Gossip: Arsenal chase new target, United deals done

Matt Stead

WHERE THE HART IS
Joe Hart is leaving on loan is he? Not according to The Sun. Despite a spate of outlets reporting that England’s current No 1 (or is he?) would leave temporarily after Pep Guardiola has placed him snugly on the bench, those old boys at The Sun have a tasty exclusive.

Alan Nixon reports that not only will Hart not be leaving on loan, but that Manchester City are demanding £30m for him. Even in this most ridiculous of transfer markets, that seems like far, far too much. But then we’re curmudgeonly old b*stards.

‘City chiefs have laughed off suggestions of out-of-favour Hart going away for a season either to a foreign club or a Premier League rival.

‘And the cold war between Pep Guardiola and his axed star will only end if a big cash bid comes, probably in excess of £30million.’

That means a probable no to Sevilla, and a probable yes to Everton. Now all the Toffees have to do is break their club-record transfer fee – on a 29-year-old goalkeeper who is barely even back-up at his current club. Erm…

 

NO WAY, JOSE
On Thursday, Jose Gimenez was worth only a throwaway line in the morning’s gossip. ‘Fenerbahce’s Denmark international defender Simon Kjaer is also apparently Wenger’s radar, while he has apparently been priced out of a move for Atletico Madrid’s Jose Gimenez,’ we wrote. Twenty-four hours later, and all is forgotten.

‘Arsenal have opened negotiations with Atletico Madrid over centre-back Jose Gimenez as Arsene Wenger steps up his pursuit of defensive reinforcements,’ Adam Crafton writes for the Daily Mail. From Shkodran Mustafi to Jonny Evans to Jose Gimenez; it has been a rollercoaster ride at the Emirates this summer.

Arsenal’s defensive problems are well-documented – their three first-choice centre-halves were unavailable on the opening day – and Liverpool subsequently scored four in their victory. The club are pressing ahead over talks to sign Valencia’s Mustafi, but Gimenez has emerged as another option.

The only problem? He would cost around £40m, and his release clause is £56m. The boy is good, but he is 21, and has fewer than 100 senior career appearances for club and country combined. That doesn’t sound like the profile of a Wenger signing.

 

NO MORE SIGNING AT UNITED
Let’s finish with Manchester United, shall we? Fittingly enough, it appears that Jose Mourinho himself is finished this summer. No more deals are expected at Old Trafford.

This is according to Mike Keegan of the Daily Mail, who says that senior United officials are ‘delighted’ with their business. They have spent £156m, broken the world-record transfer fee, and introduced Eric Bailly into our lives, so that’s fair enough.

‘Staff have been told not to expect more incoming activity, although the situation may change should the right player suddenly become available between now and the end of the month.

‘The feeling within the club is that the quartet of Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba represent the club’s finest transfer window and that the Portuguese has the tools he needs to launch a serious assault on the Premier League title.’

So there you go. But what of any outgoings? Well, Juan Mata, Marouane Fellaini and Daley Blind are now staying, which is lovely. Bastian Schweinsteiger is off though. Why did no-one inform us?

 

AND THE REST
Chelsea are having to consider paying up to £60m for Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly…Barcelona will sign Ajax and Netherlands goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, 27, as a replacement for Claudio Bravo…Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola may sign a centre-back after the arrival of Bravo…Hull are keen on Everton misfit Oumar Niasse, who has been told to leave Goodison Park by Ronald Koeman…Leeds United chairman Massimo Cellino is losing patience with manager Garry Monk after just four games of the season…Sunderland boss David Moyes has offered Ivory Coast defender Lamine Kone a new £50,000-a-week contract. Everton want to sign the 27-year-old…Swansea are looking to Serie A as they try to replace 31-year-old Wales defender Ashley Williams, who has joined Everton…West Brom will only give up on signing Ghana full-back Jeffrey Schlupp if the 23-year-old signs a new deal at Leicester…Adama Traore has told Aston Villa that he wants to leave the club before the end of the month…Colombia striker Carlos Bacca says he will stay at AC Milan this season. The 29-year-old has been linked with West Ham…Tottenham have moved again for Espanyol’s Spanish goalkeeper Pau Lopez. The London club have already failed with a £3m bid for the 21-year-old and will now try to sign him on a season-long loan…Stoke have agreed a £200,000 deal for Dundee United’s 6ft 7in central defender Harry Souttar, 17.