Will Rooney leave Man Utd?
CHELSEA IS KEEN FOR HIS SIGNATURE
THE buzzword in world football at the moment is “transfer” after the window swung open on July 1.
Already, many top clubs have conducted some serious business with the likes of Paulinho joining Tottenham Hotspur and Andre Schurlle confirming his move to Chelsea.
Arsenal are on the brink of what will be a major coup for them if the proposed deal for Gonzalo Higuian of Real Madrid goes through as expected.
The appointment of Mark Hughes as Stoke City manager to replace the sacked Tony Pulis has brought muchneeded enthusiasm and hope to the perennial strugglers.
The latest word from Stoke City is that the club is busy preparing to rid itself of the deadwood. Meanwhile preparations are already afoot to bring in some of the Premier League’s most reliable journeymen to ensure that Stoke City do not hover near the relegation zone this season.
Mark Hughes is in advanced negotiations to sign Jermain Defoe from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of six million pounds (around R90m) to revive the striking partnership of Defoe and Peter Crouch.
This may only become a reality if Crouch does not decide to take up an offer to move to Queens Park Rangers who are now under the managerial leadership of both Crouch and Defoe’s former Spurs manager Harry Redknapp.
Roma midfielder Daniele de Rossi is keen to join Chelsea - but the Blues will have to match the player’s current wage package of 5.5 million pounds (around R83m) after tax.
Chelsea look to be investing hugely in their revival plans as they attempt to wrestle the Premiership title from champions Manchester United.
Jose Mourinho’s return “home” to Chelsea has made him “The Happy One”.
The Portuguese master tactician is keenly pursuing a number of top class signings to further his aspirations of becoming one of the most successful managers of all time in the world of football.
Love him or loathe him, but there can be no denying that Mourinho brings a certain element of class and an aura of aristocracy to his management style.
Perhaps the most mouthwatering piece of information emanating from Stamford Bridge at this very moment is the prospect of Liverpool striker Luis Suarez signing for the Londoners. Hmmm! I wonder if Mourinho will try to use Bratislav Ivanovic as bait to lure Suarez to Stamford Bridge?
Mourinho, having lost out on signing Napoli’s Edison Cavani, (who is PSG-bound) is seriously pursuing the idea of bringing either Luis Suarez or Manchester United star Wayne Rooney to Stamford Bridge.
He is, however, facing stiff competition from Arsenal for the signature of Rooney whilst the latest news is that Spanish club Barcelona are also preparing an offer for Rooney who looks to be unhappy at Old Trafford.
Everton boss Roberto Martinez has joined the race for Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama who has also attracted interest from Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Southampton.
Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal will also step up their interest in 19-year-old Freiburg midfielder Matthias Ginter.
The Gunners are also keen on Manchester City and England midfielder Gareth Barry.
Spain’s Thiago Alcantara will join Manchester United in a 20 million pound (R 300m) five-year deal next week.
Tottenham Hotspur are planning to sign Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke for about R200 million and are prepared to wait until after the new season has started before completing any deal for the 22year-old striker who is also being courted by Atletico Madrid and Arsenal.
Sevilla striker Alvaro Negredo is expected to complete his R200 million move to Manchester City this week but manager Manuel Pellegrini has missed out on Napoli forward Edison Cavani who is closing in on a deal to sign for Paris-Saint Germain.
Tom Huddlestone is nearing the exit door at White Hart Lane with former manager Martin Jol, now of Fulham, as well as Paolo di Canio of Sunderland keen on acquiring the midfielder’s services.
Already, the likes of David Bentley and William Gallas have been released on free transfers from Tottenham Hotspur and there are further rumours to suggest that Spurs will be off-loading Scott Parker to QPR, Emmanuel Adebayor to Besiktas and Jermain Defoe to Stoke City.
This would then free up funds to secure Spurs superstar Gareth Bale on a new bumper contract which will ensure that the Spurs talisman goes home happy every week with a R2,5 million wage pay packet.