Transfer gossip: Man Utd to pay eyewatering Antony fee, Newcastle want Gallagher, Everton splurge
Manchester United are ‘confident’ they can sign a player that nobody else wants while Newcastle target Conor Gallagher and Everton make plans.
MANCHESTER UNITED ‘CONFIDENT’ ON ANTONY
‘Manchester United are confident of reaching an agreement to sign Ajax forward Antony before the summer transfer window shuts on September 1,’ begins the piece on The Athletic, to which we can all reply in chorus ‘well of course they are because nobody else is interested and they are throwing really massive money at this; Ajax must be beside themselves’. And that’s very difficult to say in chorus.
Interest in Cody Gakpo is said to have ‘cooled’ as they throw everything at the Brazilian. And that ‘everything’ could end up being as much as £84.5m, though some sources put the figure at £79.5m, which is a hell of a lot of money for a player who claimed just eight goals and four assists in last year’s Eredivisie.
Fabrizio Romano has added on Twitter: ‘Manchester United have not submitted new official bid for Antony yet – it will be sent to Ajax soon, matter of time. He’s considered internally by board/ten Hag as main priority over any other target. Antony has asked Ajax to leave since last week: only wants United.’
Meanwhile, Manchester United are said to have approached Newcastle United about a loan move for Martin Dubravka.
NEWCASTLE JOIN GALLAGHER RACE
Every mid-table club wants Conor Gallagher on loan, with Crystal Palace, Everton and West Ham among those credited with an interest before the Daily Telegraph’s Luke Edwards claimed that Newcastle are ‘pushing hard for Gallagher on loan from Chelsea after landing Isak from Real Sociedad’.
We have had our say on the Isak deal here and also our say on whether Gallagher should leave Chelsea (he should), but we wonder whether Chelsea would sanction a move to Newcastle for the midfielder because they might now see them as an added threat to their Champions League place.
EVERTON READY TO SPEND
Everton are going to get an unexpected windfall from Chelsea somehow deciding that £60m is a fair price for Anthony Gordon and The Times reckon a fair whack could go to Blackburn for Chilean international Ben Brereton Díaz, who scored 22 Championship goals last season and has already found the net twice in 2022/23.
The Toffees are said to be ready to pay £12m but Blackburn want £15m for a striker who has just one year left on his contract and is also attracting interest from Leeds. Alternatively, he could sign a pre-contract agreement with a European club in January.
Everton are also interested in Manchester United midfielder James Garner, who is available for just £14m and is also attracting interest from Tottenham and Southampton as well as Nottingham Forest. But Everton are said to have ‘jumped to the front of the queue’, presumably because this is Manchester United and this is Everton.