the transition from SAF to whoever while mentoring Woodward and teaching him the dark arts of transfer negotiations.
The way that United now operate looks increasingly amateurish which is entirely down to Woodward, yes LVG has made mistakes but I actually (want to?) believe that he does actually have a plan and just occasionally you can see what he is trying to do with the squad.
Under Moyes and LVG’s first season our defence was a shambles and we had a lot of dead weight in the squad which needed to be shipped out. LVG has shored up the defence, got rid of most of the dross and we look the better for it. Yes I would love to see more attacking football from United but you cannot build on shaky foundations and LVG needs to find the correct balance between attack and defence which hasn’t been helped by the multitude of injuries we have suffered (again!) and the piss poor form of our alleged “star” man Rooney.
Anyways…I’m in no rush to see LVG sacked and Giggsy given his position nor do I want to see Jose come in and rock the boat even further, Mourinho’s time at United should have when succeeding Fergie, not now.
So, give LVG until the end of the season and lets take it from there. You would hope that the club are speaking with Guardiola regardless of what is going on at City. If rumours are to be believed that Woodward et al aren’t convinced because Pep has no Premiership experience and if that’s the case then they should be taken outside and shot.
Badger

Respecting Van Gaal’s morals
In my opinion, Louis Van Gaal is a dinosaur by modern Premier League standards and has been found to be missing the key ingredient that Fergie states he has/had, the ability to adapt to the ego and persona of the modern footballer. Ruling with a rod of iron is only effective if the players believe in you and your ability, otherwise they might just think you’re a bit of a p***k.
On a positive note, if the rumours of Van Gaal resigning are true then I respect the man for realising that the job is too much for him. I know that, had United let him, Moyes would still be there, rabbit-like as the juggernaut of another disastrous season bore down on him, headlights forcing those eyes ever wider while he remained frozen to the spot. Van Gaal has allegedly stepped out of the way and is potentially allowing a bigger rabbit with better skills to take over. Yeah, OK but you get my drift.
So thanks Louis for the brief foray back into the Champion’s League, for bringing in Martial and Depay who, I believe, could still do very well under a better manager and for being honest enough to not just stay until fired and collect a big pay-off. You have my respect for your morals, just not for your managerial ability on this occasion.
Paul Milton, Man Utd

Farewell Ramires
As Ramires looks set to leave I wanted to be the first (only?) Chelsea fan to write in and offer my two pence.
There’s no doubt that selling him for £25m after a couple of below-par seasons is a shrewd business decision but I think most Chelsea fans cannot help to be sad to see him go. For a couple of seasons he was to my mind one of our most important players, in particular the 2011-2012 season when his attacking contributions (12 goals, including that lob against Barcelona), energy and defensive interventions were a big factor behind the Champions League and FA Cup wins (plus a bit of luck as well!).
Ramires arguably doesn’t have the same natural talent and skill of your average £20m Brazilian footballer. His first touch is not that great and his passing is sometimes atrocious. What I love about him though is that he shows how hard work, teamwork and focusing on your strengths can still make you a favourite with the fans and the manager. He made the most of what he had to give and his dynamic displays became a huge asset for Chelsea (especially when the other midfielders alongside him were Lampard and Mikel…).
The comparisons with Essien are inevitable – both had a similar style of play and a similar role as part of hugely successful teams. I think both players faded more quickly than Chelsea fans would have hoped. I suppose that’s what happens when the physical aspect of your game is so important. Essien is still only 33, but his dominating midfield performances are distant memories now. Distant memories but treasured ones.
James Bruschini (Ramires did get a bit too red-cardy I have to admit)

Where was David Speedie?
Really enjoyed your piece on b*stard strikers
However, I can only assume you decided David Speedie was some sort of attacking midfielder rather than a forward.
Nastiest, most horrible, sh*tty little b*stard I ever saw on a football pitch by a country mile
Rob, Bristol Gooner (Bergkamp’s still my all time fave, despite ‘occasional’ b4st4rdry)

Zidane was a b*stard
Loved your b*stard top 10 but how did you manage to omit one Zinedine Zidane?
One of the finest players to ever grace the game, 14 (fourteen) career red cards including that headbutt in a world cup final no less. Surely worth a mention for equalling his majesty only with his bast*rdry.
Honourable mentions to Eric Cantona and Sergio Ramos.
Sean, CFC, London

Two minutes later…
Just realised the list was exclusive to strikers. Humble apologies.
Although, could this become a running feature?
Sean, CFC, London

Fellaini could be less alienated
Absolutely love the proposal this morning for Warren Joyce to take over the Manchester United first team for the rest of the season. It could be a massive success, it could be a spectacular failure. But the idea of integrating a team of younger players into the first team together… I love it.
On another note, how ridiculous is that report about Fellaini feeling alienated? Seriously, the guy is basically van Gaal’s favourite nephew. As for costing him a place in Belgium’s squad for the Euros… a few less elbows and some more actual football might help.
Alex, Leeds

The Wimmer takes it all
This morning, Tottenham have announced that Jan Vertonghen will face a spell on the sidelines having damaged knee ligaments on Saturday. Now we all know that Toby and Jan have formed a formidable partnership in the centre of our defence this season. But I for one am fully confident in Kevin Wimmer’s ability to step up when needed.
He hasn’t had much game time which is understandable when we have a settled and successful defensive partnership in place. But Wimmer is top class and I predict that Spurs won’t miss Vertonghen as much as many might think.
I have a good friend who is a big Cologne fan. When it was confirmed Wimmer was coming to Spurs, my friend was devastated. Wimmer had been an absolute star for them. Having seen Wimmer play a few times this season, I think he is well suited to the premiership. Quick(ish), strong and very comfortable on the ball. Vertonghen Mark II if you like.
He’s been very patient and some other players might have sounded off about their lack of minutes on the pitch. But now his time has come and I wish him the best of luck. He’s got a chance to show everyone what he can do. I’m sure he will take it.
Japstarr (I’m sure Kev is reading this!) THFC

Stop blaming managers for not signing Charlie Austin
I can’t help thinking that Paul McDevitt, in the style of many a contestant on The Chase, has the right answer for the wrong reasons. Alan Pardew is a good manager, and few people other than Chunky himself think he is great, but sticking the boot into him for not signing Charlie Austin is not exactly fair. As F365 pointed out last week, Austin wanted to move back to the South Coast to be nearer his family. No amount of wishing is going to make Crystal Palace a South Coast club, so any attempts to sign Austin were doomed to failure.
Also, on the subject of price, Austin’s transfer fee was reported as £4m, but what won’t have been reported so widely are the wages he will be on at Southampton (likely to be more than Palace were willing to pay) and the amount that it will have cost to buy out Austin’s contract. The transfer fee is lower than it might have been because QPR have the spectre of FFP looming, and likely accepted a lower fee than other clubs might, for the trade-off of getting a highly-paid player off their wage bill.
Alan Pardew’s managerial career has always been streakier than Danepak. His teams can catch fire for a few games and start knocking on the door of the European places, but his managerial style when things were a bit grim was a bit like driving on ice – if you start to slide, often efforts to correct/counteract it make things worse, so all you can do is sit tight until your car comes to a stop on its own, and hope that you haven’t sustained too much damage.
Paul is right that the Glaziers could have used a player of Austin’s calibre, but there was never any chance of them signing Austin himself. Paul also deserves praise for his maverick nature – I don’t think many other people saw Soton beating Manchester United as a moment of schadenfreude for Palace.
The literary Ed Quoththeraven

ANOTHER Burnley mail
Since you decided when you got your fancy new layout that any leagues below the Premier League no longer existed, and since I love the mailbox but can’t face another seven consecutive mails each about Arsenal or Man Utd (seriously, I’d rather you printed the junkmail you inevitably get if there are no mails about anything else) I thought I’d write in about Burnley considering our massive result last night against Derby (which you unfortunately haven’t covered).
Pre-season started badly with us losing arguably our three best players (including our influential captain) from the past two seasons in Ings, Trippier and Shackell (Trippier in particular is huge miss as almost all of our good play used to go through him down the right) although we did manage to hang on to Tom Heaton which was an exceptional piece of business as I think he’s easily a Premier League quality ‘keeper. Started the season in awful form performance-wise, largely down to having one fit central midfielder and zero-goal-hero Lukas Jutkiewicz up front, but picked up enough points to keep pace with the ‘market leaders’ whilst going absolutely mental and more than doubling our record spend on a player by signing Andre Gray (I still think £9million was a ridiculous amount of money but he’s been banging them in so I’m not complaining).
Performances were still largely shocking but we kept chugging along picking up points, added Joey Barton (who I was unsure about but has proven to be an excellent signing, leading by example and bringing some composure and experience to our midfield) and seem to have found the magical formula over the New Year period with an aggregate score in our last five games of 25-5, including last night’s 4-1 drubbing of Derby.
It was a strange game last night, we got schooled a little in the first half but defended excellently (as we so often seem to do, credit to Dyche and his team for that) and managed to go in level at the break. I thought the second half would just be more of the same but after Gray did well to win a penalty Derby capitulated. They could barely string two passes together and I think we were deserved winners based on that second half performance.
If we can keep this up and extend our good run into March I think we’ll be in contention for automatic promotion considering we still have ‘Boro and Hull to come at home. ‘Boro are a very good team but hopefully their little wobble will develop into a Derby style meltdown, Derby are in the midst of their annual bottle job from a good position and I don’t think Brighton will keep it up long enough to be a serious threat on that front. Hull, on the other hand, look very strong and if we finish above them (and/or ‘Boro) we’ll have done very well. As for Sheff Weds, Birmingham and Ipswich; who knows?
Would be great to hear what the fans of some of the other Championship play-off challengers think about the season so far, it would certainly be far more entertaining than yet another amateur 16 conclusions on the latest United game…

WING-LESS EAGLES CRASH OUT OF CHAN

Oliseh's  Eagles are shockingly not one of the eight teams that will vie for hjonours in the quarterfinals of the African Nations Championship after surprisingly losing 1-0 to Guinea in their final Group C fixture at the Umuganda Stadium, Gisenyi.

It was Sunday Oliseh’s first loss as manager of the home-based national team after winning three and drawing three other games prior to the encounter against the Syli Stars.

Both teams would have entered the half-time break with the scoreboard reading goalless but the Super Eagles were undone when Ibrahima Sankhon scored what turned out to be the match-winner in the 45th minute.

A fantastic run in behind was met with a low cross and Sankhon struck with three defenders - Akas, Oboroakpo and Alimi- watching.

After the interval, Oliseh introduced Chisom Chikatara to increase the attacking output but it was another sub Onyedikachi who came close to equalizing in the 66th minute when his header narrowly missed target.
Another moment of excitement for Nigerian fans arrived in the 84th minute, with Onyedikachi ’s brilliant volley saved by the Guinean goalkeeper and seconds later Osas Okoro produced a powerful drive at goal.

Tunisia topped Group C with 5 points ahead of Guinea on goal difference thanks to their 5-0 thrashing of Niger Republic.

UJAH WANTS ONAZI IN BREMEN
Anthony Ujah hopes Werder Bremen complete the signing of fellow Nigeria international Eddy Onazi before the close of the transfer window and has revealed that the Lazio midfielder is unhappy at the Italian capital.

There was speculation that a bid of around seven million euros has been made by the Bundesliga side but German media has now reported that Onazi is likely to be farmed out on loan until the end of the 2015-2016 season.

“Ogenyi is a good friend of mine I know that he is unhappy at Lazio because he plays little and next year is the African Cup of Nations, would be great if he comes, ”
 “The last time I played together with  a fellow countryman was my time in Lillestrom .”

Werder Bremen are in the market for a reinforcement in midfield following the knee injury sustained by Philipp Bargfrede in their 3-1 victory against Schalke 04 this past weekend.

Fenerbahce Reject West Ham Bid For Emmanuel Emenike

Fenerbahce have rejected an undisclosed bid from English Premier League club West Ham to sign Emmanuel Emenike as it did not meet their valuation of the Nigerian forward.

According to Turkish daily Milliyet , the Yellow Canaries will weigh up other bids from the rest of the teams interested in the signature of the 28-year-old before making a decision on whether or not to sanction his departure to England.

Emenike had off the field problems with officials of United Arab Emirates club Al Ain, where he spent the first half of the season on loan, because he refused to live in Abu Dhabi, preferring to travel every day from Dubai .

He was coming every day from Dubai to Abu Dhabi for training and matches, a journey that takes at least one and a half hours.

It has been reported that the former Spartak Moscow and Karabukspor star has agreed personal terms with the Hammers.

AHMED MUSA TO JOIN LEICESTER CITY

CSKA Moscow have turned down an approach from English Premier League table-toppers Leicester City to secure the signature of Ahmed Musa.

According to the BBC, the amount offered by The Foxes was $5.4 million short of the $27 million valuation of the Super Eagles skipper.

The figure in the release clause in the contract that the 23-year-old penned in the summer of 2015 is $32.5m, the publication has reported.

Leicester City have not given up hope of signing Musa and will make an improved bid before the transfer window closes for business on February 1.

The Kano Pillars product starred for VVV Venlo before joining CSKA Moscow in January 2012.

Photo Credit : pfc-cska.com

IS HE JURGEN FLOPP?

Jurgen Klopp has said that Liverpool must be “patient” with Daniel Sturridge – despite it not being the German’s “best skill”.
Sturridge is currently sidelined with his third injury of the season, having struggled with knocks to his hip, knee and hamstring.
The England international has suffered eight separate injuries since joining Liverpool in January 2013, and has been ruled out for 25 games this season alone.
Some have called for manager Klopp to cut his losses on Sturridge, who has scored four goals in six games this campaign, but the German is insistent that the club must wait for him to regain full fitness.
“What do we have to make a decision about? I have two-and-a-half years left on my contract and have been here three or four months. That’s not a problem,” Klopp said. “I had 15 months with Ilkay Gündogan [at Borussia Dortmund] where we had to all wait but it was his back and we had no chance to force it. It’s not a back problem with Daniel but it’s the muscle.
“Out of responsibility, we have to do everything we can to give him the physical strength to be able to play Premier League football. We all know it’s pretty easy for him when he’s fit but at this moment he isn’t. We cannot change this and I am not thinking about making a general decision [about him] at the moment. To have a player like Daniel in your squad is always a good situation and when it’s not possible to use him it’s not a good situation.
“He’s not with the team at the moment but we have enough games this season when we hopefully can use him but not, if nothing happens, for at least the next 10 days.
“You can’t be nearly fit, then playing, then injured again, then nearly fit, then playing, then injured again, then during training something like injured again, and then you say after five days: ‘Come on!’ to pick the day you get him and then he gets the next injury. We have to be patient. That’s not my best skill but in this case I have no other choice.”

Klopp identifies issue behind lack of goals

Jurgen Klopp has once more offered his backing to Christian Benteke, and has discussed Liverpool’s lack of goals.
Benteke is Liverpool’s top goalscorer this season with seven in 21, but questions have been asked of the suitability of the £32.5million man in this current Reds side.
Roberto Firmino has been favoured in a false nine position in recent games in place of Benteke, but Klopp was pleased with the Belgian’s efforts in the FA Cup third-round replay against Exeter on Wednesday.
“Everyone could see against Exeter he was involved in two of the three goals,” Klopp said. “He’s working hard and his attitude was really good.
“Sometimes he tried too hard but he knows where goal is. It’s something we need to develop together. He knows what we want to do.”
Eleven teams have scored more Premier League goals than Liverpool this season, but Klopp believes that a simple change in decision-making from his players could facilitate a upturn in fortunes.
“We have to take the right decision in the right situation,” Klopp said. “There have been a lot of moments when if we had been cooler we’d have taken the right option.
“When you don’t score a lot of goals you have to have a very disciplined defence.”
He added: “It is better to shoot than not to shoot.”
As Daniel Storey wrote in Winners and Losers:
‘Liverpool have taken 365 shots this season, compared to 387 by Manchester City and 333 by Arsenal. They rank second in the Premier League (behind City), yet 12th for goals scored. That is the problem.
‘It’s not hard to see why. Liverpool have taken 161 shots from outside the area, five more than City and 71 more than Arsenal. They have scored five times from those 161 shots. Only 35 of them (22%) have even been on target.’

TRANSFER GOSSIP

LIVERPOOL IN FOR ALEX TEIXEIRA
Well, well. The conventional wisdom was that Chelsea were the only club in for Alex Teixeira, but we bring you interesting news. Interesting news via lovely man Tony Barrett.
So there you go. What does that bid say about Daniel Sturridge’s place at Liverpool, given Jurgen Klopp’s public backing of Christian Benteke?

UNITED WEIGH UP CAVANI BID
That’s the claim from ESPN, who have reliable sources within Old Trafford. They believe that Manchester United are considering making a move for the Paris Saint-Germain striker in a bid to increase their threat in front of goal.
The report also says that Edinson Cavani is keen on a move, which doesn’t surprise us one little bit. The Uruguayan has regularly been played out of position in Paris and has largely failed to impress whenever he has operated as a central striker this season.
Cavani has scored ten league goals in 17 matches this season, but it’s hard to judge his record on those numbers given PSG’s domestic domination. Laurent Blanc’s side are 21 points clear after 21 matches, having dropped six league points since March 15, 2015.

ASTON VILLA TO SIGN VIDIC
It’s a line that sounds like good business for Villa until you look at Nemanja Vidic’s recent history. The central defender hasn’t played a league minute this season, and has just left Internazionale by mutual consent.
The suspicion is that Vidic’s legs have gone, hence why Villa have been offered a chance to sign him on a free deal. The Serbian would be better off going to MLS, rather than being made to look foolish in the Premier League. Tarnished legacies and all that.

PEDRO TO LEAVE CHELSEA?
After a wonderful debut away at West Brom, Pedro’s Chelsea career has nosedived before plateauing at a fairly miserable level. He has started the club’s last few games, but only due to Eden Hazard’s injury. The Spaniard was removed at half-time against Everton.
The report comes from David Woods in the Daily Star, the paper’s chief football writer. It claims that Chelsea are not wanting to let Pedro go during the January transfer window, but are considering a summer exit for the £21m signing. It mentions Valencia and Villarreal as possible destinations.
With Kevin de Bruyne, Andre Schurrle, Juan Cuadrado and Mohamed Salah all failing to impress, Chelsea don’t mind struggling to integrate a wide player.

AND THE REST
Spurs have entered the race to sign Alvaro Morata… Chelsea flop Papy Djilobodji has undergone a medical ahead of a loan move to Werder Bremen… Fiorentina want to sign Mauro Zarate from West Ham… West Brom are demanding £30 million for Saido Berahino… Paris Saint-Germain are showing an interest in Chelsea striker Diego Costa… West Ham United are confident of completing a loan deal for Nigeria international Emmanuel Emenike to ease the club’s striker crisis… Victor Valdes has has been offered an escape route from Manchester United with Standard Liege ready to take the goalkeeper on loan until the end of the season… Chelsea did not secure a sell-on clause when negotiating Romelu Lukaku’s move to Everton… Southampton are on the trail of Porto defender Bruno Martins Indi.

Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool will “watch the market”, but remained coy on rumours linking the club with Alex Teixeira.
Liverpool emerged as potential suitors for Teixeira after reportedly submitting a bid of around £24million for the Shakhtar Donetsk attacking midfielder.
Reports then broke that Teixeira had pulled a hamstring within hours of the bid, but Klopp had little to say on the links.
“No. I have nothing to say about this,” he said. “I could say a lot about a lot of players.”
He then joked with a reporter to “be careful with your questions,” before continuing: “If you are under pressure people want prices which you think are crazy. It’s not perfect time to buy but we have to watch the market.
“If we find a solution and a player who can help us then we’ll try.
“I think I always said if our situation changed then we would have to change.
“If there’s a good player who can help us then we think about it.”

Liverpool’s forgotten centre-back Tiago Ilori is determined to learn from the mistakes he has made but has already put his wasted loan spell at Aston Villa behind him.
The Portugal Under-21 international made his Anfield debut – just his second appearance in almost two and a half years – in the comfortable 3-0 FA Cup third-round replay win over League Two Exeter.
Due to a series of loans his first game in a red shirt came just over a week ago in the original encounter after he was recalled from Villa – where he failed to get a first-team match in three months.
Chances may be limited at Liverpool from now until the end of the season, especially as they face Premier League opposition in West Ham in the next round and also because manager Jurgen Klopp has brought in Steven Caulker, a player with proven top flight experience, on loan.
However, it appears the German will reset the youth system in the summer and Ilori, 23 next month, still believes he has a chance to prove himself after being farmed out to Granada and Bordeaux in successive seasons
“You always have to look at the positives but even the negatives you can learn from and that is something I try to work hard on every day and not make the same mistake twice; mistakes maybe like, at times, not working as hard as I needed to, just mistakes in general,” he told Press Association Sport.
“It is not easy [adjusting to loans] but that is part of being a footballer. We have to adapt and do our best.
“I came here a couple of years ago (September 2013) and I wasn’t here more than four months before going on loan.
“I never really got comfortable enough and that is definitely something I needed. Working with the same people every day is important.
“I am not trying to think too far ahead. I am just working hard every day, getting as many minutes as I can and be ready when I am needed to play as there are great players in my position.”
Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Jurgen Klopp and Cafu all welcomed Jon Flanagan’s return after a 20-month injury lay-off on Wednesday.
Full-back Flanagan made his long-awaited return to the Liverpool first team on Wednesday, coming on as a second-half substitute against Exeter in the FA Cup third round.
Flanagan entered the Anfield pitch to a rapturous applause, crowning his comeback from two knee operations.
The 23-year-old last featured in May 2014, and replaced Connor Randall on 51 minutes to mark his return after 20 months on the sidelines.
Jurgen Klopp spoke highly of the defender post-match, telling BT Sport: “When Flanno came in it was a great moment after this long time. To be honest I haven’t had him very often in training until now because we need really to be careful with him and it’s not allowed to be too intensive. It’s always training, break, recovery.
“He had a few minutes in the U21s. Connor Randall had a little muscle problem so we had the chance to bring Flanno and it was a real emotional moment.
“I think nobody deserved it more than him. It’s such a long time, an unbelievable long time. Since I’ve been here he’s always been injured but never in a bad mood.
“That’s unbelievable. He’s a really strong lad, hopefully now it goes on.
“We have to see how he is tomorrow, take it day by day but it’s some of the best news we could get him being back.”
Former captain Steven Gerrard also reserved words of praise for his old team-mate before the game, when Flanagan was named among the substitutes.
“So happy to see this fella close to returning to fitness,” Gerrard said. “He has put so much graft in to get himself back fit.
“I’m sure Anfield will erupt when he runs back onto the pitch after an 18-month lay off. Good luck mate. Great to see you back, and we have missed you. #cafu.”
Flanagan himself posted on Twitter on Wednesday evening, thanking the fans for their support.
“Buzzing to be back. What a reception I received, one I will never forget, fantastic. YNWA,” he said.