Arsenal, Southampton, Swansea City, Reading, 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
Very interesting news for Arsenal fans this morning with a double dose of transfer news. Part one is that Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong is a shock target for Arsene Wenger. Arsenal are keen on signing a defensive midfielder, but their pursuit of Yann M’Vila has reportedly stalled, and Wenger is looking at alternatives. De Jong started just 11 times for City last season, and the champions are open to a sale, but will take some convincing to sell to a rival, preferring to off load him abroad.
The second piece of transfer gossip for Arsenal fans is that they are chasing Fernando Llorente. The Athletic Bilbao striker is also interesting Manchester City, Barcelona, and Real Madrid, and is expected to lead the line for Spain this summer at Euro 2012. The 27-year-old would cost around £28 million, and is being looked at as a potential replacement for Robin van Persie.
Newly promoted Southampton are busy strengthening ahead of their Premier League return, and have agreed a record deal to sign Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez. Rodriguez now simply has to agree personal terms for the £6.5 million transfer to go through. The 22-year-old scored 21 goals last season in the Championship and is keen on the chance to play Premier League football. The Mirror report that the deal could see Richard Chaplow go back to Burnley in part exchange.
Swansea City are interested in rescuing Giovanni Dos Santos from his Tottenham nightmare. The talented Mexican has endured a miserable time in North London and is expected to leave the club this summer. Brendan Rodgers is reported to be looking at bringing Dos Santos to Swansea on loan for the season, while Spurs would rather secure a transfer fee for him. Dos Santos would likely rather leave England altogether and secure a return to Spain, where he first made his name with Barcelona.
Salomon Kalou to Arsenal or Tottenham? Don’t count on it, the now former Chelsea attacker is reported to be close to signing for German side Schalke. The Mirror say the 26-year-old free agent is on the verge of signing, after being released last week. After a difficult time breaking into Chelsea’s first team, Kalou finally cracked it under Di Matteo before his contract expired.
image: © adam.haworth
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