By Alan Duffy
Transfer Balls: Rounding up the day’s football tittle-tattle so you don’t have to…
Citizens To Poach Pogba
Former Manchester United starlet Paul Pogba could be headed back to Manchester, or so says the Manchester Evening News. However, the Etihad rather than Old Trafford could be the Juventus’ star’s destination, with Man City apparently set to offer a whopping £75million for the all-action midfielder.
French moneybags are also sniffing ’round the 22-year-old so expect a massive bidding war for arguably the best box-to box midfielder in the game at the moment.
Chelsea Gird Loins For £100million Splurge
Fresh from their Premier League success, Chelsea are set for a ONE HUNDRED MILLION POUND summer splurge, according to the Mirror. The tasty quartet of Atletico Madrid winger Antoine Griezmann, Lyon goal machine Alexandre Lacazette, Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane and Getafe ‘keeper Vicente Guaita are all apparently in the Blues’ sights, with the Mirror also adding Gareth Bale’s name to this smorgasbord of young talent.
Expect maybe a couple of these to actually materialise. Which two, however, we have no idea.
Arsene After Abdennour
Tunisian centre-half Aymen Abdennour was an impressive performer when Monaco downed Arsenal at the Emirates in the Champions League this season, and according to the Metro, the 25-year-old is a target for none other than Arsene Wenger. The newspaper adds Lyon winger Nabil Fekir to the Gunners’ shopping list, with the 21-year-old one of Ligue 1’s star performers this season.
With Per Mertesacker getting on a bit and both Calum Chambers and Gabriel set to be used as back-ups next season, the physical Abdennour would be a fine addition. As for Fekir, we all know how much Wenger likes a fleet-footed wideman.
City Rise Up For Rose
Back to Manchester City again, with the Star reporting that the Citizens are eyeing a move for Tottenham full-back Danny Rose. The 24-year old has flourished under Mauricio Pochettino at White Hart Lane and could be available for around £15million.
However, with Gael Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov fighting it out for the left-back berth at City, one wonders if another left-back is needed. On the other hand, City are eager/desperate to add more English talent to their ranks so there may well be something to this.
Skrtel Headed For San Siro
Martin Skrtel could be on his way out of Anfield, according to the Express. The paper ‘reveals’ that the 30-year-old is a target for Roberto Mancini’s Inter Milan. The Serie A side may lose Nemanja Vidic in the summer and see Slovakian Skrtel as the perfect replacement.
While Skrtel has been Brendan Rodgers’ first choice centre half at Anfield, ongoing negotiations over a new deal could see the player lose patience and look for a move elsewhere.
The best/worst of the rest:
Aaron Lennon may prove to expensive for Everton to land on a permanent deal from Spurs, Portuguese teen Paulinho has agreed to move to Liverpool while Southampton full-back Nathaniel Clyne will turn down a move to Chelsea and finalise a deal with Manchester United.