Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
A very happy 50th birthday to arguably the best gossip debunking column in the business, is it the only one? perhaps but it still makes it the best. What better way to celebrate but with another dose of transfer rumours
Gossip in standard font, my thoughts are in bold
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has revealed he spoke to Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata about joining Tottenham but the 24-year-old did not want to compete with Harry Kane. (Daily Mail) This is always going to be a problem for Tottenham as someone in the bracket of Morata’s quality is not going to be prepared to play second fiddle to Kane, probably is where do you find a forward which is happy just to sit on the bench. You can then magnify that problem across the team, so understandable why Pochettino has failed to land any players this summer albeit highly frustrating
Arsene Wenger has told Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez, 28, he will not be sold to another English club this summer. (Times – subscription required) That always looked like it was going to be the case, does that by proxy mean he is staying with Arsenal
Manchester United are interested in signing Paris St-Germain’s 24-year-old right-back Serge Aurier, who is currently banned from entering the UK.(Daily Mirror) Tottenham were linked with him earlier in the week but with him banned from entering the UK, I don’t see how any move can be concluded
Liverpool are not interested in Barcelona midfielders Rafinha or Andre Gomes, both 24, who have been mentioned as part of a possible swap deal for Philippe Coutinho. (Liverpool Echo) If they were to sell Coutinho, they would be better off getting a huge amount of money. The two mentioned are just Barcelona looking to move on some fringe players
Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho is finally having his medical at Leicester, who agreed a £25m fee for the 20-year-old Nigerian weeks ago.(Leicester Mercury) This one has dragged on for quite a while but we are finally nearer a conclusion
The Manchester club have insisted on a £50m buy-back option for Iheanacho.(Daily Telegraph) And this would have been the reason why
Arsenal are weighing up a move for 26-year-old Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri.(ESPN) A lot will depend on whether or not Ajax knock Nice out of the Champions League later tonight
Tottenham target Suso is in contract extension talks with current club AC Milan, with the 23-year-old former Liverpool forward expected to sign a new five-year deal. (TMW, via Talksport) Bad news for Tottenham though
Chelsea are targeting Inter Milan’s 30-year-old winger Antonio Candreva.(Daily Mirror) An extra option in midfield but nothing more than a squad filling signing in my opinion
Valencia striker Alvaro Negredo, 31, is set to sign for Turkish club Besiktas, despite rival interest from Swansea City and Leeds.(AS – in Spanish) Besiktas will more than likely offer higher wages than the other two clubs linked so this will come as no real surprise
Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina, 28, plans to stay and fight for his place at the club next season.(London Evening Standard) I thought he was set for a move to Fenerbahce earlier in the summer, seems as if the Turkish outfit were not prepared to match the valuation set by Arsene Wenger
Leicester City have rejected a £7m bid from Derby County for 23-year-old forward Tom Lawrence.(Leicester Mercury) If and when Iheanacho does move to Leicester, Derby may well try their luck with another bid
Leicester winger Riyad Mahrez, 26, is ready to force through a move to Roma, with the Foxes still reluctant to sell. (Daily Mirror) Roma need to start upping the money for a start, whether Mahrez starts to throw his toys out of the pram I’m not too sure
Former West Ham striker Carlton Cole, 33, is on the verge of being sacked by Indonesian side Persib Bandung, whose manager said “he plays very badly” compared to other foreign players. (Daily Mail) The Carlton Cole retirement tour looks like it could well be coming to an end
Barcelona are lining up Borussia Dortmund forward Ousmane Dembele, 20, and Juventus striker Paulo Dybala, 23, as potential replacements for their Paris St-Germain-bound forward Neymar, 25. (Independent) I think just about everyone could be a potential replacement for Neymar right now
The Spanish club would be interested in one of four PSG midfielders in a possible part-exchange deal for Neymar: Angel di Maria, Julian Draxler, Adrien Rabiot and Marco Verratti. (Mundo Deportivo – in Spanish) The logical one would be Marco Veratti as they have long been linked with the Italian midfielder
Barca are also considering a move for Atletico Madrid’s 26-year-old forward Antoine Griezmann. (Cadena Ser – in Spanish) This would be very interesting, especially as Griezmann said he was staying with Atletico Madrid
Brazil international Neymar is expected to return to training with his Barca team-mates on Wednesday. (ESPN) Today’s the day and will this give us an insight into just what exactly Neymar does next?
