Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Monday is out of the way but transfer gossip at this time of year is not bound by days of the week, with that in mind there is another hefty serving of rumours this morning, so once again I will look to separate the wheat from the chaff as I get debunking.
As always – gossip in plain text, may views in bold
Manchester City are set to make a fresh bid for Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez, 29, and believe the Gunners will allow the Chilean to leave this month. (Guardian) It is believed that City will be prepared to pay for £30m to make sure that Sanchez does not go to PSG on a free instead.
Arsenal will let Sanchez leave if they receive close to £30m and would want a deal to be completed early enough to allow them to sign a replacement. (Mirror) Further confirmation of that, who will they get in as a replacement though?
Sources close to Sanchez believe he could be a Manchester City player within a week. (Independent) It seems as a case of not if but when
Arsenal have made Monaco forward Thomas Lemar, 22, their number one target to replace Sanchez, having missed out on the Frenchman in the summer.(Mirror) Rebuffed in the Summer, it is going to take big money to land Lemar though. That said Arsenal do have the funds
Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim has not ruled out selling Lemar this month. (L’Equipe – in French) The chances are about 50/50
Arsenal and Liverpool are interested in Barcelona and Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic, 29, who wants to leave following the arrival of 25-year-old playmaker Philippe Coutinho. (Diariogol – in Spanish) This one is a non-starter
Liverpool have dismissed claims from Barcelona that Coutinho’s £142m move only happened because they cut their original asking price for the Brazilian. (Times) Oh well, he’s gone now so what does it really matter
Valencia are also in talks with Arsenal over Coquelin. (Cadena Ser – in Spanish) Will it be East London or Valencia for Coquelin, his talents may well be suited to a different league.
Chelsea have stalled on a move for Juventus’ Brazil international Alex Sandro, 26, because the Italian club want about £60m for the full-back. (Telegraph) Oh look it’s this one again
Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane, 24, says he is happy at the club but they must start to win trophies in order to keep him. (Star) No cause for concern for Tottenham fans, a natural comment to make from the in form forward
Leicester are willing to allow striker Kelechi Iheanacho, 21, to leave this month, despite only signing the Nigerian in August for £25m. (S*n) I thought Manchester City had a buy back clause on the Nigerian. Strange why he is not getting game time at Leicester though
West Ham are interested in Anderlecht’s £20m-rated Belgium midfielder Leander Dendoncker, 22. (Nieuwsblad – in Belgian) The Hammers being linked with all the midfielders today. Put a Dendoncker on it
West Ham are closing in on Newcastle and England midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, 25, in a £12m deal. (Express) Confirmation of the Shelvey link above
Juventus will not sign Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, 22, as Paris St-Germain are willing to pay up to 170m euros (£150m) for the Serb, who also interests Manchester United. (Il BiancoNero – in Italian) PSG once again ruining it for everyone else.
Newcastle will let Serbia striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, 23, leave in January but will want to recoup most of the £13m they paid for him 18 months ago. (Chronicle) You would have to say on the whole the Serbian has been a flop on Tyneside, that said he’ll probably end up in Turkey or somewhere similar
Championship club Cardiff City are interested in signing 27-year-old English striker Gary Madine from Bolton. (Wales Online) Is this the signing that helps Cardiff’s promotion push?
Swansea are among the clubs interested in Fulham’s English full-back Ryan Fredericks. The 25-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and could be available for about £3m. (Wales Online) Is this the signing that helps Swansea’s bid to beat the drop?
Derby County are in talks with manager Gary Rowett over a new contract. The 43-year-old is being considered as a successor to Mark Hughes at Stoke. (Telegraph) Reports that they would not welcome an approach from Stoke and this is the best way to kill off those rumours
Wolves have offered free coach travel to all supporters heading to their FA Cup third-round replay at Swansea after a goalless draw at Molineux on Saturday. (Express and Star) Not really gossip is it, a great gesture by Wolves though
