Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
The weekend is just hours away and with another round of Premier League action on the horizon it is now time for me to wade through another hefty serving of transfer gossip as I once again dissect everything that is making the headlines on the backpages.
As always – gossip in plain text, my views in bold
Stoke’s former England striker Peter Crouch, 36, has emerged as a new target for Chelsea after injury denied Andy Carroll, 29, a possible move from West Ham. (Telegraph) The game’s got even more mad
Chelsea are keen to sign Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko, 31, and Italian left-back Emerson Palmieri, 23, from Roma. The pair could cost a combined £77m. (Daily Star) Palmieri would be in place of long term target Alex Sandro, while Dzeko impressed Chelsea in the two Champions League clashes earlier this season.
Chelsea could use 24-year-old Belgian Michy Batshuayi as part of a deal to sign Edin Dzeko. (Sky Italia) Batshuyai has been linked with a move to Sevilla but you get the feeling that he will just want to go anywhere now
Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea, 27, says being a part of the club is “special”. The Spaniard has sought to play down speculation around his future at Old Trafford. (ESPN) It looks as if he is ready to commit his long term future to the club
Manchester City have expressed an interest in Liverpool and Germany midfielder Emre Can, 24, but his future could depend on Liverpool’s pursuit of Schalke’s 22-year-old midfielder Leon Goretzka. (Mirror) It looked as if a move to Juventus was a near certainity at the start of the month, but could Can now be staying in the Premier League
Tottenham are rivalling Manchester United in a bid to sign Paris St-Germain’s Brazilian forward Lucas Moura, 25. (L’Equipe – in French) Tottenham are reportedly looking to sign him on loan while Manchester United are just signed with everyone
Alexis Sanchez has been made to train with Arsenal’s youth team as the 29-year-old Chilean forward’s move to Old Trafford drags on. (Times) Just move already
United are leading Liverpool and Chelsea in the chase to land Nice midfielder Jean-Michael Seri, 26, with Manchester City also interested in the Ivory Coast international. (Mirror) The list of suitors is getting longer for Seri, which is Nice.
Chelsea may face a transfer ban for breaking the rules on the signing of foreign players aged under 18. (Guardian) Not the first time they have been punished for that. Gael Kakuta anyone?
Brighton are interested in signing PSV Eindhoven’s 24-year-old Dutch striker Jurgen Locadia. (De Telegraaf – in Dutch) Brighton have often dipped into the Dutch league to buy players and they now could be set to do again in a bid to alleviate their goal scoring issues.
Argentina striker Paulo Dybala, 24, will have to submit a transfer request to have any chance of joining Manchester United, says Juventus chief executive Beppe Marotta. (La Gazetta Dello Sport – in Italian) Oh look another player linked with Manchester United.
Arsenal are reportedly one step closer to signing Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after the 28-year-old was left out of the Borussia Dortmund squad for their trip to Hertha Berlin. (Bild – in German) We shall see
Everton’s former England winger Aaron Lennon, 30, and Leicester striker Islam Slimani, 29, are loan targets for Newcastle United. (Shields Gazette) Newcastle need some new players and it looks as if the loan market may well be the solution
Besiktas are also interested in Slimani and now Watford have joined the race for the Algerian. (Daily Star) A repeat of the Besiktas interest but now Watford are throwing their hat into the ring
Leicester manager Claude Puel says he will consider whether to sign Austrian defender Aleksandar Dragovic on a permanent deal in the summer. The 26-year-old is currently on loan from Bayer Leverkusen. (Leicester Mercury) The next few months will be the opportunity for Dragovic to play his way into a permanent deal
Watford boss Marco Silva will do the same regarding 26-year-old Peruvian winger Andre Carrillo, who has impressed on loan from Benfica. (Watford Observer) the same can be said for Carrillo
Huddersfield boss David Wagner has ruled out any further transfer activity despite being linked with Borussia Dortmund’s Serbian defender Neven Subotic, 29. (Huddersfield Examiner) That would have been a very astute signing, but alas it is not meant to be
