Manchester United seem to be on the brink of a couple of deals if you are to believe the press.
Louis van Gaal (pic below) is out in America assessing the Manchester United squad ahead of the new Premier League season. He must have had a panic attack at what he saw as today United are linked with reinforcements and lots of them. The Daily Mail say that they are on the brink of signing German World Cup star Mats Hummels from Borussia Dortmund for a paltry £16m.
They say that reports in Spain reckon he has chosen United over Barcelona for whatever reason. At 25 and being one of the best defenders in Europe, it does seem to be a a little bit too good to be true for United fans, but the Mail insist the deal will happen this week. He’ll sign for Barca or Bayern, just watch.
The Daily Express believe that Van Gaal is about to launch a £17m bid for Ajax’s young Dutch player, Daley Blind (pic above). The versatile defensive midfielder had a fine World Cup and will probably be best remembered for his sensational cross-field pass to Robin van Persie for THAT headed goal against Spain. He’s just been named as the Dutch footballer of the year and can count Van Gaal as one of his many fans.
The rumour mill went into an absolute frenzy yesterday with news that United chief executive Ed Woodward departed the US tour to attend to some ‘urgent business’. Everyone seems to believe it’s to announce a big new signing, but my sources believe he left the immersion on.
The Daily Star think that Manchester City are after Ivory Coast pensioner Didier Drogba (pic above). Linked a lot recently with a return to his former club Chelsea, it’s come as a surprise that Manuel Pellegrini, aged 60, three years younger than Drogba, is looking to hijack the deal. City are in a state of panic as Alvaro Negredo broke his foot and will be out for about three months, but this is surely ridiculous, no?
The Telegraph reckon that Spurs will have to pay Real Sociedad £25m if they want to secure the services of French playmaker, Antoine Griezmann (pic above), who they say will be the replacement for Gareth Bale. Right so.
Spurs received £85m for Bale last season when he went to Madrid and they went on a spending frenzy like a mad contestant on Dale Winton’s Supermarket Sweep. When they checked their trolley, they found that they hadn’t bought anything particularly good. Griezmann is wanted by both Chelsea and Monaco too, so expect him to sign for one of them.
Liverpool have accepted a £14m bid from Sunderland for their striker Fabio Borini (pictured above biting the hand that feeds him) say the Newcastle Chronicle. However, the striker is alleged to have said “Are you having a laugh? I am the Magnificent Borini and I sign for whoever Borini want to sign for. I choose to sit on the Liverpool bench for many years to come instead.” Borini is expected to turn down the move and fight for his place at Anfield.
In other news, Leicester have had a £6.5m bid turned down for Watford’s Troy Deeney, but they are looking to sign former Chelsea player Florent Malouda. Atletico Madrid’s Tiago, who was expected to sign for Chelsea, has decided against it and signed a new two-year contract with Atletico instead.
We’re taking the day off work to attend to some urgent business.
