Gossip: Rashford, Young, Davies, Fonte

Daniel Storey

ASHLEY YOUNG THE NEXT TO CHINA?
It’s one thing when they come for our fringe players like Oscar, Diego Costa and Graziano Pelle, but when those bastards try to take the players that form the very backbone of our league then we’re going to get angry. Yes, that’s right: A Chinese Super League club is after Ashley Young.

In The Sun, Warren Haughton (nope, us neither) has the exclusive that Shandong Luneng are after Young, who has been completely frozen out of the first-team picture by Jose Mourinho. Turns out buying really good wide players helps.

‘Moneybags Shandong Luneng are set to table a huge offer for Young and a lucrative contract to see out the rest of his career in the Far East,’ Haughton writes. God we wish that was the club’s official name.

 

RASHFORD TO SEVILLA ON LOAN
Another Sun exclusive now, and another on Manchester United. What the heck does Neil Custis make of all this?

Mike McGrath writes that Sevilla are chasing a loan deal for Marcus Rashford, with their director of football Monchi tracking Rashford for some time. He’s been pretty hard to miss, in fairness.

Tell you what, this is a belter of a paragraph:

‘Sevilla want the 19-year-old England star for the rest of the season but United boss Jose Mourinho wants to keep the striker at Old Trafford instead of more guaranteed game time. But Sevilla are desperate to land him if he is made available during this transfer window.’

So Sevilla want Rashford, but he’s not available? But Sevilla want him if he’s available?

He’s not available, lads.

 

MANCHESTER CITY WANT BEN DAVIES
Mike McGrath has been a busy boy, as he has another exclusive in The Sun. This one is that Ben Davies is a £20m target for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

It’s an interesting shout. Davies can play on the left or in the centre, and is clearly highly-rated at the Etihad. However, he’s also behind Danny Rose in the pecking order at Tottenham. Do City really want to spend £20m on a Spurs reserve defender?

 

AND THE REST
Manchester United are in talks to sign Serie A’s hottest midfield prospect Franck Kessie from Atlanta… Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham and Manchester United are among 11 Premier League clubs in the race to sign Nottingham Forest teenager Ben Brereton… Liverpool want Southampton skipper Jose Fonte to bolster their defence and could offer Mamadou Sakho as part of the deal… Jose Mourinho wants a reunion with Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic at Manchester United… Jose Mourinho wants a reunion with Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic at Manchester United… Newcastle United are considering a bid to re-sign Andros Townsend from Crystal Palace.