BBC Gossip Column Debunked – Issue 33

Friday morning is upon us and that means the weekend is just around the corner before we all celebrate by heading down the pub at half past five this evening lets make sure we line our stomachs with a hefty serving of transfer gossip debunking

Gossip in standard font, my thoughts are in bold

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, 26, wants to join Real Madrid this summer and has told his agent Jorge Mendes to get the deal done. (Don Balon, via Daily Express) Yesterday Real Madrid had supposedly ended their interest in the player so not sure how much mileage there is in this one

Manchester City are willing to spend nearly £50m to sign Monaco’s 22-year-old left-back Benjamin Mendy. (Daily Mirror) Could be an outlay of £100m for two new fullbacks, then again what does that really matter to Manchester City as they continue to look for defensive reinforcements

RB Leipzig have turned down a £57m offer from Liverpool for midfielder Naby Keita, 22. (Bild, via Daily Mirror) If this is true then it’s not the £70m being quoted by the German club therefore no surprise why it would have been turned down

Chelsea will complete the £39.7m signing of Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko, 22, in the next 24 hours although the former Rennes player will miss the start of the new Premier League season. (Daily Express) Finally this deal is near a completion now

Former Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 35, is in talks with LA Galaxy over a £6m-a-year contract. (Daily Mirror) As I’ve said countless times in this series, a move to the MLS is where the smart money is

Borussia Dortmund have told their 28-year-old forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a target for Chelsea, to decide his future by the time they go to Switzerland for a training camp on 24 July. (London Evening Standard) A deadline has been set for the Gabon forward although nothing really changes in this immediate instance

Swansea midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, 27, will reject an offer from Leicester City in favour of joining Everton. (Leicester Mercury) That always did look like the most obvious scenario, now Everton and Swansea just have to agree a fee for the Icelandic international

West Ham are near a deal to take Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart, 30, on loan for the forthcoming season. (Independent) Surprised that it is a loan deal but Hart has so little options on the table right now

Newcastle United will be offered the chance to sign West Ham goalkeeper Darren Randolph, 30, if Hart moves to London Stadium. (Newcastle Chronicle) Good news for Newcastle as Randolph will certainly be surplus to requirements at West Ham should Hart arrive

Barcelona’s pursuit of Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin, 22, is over after the La Liga giants agreed a deal for Benfica’s Nelson Semedo, 23. (London Evening Standard) This was a Manchester United target at one point and this news will be welcomed by Arsenal fans as Bellerin stays put

Roma have made a £29m offer to buy Riyad Mahrez from Leicester, who want £50m for the 26-year-old winger. (Daily Mail) Not quite what Leicester had in mind for a fee but then Mahrez is not at the peak of his powers anymore

Burnley are ready to beat Middlesbrough to the signing of 26-year-old Nottingham Forest striker Britt Assombalonga. (Nottingham Post) Can Burnley hijack the deal by offering first team football in the top flight

AC Milan have made an improved bid to sign 23-year-old Torino striker Andrea Belotti, who is wanted by Chelsea. (Sky Italia – in Italian) Could Chelsea be foiled once again in their hunt for a striker, in fairness though I don’t think Belotti is top of their shopping list

Tottenham are close to making 19-year-old Estudiantes defender Juan Foyth their first signing of the summer. (ESPN) A new signing is always welcome but it’s not something to get overly excited about if you are a Tottenham fan

QPR defender Steven Caulker, 25, is set to hold talks with Celtic. (Daily Mirror) A chance for Caulker and Brendan Rodgers to link up once again, could just well be the move that the former Tottenham defender needs to get his career back on track