Gossip: United’s £300m spree; Liverpool ‘to eclipse’ record
UNITED SPREE
Pretty much anyone who can kick a ball really good has been linked with a move to Manchester United this summer. Now that Champions League qualification is confirmed, expect those rumours to only intensify.
The Daily Mail have a massive scoop about a massive spending spree from Old Trafford. Jose Mourinho wants four players for £300million. Eesh.
Michael Keane will cost £30m from Burnley. The fee for Antoine Griezmann will be close to £90m. So where does the other £180m come from?
Andrea Belotti and Romelu Lukaku, apparently. The former will cost £86m, the latter will cost £100m. Lovely.
There are two problems:
1) Why would United sign three strikers?
2) Ian Ladyman mentions neither Belotti nor Lukaku in his actual article. They are in the headline, but are only seen in graphics depicting their ‘pricetag’ and their statistics. Ladyman never mentions either of them.
But still. £300M SUMMER SPREE. YAY.
LIVERPOOL ‘TO ECLIPSE’ CLUB-RECORD FEE
That Liverpool’s transfer record still stands as the £35m paid to Newcastle for Andy Carroll in January 2011 appears to be something Jurgen Klopp wants to correct. He could break that figure not just once, but twice this summer.
According to The Times, the German has identified his two priority targets. Naby Keita, the RB Leipzig midfielder, and Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk are wanted men.
Keita is a player Leipzig particularly want to keep heading into their debut season in the Champions League. ‘There is a feeling that only offers in the region of £50-60m’ would persuade them to think otherwise.
As for Van Dijk, Chelsea and Manchester United also want him, and he ‘would cost a world record fee for a defender of more than £50m’.
This news comes from the reliable Paul Joyce, who adds that the Reds ‘will hope to eclipse’ the club-record £35m splashed on Carroll all those years ago. Watch this space.
GRACIAS, BUT NO GRACIAS, CASILLAS
In other Anfield news, Liverpool are ‘baffled’ by claims linking them to Iker Casillas.
Reports emerged earlier this week claiming that the keeper, released by Porto, had signed some sort of pre-contract agreement to move to the Premier League.
Those spoilsports over at the Liverpool Echo are having none of it. The club ‘have no plans to sign a goalkeeper this summer,’ they report. Boo.
ALEXIS OFFER
Arsenal might not deserve Alexis Sanchez, but they are sure as heck intent on keeping the Chilean. According to the Daily Mail, the Gunners will offer the forward £270,000 a week to stay.
Now, we admit that we are a little confused here. It was reported back in April by the reliable James Olley that the club had offered him £300,000 a week, but nothing has been heard since.
But back to the Mail, whose man Sami Mokbel, who reports that Arsenal are desperate to ‘keep him from Bayern Munich’s clutches’. The offer falls slightly short of the demanded £300,000, but ‘the offer is loaded with incentives taking it closer to the figure he wants’.
Negotiations are expected to be held after this weekend’s FA Cup final.
AND THE REST
Manchester United’s 31-year-old forward Wayne Rooney has two offers from China that would be worth £50m in salary over two years…Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata, a target for Manchester United and Chelsea, is close to agreeing a £52m move to AC Milan…Stoke forward Marko Arnautovic is a £15m transfer target for AC Milan and Paris St-Germain…West Ham are hoping to sign Manchester City’s 20-year-old Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho…Marco Silva is expected to replace Sam Allardyce as Crystal Palace manager after leaving Hull City…Chelsea will only sell 28-year-old striker Diego Costa if a bidder meets their £60m valuation.
