Gossip: Mahrez, Kante, Vidal, Rossiter, Camacho

Daniel Storey

ONE OF MAHREZ OR KANTE TO LEAVE
Leicester might be closing in on the most surprising league title in Premier League history, but that doesn’t stop the rumours about players wanting to leave the club. Not when the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham and Juventus are lurking in the shadows.

The Daily Mirror reports that Leicester are resigned to losing one of N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez, two of the club’s most valuable assets. Way to p*ss on their parade.

With Wes Morgan, Robert Huth and Jamie Vardy all 29 or above, the logic is that it is Mahrez and Kante (both aged 25) who will attract the most attention this summer. If Leicester can hold on to one but lose the other, they will consider that a success story.

It’s also important to stress what we mean by ‘lose’. Leicester paid £375,000 for Mahrez, and will want a fee of at least £25m to sell up. That’s some whacking great profit.

 

LIVERPOOL TO SIGN £10M CAMACHO
Sticking with the Mirror now, and their claim that Liverpool want to sign Malaga midfielder Ignacio Camacho this summer.

Camacho is a 25-year-old defensive midfielder with one international cap for Spain, making his debut against Germany in November 2014. More importantly, the midfielder has a minimum fee release clause of just £10m, which has got Liverpool’s spidey senses tingling.

It should be said, for balance, that Malaga are trying to renegotiate Camacho’s contract to remove that clause, and also that nobody has their byline on the Mirror’s transfer story, which is unusual given their presence on Merseyside.

 

ROSSITER TO UDINESE?
Another Liverpool story next, and a really random one at that. It’s like someone has two dice, one with the names of Liverpool’s reserve squad on and another with the names of middling European clubs. Jordan Rossiter to Udinese, you say?

It’s a rumour that first surfaced in December, with the Liverpool Echo mentioning the Serie A side alongside Spurs and Manchester City as interested parties in a midfielder who is available on a free transfer unless he signs a new contract sharpish.

Now The Sun claims that Udinese are in pole position to sign Rossiter, who is presumably tempted by being able to get near to footballing deity Antonio di Natale.

 

CHELSEA ACTUALLY WANT VIDAL
Now that the Chelsea transfer rumours have calmed down a touch, and the dust settled on the 427 players linked to Stamford Bridge since Antonio Conte’s appointment, we can examine them in a little more detail.

It’s the Daily Mail that go back to one of those players linked, Bayern Munich midfielder Arturo Vidal. They say that Bayern are desperate to keep hold of Vidal, but the midfielder is equally desperate to reunite with Conte.

The pair are hardly hiding their feelings of admiration for one another. “If I ever go to war I’d take Vidal with me,” Conte said last month. “I have also said if I go to war I would take Conte with me,” Vidal said in response. It’s an imaginative answer.
AND THE REST
Incoming Chelsea manager Antonio Conte had lunch with the agent of Roma defender Kostas Manolas on Wednesday…Chelsea have held talks with Roma over Radja Nainggolan – but have been put off by an asking price of £40million…Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool are keeping tabs on 17-year-old Aston Villa winger Andre Green…Southend midfielder Jack Payne is in the final year of his deal and is being tracked by Premier League and Championship clubs…Manuel Pellegrini has opened talks with Valencia about succeeding Gary Neville…Tony Pulis will be offered a new contract by West Brom this summer.