Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Tuesday morning is upon us and that also means it is time for another round of rumour debunking, the start of the season is edging ever closer and the amount of gossip is being ramped up further, so without any more delay I’m now going to sift through this morning’s offerings
Gossip in standard font, my thoughts are in bold
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will refuse to sanction any deal allowing attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho to move to Barcelona. (Daily Mirror) Klopp will obviously not want to sell the Brazilian, it may depend on whether or not he angles for a move by handing in a transfer request
Liverpool will not be able to hold on to 25-year-old Coutinho this summer, says club legend Graeme Souness. (Sky Sports) The lure of Barcelona could be too strong in all fairness, I’d say the balance of probabilities lies sees him in at the Nou Camp by the end of the month
Barcelona are also still keen to sign Borussia Dortmund’s 20-year-old French striker Ousmane Dembele. (Sport) But will they sign both he and Coutinho – I doubt it in all fairness, I think this becomes an either or scenario
Manchester United will bid for Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale if the 28-year-old is left out of Zinedine Zidane’s starting XI for Tuesday’s Super Cup final against the Old Trafford club. (Times – subscription required) A bid perhaps but I don’t think it will be entertained
Madrid boss Zidane has dismissed speculation over a possible move back to the Premier League for Bale.(Mirror) As I’ve said before, Bale will not leave unless another marquee forward joins the club
Liverpool are set to resurrect their £60m move for Virgil van Dijk after the Southampton defender, 26, handed in a transfer request. (Daily Star) This is the green light that Liverpool needed and will look to once again sign the Dutch international
Chelsea are also interested in Van Dijk, with the Blues hoping poor relations between Liverpool and Southampton will work in their favour. (Telegraph) Any hesitancy though and Chelsea could well steal a march on the Anfield outfit. Where exactly though Van Dijk would fit in at Chelsea, I’m not too sure
Manchester United and Inter Milan have reignited their interest in Tottenham’s England left-back Danny Rose, 27. (Daily Mirror) After losing Kyle Walker this summer, this one is a non starter
Stoke City hope to announce the £7m signing of Porto centre-backB runo Martins Indi before Saturday’s Premier League opener at Everton. The 25-year-old Netherlands international spent last season on loan at the Potters. (Stoke Sentinel) I’m sure I read Crystal Palace had signed him earlier in the summer, not sure what happened there but it will be a smart bit of business should they confirm a permanent deal
Meanwhile, Stoke’s record signing Giannelli Imbula, who struggled to make an impact following his £18.3m move from Porto in January, has agreed terms with Champions League semi-finalists Monaco. (L’Equipe – in French) Never really worked for him at Stoke, I bet he’ll end up being pretty handy at Monaco
Valencia are preparing a deal to tempt Arsenal’s Brazilian defender Gabriel, 26, to Spain. (Evening Standard) Always on the fringes of first team football, Arsene Wenger did say that his squad is a bit too big and he could be one of the men to make way
Turkish side Trabzonspor want to sign Tottenham’s France midfielder Moussa Sissoko, 27, on loan. (Evening Standard) I have a feeling that Sissoko may be staying around after all, if it was up to me I would keep him at Tottenham
Sunderland are hopeful of signing Aston Villa’s 30-year-old Scotland striker Ross McCormack before the transfer deadline. (Sunderland Echo) As I’ve said before, IF he can stay fit then they may have a solid signing on their hands. IF
Celtic and Nice want to sign Manchester City’s former Fulham midfielder Patrick Roberts, 20. (Manchester Evening News) Which is Nice….
