Hammers hit the nail on the head with deals
Jose eyes long Old Trafford stay
WEST Ham United last night agreed a fee of £20-million (R337-million) plus up to £4-million (R67-million) in addons for their number one transfer target Marko Arnautovic from Stoke City just hours after signing goalkeeper Joe Hart on a season-long loan from Manchester City.
West Ham are also close to signing Javier Hernandez from Bayer Leverkusen with the Mexican striker understood to have settled on personal terms. A fee of up to £13-million (R220million) has been mooted for Leverkusen to sell the former Manchester United forward, who is keen to return to the Premier League. If, as expected, West Ham sign all three players to add to the free transfer of Pablo Zabaleta, who was allowed to leave City after his contract ended, it would be a hugely successful transfer window for the club and manager Slaven Bilic.
Stoke had rejected two bids for the Austrian international before agreeing an offer which amounts to £20million in cash upfront with an extra £4-million depending on West Ham’s qualification for the Europa League. In acquiring Hart, West Ham have persuaded City to waive a fee only weeks after the Etihad club tried to sell him permanently for £25-million (R421-million).
Hart’s departure is the latest example of City trying to offload a stockpile of unwanted players this summer as potential suitors refuse to meet their valuations. West Ham will cover all of Hart’s £4.5-million (R76-million) annual salary but a deal has been structured so as not to unsettle the east London club’s wage structure. In effect, City have waived a loan fee.
Hart, 30, is expected to be available for around £12-million (R202-million) next summer, when he will have a year left on his contract. City also want to sell Eliaquim Mangala, Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony, Fabian Delph, Fernando and Jason Denayer and will listen to offers for keeper Claudio Bravo as they look to bring former Liverpool number one Pepe Reina in as cover for new signing Ederson Moraes. But the high wages for those players have crushed their hopes of large transfer fees and raised the prospect of a fire sale near transfer deadline day.
Pep Guardiola opted to include Nasri and Mangala among the squad that flew to America on Monday for the — AFP start of their pre-season tour as City try to put the pair in the shop window while maintaining their fitness levels. City were demanding around £21-million (R354-million) each a few months ago for Nasri and Mangala, who spent last season on loan at Sevilla and Valencia respectively, but they have been forced to drop those valuations.
Kelechi Iheanacho is the one player City look set to get their asking price for, with Leicester in pole position to sign the Nigeria striker for £25-million (R421-million) but he is the exception in a summer that has already seen seven senior players depart. Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Jesus Navas and Willy Caballero were also released at the end of their contracts last month.
Nolito has joined Sevilla for £7.9million (R133-million), only 12 months after a £13.8-million (R233-million) move from Celta Vigo. City’s best deal of the summer so far was the £10million (R169-million) sale to Huddersfield of midfielder Aaron Mooy, whom they signed on a free transfer from Melbourne City FC. They have also sold midfielder Olivier Ntcham to Celtic for £4.5-million (R76-million). — The Daily Telegraph MANCHESTER United manager Jose Mourinho has revealed he is targeting a 15-year stay at Old Trafford, telling ESPN in an interview on Tuesday he wants to restore the stability of the Alex Ferguson era.
Mourinho, who took over the Premier League giants last year, told the netwo website that he is desperate to deliver sustained success over a longterm period just as Ferguson did over nearly three decades.
United have not won the Premier League title since Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, with the club struggling to rediscover its dominance under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal.
Mourinho has never spent longer than three years as manager of a club during his trophy-laden career.
But the 54-year-old, speaking as his team prepare to face Manchester City in Houston today in the latest leg of their US tour, insisted he saw United as a longterm project.
“I am ready for this,” Mourinho told ESPN. “I am ready for the next 15, I would say. Here? Yes, why not?
“I have to admit that it is very difficult because of the pressure around our jobs, everybody putting pressure on managers and things that people say – that we have to win, but in reality only one can win and every year it is getting more difficult.
“This club, for so many years, was Sir Alex. People got used to it; people understood the great consequences of that stability. After David [Moyes] and Mr [Louis] Van Gaal, I come to my second year and hopefully I can stay and give that stability that the club wants.
“I will have to try to deserve that, but that’s what I try every day I work.”
Mourinho believes Ferguson’s 27-year reign at United will never be emulated in the modern game.
“I think Sir Alex’s career is unique,” said Mourinho. “I don’t think it is possible to emulate . . . I think [Arsenal manager Arsene] Wenger will be the last with a similar story in terms of staying at a club for so many years.” — AFP