Gossip: Sanchez set for Spurs; Eriksen, Dembele, Di Maria
BARCELONA EYE ERIKSEN
Liverpool’s resolve to keep Philippe Coutinho could spell more transfer trouble for Tottenham, with Barca said to have switched their focus to Christian Eriksen.
The Reds’ issued a defiant statement on Friday telling Barca to do one, though that bullishness will be tested in the coming weeks following the receipt of an email from Coutinho’s camp a couple of hours later requesting that he be allowed to leave.
According to The Independent, Barca have made plans for Liverpool’s stance, and they centre around Eriksen. The Catalans ‘have already made initial moves through intermediaries to try and sign’ the Spurs winger, which is just the kind of grief Mauricio Pochettino could do without as the club comes under scrutiny for their approach to the transfer window this summer.
Of course, if Barca wilted in the face of Liverpool’s defiance, quite how they’ll respond to Daniel Levy is anyone’s guess…
EVERY WINGER IN EUROPE LINKED WITH BARCA
Reports from across Europe suggest Barca are casting their net far and wide as they look for Neymar’s replacement and an eventual successor to Andres Iniesta.
Borussia Dortmund and France forward Ousmane Demebele remains Barcelona’s top target, says AS, with the Catalans set to return with an improved £127m bid for the 20-year-old. Meanwhile, Sport Itaia claims Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic, who has spent all summer waiting for Ed Woodward to pull his finger out, could be a target for Ernesto Valverde’s side.
Another name being thrown into the mix is Paris St-Germain midfielder Angel di Maria, who Sport claims has emerged as a surprise target for Barca. We’re just relieved that the PSG winger has presumably now located the spine he was missing for the entire 2014-15 season.
SPURS SET TO SIGN SANCHEZ
Tottenham are said to be close to smashing their transfer record to sign Ajax defender Davinson Sanchez.
The Mirror claims Spurs are increasingly confident of landing the defender, who can play at right-back and at centre-half. Ajax’s player of the year is rated at £35million by the Eredivisie side, with the story claiming Daniel Levy has travelled to Amsterdam to thrash out a deal.
When Danny Rose googles Sanchez, he will discover that the defender is a 21-year-old, six-feet-two, twice-capped Colombia international, who began his career at Atletico Nacional before moving to Ajax last summer for 5million euros.
AND THE REST
Kylian Mbappe is keen on a move to PSG but no deal has been reached and the transfer may not happen this summer…Diego Costa is embroiled in a legal battle with Chelsea as the Premier League club remains in the dark over when he will return to England…Real Madrid have given up their pursuit of Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and his Manchester United counterpart David De Gea…Chelsea star Eden Hazard is a ‘Plan B’ target for Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane if he is unable to beat Paris Saint-Germain to the signature of Kylian Mbappe…Manchester United are set to sign teenage Oliveirense striker Bruno Amorim, according to quotes attributed to the Portuguese club’s director Antonio Jose Leite…Chelsea are set to land right-back target Joao Cancelo after Tottenham refused to meet Valencia’s £25m asking price.
Jack Colback is set to leave Newcastle United after a training ground row with boss Rafa Benitez. He is reported to have refused to re-join the first-team squad for training after a team-mate was injured…Former Blackburn and Nottingham Forest striker Matt Derbyshire has turned down the chance of a Championship return to stay in Cyprus with Omonia Nicosia…Chelsea are now odds-on to sign Leicester midfielder Danny Drinkwater and are maintaining their interest in Everton’s Ross Barkley…Valencia are looking at Arsenal defender Gabriel Paulista as a potential replacement for Ezequiel Garay, who is heading for Spartak Moscow…Brighton are set to beat Middlesbrough and Sunderland to the signing of Sporting Lisbon defender Ezequiel Schelotto…Everton and Southampton are battling it out for the signature of highly-prized Club Brugge youngster Noah Fadiga.