Gossip: Eriksen may leave over wage demands
HERRERA TO JUVE
In a summer where Nabil Bentaleb has been described as a replacement for Paul Pogba, nothing should surprise us. Ander Herrera being dubbed Pogba’s successor is nowhere near as silly, but it’s still quite silly.
‘Juventus eye Man United ace following Paul Pogba transfer,’ the Daily Star tells us in the most SEO way possible. According to Tuttosport, The Old Lady are interested in the Spanish midfielder.
Of course, it is not Tuttosport who they themselves link to. They link to an article by Tuttomercatoweb. We have bloody missed them. The Italian website claims that the 26-year-old ‘would also be an idea for Juventus’. So there you go.
LET’S TALK ABOUT CESC
Elsewhere in ‘who will replace Paul Pogba at Juventus’ land, Cesc Fabregas’ name is thrown into the mix. And it is the actual Tuttosport who are reporting this one.
The claim is that Juventus are desperate to sign Nemanja Matic for the Serbian’s added ‘physicality’, but that Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has told them where to stick that offer. However, the Italian is more open to the idea of selling Fabregas (who is a completely different player, but oh well). And so Juventus could now instead pursue a deal for the Spaniard. Lovely.
GREEDY DANE
Looking at Tottenham’s wage structure, the club’s recent successes must be lauded. Dele Alli started on £3,500, but his development has seen his wages increased to £25,000 after signing two separate improved deals. Harry Kane has seen his own wages improve vastly as he becomes more vital to the club. It is a simple but effective way of business.
It does have its downfalls, however. According to the Daily Mirror and the Daily Telegraph, Christian Eriksen is demanding £150,000 a week to stay at the club. Despite his importance to the cause, he currently earns just £32,000 a week – almost a quarter of what Dimitri Payet earns. He could even leave White Hart Lane, apparently.
John Cross writes: ‘The real reason for the impasse is Eriksen’s representatives playing hardball with Tottenham by insisting they want nearly double the wages of the club’s existing top earner, Hugo Lloris.’
This has reportedly interested Juventus (obviously), but Tottenham remain confident of keeping the Dane, who has two years remaining on his deal.
The Telegraph claim that Inter Milan are also keen on snapping Eriksen up, considering he managed him at Ajax.
AND THE REST
Santos’ president has confirmed the club have spoken to Manchester United and Chelsea this week about their star striker Gabriel Barbosa…Jose Mourinho has called Anderlecht midfielder Youri Tielemans to ask him to join Manchester United, according to Wisla Pulawy youngster Lukasz Plonowski…Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says midfielders Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, both 27, are no closer to signing new contracts but he is not worried about their futures…Southampton defender Jose Fonte, 32, has described Manchester United as “one of the biggest clubs in the world” and says he is flattered to be linked with them…Nabil Bentaleb could leave Spurs on loan before the end of the window, with Lazio interested…Marc Wilson has been told he can leave Stoke following his Twitter outburst at Mark Hughes…Inter are on the verge of signing Sporting Lisbon midfielder Joao Mario for €15million…Everton are closing in on a deal for Valencia and Tunisia defender Aymen Abdennour, 27…West Brom are closing in on Leicester winger Jeff Schlupp after making a bid of £11.5m for the player…Liverpool and Italy striker Mario Balotelli, 26, will not join Serie A side Pescara this summer, according to the club’s president Daniele Sebastiani…Sunderland and Everton are both in the chase to sign £10m-rated forward Hakim Ziyech from FC Twente…Saido Berahino has officially informed West Bromwich Albion he now intends to see out the final year of his contract…Watford want to sign Chelsea’s Brazilian midfielder Kenedy, 20, while the Blues’ American defender Matt Miazga, 21, will turn down the chance to join Eintracht Frankfurt after receiving loan offers from Premier League clubs…Tottenham are prepared to bid £13m for Sporting Lisbon and Portugal midfielder Adrien Silva, 27, who is also wanted by Everton.