Gossip: Barbosa, Hector, Drinkwater, Mahmoud
MANCHESTER UNITED WIN BARBOSA RACE
Jose Mourinho is ready to beat a host of rivals with a £30m move for Brazilian prodigy Gabriel Barbosa. Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester thought they had won the race to sign the 19-year-old Santos striker, who has emerged as one of the hottest young properties in football after setting the Rio Olympics alight.
The Sun claims Manchester United are now in pole position to land the Samba superkid, with United set to push through a whopping £30million deal within the next 48 hours to outmuscle the reigning champions.
We’re not quite sure United need another striker, but Mourinho has apparently made it clear Barbosa is the perfect fit for his Reds revolution. United have reportedly agreed to pay Santos £26million for the player – plus a £4million commission fee to his agent.
CHELSEA INTERESTED IN HECTOR
We can’t help thinking that Chelsea might have left it a little late to sign Koln left-back Jonas Hector, who only signed a new contract last week.
That news supposedly put paid to Liverpool’s hopes of signing Hector to replace the shambolic Alberto Moreno, but Chelsea are apparently not put off by silly things like new deals.
The Daily Mirror say that Antonio Conte is interested in the £20m-rated Hector. Just to be clear, he isn’t available for £20m now.
DRINKWATER TO TOTTENHAM?
Well, this is a slightly weird one. We heard reports earlier this summer that Tottenham might try and sign Leicester midfielder Danny Drinkwater, and they have now resurfaced with less than three weeks left in the window.
The Sun report that Drinkwater has rejected a new contract offer worth £80,000 a week, and Tottenham are looking to take advantage of the uncertainty. However, Leicester are expected to offer Drinkwater £100,000 a week, making him the highest earner at the club alongside Jamie Vardy.
Let’s face it, it would take a ridiculous offer to persuade Leicester to sell Drinkwater, having already lost N’Golo Kante this summer. This one’s a non-starter, surely.
LIVERPOOL’S DAHOUD BID REJECTED
Quick line in The Sun now, and their claim that Liverpool have had a £25m bid for Borussia Monchengladbach’s Mahmoud Dahoud rejected.
You have to admire Jurgen Klopp’s fetish for collecting midfielders, given that he already has 12 in his first-team squad. That’s counting Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino as forwards, too. Yet the links to Dahoud have been bubbling away all summer, and won’t go away just yet.
Having already sold Granit Xhaka this summer, Monchengladbach are unlikely to sell Dahoud. More likely is that they land him next summer, when the German enters the final year of his contract.
AND THE REST
Barcelona have accepted a £21.7m offer for Claudio Bravo from Manchester City plunging Joe Hart’s future into doubt and amid claims Everton want to sign him on an initial loan deal… Ronald Koeman is also plotting to bring Southampton striker Charlie Austin to Everton… Manchester United and Manchester City target Reece Oxford is to stay at West Ham after impressing boss Slaven Bilic… Chelsea are considering switching targets from Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly to Nikola Maksimovic at Torino… West Brom have made a revised £21m offer for Sporting Lisbon striker Islam Slimani… Lyon have asked about taking Loic Remy on loan from Chelsea as they consider their options should a late offer come in for Alexandre Lacazette.
Hull City are in discussions with former Crystal Palace defender Adrian Mariappa… Norwich have held talks over a £2.8m transfer for talented French defender Jerome Onguene… Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure insists he’s going nowhere despite being left out of Pep Guardiola’s Champions League squad… Watford have agreed a £13m deal to sign 25-year-old Juventus midfielder Roberto Pereyra… Sunderland midfielder Liam Bridcutt, 27 is set to join Leeds United… Watford defensive midfielder Mario Suarez, 29, has agreed terms with Valencia… England manager Sam Allardyce plans to select Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster, 28, for next month’s World Cup qualifier against Slovakia, instead of Manchester City’s Joe Hart, 29.