Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Running incredibly late today – as a general rule always update windows when requested and don’t just put it on snooze. I’ve just wasted two and a half hours this morning with my laptop in a state of uselessness. Anyway let’s crack on shall we, here is Saturday’s bumper serving of transfer gossip
As always – gossip in plain text, may views in bold
Newcastle are keen to offer 30-year-old Manchester City and England goalkeeper Joe Hart, who is on a season-long loan deal at West Ham, first-team football at St James’ Park. (Daily Mirror) Obviously the loan move would have to be cancelled but at the same time didn’t the Hammers pay a £10m loan fee in the Summer. There may well have to be some compensation if that is the case.
City rivals Inter Milan and AC Milan are both interested in Tottenham and Belgium midfielder Mousa Dembele, 30. (Sky Sports) Whisper it quietly but to be honest I think we have unfortunately seen the best of Dembele at Tottenham. Injuries have seemingly got the better of him.
Barcelona will have to pay £145m to sign 25-year-old Brazil midfielder Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool. (Daily Mail) Will they pay that this month or in the Summer?
Liverpool will try to replace Coutinho with Leicester City’s Algeria playmaker Riyad Mahrez, 26. (L’Equipe, in French) Again it all boils down as to whether can find a ready made replacement, with their hopes of signing Thomas Lemar already foiled.
Manager Antonio Conte hopes Chelsea can do more business after signing 24-year-old England midfielder Ross Barkley, who the Italian described as a “complete player”, for £15m from Everton. (Independent) What else do Chelsea need though, perhaps another option in attack?
Meanwhile, the Toffees have pulled out of a deal to sign Nice and Ivory Coast midfielder Jean-Michael Seri, 26, and will instead look to strengthen other areas. (Foot Mercato – in French) Good news for the other clubs who are looking to sign Seri bad news for Everton fans.
Newcastle are interested in signing Chelsea’s Brazilian winger Kenedy, 21, and are also keen on Liverpool’s 25-year-old striker Danny Ings, who has one England cap. (Telegraph) It seems as if Newcastle may have to work in the loan market as Rafa Benitez searches for new additions to the squad this month
Tottenham are willing to listen to £30m offers for France midfielder Moussa Sissoko – only 18 months after signing the 28-year-old from Newcastle for the same fee. (Daily Mirror) I think his performance on Thursday night may well be the death knell in his Tottenham career
Barcelona are closing in on the signing of Colombian centre-back Yerry Mina, 23, who plays for Brazilian side Palmeiras. (Mundo Deportivo – in Spanish) This was reported yesterday
Belgium midfielder Radja Nainggolan, 29, who has been targeted by Chelsea and Manchester United is also catching the interest of Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian) In a bit of a sticky situation after an internal suspension, could he now be closer to the exit door?
Manager Arsene Wenger has ruled out the prospect of Arsenal signing Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 28, from Borussia Dortmund in January. (Independent) I don’t think he was ever really in the running to be fair to be honest.
Wenger also says he did not request a personal hearing for his FA misconduct charge because of the time constraints of adjusting to Arsenal’s new recruitment structure. (London Evening Standard) Who cares?
Jamie Murphy will fly to the United States with Rangers on Saturday as the Ibrox club look to rubber-stamp the 28-year-old winger’s £1m switch from Brighton. (Daily Record) Nice bit of winter sun
Wolves head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has blamed smaller technical areas at English grounds for his troubles with the footballing authorities. (Express and Star) This is news!!
