Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
We have reached Wednesday and more importantly we are one third into this month’s transfer window, the deals are beginning to pick up and pace and with that the gossip is starting to heat up. I’m now going to cut through all the nonsense to tell you who is on the move and who is not.
As always – gossip in plain text, may views in bold
Manchester City have offered Arsenal £20m for striker Alexis Sanchez, 29, with the Chile forward understood to have agreed terms on a £250,00-a-week contract. (Guardian) Less then the prices quoted earlier in the week, will it be enough to tempt Arsenal to sell?
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is set to pay Boca Juniors winger Cristian Pavon’s £27m release clause to bring the 21-year-old Argentine to the Premier League. (TyC Sports – in Spanish) Is this Sanchez’s ready made replacement?
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane says he does not want any new signings in the winter transfer window, despite trailing La Liga leaders Barcelona by 16 points. (Reuters) There will undoubtedly be a Bernabeu overhaul this Summer, does that include the manager as well?
Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic could leave Old Trafford before the end of the season. The Swede, 36, is out of contract in the summer. (Yahoo Sport) Fair to say the return has not quite lived up to expectations.
Everton are challenging Southampton in the race to sign Theo Walcott, 28, from Arsenal for £20m. (Mail) Walcott needs a move to kickstart his career, you also get the feeling he is just happy to collect a wage though and could just stay at Arsenal.
Liverpool or Arsenal would have to pay at least £90m to sign Monaco forward Thomas Lemar, 22. (Mirror) I cannot see either club forking out £90m this month for Lemar.
But according to French journalist Julien Laurens, the France international may delay moving to the Premier League because of this summer’s World Cup finals. (5 live’s Euro Leagues podcast) That could be another reason.
Brazilian winger Lucas Moura, 25, has agreed to join Manchester United from Paris St-Germain, though a fee is yet to be agreed between the two clubs. (Gazetta dello Sport – in Italian) Another link to Manchester United, not sure how much truth there is in this one.
Arsenal will make a formal contract offer to England midfielder Jack Wilshere. The 26-year-old is expected to hold talks with the Gunners in the next week and may have to take a cut in his wages to stay at the club. (Mirror) Just have to hope he doesn’t get injured when signing the contract.
And West Ham could sell the English defender if the Bundesliga side are prepared to increase their offer to £15m. (Telegraph) The German side may well want to see how a loan move works out first. But £15m for the highly rated teenager is a snip to be honest.
Spanish club Sevilla are interested in signing Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi, 24, on loan. (ESPN) Batshuyai will be looking for game time as we enter a World Cup year.
But Blues manager Antonio Conte has said he is “very happy” with the Belgian, who has only made two Premier League starts this season. (Sky Sports) You get the feeling he is not going to get it at Chelsea.
Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir are in talks with Barcelona over the signing of Turkey international midfielder Arda Turan, 30. (IBFK – in Turkish) Turan has been linked with Arsenal and the big three Turkish clubs, could a new Istanbul based club steal his signature?
Stoke have enquired about signing Galatasaray’s 27-year-old Senegalese midfielder Badou Ndiaye, despite not having a permanent manager. (Sky Sports) They signed a defender yesterday without a manager so the sacking of Hughes is not stalling them in the transfer window.
Stoke’s interest in Martin O’Neill is expected to gather momentum after their search for a manager narrowed following Gary Rowett’s decision to pledge his long-term future to Derby.(Guardian) Could be O’Neill or bust, whether the former Leicester boss wants to return to the world of club management remains to be seen.
Newly appointed Nottingham Forest boss Aitor Karanka faces an uphill task to keep England Under-21 defender Joe Worrall at the club. Brighton have joined Premier League rivals Burnley in the race for the 20-year-old. (Mirror) With Premier League football on offer it is going to be difficult to keep the youngster at the City Ground
Reading chief executive Ron Gourlay says defender Liam Moore will only be sold on the club’s terms after speculation the 24-year-old Englishman could join Premier League sides West Ham or West Brom. (Get Reading) Since when did Ron Gourlay swap Chelsea for Reading?
Chelsea agreed to pay agent fees said to be around £7m in addition to the £15m transfer fee to Everton for Ross Barkley’s signature last week. (Times) Talking of agents
Everton say their proposed new stadium at Bramley Moore could cost in the region of £450m as the costs of building on the city’s waterfront are escalating. (Liverpool Echo) They have the money though in all fairness
