Man United to step up pursuit of Spurs' Kane
The winter window gets closer with each passing day and the transfer rumour mill is starting to pick up steam. As always, Transfer Talk has the latest and greatest. See all the summer deals here.
TOP STORY: United to up Kane bid
You know what will make a manager start looking around for striking options? Going 120 minutes against Championship side Middlesbrough — and 238 minutes in all domestic competition — without finding the back of the net. Man United lost to Boro on penalties in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday and were, at times, comical in front of the goal.
The object of Louis van Gaal’s desire, according to the Sun, is none other than Tottenham’s Harry Kane. You’ll remember he was linked repeatedly with a move to United over the summer, but Spurs weren’t budging and the Old Trafford brass weren’t ready to pony up the likely record fee that would be required to bring the England international to Old Trafford.
With Wayne Rooney looking a shadow of his former self and Memphis Depay also struggling, Man United’s No. 1 strike option at the moment is Anthony Martial. The 19-year-old has performed admirably for Van Gaal since joining the club from Monaco this summer, but he needs help.
Desperate times in Manchester, indeed.
West Ham eye Honda deal
With West Ham lying third in the Premier League table, and a move to the 54,000-seat Olympic Stadium on the horizon, the East London club is looking to make a splash. Bringing in Japanese international Keisuke Honda from AC Milan would do just that, and according to the Sun, the Hammers are interested in making it happen.
Honda’s contract expires in 2017, leaving the Milanese club short of options: sell within the next six months, or risk losing him for nothing after the 2016-17 season. Considering the dead-ball maestro has started just four of Milan’s 10 league matches this season, and has reportedly fallen out with manager Sinisa Mijhajlovic, an early departure from San Siro doesn’t sound out of the question.
The Sun reports that West Ham will offer £5 million for Honda’s services, but will have to fend off interest from Valencia, Tottenham and Everton in the process.
Future of La Liga’s best
There’s been a surprising amount of noise surrounding the short- and long-term futures of some of the best players in the Spanish Primera Division. Transfer rumours are swirling in one fashion or the other around Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Here’s the latest on the three. Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta believes that the Catalan club will be able to keep Messi, but he’s less optimistic on their chances to keep his Brazilian counterpart at the Camp Nou.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s former teammate at Sporting Lisbon, Jose Semedo, believes the Real Madrid No. 7 will return to England at some point. Semedo told reporters that Ronaldo loves England and the English people and definitely wants to finish his career in the Premier League.
‘Deal to be made’ for Subotic
Ever since Jurgen Klopp was appointed Liverpool manager, there’s been speculation that he would return to former club Borussia Dortmund to plunder the German club’s most prized assets. While that’s yet to happen, quotes from ESPN FC contributor Raphael Honigstein suggest that Neven Subotic could be the first to follow Klopp to Merseyside.
“His former CEO and chairman at Dortmund said Klopp wouldn’t target any of his players,” Honigstein told The Sport Review. “There is probably a deal to be made with Subotic, who has been out of favour.
“He is one of the few players who was personally picked by Klopp for Dortmund when he was at Mainz. Most of the players were bought by the club rather than him.”
Tap-Ins
– Felipe Anderson‘s representatives have told ESPN FC that rumours suggesting the reported Manchester United target has agreed a deal to leave Lazio are wide of the mark.
– Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini reportedly singled out Sevilla midfielder Ever Banega for prasie after their Champions League clash last week, and could eye up the Argentine as a box-to-box boost to City’s Yaya Toure-dependent midfield, according to Spanish outlet Marca.
– Daniele Rugani‘s agent Davide Torchia has suggested that the Juventus defender could leave the four-time-defending Serie A champions because his client isn’t receiving enough playing time this season, reports Gazzetta World. Napoli are reportedly interested in signing the Italian under-21 international.
– Mario Suarez only left Atletico Madrid for Fiorentina in the summer, but after seeing limited minutes in Florence the 28-year-old has already instructed his representatives to broker a move to Anfield in January, reports TalkSport.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.
