Pogba tops Guardiola's Man City wishlist
The winter window might have shut, but the rumour mill rolls on. As always, Transfer Talk has its finger on the pulse when it comes to the latest rumours and gossip. See the latest deals here.
TOP STORY: Guardiola wants the green light for Pogba
Pep Guardiola is on the record regarding his interest in Paul Pogba, but claims it is up to Manchester City, not him, if they want to sign the Frenchman. Pogba has been linked with Guardiola’s Bayern Munich side for the last two seasons, as well as Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United, but this could be the summer that everything falls into place to persuade him to come back to England.
With a squad clear out on the verge of taking place, City will have freed up space, transfer budget, and more importantly wages, which could see Pogba becoming the first and most important signing of Guardiola’s reign. With Yaya Toure’s future at the club far from certain, the role in the side’s starting XI is ready for him to help dominate the Premier League in the near future.
Guardiola said: “Now he’s a Juventus player, he’s very strong and very young. He’s shown his value, but I know he’s happy at Juve and I wish him a long career. Would I like to coach him? It doesn’t depend on me, but on the club.”
Man United plan £138m swoop for duo
In a Daily Star exclusive, they claim that along with Miranda, Mauro Icardi and Renato Sanches, Manchester United are planning a massive £138 million transfer splurge on Bundesliga stars Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Thomas Muller.
The report states that United have spoken to Jose Mourinho about taking over from Louis van Gaal in the near future and that the Portuguese coach has given the go-ahead to make a huge statement in the transfer market by investing in two of the best players in Europe. Both Dortmund and Bayern Munich will be very reluctant to sell their star men, but a huge bid for either could tempt the clubs to cash in and reinvest.
Arsenal in for Ighalo
According to The Mirror, Arsenal and Arsene Wenger are stepping up their interest in £20m-rated Watford forward Odion Ighalo. They have identified 26-year-old as one of the strikers at the top of their shortlist for summer strikers.
Wenger believes they have strength in depth with Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck who can all play through the middle, but he does want a centre-forward and the club are keeping close tabs on Ighalo who is becoming a hot property.
Watford may have to sell if they receive an offer of around £20m and Arsenal, Chelsea and Atletico Madrid have all reportedly scouted at the Nigerian forward. Watford are already looking at Granada striker Isaac Success as a potential replacement.
Conte confident of landing Chelsea job
Italy coach Antonio Conte is becoming increasingly confident that he can land the job as Chelsea’s next permanent manager ahead of the club’s other top targets, according to The Telegraph. Chelsea have spoken to Conte, and will meet again with his representatives on Thursday, as part of a due diligence process that has also seen them consider Jorge Sampaoli, Diego Simeone and Massimiliano Allegri.
With Juventus hopeful of tying Allegri to a new contract and Simeone telling players that he is already planning for the summer at Atletico Madrid, Conte believes he is now the favourite for the Chelsea post ahead of Sampaoli.
Conte and former Chile manager Sampaoli are both learning English, and Abramovich would be keen to strike an agreement with the Italian before the start of the European Championships, if he is indeed Chelsea’s top choice, so the club can get on with their summer plans.
Tap-Ins
– Federico Pastorello, the agent for left-back Yuto Nagatomo, has insisted that his client will reject any interest from the Premier League in order to stay at Inter Milan. The Japanese international was the subject of interest from Manchester United during the January transfer window, but that interest was swiftly turned down.
– Sunderland are believed to be interested in Lille defender Adama Soumaoro, according to the Daily Mail. The 23 year-old has filled in across the back for this season and Black Cats boss Sam Allardyce thinks he could be a perfect addition to boost and replace an ageing backline.
– Pep Guardiola will consider offering Mikel Arteta his first full-time coaching post at Manchester City if the Arsenal midfielder decides to bring his playing career to a halt at the end of this season, says The Times. Arteta, a close friend of Guardiola and his long-serving fitness coach, Lorenzo Buenaventura, visited the pair recently at Bayern Munich’s training complex while he considers his options.
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.
