LIVE: Hazard out for £80m, Van Persie in?
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: Hazard’s hefty price-tag
Time is running out for Chelsea in the January window, but sources told ESPN FC on Tuesday that salvation was set to arrive with Alexandre Pato jetting into London to finalise a six-month Stamford Bridge loan.
While the 26-year-old Brazilian is expected to seal a temporary switch from Corinthians, the Express reports that the Blues are lining up a shock move for former Arsenal and Manchester United striker Robin van Persie if Pato’s deal falls through.
And while the Premier League champions are set to let Ramires leave — with ESPN FC told that Chinese clubs Jiangsu Suning and Shanghai Shenhua want the midfielder — Chelsea will not let Eden Hazard go so easily. The Sun reports that Roman Abramovich wants “at least” £80 million for the Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain target, despite him not scoring a goal in 30 games for the title holders.
LIVE BLOG
09.52 GMT: L’Equipe reports that Paris Saint-Germain will have balanced their books for next season and, no longer restricted by UEFA sanctions, will have a budget of ¬520 million for the 2015-16 campaign. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Robert Lewandowski apparently remain their top transfer targets.
09.46 GMT: Fulham forward Moussa Dembele is set for a move to Monaco, sources have told ESPN FC, despite interest from Tottenham and several other clubs.
09.22 GMT: According to Sport Bild, Liverpool are interested in signing Borussia Monchengladbach’s Granit Xhaka after Jurgen Klopp met with the player’s agent in December. The Reds could beat Borussia Dortmund to the midfielder’s signature, with BVB having also been linked with a move.
#Klopp lockt: Erstes Treffen wegen #Xhaka! #LFC #BMG https://t.co/O58KJsynTK pic.twitter.com/9PbM5QcDcW
– SPORT BILD (@SPORTBILD) January 27, 2016
09.15 GMT: Watford forward Diego Fabbrini, who has been on loan at Middlesbrough for the first half of the season, is undergoing a medical at Birmingham on Wednesday, sources have told ESPN FC, after the Championship club agreed a £1 million fee with the Hornets for the Italian.
08.59 GMT: Sport Bild claims that Liverpool have all but signed Joel Matip, 24, on a free, with the defender joining the club in the summer. Schalke could make an announcement in the near future.
08.33 GMT: Newcastle’s move for Andros Townsend could pave the way for Florian Thauvin to return to former club Marseille on loan, according to Le Parisien. Thauvin, who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Tuesday, has made just three starts in the Premier League since leaving France in a ¬17m deal last summer.
08.00 GMT: L’Equipe says Sunderland have made a new offer for Lorient centre-back Lamine Kone. The Ivory Coast international, 27, had looked set to join on loan earlier this month but Sunderland infuriated his club by pulling out of the deal at the last minute. But L’Equipe now says the Black Cats have returned with an offer of a permanent transfer, rather than a loan deal. As a replacement, Lorient could sign Lindsay Rose, 23, from Lyon.
07.35 GMT: Shakhtar Donetsk forward Alex Teixeira is worth ¬50 million and can be even better than Angel Di Maria, the player’s current coach Mircea Lucescu has told FourFourTwo.
PAPER ROUND
Shakhtar name Teixeira price
Shakhtar Donetsk seem ready to let Alex Teixeira leave for Liverpool, but the Ukrainian side’s head coach Mircea Lucescu insists that the 26-year-old Brazilian has a price which has to be met.
“He’s worth ¬50m (£37.8m),” Lucescu told FourFourTwo. “He’s incredible, very fast, very good technique. I compare him with other players of the same age who changed [the fortunes of] a club, [Angel] Di Maria for example at Paris Saint-Germain.
“Our president knows when it is the time for Teixeira to go. I don’t want to keep a player against his desire. He wants to play in a big championship.”
Teixeira recently confirmed that he’s eager for a move, and with Lucescu effectively naming Shakhtar’s asking price, Liverpool may need to meet it with the transfer window deadline edging closer by the minute.
Van Gaal on the brink as Giggs waits in the wings
Rumours have swirled over Louis van Gaal’s future since Manchester United lost at home to Southampton on Saturday, though sources told ESPN FC on Tuesday that the Dutch coach did not offer to resign as manager.
Still, all is not well at United — the Guardian reports that Van Gaal is still set to be in charge for Friday night’s FA Cup clash at Derby County, although his job is being reviewed on a “match by match basis.” That surely spells disaster for the 64-year-old if United crash out of the final cup competition available to them.
But United’s long-term plans could still be in doubt if they don’t make Ryan Giggs manager should Van Gaal eventually departs, with the Mirror reporting that the former Old Trafford winger could quit the club after 28 years if he is not given a shot at the top job when it becomes available again. So hiring Jose Mourinho could cost the club one of their all-time greats — how would United fans respond to that?
Meanwhile, Feyenoord youngster Tahith Chong has confirmed that United are interested in him, but the 16-year-old midfielder/forward told FR12.nl: “Feyenoord is and remains my first choice and we are still negotiating. It’s true that Manchester United are interested in me, but I just want to stay at Feyenoord. There is absolutely no question that I’m going out to the club.
“Feyenoord now is to come up with a plan of how they see me in the coming years at the club. I am hopeful that it will be alright and that I’m going to sign a contract with Feyenoord.”
A photo posted by FR12.nl (@fr12nl) on
Spurs back in for Berahino
Saido Berahino’s desire to leave West Brom has been well publicised since last summer, with the young English forward doing little else but kick his heels on the sidelines as his value steadily drops. The Mirror reports that Tottenham are ready to test the Baggies’ resolve, and will make an £18 million bid within the next 48 hours.
Spurs will have more space in the squad and a cool £12m from Andros Townsend’s impending departure to Newcastle, and look set to test the mettle of West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace despite his desire to keep 22-year-old Berahino at The Hawthorns. Peace drives as hard a bargain as Spurs’ Daniel Levy does, but it looks increasingly likely that Berahino could be playing his football at White Hart Lane come February if the two clubs reach a compromise in the £20-25m region — plus some tidy add-ons.
Real to break the bank for Neymar
You may have heard the recent rumours linking Neymar with Real Madrid, but despite the Brazil star’s father claiming the 23-year-old is not interested in a move to the Bernabeu, Los Blancos may be about to get serious in their pursuit of the Barcelona forward.
Spanish newspaper Sport claims that Madrid president Florentino Perez is desperate to sign Neymar as a big win to deflect attention away from a terrible year for him and the club, and is willing to pay the forward’s ¬190m release clause to do so. On top of that, Madrid would offer Neymar an astronomical ¬35m-a-year salary — more than twice his current deal at Barca — in order to switch allegiances in the Clasico rivalry.
Luis Enrique is confident Neymar will sign a new contract at the Camp Nou, but such figures will no doubt interest Neymar’s entourage. If there are serious suggestions he could double his money at Real, then the Selecao skipper will at the very least head into his Barca contract renewal negotiations firmly in the driving seat.
Florentino enloquece por Neymar. Aquí tenéis nuestra portada de este miércoles. #fcblive pic.twitter.com/Y09ry8kW8h
– Diario SPORT (@sport) January 26, 2016
TAP-INS
– The Mirror reports that Swansea are close to re-signing Jonathan de Guzman from Napoli, but given up on signing striker Manolo Gabbiadini from the same Serie A side as he’s too expensive after Wolfsburg’s £19m offer was rejected.
– Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri has spoken of his need for more firepower, and the Mirror suggests that the Foxes boss is chasing CSKA Moscow striker Ahmed Musa. The 23-year-old will reportedly cost £19m, with Leicester already seeing a £15m bid rejected.
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