Gossip: Aguero or Bale involved in Hazard swapsies

Ian Watson

CITY AND CHELSEA TO SWAP AGUERO AND HAZARD?
Swap deals are the new black in 2018 and Manchester City and Chelsea could be bang on trend if there’s any truth in a report this morning about a potential exchange of Eden Hazard and Sergio Aguero.

According to the Daily Star Sunday, Chelsea will respond to any interest in Hazard from City by demanding that Aguero is proffered in return.

The Star, though, spends the second half of a nine-line story highlighting why it ‘looks like mission impossible’.

That’s because Chelsea are insistent that Hazard won’t be allowed to join a domestic rival while Aguero has indicated that he’ll see out the remaining two years of his contract at City before returning to Argentina.

Nothing to see here, then…

 

REAL OFFER MORE TEMPTING HAZARD PACKAGE
Chelsea, though, know that City are not their greatest concern when it comes to Hazard. The biggest threat is posed by Real Madrid. But the Blues might be a little more open to hearing from Real if the Spanish giants make anything like the offer being suggested in the Sunday Express.

Their EXCLUSIVE suggests Real are willing to cough up Gareth Bale plus £100million for Hazard, who is reportedly their primary target ahead of a summer during which they seem set to spend all the money.

Bale plus a truckload of cash is hardly the worst prospect for Chelsea, especially if Hazard is as keen to play for real as he is supposed to be. More concerning at present is who might be Bale’s manager, and who is deciding how the £100million gets re-invested in the transfer market?

 

SPURS EYE DOUBLE WATFORD DEAL
According to The Sun on Sunday, Tottenham want not one but two of Watford’s best players this summer.

Apparently, they are prepared to spend £50million on Richarlison and Abdoulaye Doucoure, who have both shown glimpses this season that they could make the step up quite comfortably.

Richarlison, who is also fancied by Chelsea, has scored five goals and has recorded the same number of assists since joining from Fluminense for £13million last summer. Doucoure has been involved in the same number of goals while scoring seven himself from central midfield this term.

Even though the Hornets stand to make a £37million profit on the pair if The Sun’s figures are correct, it still sounds cheap in today’s market.

 

AND THE REST
Sadio Mane is set for a bumper pay rise after his heroics for Liverpool in the Champions League…Goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri is set to sign a three-year deal with Crystal Palace this week…Manchester City are looking to Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Weigl in their search for a midfield enforcer…Arsenal will have to pay £25m if they want to sign Manchester United defender Chris Smalling in the summer…Tottenham stars fear Toby Alderweireld is leaving the club this summer…Germany striker Timo Werner has admitted he would like to play for Manchester United or Manchester City…Jose Mourinho was involved in a furious bust-up with Paul Pogba and Phil Jones after Manchester United’s defeat at Newcastle…Manchester City are set to reward young left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko with a new deal.

Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope has emerged as a target for Newcastle United…Leeds United could make a move for Bristol City midfielder Josh Brownhill, who is stalling on a new contract at Ashton Gate…West Ham are closing on a deal to sign Saint-Etienne midfielder Jonathan Bamba…Tottenham and Arsenal are battling it out for Stevenage youngster Ben Wilmot…Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke’s son Josh will conduct a review of the club as they prepare for life after Arsene Wenger…Man City’s Gabriel Jesus is closing in on a return despite his entourage being denied re-entry into the UK…Chelsea’s desire to sign Borussia Dortmund playmaker Christian Pulisic could be helped by the Bundesliga side’s interest in loan star Michy Batshuayi.