At least one Irishman will be on the move in the immediate future, while Arsenal are about to sign a team full of strikers if you believe everything you read.
Everton have always been a popular team with football supporters this side of the water, but they might soon be about to reach a level of appeal on a par with the Aston Villa side of the early to mid 90s due to the strong contingent of Irish players at the club.
A report in the Daily Mirror today suggests that Aiden McGeady, whose unhappiness at Spartak Moscow is well known at this stage, has already agreed the terms of a contract with the Toffees and could be in the squad as early as this weekend’s clash with Norwich.
Should the deal go ahead McGeady will join the in-form Seamus Coleman and James McCarthy and the injured Darron Gibson on Merseyside, which will make scouting trips a little easier for Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane in the near future.
Another Irish international potentially on the move is Shane Long, with the Daily Mirror again reporting of a revival of the interest Hull showed in Long in August and even saying that a few had been agreed between the two clubs. This morning’s Birmingham Mail refuted those claims, however, and while Long may yet end up moving away from the Hawthorns, it’s not set in stone just yet.
We’re not sure how much of an inside line the Daily Mail have at Arsenal, but you’d swear they have a mole in the scouting department such is the extensive list of striker targets listed in the paper today. Real Madrid’s Álvaro Morata is top of said list, possibly on loan, but if that doesn’t materialise they could move for one of *pauses for breath* Jackson Martínez of Porto, Mario Mandzukic of Bayern Munich, Diego Costa of Atlético Madrid, Edin Dzeko of Manchester City and even Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney *exhales*.
Elsewhere in Norf Landan, Jermaine Defoe’s reported £6million, £90,000 a week deal to sign for Toronto is pretty much done according to every paper you’ll read this morning but he’s likely to stay put, on loan, at Spurs for the time being at least. If Juventus have their way, he won’t have Erik Lamela for company for much longer, with talk in the Daily Mirror (again) of a possible player plus cash offer from the Serie A side involving Montenegrin international Mirko Vucinic.
Staying with Juventus, Manchester United are believed to be in the market for midfielder Claudio Marchisio (Mirror) but have cooled their interest in Fabio Coentrao (Independent), while the Daily Express have gone as far as to say that Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Javier Hernandez, Nani, Anderson, Alex Buttner and Anders Lindegaard could all leave the club between now and the summer.
Finally, Real Madrid are thought to be interested in Juan Mata (The Star), Liverpool and Arsenal are both after Anderlecht defender Cheikhou Kouyate (The Star), Swansea are moving closer to the signing of Tom Ince (The Guardian) and surprise, surprise, Newcastle are in the hunt for another Frenchman, Remy Cabella of Montpellier, for whom they’ll have to fork out approximately £12million.
