Gossip: Liverpool want Oxlade-Chamberlain
LEICESTER WANT THE OX
For a player who can’t get near the Arsenal first team, there seem to be an awful lot of options for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, including – according to the Sunday Express – champions Leicester and Liverpool. You may remember that Manchester City, Chelsea, West Ham and Southampton have all previously been linked with the England international limited to just nine Premier League starts this season by form and fitness.
Leicester are said to be keen to recruit players with Champions League experience, something sorely lacking in their squad.
CHEEKY BARCA TO OPEN STONES BIDDING AT £25M
He has had a pretty sh*t season but we doubt that Everton would take £25m for John Stones after turning down £37m from Chelsea last summer. According to the Mail on Sunday, Barcelona have turned to Stones after being told that Marquinhos is staying at Paris Saint-Germain and will go in with a pretty low-ball offer. With both Manchester clubs interested, the Toffees will think that they can get closer to £45m for the England defender.
According to the Sunday Express: ‘MANCHESTER UNITED boss Jose Mourinho has told his Old Trafford bosses to make signing Everton’s John Stones their top priority.’ They claim – very dramatically – that Mourinho’s ‘plea will be an early test of his relationship with vice-chairman Ed Woodward’.
KANTE HAPPY AT LEICESTER ‘FOR NOW’
Reports last week claimed that N’Golo Kante had rejected a new contract at Leicester and had his heart set on moving to Arsenal, and now L’Equipe have asked Kante – with France’s Euro 2016 squad – about his future and the little man said: “For now, I am happy at Leicester. I do not pay too much attention to everything that is said. For now, I am in Leicester and I focus on the Euros.”
The French newspaper claim that PSG and Arsenal are the front-runners for the defensive midfielder named player of the season by Football365.
AND THE REST
Everton’s Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku is a target for Paris St-Germain…Tottenham could bid for 25-year-old Barcelona defender Marc Bartra…Swansea want to re-sign former striker Wilfried Bony from Manchester City…Watford defender Miguel Layun has completed a permanent move to Porto after a season on loan with the Portuguese club…Leicester have had an £18m bid rejected for former Stoke midfielder Steven N’Zonzi.