Gossip: Manchester United to buy £134m midfielder next summer

MAN UNITED TO SPEND £134M ON SAUL
Hoo boy, Friday brings us a ridiculous transfer rumour. Sadly it comes from OK Diario, who are a spurious Spanish transfer rumour merchant.
Their claim is that Manchester United are one of four clubs interested in signing Saul Niguez from Atletico Madrid next summer. The other three are Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Niguez, who scored against England last week, has a release clause of £134m. We’re told that none of the clubs mentioned are worried about paying the fee. We’ll also believe it when we see it, because we remember OK Diario only too well.
However, Mundo Deportivo say that Barcelona have first refusal on Niguez, which they sought when selling David Villa to them in 2013.
REAL MADRID HAVE ALL THE MONEY TO SPEND
Now here’s some interesting news, claimed by AS but passed on to us by The Sun. They claim that Real Madrid’s financial situation is such that President Florentino Perez has €330m to spend on new players. That’s a solid amount of cash.
Unsurprisingly, AS then muse on the players who could be signed for that cash. Equally unsurprisingly, they say Kylian Mbappe and Neymar are the two players at the top of Real’s list.
We hear this virtually every month, but it really depends on whether Paris Saint-Germain have any financial difficulties. If they do, Real Madrid have a chance. If they don’t, there’s surely no way that PSG are selling any of their gems.
ALDERWEIRELD COULD SIGN NEW DEAL
Toby Alderweireld’s potential exit from Tottenham – and potential move to Manchester United – was one of the summer’s biggest transfer storylines. Having managed to keep the Belgian at the Spurs, the question was how quickly Mauricio Pochettino would re-assimilate him into the team. It already seems to have happened.
If the supposition was that Alderweireld would leave Tottenham next summer for £25m due to the clause in his contract, Pochettino now says that that is not necessarily the case. Alderweireld could sign a new contract.
AND THE REST
Arsenal boss Unai Emery is determined to keep full-back Nacho Monreal… Ruben Neves is wanted by French giants Paris Saint-Germain… Liverpool’s Brazilian trio Alisson, Firmino and Fabinho are set to face Tottenham after racing back from Brazil duty… Jack Wilshere has missed the last two days of training at West Ham