Gossip: Keane, Walker, Abraham, Sancho, Solanke

Daniel Storey

KEANE BACK AT MANCHESTER UNITED
And my god do we wish we were talking about Roy Keane. He’d march into that dressing room, punch Chris Smalling and Phil Jones in the face, tell everyone else that they could stick their whining about fatigue up their b*llocks and then crack his knuckles and demand to play in central midfield over Marouane Fellaini.

Unfortunately, it’s Michael Keane. Having sold him for £2m to Burnley in January 2015 after one Premier League appearance, Manchester United are now set to pay £25m to sign him back and solve their central defensive problems. He’s like the Poundland Paul Pogba.

The Daily Mail report that United are now clear favourites to sign the 24-year-old, who impressed on his England debut and is surely now a first-choice member of Gareth Southgate’s squad. We’re also told that Keane will be paid £100,000 a week by United. Gee whizz.

 

CHELSEA IN THE HUNT FOR WALKER
Oh wow. To the Daily Mirror now, and the claim that Manchester City are not the only club interested in paying £40m for Tottenham’s Kyle Walker. You can add the Premier League champions to that list.

The cynic in us wonders whether this might be a pointed leak from an agent to follow the claims that Manchester City are pondering a move for Joshua Kimmich over Walker, a message to Tottenham that Walker is still wanted by the biggest and best. Yet we’ll try and forget that for now.

In fairness, Walker would make sense for Chelsea. He lives in London, is comfortable playing in the right wing-back role and is England’s first-choice right-back. There is some sympathy for Victor Moses in all this, but you can see why Antonio Conte might want to upgrade.

 

ARSENAL IN FOR ABRAHAM
Now this would be bloody interesting. There are some rumours that you read and decide on the spot that you absolutely want them to happen; this is one.

It’s an exclusive from Neil Ashton in The Sun, claiming that Arsene Wenger wants to sign young Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham, who is prepared to leave Stamford Bridge if he is not in Chelsea’s first team next season. We’ll save you the wait, Tammy: You’re not going to be in Chelsea’s first team next season.

Abraham scored 23 goals for Bristol City last season, and Ashton writes that ‘Wenger wants to add another young striker at Arsenal and the England Under-21 international is the man he wants’.

It’s a lovely idea, but surely if Abraham is leaving Chelsea because he wants regular first-team football, he’s not likely to join a club where the chances of that are virtually the same?

 

AND THE REST
RB Leipzig are keen on signing Manchester City’s Jadon Sancho and Chelsea’s Dominic Solanke… David de Gea may have played his last game for Manchester United after Jose Mourinho indicated that Sergio Romero and Joel Pereira will be in goal for the club’s remaining games this season… Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been offered a staggering £824,000-per-week deal to join Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian.

Southampton, Everton and Newcastle are battling to bring Montpellier winger Ryad Boudebouz to the Premier League… Manchester City flop Nolito is on the verge of a return to La Liga with Real Betis… West Brom had Celtic and Scotland star Stuart Armstrong watched in last Friday night’s win at Aberdeen.