Gossip: United eye another centre-back, Mbappe deal ‘done’

Seize the Dayot

Manchester United have lots and lots of centre-backs, but a good number of them are a bit rubbish. And lo the cry has gone up across the land: More centre-backs! Specifically, 22-year-old France international Dayot Upamecano, who could be available for as little as £38m next summer thanks to his new RB Leipzig contract.

Upamecano has signed a three-year deal with Leipzig, putting United off a move for him during the summer, but it contains that new lower release clause which apparently comes into effect next summer.

The youngster has three caps for France – those are hard to come by, just ask Aymeric Laporte – and even got himself a first international goal against Croatia. It’s for that and many other reasons that he has already been dubbed the French Conor Coady.

Mbappe deal ‘done’

Kylian Mbappe is definitely leaving PSG in the summer and even though that means he’s joining Real Madrid, let’s follow the lead of the Metro and stick Liverpool’s name in there as well because why not?

Hold on, though. Go back a bit. Mbappe is definitely leaving PSG in the summer? Definitely? Yes. Not the Gossip Column’s words, but the words of Adil Rami, who was in the 2018 World Cup squad with Mbappe and therefore definitely knows this for sure and wasn’t just offering an opinion when asked a specific question by RMC Sport.

“I think that it is done,” Rami said, offering a huge clue in the second word. “Even more so because talks are failing to advance. You get the sense that it annoys him, talking about that.

“He is not speaking with the club, nor with his entourage. And from the moment when that annoys you, it means that he doesn’t want to hear it. His future seems totally traced out and it is sad for the Parisians, even for Ligue 1.”

With all due respect to Rami, we are quite literally no nearer to knowing anything about Mbappe’s future, but it does make for some delicious URLs, and that’s the real quiz.

And the rest…

Marseille midfielder Pape Gueye dreams of playing alongside Liverpool’s Sadio Mane… Manchester United’s outcast goalkeeper Sergio Romero could rejoin Racing Club de Avellaneda, but would need to take a hefty pay cut… Liverpool, Manchester United and Juventus have all scouted 17-year-old Icelandic midfielder Isak Bergmann Johannesson… Birmingham are among the clubs interested in signing Alexandre Pato… Brighton will reward Tariq Lamptey with a new contract to head off interest from Bayern Munich.

So Patrick Bamford got us thinking about absolutely random Premier League hat-trick goalscorers. Justice for “busy” Kevin Lisbie.