HERE ARE THE good, the bad, and the unlikely football moves being talked about today…
Inter Milan are preparing a £35 million bid for Liverpool forward Sadio Mane, report the Daily Express.
The winger joined the Reds last summer for £34 million, but the Serie A club could be lining up a bid to bring the forward to San Siro – identifying him as their potential marquee signing of the summer.
Mane returned to training with Liverpool this week and said his focus remains entirely on the beginning of the new Premier League season in just over a week’s time.
“I want to score more goals for my team and to assist as well. Why not win trophies with the team? I’m very confident and looking forward to it”, he said.
Meanwhile Diego Costa will not report for pre-season training with Chelsea this week, according to Marca.
The striker is still on the lookout for a new club, with Atletico Madrid the preferred target for the Spanish international.
Costa scored 52 Premier League goals during two seasons at Stamford Bridge, however relations between the player and manager Antonio Conte have soured beyond repair.
Chelsea signed Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid just over a week and a half ago in a club record £65 million deal, all but ending Costa’s future in London.
Meanwhile Ronald Koeman has not given up in his pursuit of Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Wales Online report that Everton could be willing to fork out a £50 million part-exchnage deal which would see 19-year-old defender Callum Connolly join Swansea.
The Merseysiders want to step up their pursuit of the Iceland playmaker, with Koeman seeing the 27-year-old as crucial to their aspirations of qualifying for the Champions League next term.
Elsewhere both Tottenham and Inter Milan are biding their time to put forward a bid for PSG defender Serge Aurier, with both clubs hoping the 24-year-old’s value decreases the longer they hold out.
Le Parisien earlier this week claimed that the full-back had requested a move away from the Parc des Princes, with both Spurs and Inter expecting PSG’s asking price to drop below the €25 million mark.
Finally, the Liverpool Echo report that Virgil van Dijk is set for showdown talks with Southampton this week.
The defender has been linked with a move to Liverpool all summer.
Having been left out of the Saints’ pre-season tour of France last month, he is due to meet manager Mauricio Pellegrino to decide on his future at the club.
The Dutch international is under contract until 2022, but has been heavily linked with a £60 million departure – a fee which would smash the Reds’ transfer record.
Retro Deal of the Day: Roque Santa Cruz to Blackburn Rovers
On this day 10 years ago Roque Santa Cruz joined Blackburn from Bayern Munich, where he had won five Bundesliga titles.
The Paraguayan would score 23 goals in 57 appearances for Rovers, including 19 Premier League goals during the 2007/08 season, earning him the Blackburn Rovers Player of the Season award.
The striker joined Manchester City in a deal worth £17.5 million in 2010, before being loaned back to Blackburn a season later after scoring just three goals at the Etihad.
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