|
(Alan is away)
PAPER TALK
Chelsea have been given the green light to sign Barcelona star Pedro and expect to complete £22m deal next week.
Angel Di Maria is ready to quit Manchester United for a £50m move to Paris Saint-Germain. The French champions have made an initial bid of £40m, but United bosses have told them to dig deep and meet their asking price.
Manchester United sources have confirmed goalkeeper Victor Valdes was axed for the tour to the United States and the Spaniard now seems certain to find another club.
Southampton have agreed a fee with Feyenoord for midfielder Jordy Clasie after staving off a late bid by Schalke to hijack the deal.
Manchester United face a bill of at least £35.2m to prise striker Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich.
Tim Sherwood wants Christian Benteke to follow Fabian Delph's example and snub a life-changing move from Aston Villa.
Robin van Persie sealed his Manchester United exit with a parting shot at boss Louis van Gaal.
Nicolas Otamendi is set to go on strike at Valencia in a bid to force through a mega-bucks move to Manchester United.
Manchester City and Liverpool are locked in another transfer tug-of-war over Fulham forward Patrick Roberts.
Jack Grealish has been told to live like a monk by his angry Aston Villa bosses.
Aston Villa are closing in on £9.1m Nice left-back Jordan Amavi and hope to push through a deal this week.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has blocked Stoke coming back in for Victor Moses.
West Ham are in talks to snap up Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez on the cheap, while Hammers forward Andy Carroll will miss the first month of the new season.
Manchester City are considering a move for Everton midfielder James McCarthy as they weigh up their options following Fabian Delph's decision to back out of a switch to the Etihad.
Manchester United are exploring a sensational swap deal with Paris Saint-Germain involving Angel Di Maria and Edinson Cavani.
Arsene Wenger believes Alexis Sanchez can buck the trend and miss only the first game of Arsenal's Premier League season.
Steve McClaren has refused to bow to fan pressure to strip Fabricio Coloccini of the Newcastle captaincy.
Inter Milan boss Roberto Mancini has admitted he's jealous of Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. Mancini was replaced by Mourinho after his sacking at the end of his first spell at Inter (2004 - 2008) And the Italian, who returned to the San Siro last year, admits he's jealous of Mourinho's famous treble at Inter during the 2009/10 campaign.
Arsenal's chances of signing summer target William Carvalho appear to have been scuppered as the Sporting Lisbon midfielder has been ruled out for three months with injury.
Paris Saint-Germain are willing to offer £43m for Manchester United winger Angel Di Maria.
Didier Drogba is wanted by MLS side Chicago Fire.
Stephane Sessegnon is to leave West Brom after he was left off the club's tour to the USA.
Manchester City are ready to take their spending towards £100m with a £40m move for Wolfsburg's Kevin De Bruyne.
Leicester believe Claudio Ranieri can be the ace up their sleeve as they fight to convince Esteban Cambiasso to stay.
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has admitted he is powerless to prevent Pedro joining Chelsea.
Tom Cleverley believes signing for Everton will boost his chances of being an England regular again.
Liverpool remain keen on Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke, 24, but are still refusing to pay the £32m asking price.
Costa Rica striker Joel Campbell could be leaving Arsenal for good with David Moyes ready to spend £6m to bring the 23-year-old to Real Sociedad
West Ham are trying to save Alex Song's move to Upton Park. Barcelona midfielder Song could have to go under the knife to remove a piece of bone which has caused an ankle injury putting the deal in doubt.
Lucas Leiva reckons Liverpool being dumped by Raheem Sterling isn't in the same league as losing Luis Suarez to Barcelona a year ago.
Liverpool are set to step up their pursuit of Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke in the wake of Raheem Sterling's departure to Manchester City but Aston Villa remain adamant he will not be allowed to leave unless the buy-out clause in his contract is met.
Ronny Deila has demanded Celtic do a domestic clean sweep and gain Champions League qualification this season.
Sunderland have failed in an attempt to sign Zenit St Petersburg defender Nicolas Lombaerts, 30, for £5m after failing to agree personal terms.
Chelsea and Tottenham might have to pay more than £15m a year to use Wembley while they redevelop their stadiums.
BBC
Liverpool remain keen on Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke, 24, but are still refusing to pay the £32m asking price - despite selling 20-year-old forward Raheem Sterling to Manchester City for £49m on Tuesday. (Daily Mirror)
Manchester United are ready to sell winger Angel Di Maria to Paris St-Germain for £42.8m. The Red Devils spent £59.7m on the 27-year-old last summer. (Le Parisien via Star)
But United are also interested in a swap deal that would see Di Maria go to PSG with 28-year-old forward Edinson Cavani moving to Old Trafford. (Daily Express)
Manchester City and Liverpool are both interested in signing 18-year-old Fulham forward Patrick Roberts. The Championship club want £10m for the teenager. (The Sun, subscription required)
Chelsea are confident of beating both Arsenal and Liverpool to the signing of Barcelona forward Pedro after meeting a £22m release fee in the 27-year-old's contract. (Daily Star)
Valencia defender Nicolas Otamendi, 27, is prepared to go on strike to force a move to Manchester United. The Spanish side value the Argentina defender at £37m. (The Sun, subscription required)
Arsenal have made a £10m bid for Napoli defender Faouzi Ghoulam, with the 24-year-old being lined up to challenge Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal at left-back. (Mediaset via Talksport)
Costa Rica striker Joel Campbell could be leaving Arsenal for good, with former Manchester United boss David Moyes ready to spend £6m to take the 23-year-old to Real Sociedad. (Daily Mirror)
Southampton are close to replacing Morgan Schneiderlin, who has joined Manchester United, with 24-year-old Feyenoord midfielder Jordy Clasie. The Netherlands international will cost £12m. (Daily Mail)
Swansea boss Garry Monk says forward Michu will not play for the club again. The 29-year-old was loaned out to Napoli last season. (South Wales Evening Post)
Leicester believe new manager Claudio Ranieri will convince out-of-contract midfielder Esteban Cambiasso, 34, to agree a new deal with the club. The pair worked together when Ranieri was in charge of Inter Milan in 2011-12. (Daily Star)
Former Leicester midfielder Muzzy Izzet believes the Foxes have made the wrong choice in appointing Ranieri. (Talksport)
Argentina legend Diego Maradona has criticised Lionel Messi's international career and said it is time to stop giving the Barcelona forward, 28, special treatment. (Daily Telegraph)
Chelsea and Tottenham might have to pay more than £15m a year to use Wembley while they redevelop their stadiums. (Times, subscription required)
Robert Lewandowski's agent has told Manchester United it will cost them more than £35m to sign the 26-year-old Bayern Munich striker this summer. (Independent)
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has dismissed reports linking midfielder Mesut Ozil, 26, with a move away from the Gunners. (Sky Sports)
New Aston Villa assistant Ray Wilkins has advised midfielder Jack Grealish to "live like a monk" to fulfil his potential after the 19-year-old was disciplined last month when pictures appeared to show him passed out in the street in Tenerife. (Daily Mail)
Championship sides Burnley and Cardiff are both considering moves for Wigan's Wales international midfielder Emyr Huws, 21. (Shoot)
Sunderland have failed in an attempt to sign Zenit St Petersburg defender Nicolas Lombaerts, 30. The clubs had agreed a £5m fee but the Black Cats could not agree personal terms with the player. (Times, subscription required)
Midfielder Tom Cleverley, 25, hopes his move from Manchester United to Everton will help restart his England career. Cleverley last won a cap in November 2013. (Liverpool Echo)
Cleverley's 24-year-old Toffees team-mate and fellow midfielder James McCarthy is a target for Manchester City after they missed out on Aston Villa's Fabian Delph. (Daily Express)
West Brom are close to signing goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, 28, from Crystal Palace in a £3.5m deal. (Birmingham Mail)
GUARDIAN RUMOUR MILL
Paul Doyle
The news that humanity has made contact with little Pluto after a voyage of nine years and billions of miles pales into insignificance when compared with loose suggestions that AS Monaco have been in touch with Manchester City about taking one of their lacklustre stars out of the biggest league in the universe. So in your face, New Horizons, because the Mill can today reveal that various sources of sketchy reliability are claiming that the French side, who are poised to sell Aymen Abdennour to Milan, have sent probes to Manchester to assess the likelihood of a deal being done for Eliaquim Mangala. The feeling seems to be that it could depend on the strength of the tractor beam that City have trained on Valencia’s Nicolas Otamendi, who is also being orbited by Manchester United. And Otamendi, reportedly, is a star who is ready to go to war with his current club, Valencia, in order to force through a move.
City’s defence, where space is often as embarrassingly prevalent as it was in the above paragraph, may be offered a screen by James McCarthy, whom City are eager to take from Everton after Fabian Delph stuck with Aston Villa. Speaking of Villa, the club’s new assistant manager Ray Wilkins reportedly told Jack Grealish that he will only fulfil his potential if he “lives like a monk”. There are concerns that Wilkins should have been more precise, as Villa’s problems may not be solved by a midfield schemer in the mould of Grigori Rasputin.
Meanwhile, as Liverpool fans and past players continue trying to kid themselves that there is nothing special about City’s latest young signing (was it Jamie Carragher, or no one at all, who fumed that Raheem Sterling is just a tiny Pluto-like ball of overhyped potential among a Kuiper Belt of similar entities?), Paris Saint-Germain move closer to prising Ángel Di María off Manchester United for less than the fee that City paid for Sterling – and, indeed, substantially less than the fee that United themselves paid for Di María this time last year. Around £43m could see United’s £59m recruit take up residence in the French capital but United may forego a large chunk of any transfer fee if PSG throw in Edinson Cavani as part of the deal.
Di María’s new neighbour in Paris, meanwhile, could include Benjamin Stambouli, who PSG want to sign from Spurs.
Arsenal have two decent left-backs, but ‘decent’ is no longer good enough for Arsène Wenger, who could sanction the expenditure of £10m on Napoli’s Faouzi Ghoulam. Wenger may also accept a bid from David Moyes’ Real Sociedad for Joel Campbell. On the other hand, Wenger may insist the Costa Rican stays and then hardly ever use him. He’s odd like that.
But Wenger may not get his hands on Pedro, because Chelsea appear to have wheedled their way into the Barcelona player’s affections.
Southampton reckon Feyenoord’s Jordy Clasie can help them forget all about the loss of Morgan What’s-His-Name-Already?
West Ham plan to dine out next season on the purchase of Little Pea, with the east Londoners confident of signing Javier Hernández.
Claudio Ranieri is set to rise in the estimation of the many Leicester fans underwhelmed at his appointment by persuading Esteban Cambiasso to sign a new contract.
SPORTS MOLE
Carl Jenkinson aims to rack up minutes on the pitch at West Ham United
Carl Jenkinson has insisted that his main aim this season is to play as many games as possible during a loan spell at West Ham United.
The 23-year-old returned to Upton Park on Tuesday on a season-long loan from Arsenal following his temporary stint in the 2014-15 campaign.
The full-back has admitted that his love for football returned when he was playing for the Hammers.
"I just want to play as much football as I can," Jenkinson told the club's official website. "To be honest, last season was the first I played every week and I'm a different person on and off the pitch. I found my love for the game again and you forget how much that means to you.
"I want to do that again. I want to play as much football as I can and develop as much as I can as a player. Confidence, everything grows when you're playing and you find out more about yourself as a player and a person. I really enjoyed it and of course it's something I want to continue to do."
Jenkinson started more than 30 games for West Ham last season.
SQUAWKA
West Ham linked with move for PSG’s wantaway Adrien Rabiot
West Ham United have been linked with a move for Paris Saint-Germain’s wantaway midfielder Adrien Rabiot, according to journalist Jonathon Johnson.
Rabiot, 20, missed most of the first half of last season with a big injury but then played 21 of the next 25 Ligue 1 games upon his return to Laurent Blanc’s side.
The young midfielder has showcased a true ability on the ball for the French champions but has felt the constant need to leave the club in the past 12 months. Indeed, his mother – who so often speaks on his behalf – has now requested a meeting with the club to discuss his future, according to the aforementioned source.
However, Johnson believes that PSG may well delay those talks and another Premier League club has entered the race to sign the talented youngster.
Adrien Rabiot completed 89% of his passes in Ligue 1 for PSG last season.
West Ham are the latest to register an interest in the French starlet after Tottenham Hotspur have been linked for months. In fact, reports from the Daily Mirror stated recently that Spurs were set to step up their interest in Rabiot in a bid to sign him this summer.
Rabiot scored four goals in Ligue 1 last season, and from just eight shots on target. The 20-year-old is surprisingly quite good in front of goal, too, with two of his successful efforts having come from either the edge of the area or just outside the 18-yard box.
HITC
Liverpool midfielder Joao Teixeira is wanted by both West Ham and Newcastle United, report The Sun.
Teixeira, 21, made his first team debut for Liverpool in 2013/14 after his progress impressed Brendan Rodgers, and was sent out on loan to Brighton last season.
He impressed for the Seagulls despite their struggles but his spell was cut short by a broken leg.
As well as West Ham and Newcastle, The Sun report Teixeira is attracting interest too from Norwich City and QPR, and could be available for as little as £1.5 million.
Teixeira was bought when Kenny Dalglish was Liverpool boss, after impressing for Sporting Lisbon during a NextGen Series game against Liverpool.
He is an attacking midfielder who needs regular football, and faces a struggle due to competition from Coutinho and Roberto Firmino.
Teixeira has recovered from his injury and is currently on tour with Liverpool in Asia.
Interest from Newcastle and West Ham may be ill-timed, as Teixeira stood out in Liverpool's opening game against a Thailand XI, providing two assists in a 4-0 win, which could yet convince Brendan Rodgers against a sale.
The Portuguese attacker will need assurances any pre-season progress will be rewarded with Premier League chances, and if not then he could seek to walk into a starting role elsewhere.
OS
The Big Interview - Carl Jenkinson
Carl Jenkinson joined West Ham United for a second loan spell this week and immediately laid out his plans to build on the first.
Having experienced a full season of first team football for the first time in his career last term, the England international is thrilled to have the chance to show what he can do again in a claret and blue shirt.
Carl, how happy are you to be back?
CJ: "I'm really happy to be back after last year," he said. "It was a good season for the Club and a good season for myself.
"To be honest I just wanted to come back here and I'm happy everything's been sorted out. I've got another season here and I can't wait.
Having been here for a year already, you know exactly what you’re coming back into…
CJ: "I'm a young player and I haven't had too many experiences of different clubs, but I loved every minute of it here. Everything about it is fantastic - it's a real family Club, the lads are great and the fans are great, so it ticks all the boxes you want when you join a football Club.”
We’ve got a new manager in place now. How much do you know about him?
CJ: "I've seen what the manager has done in the past and he's done great things with the Croatia national team and the other clubs he's been, so he's a proven manager.
"I've got to come in, show what I can do and prove myself to a new manager. That keeps you on your toes and I've got to go and do that in pre-season. I'm looking forward to it.
"I know from speaking to the boss on the phone about the style of football, how he wants to play and his philosophy. That was an attractive thing for me and that's one of the reasons I signed here as well - he sounds like a guy who's going to be a great manager and I’m glad to be a part of that.”
You started over 30 games last season. Presumably the aim is to nail down that right back slot again?
CJ: "I just want to play as much football as I can. To be honest, last season was the first I played every week and I'm a different person on and off the pitch. I found my love for the game again and you forget how much that means to you.
"I want to do that again - I want to play as much football as I can and develop as much as I can as a player.
"Confidence, everything grows when you're playing and you find out more about yourself as a player and a person. I really enjoyed it and of course it's something I want to continue to do.”
You talked about feeling at home here from day one. How important is that for a player?
CJ: "There's a lot of English lads here, so it's very easy to settle in and the lads are a good laugh here. I look forward to coming into training every day - of course everyone works hard and wants to do the right things on the football pitch, but it's nice to come into environment where you can enjoy yourself and are amongst friends. That's important in any job, you want to look forward to coming into work and I certainly do that at West Ham.”
The Club have been busy in the transfer market this summer. How impressed have you been by the signings?
CJ: “I know this club is going in the right direction, I think everyone can see that from within the club and outside. The Board signed a lot of good players last year and have obviously done the same this summer, making a few real statements of intent.
West Ham are back in Europe this year. Having experienced Champions League football yourself, what will European football do for West Ham?
CJ: “It's a Club going in the right direction, I can really see West Ham becoming a big force in the next two or three years. We're in that process now and I'm looking forward to being a part of it.
“It takes the Club to the next level being in Europe. Everyone wants to play a part in European football - the fans and players love European nights. I know the fans are excited about being in the Europa League and I certainly am as well. It will be a good thing for West Ham.”
|
