Gossip: Aguero, Lewandowski, Neymar, Dembele
NEW AGUERO DEAL
This is not the best day for transfer rumours. It is a Monday in early February, and reaction to an excellent weekend of Premier League football has pervaded the gossip columns. Still, you’ll stick around, won’t you?
First, we bring you news from Manchester City. According to The Sun, the club wish to extend the contract of striker Sergio Aguero. Why the ruddy heck wouldn’t they? He is quite good.
Aguero’s current deal expires in summer 2019, and the Argentinean has already stressed his desire to return to his first club, Independiente, once he leaves the Etihad Stadium. But Martin Blackburn says the club are ‘keen’ to extend that contract, and that Aguero could be ‘persuaded to stay’ by the prospect of ‘continuing to be a City icon’, and of playing under incoming Pep Guardiola. By the time his deal expires, he’ll have already played for three years under the Spaniard.
Incidentally, the headline to this Sun piece reads: ‘Manchester City line up new contract for striker Sergio Aguero despite interest in Neymar and Lewandowski.’ There is no mention of either Neymar or Robert Lewandowski in the story. Grand.
POLE CHANCING
But there is news of Neymar and Lewandowski elsewhere. We’ll even so kind as to bring it to you.
Let’s start with Bayern Munich striker Lewandowski. Because he is a living, breathing footballer playing at a rather high standard, the Polish international has been linked with Manchester City and Pep Guardiola. But his agent, Cezary Kucharski, has other ideas.
Asked whether talks had commenced with Bayern over offering the 27-year-old a new contract, Kucharski told Polsat Sport: “Yes, we’ve started talking. I can confirm this. I won’t talk about specifics, because it’s confidential.
“Real have not conducted talks over a transfer. It’s just speculation. Rumours around Robert show what a player he is. He’s known not only in Poland or Germany, but throughout Europe.
“There are no talks with PSG. The English write about English clubs, the French about PSG, the Spaniards Real Madrid, and Juventus in Italy. In each country a great club is linked with Robert.
“But Lewandowski is at a team that suits him, and there is no need to change anything.
“I know Rummenigge is aware that Lewy is a great player, who has great value for Bayern, and how such a boy should be rewarded.”
Lewandowski’s current contract runs until summer 2019. He has scored 52 goals in 78 appearances since joining Bayern one-and-a-half years ago, and has a career tally of 233 in 410. Bayern are also quite good. They likely have no inclination to sell him, he probably has little inclination to leave, and do City have enough inclination to spend upwards of £60million on a striker when they still have Aguero?
WHAT’S IN A NEYM?
Time for that Neymar update we promised you. It comes from Barcelona director Robert Fernandez. He said, at the weekend: “Neymar and his management are very happy and we are very relaxed. The club stands by the player. These things happen and we shouldn’t dwell on it. The important thing is that he is happy and that’s something we can see in every game he plays.”
Bad news for Manchesters United and City, then.
“These things happen” is a delightful way to contextualise an alleged £10.5million tax evasion, by the way.
ANOTHER DEMBELE
You know what? There aren’t enough Dembeles in the world of football. Mousa of Tottenham and Moussa of Fulham simply is not enough. Thankfully, a third Dembele – a third unrelated Dembele – has emerged from the footballing wilderness. And Premier League leaders Leicester want him. So do Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Southampton. Apparently.
This comes from the Daily Mail, with Simon Jones the man in the know. He reports that 18-year-old French winger Dembele is attracting Premier League interest. Dembele has already scored four goals in nine games so far this season for Rennes, and he has become a wanted man.
Elsewhere in the world of Leicester City, the Foxes still want Ahmed Musa. The Daily Mirror’s Darren Lewis claims the club are ‘preparing a massive £23million’ offer for the CSKA Moscow striker. This is a 23-year-old who has scored 56 goals in 195 club career appearances. Stop this madness.
AND THE REST
Roma have told Arsenal they do not want to sign Wojciech Szczesny on a permanent basis.
And that’s it. Breathe it in.