HERE ARE THE good, the bad and unlikely football moves being talked about today.
Reigning European champions Real Madrid could be about to make their first major signing of the summer, with the Spanish giants preparing to offer Bayern Munich €65 million for the versatile Austrian David Alaba.
In what would be one of the shock moves of the summer, Everton have made contact with Bundesliga side Wolfsburg about the availability of their German international winger Julian Draxler, according to The Independent.
The 22-year-old, who has also been linked with Arsenal, has a release clause of £63 million.
Arsene Wenger also faces competition over another potential target, Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi. The German has aroused the interest of Chelsea, which in turn could force the Gunners to make a move for former Manchester United defender Jonny Evans instead.
Speaking of arousal, Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli is in need of some love, and Dutch side Ajax could be the team to fill that void in his life.
Algerian striker Islam Slimani could be heading in the opposite direction after he asked to leave Sporting Lisbon. It has been reported that the Portuguese club has turn down an offer of £17 million from an unnamed Premier League club for the 28-year-old forward, who scored 32 goals last season.
One player who won’t be leaving any time soon is Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, with ESPN reporting the 29-year-old has signed an improved five-year deal.
Finally, former England striker Peter Crouch could be heading to the Championship in the search of regular football. Wolves are leading the chase for the Stoke forward.
Retro deal of the day: Paolo Di Canio to Sheffield Wed (1997)
Having played for some of Italy’s biggest clubs such as Lazio, Juventus, Napoli and Milan, the fiery striker left his homeland in 1996 to move to Celtic.
It didn’t take long for Di Canio to become a favourite among the Celtic fans though, scoring 15 times in 37 appearances.
But after refusing to join Celtic on their pre-season training camp, the Glasgow club were left with no other option than to sell the Italian to Sheffield Wednesday for £4.5 million.
While with the Owls he received an 11-game ban on top of that statutory three matches from the FA, after he pushed referee Paul Alcock to the ground. He joined West Ham later that season, and became a folk hero at Upton Park.
Di Canio finished his playing career in England with Charlton before returning to Italy to re-join Lazio.
As a manager, Di Canio won promotion from League Two with Swindon Town, and kept Sunderland in the Premier League, before being relieved of his duties the following season.
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