LIVE: Bale scared off by mess at Man United
The winter window opened Jan. 2. As always, Transfer Talk has its finger on the pulse when it comes to all the latest rumours and gossip. See the latest deals here.
TOP STORY: United turmoil scared off Bale
Here’s a new twist on a well-worn tale for you. The names of Gareth Bale and Manchester United have been mentioned in connection with each other more than a few times, but now the Independent reports that fears of “turmoil” at the club resulted in him choosing to stay at Real Madrid last summer.
The paper says Wales captain Bale “gave serious consideration” to joining United when they offered £100 million for him during the window, but eventually opted to remain at the Bernabeu because of the “state of uncertainty” at Old Trafford.
Tuesday’s Independent Sport: Bale scared off £100m United move by turmoil at Old Trafford… #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/2C2SmHEhKP
– Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) January 25, 2016
In addition, it believes the former Spurs star and his advisers “will need to be persuaded that United have a cogent strategy in place and can offer him success” if they are to have any sort of joy with another bid in the summer.
LIVE BLOG:
09.56 GMT: Fulham’s 22-year-old Australian striker Adam Taggart is set for a move away from the Championship club and a return back to A-League outfit Perth Glory, sources have told ESPN FC.
09.35 GMT: Another update for you on Chelsea attacker Bertrand Traore, who has already been linked with loan moves to Marseille and Saint-Etienne in the past few hours…
The Burkina Faso international, according to kicker, could be on his way to Hamburg, who are hoping to sign the player on loan once they have completed a temporary deal for Sporting Lisbon’s Carlos Mane.
09.19 GMT: L’Equipe reports that Bordeaux striker Cheick Diabate could be set for a move to the Middle East before the end of January. The Mali international, who has scored five goals this month, is out of contract in June.
08.55 GMT: John Brooks might not be off to Schalke, but Bild reports he wants a release clause for a Premier League move in his contract.
08.35 GMT: Inter Milan are reported to have made a bid for Sampdoria’s Eder, with Samp’s sporting director Osti admitting there is interest in him and Soriano.
08.02 GMT: Stephan El Shaarawy has arrived in Rome to complete a loan move from his parent club AC Milan. France Football says the short-term deal will cost Roma ¬2 million, who will have an option to buy him at the end of the season for ¬13mn. The 23-year-old is being brought in as a replacement for Gervinho, who is set to leave for China.
ROMA…ýý½ !!! #El92 #ASRoma #daje #ASR #Nike @OfficialASRoma @Nike @nikefootballita pic.twitter.com/Di5R5sOSbp
– Stephan El Shaarawy (@OfficialEl92) January 25, 2016
07.40 GMT: Marseille are close to getting Chelsea and Burkina Faso attacker Bertrand Traore, 20, on loan. However, they face competition from Saint-Etienne as well as clubs in the Netherlands and Germany, according to L’Equipe.
Meanwhile, Marseille still have a “very small chance” of signing Ivorian striker Seydou Doumbia, 28, according to Roma. Florian Thauvin is still waiting for the green light to return from Newcaste on loan, while the French club have also been linked with TP Mazembe’s Tanzanian forward Mbwana Samatta, 23.
07.18 GMT: Hello! Let’s begin in the North East of England… Newcastle are in a strong position to sign Chelsea’s Loic Remy after Crystal Palace cooled their interest in the France striker, a source has told ESPN FC.
PAPER ROUND
Souness: Klopp needs four windows to fix things
How long do you think Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp might need to get the Merseysiders back to the title-challenging heights hit by the Luis Suarez-inspired side of not so long ago?
Well, Anfield legend Graeme Souness says the German needs at least two years to turn the club back into serious contenders. The Mirror quotes him as claiming it “will take at least three or four transfer windows just to improve things” and he warns ex-Dortmund boss Klopp that he “has got a huge job on his hands.”
Townsend and Wanyama in swap deal?
The future of Tottenham winger Andros Townsend remains up in the air. One minute Watford are said to want him, the next Spurs want £14m for him, and the minute after that he is reported to be ever closer to joining Newcastle.
But the Sun thinks there could be a twist in the Townsend tale, reporting that Spurs are set to offer him as bait to land one of their own long-term targets.
The target in question? Well, that’s Southampton’s Ghana international midfielder Victor Wanyama, and the paper reports that a swap deal featuring the two could be in the offing. Is there frustration ahead for both the Hornets and the Magpies, then?
Cherries look to Loftus Road star
Injuries have been tremendously unkind to Bournemouth this season, with Cherries manager Eddie Howe facing the possibility of having to dip into the transfer market again to cover for yet another.
The Mirror reports that winger Junior Stanislas is likely to be out for six weeks after suffering ligament problems in the draw at Sunderland, meaning Howe could make a move for QPR winger Matt Phillips to plug the gap.
Phillips, who the paper says would be likely to cost around £8 million, had been linked with a switch to the south coast club before the double signing of forwards Benik Afobe and Lewis Grabban earlier in the winter window.
Magpies man backs Remy return
Newcastle’s Moussa Sissoko has told Chelsea striker Loic Remy that he should return to Tyneside, according to the Sun.
Remy, who came on in the Blues’ 1-0 weekend win at Arsenal, has been linked with a move from Stamford Bridge after struggling for first-team opportunities, and the paper claims Sissoko has “urged” him to move back to St James’ Park, where he had a successful loan spell in the 2013-14 season.
But Sissoko might have to work hard to persuade him, with Crystal Palace also interested. And as if that wasn’t enough, he has also told winger Florian Thauvin, who is currently out of favour, to “hang on and fight” for a place in Steve McClaren’s team.
Blues to say bye to Bamford?
Chelsea striker Patrick Bamford has had his fair share of loan moves — although the last one, to Crystal Palace, didn’t work out so well — but now he could be set for a permanent exit, according to the Telegraph.
The paper reports the Blues are prepared to let Bamford, a huge hit at Middlesbrough last season, leave as the arrival of Alexandre Pato draws nearer — but only if any deal includes a clause enabling them to buy him back again.
Boro, Championship promotion rivals Hull and Premier League strugglers Norwich are all reported to be interested in the 22-year-old.
TAP-INS:
– Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce says there’s a good reason why he often looks overseas when plotting how to strengthen his teams: English players are too expensive, the Mail reports.
It quotes Allardyce as citing the example of West Brom’s sought-after forward Saido Berahino and said: “It’s £30m for Berahino. That tag, because he’s English, or because he’s played in this country, or because he’s a homegrown player, because he’s a striker, is the size of the valuation now. The foreign market has always been better value for money overall.”
– Defender Sam Byram reckons his decision to move to West Ham from Leeds will make him a better player, the Guardian reports.
Byram, who had also been linked with Everton, came on after 13 minutes as the Hammers drew 2-2 with Manchester City and said he believed Upton Park boss Slaven Bilic was the man to move his career forward. “He’d identified the areas he thinks I can improve on and explained how he would help me improve on them,” he added.
– Championship side Nottingham Forest have made a bid for highly-rated teenage Livingston striker Matthew Knox, according to the Edinburgh News.
The paper reports that Livingston manager David Hopkin had confirmed the offer for the 16-year-old, who has been monitored by Everton, Liverpool and Tottenham.
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.
