Manchester City, Everton, Arsenal, Swansea City, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea are the talk of the papers today.
All the rumour, gossip, and news you need to know from the last 24 hours…
Gareth Bale‘s future is a hot topic of discussion today. The Sun claims he will resist overtures from Manchester City, yet The Mirror report he may be open to a move. Bale stated last week he would consider his options if Tottenham fail to make the Champions League. City are said to be preparing a mega £40 million plus Adebayor bid to tempt Spurs with. We don’t expect Bale to leave, especially for City, but if Spurs don’t get a spot in Europe’s top competition next season, who knows?
Everton are the latest club to be linked with Heerenveen striker Bas Dost. He has bagged 31 goals this season and was recently linked with a move to Aston Villa, although when interviewed about it did not seem keen on Alex McLeish’s side. High-flying Everton may be a different proposition, where he would partner the freescoring Nikica Jelavic. The 6ft 4 striker has been comapred to Peter Crouch and is valued at around £15 million. This would appear to be out of Everton’s price range, but if there is any truth in the Fellaini to Chelsea rumours then the Toffees may just find themselves in a position to strike a deal.
The long-running Jan Vertonghen saga is continuing, this time with a fresh twist. He has recently been linked with Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Newcastle, but Ajax manager Frank de Boer would like to see him elsewhere. De Boer has urged the Belgian to forget the Premier League, because Barcelona is the club which would suit him best. The Spaniards are in a bit of a state of flux with Pep Guardiola leaving, and have been quiet on the transfer front so far, so the English clubs will want to make sure they push a deal through early before Barca get their act together, should they heed de Boer’s words.
Gylfi Sigurdsson is another who has been linked with many a club, with Manchester United talked up as a possible destination early in the week. The first movers in the transfer window though are his loan side Swansea City who made an opening bid to Hoffenheim this week. The Germans turned it down, with it believed to be short of their £10 million asking price. Welsh paper the Western Mail report that the Swans are ready to go back with an improved offer, and by moving early could steal a march on their rivals.
Chelsea snapped up one Bundesliga star in Marko Marin last weekend, and they are hot on the trail of another. The Mail report that Bayer Leverkusen forward Andre Schurrle is their next target. Schurrle is just 21 and on the fringes of the German first team squad. He can also play as an attacking midfielder wide or through the centre and has made most starts on the left wing, scoring seven goals this season. He would cost in the region of £15 million.
image: © andybrannan
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