Gossip: Hazard, Coutinho, Rog, Cresswell

Matt Stead

Hazard is wanted by Real, Barca are targeting Liverpool midfielder Coutinho, and the Reds are interested in Marko Rog.

 

HAZARD WARNING FOR CHELSEA
It’s Sunday morning, and we’re headed to the Sunday Times for our first piece of lovely bulls**t gossip. For it is the Sunday Times who claim Real Madrid are tracking Chelsea winger Eden Hazard.

This comes courtesy of Duncan Castles, who claims the reigning Player of the Year is in line to become Real’s next galactico. Castles claims that Real president Florentino Perez is willing to sanction a third world record transfer fee for the Belgian after signing Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale in recent years. Real could fund the deals by selling either Ronaldo to Paris Saint-Germain or Bale to Manchester United for fees of around £110million, Castles goes on to claim.

 

BARCA TARGET COUTINHO
But Castles isn’t done there. Real aren’t the only Spanish giants interested in a Premier League star; Barcelona are targeting Philippe Coutinho.

The Brazilian has been one of Liverpool’s better players so far this season, and Castles believes Barcelona could follow up on these quotes made by forward Neymar earlier this week.

The Spanish side’s interest has been brewing for a while however, as the club made an initial approach during Liverpool’s negotiations over winger Adama Traore, who eventually left for Aston Villa.

 

LIVERPOOL WANT CROATIA MIDFIELDER
We don’t think that the Sun on Sunday have identified the man Liverpool want to replace Philippe Coutinho if he leaves, but they do report on a midfield target for the Reds.

The man in question is Croatia star Marko Rog, a 20-year-old midfielder at Dinamo Zagreb. The report claims that the Reds sent scout Barry Hunter to watch Rog last week, following up on interest they held in the midfielder last season. Rog was at Hajduk Split back then before Dinamo swooped to sign him for £4million, and the Croatians will ask for at least double that for Rog’s signature now. The Sun’s ‘Boss of Goss’ Alan Nixon believes that that may not deter Brendan Rodgers, and, depending on Dinamo’s progress in the Champions League, the Reds could move as soon as January.

 

AND THE REST
West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell, Leeds United’s Charlie Taylor and Charlton’s Morgan Fox are on Manchester United’s shortlist for the January transfer window…Liverpool have made contact with representatives of both former Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp and ex-AC Milan, Chelsea and Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti…West Brom are ready to block a loan move for teenage forward Jonathan Leko, who is wanted by Swindon but is highly regarded by Tony Pulis having appeared as a late substitute in the Capital One Cup in midweek…Gael Bigirimana felt the full force of Newcastle United’s crackdown on dressing room indiscipline when he was ordered to travel down to London by himself for an Under 21s game.