Gossip: Barcelona want Alli, Martial and Griezmann

Sarah Winterburn

BARCA TARGET ALLI
Now we all know that Philippe Coutinho and Dele Alli are two very different players, but Spanish newspaper SPORT are unaware of such subtleties and claim on Monday morning that Barcelona are really rather keen on the Tottenham No. 10 as an alternative to the Liverpool man. And they believe they can get the England international for around £135m.

This is by no means a new claim, with rumours rumbling all summer that Alli is stalling on signing a new contract because he knows he has been targeted by clubs across Europe who could offer a) considerably more money and b) a considerably greater chance of winning major honours. In his current form, maybe Tottenham should take the money.

 

BARCELONA WANT MARTIAL
Somebody in Anthony Martial’s corner is doing an incredibly good job this weekend of nudging Jose Mourinho to play him more often. First came Sunday’s reports that Arsenal want the Frenchman, and then later the same say Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo claim Barcelona interest in the forward who has scored five goals for United in just 370 minutes of football. Martial has started just one Premier League game this season and he is clearly getting antsy.

Or as Mundo Deportivo say – via Google Translate – The technical services of FC Barcelona have an ambitious goal of the future: Anthony Martial. The French striker has enough quality to play at the highest level required by Barça and his current situation in Manchester United, if it does not vary, you can invite him to seek a departure sooner or later.’

 

BUT DO THEY REALLY WANT GRIEZMANN?
You don’t need to know an awful lot of Spanish to work out what Mundo Deportivo are claiming on Monday morning. And their argument is that Barcelona are likely to move ahead of Manchester United in the queue for the Frenchman for two reasons: 1) The form of Romelu Lukaku and 2) The desire of Griezmann’s wife to stay in Spain rather than move to Manchester.

The newspaper claims that Barcelona will be able to buy the Frenchman next summer for just £89m, which is something of a bargain when they have been reportedly quoted pretty much double that for Philippe Coutinho.