HERE ARE THE good, the bad, and the unlikely football moves being talked about today…
Manchester City have already spent over £120 million (€140m) on eight new players during the close season, but they may not be finished just yet.
According to reports, manager Pep Guardiola is keen to bring in a top class goalkeeper and sees 24-year-old German Andre Ter Stegen as the ideal man to compete with Joe Hart for the number one jersey.
The Barcelona stopper, who will miss this Sunday’s Spanish Super Cup against Sevilla with a knee injury, is rated at around £20m (€23m).
Reports suggest Chelsea have made a £39m (€45m) bid for Sporting Lisbon attacking midfielder Joao Mario, who starred in Portugal’s Euro 2016-winning team over the summer.
Liverpool and Inter Milan were also rumoured to be interested in the 23-year-old.
Speaking of the Reds, their wantaway striker Christian Benteke is now a target for West Brom as well as front-runners Crystal Palace.
Lamine Kone only joined Sunderland in the January transfer window, but, having kept the Black Cats up last season, the Ivorian defender is seeking a move away from the Stadium of Light.
27-year-old Kone has released a statement saying he hasn’t been offered a new contract so he intends to leave. Eveton are reportedly looking to secure his signature for around £18m (€20m).
In Ireland-related news, centre-half Richard Keogh, who turned 30 yesterday, has agreed to sign a new three-year contract at Derby County, while uncertainty remains around the future of Rams and international team-mate Jeff Hendrick.
Retro Deal of the Day
Arriving from Parma for a hefty fee of £4.5m in November 1995, Swedish midfielder Tomas Brolin was seen by then Leeds United boss Howard Wilkinson as the perfect player to provide striker Tony Yeboah with assists on a regular basis.
Having starred at the ’90 and ’94 World Cups as well as Euro ’92, Brolin came with a big reputation but flopped badly and is ranked as one of the worst signings in Premier League history.
The player himself put it down to being played out of position and even suggested a few years ago that he actually under-performed on purpose. He made just 17 starts for Leeds and was sent out on loan to Zurich and Parma before joining Crystal Palace in 1997.
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