HERE ARE THE good, the bad, and the unlikely football moves being talked about today.
There are voids to be filled in our Transfer Gossip hearts today, for we are on the rebound from not one, but two long-running relationsh… eh, sagas that finally ended since we last had a natter.
Yes, not only did Paul Pogba finally make the move nobody ever thought was in doubt, but Uefa then went and let a big ball-playing John Stones-sized cat out of the bag.
First to Eastlands then, where the arrival of ‘the new Pique’ looks to be a catalyst for the exit of not only Eliaquim Mangala, but also further up the field as TalkSport say Samir Nasri and Wilfried Bony have been placed on the transfer list.
Everton meanwhile, need a new centre half and have £47.5 million to splash around. The Daily Mail say the Toffees are keen on Sunderland’s Lamine Kone for a fee of £18 million. The Daily Mirror say Euro 2016 hero Ashley Williams is still top of their wish-list with a new bid of £12 million delivered across the Severn to Swansea. They can afford both of them now though.
Let’s stay with the Mirror, because they say that Jonny Evans could be back with a top four club in no time as Arsenal desperately need to fill a gap left by the injured Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista. Valencia’s Skodran Mustafi is another name linked with the Gunners though, and that feels like a much more Wenger-esque signing to us.
Up front, Arsenal have a fresh shoulder rubbing against them in the pursuit of Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi. Gazetta yesterday reported Wenger was willing to send Olivier Giroud over with £35 million if Icardi agreed to join his club, but The Star say Chelsea have joined Napoli and their beloved neighbours in the hunt.
Some setbacks for Liverpool, according to Jurgen Klopp’s new least-favourite newspaper The Sun, who say that Martin Odegaard could opt to join West Ham over the Reds. The same publication is pretty adamant that Brazilian midfielder Anderson Talisca will be taken to Wolves – yes, the club from Wolverhampton – for a club record £20 million thanks to a little help from Jorge Mendes.
While others eye up their rearguard, Swansea are bolstering their attack. Sky’s omnipotent sources say Atletico Madrid striker Borja Baston – who has played for Zaragoza and Eibar in recent seasons – will join on a £15 million fee.
Retro Deal of the Day
Cast your mind back 22 years, a simpler time when Aston Villa were still a decent mid-table top-tier club. On 4 August 1994, a 31-year-old John Fashanu made the move to Ron Atkinson’s Aston Villa.
Before being tainted by match-fixing scandals and the disowning of his brother Justin before his tragic death, Fashanu joined a club with Paul McGrath, Andy Townsend, Steve Staunton, Dwight Yorke, Mark Bosnich and Ray Houghton on the books. But just as Atkinson was replaced by Brian Little and Houghton was offloaded to Crystal Palace during the season, it was to be the Gladiators presenter’s final season as a footballer.
Fashanu played 13 times for Villa before suffering an ACL injury in a tackle with Ryan Giggs in February before Villa narrowly avoided the drop.
Awooga!
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