Gossip: De Gea ‘obsessed’ with leaving, Lemar, Sanchez swap

Matt Stead

DE GEA TO REAL AGAIN!
There aren’t enough yawns in the world to describe our feelings at seeing David de Gea linked with Real Madrid again. The Spaniard is settled at Manchester United, has two years remaining on his current contract, and in this market, could go for rather silly money.

But this is Real Madrid we are talking about, and their media sway does come in handy now and again. Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo say he is ‘obsessed’ with moving to the Bernabeu.

What’s more, he will enlist the help of a current Real player: Sergio Ramos. They attribute this claim to reports in Portuguese paper A Bola. Mundo pass on A Bola’s claim that ‘the Madrid keeper would have had several conversations with the captain of Real Madrid in the recent concentration of the Spanish team’.

A quick glance on the A Bola website suggests that no such story exists, although it could be in the hard copy only. But quite why a Portuguese newspaper would have exclusive reports on a Spanish player leaving an English club is anyone’s guess.

Mundo do add that De Gea would have been a Real player long ago, were it not for ‘an incredible computer error’. Delightful.

 

SCHEMING ARSE
On Friday, it was reported that Arsenal had agreed a deal ‘in principle’ for Thomas Lemar, who they had unsuccessfully tried to sign this summer.

By Saturday, the Gunners are contemplating offering Monaco a swap deal, because they do indeed always happen. According to The Sun, Arsenal are so ‘desperate’ to sign Lemar in January that Sanchez could be offered as a ‘makeweight’.

Arsenal do not want to sell Sanchez to a Premier League rival, and so shipping him off to France and bringing in his replacement in the process would be a grand old idea. Monaco were linked with Sanchez in the summer after all.

A sticking point could be the Chilean’s wages. He would hardly fit into Monaco’s ethos, would he?

Also, these claims come from The Sun, while Friday’s reports that a deal was agreed ‘in principle’ came from the Daily Star. It’s like choosing which method of grisly death you would prefer.

 

AND THE REST
Fenerbahce were reported to be closing in on the signing of Manchester City and Spain midfielder David Silva, 31, before the Turkish transfer window shut on Friday… Spain midfielder Isco, 25, will reject Manchester United and Tottenham and sign a new deal with Real Madrid… Tony Pulis will sit down with Northern Ireland defender Jonny Evans, 29, next week to discuss a possible new contract for the West Brom centre-back… Evans is in line for a deal worth over £80,000 a week that will make him the Baggies’ best-paid player… Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has said he was unable to buy Evans because they could not afford West Brom’s asking price… Slaven Bilic’s future at West Ham could be on the line after the Hammers manager said he laughed at Sporting Lisbon’s criticism of owners David Sullivan and David Gold… Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva, 23, says he could not say no to joining Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.