Gossip: The 16 players linked with United

There’s only one place to start…and that’s with almost every newspaper telling us exactly how Jose Mourinho is going to spend Manchester United’s money this summer…

The Daily Mirror: Jose will apparently be given £200m to spend and the names mentioned are Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez, Everton’s John Stones, PSG’s Marquinhos and Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. They also mention – almost in passing – that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is likely to sign for £250,000 a week.

The Daily Mail: They also settle on the figure of £200m but only mention one name: Sporting Lisbon midfielder Joao Mario.

The Daily Express: By now it’s a ‘£200million war chest’ but they say that ‘ironically, his first signing could be a free transfer – veteran Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The Daily Star: Here it’s a ‘£200m kitty’ and they agree that Zlatan will be his ‘first major signing’. They also mention the names of Stones, N’Golo Kante, Raphael Varane, Paul Pogba, Joao Mario and Thomas Muller. He’s going to need more than £200m, and some sort of mind-altering drug to convince that lot to join a club not even in the Champions League.

The Daily Telegraph: It’s all about Zlatan, with Mourinho expected to make the Swede one of his first signings for a ridiculous wage. They say Mourinho will target ‘a centre-half, at least one central midfielder, a fast right-sided foward and a striker’. They mention the names of Southampton’s Sadio Mane, Stones, Marquinhos, Joao Mario and Rodriguez.

The Guardian: Take a deep breath because we have eight names: Valencia’s Portugal midfielder Andre Gomes (valued at £40m), Joao Mario (who ‘would cost at least £27m’), John Stones, Alvaro Morata (‘would cost around £40m’, apparently), Mauro Icardi (‘a fall-back option for Morata’), Ezequiel Garay (‘a second choice after Stones’), Juventus left-back Alex Sandro and Paul Pogba, though the latter pair have apparently been valued at £116m each. The Guardian talk about ‘an anticipated minimum £150m spend’ with presumably emphasis on the word ‘minimum’.

 

 

AND THE REST
Ryan Giggs is ready to say goodbye to Manchester United after 29 years at the club…Aston Villa have spoken to David Moyes about a return to English football…Triple Europa League-winning coach Unai Emery wants to be the next manager of Everton…Everton have held talks with Manuel Pellegrini as they step up their search for a new manager…Roberto Martinez is the man Derby’s players want to be their new boss…Uwe Rosler is wanted at Bradford by the club’s new German owners…Bolton are ready to give Peter Reid their vacant manager’s job in a double act with Kevin Phillips…Arsenal are reviving their bid for Argentina starlet Maxi Romero…Leicester want Southampton striker Shane Long…Adrian Mariappa is facing showdown talks over his future at Crystal Palace…Burnley could turn to Charlton keeper Nick Hope…Liverpool are ready to swoop for Hoffenheim’s Germany Under-21 defender Niklas Sule…Alan Pardew faces a battle to keep hold of Jason Puncheon after an explosive Wembley row between the pair…Manchester City are expected to complete the signing of Ilkay Gundogan this week in a deal worth an initial £20.1million.