Gossip: Liverpool target £140m duo, Everton to sell Keane

Matt Stead

KINGS OF LEON
With Liverpool no longer interested in signing Thomas Lemar, attention turns to whom their attention will turn to next. Do we have your attention?

The Sunday People think they know exactly who is on the radar. And the name of that man is Leon Bailey, who is currently starring for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. He has scored ten goals and assisted five in 22 appearances this season.

The 20-year-old can play on either wing, has also attracted interest from Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham, and thus will not come cheap. Steve Bates of The People say Leverkusen will want ‘a staggering £100m’.

 

FINDERS, KEEPERS
What Liverpool actually need is a goalkeeper, of course. And heck, even despite Petr Cech’s excellent in the north London derby against Tottenham (READ 16 CONCLUSIONS NOW), so do Arsenal.

According to the Sun on Sunday, they might be targeting the same one. Mike McGrath writes that Jack Butland is ‘a £40m target’ for both, and ‘the two clubs will go head to head in the summer’.

Arsenal will look to replace Cech soon, while Liverpool still have doubts over Loris Karius and Simon Mignolet. Although Jurgen Klopp hardly sounded like he was plotting a move for the England international last month.

 

KEANE TO LEAVE
He was our early loser this time last week, but things were looking up a little more for Michael Keane on Saturday. He played at centre-half (in a back two, thankfully) as Everton beat Crystal Palace 3-1.

Yet his future may still lie elsewhere. The Sunday People say Everton ‘are ready to ditch’ the player they signed for £25m from Burnley just six months ago. By the second paragraph, it has been downgraded to Sam Allardyce simply being ‘ready to listen’ to offers.

Burnley are said to be ‘monitoring the situation’, but Everton would come nowhere close to recouping their initial outlay on the England international.

 

AND THE REST
Everton are targeting Shakhtar Donetsk boss Paulo Fonseca to take over from current manager Sam Allardyce in the summer… Manchester City have agreed a £50m deal to sign 24-year-old Brazil midfielder Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer… Belgium midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, 26, who is under contract at Manchester City until 2023, will end his career playing in Major League Soccer, according to his agent.