Gossip: Mkhitaryan wants Manchester United move
MKHITARYAN WANTS UNITED MOVE
We’ve known for a fair while that Borussia Dortmund midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan wants to leave the club. Him turning down a new contract was the final straw, with Dortmund wanting to cash in on the Armenian – the best European player not at Euro 2016.
What was less clear is where Mkhitaryan would be moving to. There were reports of Premier League interest from Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, before Manchester United threw their hat into the ring last week.
It’s that United interest that has caused the most interest from Mkhitaryan and his agent Mino Raiola. Speaking on German outlet Sport1, Raiola claimed that his client wanted a move to Old Trafford.
“Manchester United is a unique opportunity. Micki wants to go there.”
Told you.
KOEMAN HAS KRUL INTENTIONS (AND WITSEL TOO)
Ronald Koeman is ready to target Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul as one of his first signings, with Everton also considering a move for Belgium midfielder Axel Witsel, according to both The Guardian and Daily Express.
The Toffees have been alerted to reports that Belgium midfielder Witsel could be made available by Zenit for around £30million, with the player known to be keen on a move to the Premier League, having previously been linked with Tottenham and Stoke.
Zenit want to recoup a sizeable part of the €40m fee they paid to activate Witsel’s buy-out clause at Benfica in 2012. The former Standard Liege player has 12 months remaining on his contract with the Russian club and it will be left to Koeman to decide whether to pursue a deal for the international colleague of Everton players Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas.
Newcastle goalkeeper Krul, meanwhile, is another player on Everton’s radar, with the Holland international having only 12 months remaining on his contract. Krul would be made first-choice goalkeeper at Everton following Tim Howard’s departure and could be available for around £8million.
ANDRE GOMES TO CHELSEA?
We originally discounted this one, on the basis that the source of Chelsea’s interest in Andre Gomes was a website called TodoMercadoWeb. It sounds made up, quite frankly.
Then on Wednesday morning, Sky Sports sent the following tweet:
BREAKING: Sky sources: Valencia reject Chelsea bid of £32m for Portugal midfielder Andre Gomes. #SSNHQ https://t.co/DElrhJ8BYP
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) June 15, 2016
Interesting; very interesting. Manchester United have reportedly been interested in the Valencia Jorge Mendes midfielder, but have not yet made a bid. Now it looks like Chelsea may have made their move for a player who is part of Portugal’s Euro 2016 squad.
Surely this is all going to have to wait until after the tournament?
AND THE REST
Stoke have opened talks with West Brom about a £5m move for striker Saido Berahino, 22. The Baggies are ready to sell the former England Under-21 international this summer as he can leave for nothing in 12 months’ time… Manchester City have made an initial enquiry concerning a move for former Manchester United goalkeeper Victor Valdes… Manchester City have joined Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain in the race for West Ham and France star Dimitri Payet… Manchester United face Zlatan Ibrahimovic competition from Bayern Munich, with the Germans targeting a replacement for Robert Lewandowski… West Ham are to be offered a transfer swap of West Brom’s Saido Berahino for fellow striker Diafra Sakho… Fulham have offered an improved contract to 19-year-old French forward Moussa Dembele, who has been linked with a move to Galatasaray… Chelsea have been rocked with the news that Roma are planning to hand Radja Nainggolan a bumper new contract.