Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Reading, Fulham, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool are all the talk of the papers today.
Bringing you the latest news, gossip and rumour from the last 24 hours.
Jermain Defoe is a man casting an eye over his shoulder right now, with Tottenham due to bring in new strikers. How many they decide to sign, and who, could influence his future at the club. He sat on the bench for much of the season last year with Adebayor preferred, and they are strongly linked with re-signing him and others. The Metro report that Reading are ready to offer the frontman an escape route, and are lining up a £5 million bid. We doubt this will be enough to tempt Spurs into a sale, and it is too early for him to jump ship. We suspect he’ll take his chances under Villas-Boas, and if he does leave it will be in January if things aren’t going to plan.
Newcastle have laughed off talk linking Barcelona with an £8 million bid for creative midfielder Yohan Cabaye. Alan Pardew said that sort of price range is out of the question for such a star player who they do not wish to sell. You have to question whether Barcelona even need the player, with all their options, but with Seydou Keita leaving, they are a man short, and want to find a cut-price replacement without spending big. It is clearly not going to be Cabaye.
One player they may want back to fill the void is Oriol Romeu. He left the Spaniards for Chelsea last summer, hoping he would get more opportunities. He started off well, but when Roberto di Matteo took over he barely got a game, and he is clearly worried about a repeat next season. The midfielder said last night that moving back to Barcelona ‘is an option’, and his buy-back fee is cheaper than the £8 million Barcelona had dismissed by Newcastle. It seems like this one makes sense for all, and is one to watch over the coming weeks.
Could Fulham really be about to make a shock move for Andy Carroll? No disrespect to the Cottagers, but after the Liverpool striker saw himself linked with a loan move to AC Milan last week, kicking off next season with Fulham will not be what he had in mind. Nevertheless, the Mirror report that the West London club are willing to take the striker on loan, as a sweetener for selling Clint Dempsey. Fulham are reported to be willing to sell Dempsey, who has one year left on his contract, so long as they receive an offer they deem to be acceptable, and Liverpool are keen to tie up a deal before they jet off to America for pre-season. West Ham are also interested in Carroll, and have his former Newcastle teammate Kevin Nolan on their books, while AC Milan are still monitoring developments, but have also reignited their interest in Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez.
image: © nicksarebi
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
