Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
We’ve reached the middle of the week and a fortnight from now the transfer window madness will finally come to a close, however there are still 14 full days of potential business so lets dive straight in to all the gossip on this morning’s backpages.
As always – gossip in plain text, may views in bold
Chelsea have approached West Ham about signing 29-year-old English striker Andy Carroll on a permanent deal. (Telegraph) So there is some truth in the deal then after all. Football is such a strange beast sometimes
West Ham are willing to listen to offers of £20m for Carroll. (Sky Sports) I guess a fee of that size can always grease the wheels
Armenia midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, 28, wants a pay rise to move from Manchester United to Arsenal. (Mirror) The belief last night was that he is no longer part of any deal that will take Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United
Everton are set to complete the signing of Arsenal and England winger Theo Walcott, 28, on Wednesday. (Liverpool Echo) It looks as if this will definitely one Arsenal player leaving this month
Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere, 26, who could leave on a free transfer this summer, must pass a full medical and take a 20% pay cut to receive a new contract. (S*n) So he’s leaving on a free transfer then
Liverpool’s Serbian midfielder Marko Grujic, 21, is a loan target for Middlesbrough and Cardiff City. (ESPN) Both teams looking for a bit of additional quality in a bid to secure promotion this season
Southampton striker Manolo Gabbiadini, 26, could return to one of his former clubs, Bologna. (Sky Italia, via Talksport) The second season has been something of a disappointment after the first but I think that is more down to the manager than the player
Bordeaux president Stephane Martin says clubs will have a “hard time” trying to sign forward Malcom, amid speculation linking the 20-year-old Brazilian with a move to the Premier League. (L’Equipe, via Metro) Malcom’s not even in the middle so it seems
Tottenham are among the clubs interested in Norwich City’s 21-year-old English midfielder James Maddison. (Evening Standard) This is a repeat from the rumour last weekend, no further movement since then
Serbia defender Neven Subotic, 29, and Spanish centre-back Marc Bartra, 27, may leave Borussia Dortmund in January. (Bild- in German) Dortmund are meant to be signing that Swiss defender whose name escapes me this early in the morning. So it could be a case of one in, one out. To sell both would be a surprise though especially with a return to the Champions League not a given.
Barcelona have rejected a 25m (£22.2m) euros offer from Inter Milan for 24-year-old Brazilian midfielder Rafinha as they want 40m (£35.5m). (Mundo Deportivo) Quite simply he is for sale but the value needs to be met by Inter and any other suitors
Cardiff have held talks with Bournemouth about signing 30-year-old English striker Lewis Grabban. (Bournemouth Echo) Again this is a repeat of a rumour earlier in the week
