Cashed-up Spaniards targeting Alli
It appears it is now Tottenham Hotspur fans’ time to feel worried about cashed-up Barcelona’s next target. While those supporting Liverpool have been worried the Spaniard club’s advances for Philippe Coutinho, and with good reason judging by the latest reports which say a deal is close to being struck, there are also strong reports that Barcelona could also be targeting Spurs midfielder Dele Alli with a deal believed to be in the vicinity of $260m.
However, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has made it clear Alli was not for sale at any price.
Sound familiar? Well, it does for Liverpool fans who appear resigned now to losing Coutinho and with little time left in the transfer window to spend the massive pile of cash his talents bring.
Barcelona general manager Pep Segura all but put the pin in the balloon of hope Liverpool fans had when he revealed the La Liga giants are ‘close’ to completing a deal for Coutinho.
The 25-year-old handed in a transfer request last week in a bid to push through a move to the Camp Nou and is yet to feature for Liverpool this season because of a ‘back’ problem.
Segura confirmed afterwards that moves for Coutinho and Dortmund forward Ousmane Dembele were nearing completion after Barcelona lost 2-0 to Real Madrid.
‘‘Coutinho and Dembele are both close,’’ he said. ‘‘’We are hopeful that they will end up wearing the Barca shirt. Until deals are closed I can’t say anything. We know we have to help the team and reinforce it and that’s what we’re doing.’’
*On a lot smaller scale, Manchester City have had a $31m bid for defender Jonny Evans rejected by West Brom.
Once seen as one club player for cross-town rivals Manchester United, Evans has been in decent form for West Brom who are obviously keen to keep him now the season has started.
Evans joined United as a schoolboy before going on to win three Premier League titles and two League Cups while making 198 appearances. He joined West Brom after being told he did not figure in former United manager Louis van Gaal’s plans. ❚ As expected, Everton have completed a club-record signing of midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson from Swansea City, believed to be for close to $80m.
The price is seen by many Premier League fans to be excessive for the 27-year-old who has history of form fluctuations.
Sigurdsson’s transfer fee eclipses Everton’s previous record $54m to Chelsea for Romelu Lukaku in 2014.
‘‘Hopefully I will continue to create goals and score goals for the team and contribute to the kind of success we’re seeking at the club,’’ he said in a statement. ❚ While it seems particularly peculiar to have the transfer window still open so long after the Premier League season kicks off, any changes in the near future appear along way of according to reports in the UK media.
The current window, in line with many other European leagues, closes on 31 August - almost three weeks after the start of the Premier League campaign.
‘‘There are problems down the line,’’ prominent sports lawyer Chris Farnell told BBC Sport.
‘‘I don’t think the way they are looking at it would be smooth. It would be fraught with problems and potentially legal challenges.’’