Well done everyone, you’ve made it through the barren summer months – the Premier League is back.
Arsenal
and Leicester provided the perfect start to the new season – but there
is still plenty of transfer business to be done too.
Liverpool are trying their hardest to keep Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona’s cash-rich clutches, while Arsenal are still trying to resolve to Alexis Sanchez saga.
Not content with landing Neymar for £199million, Paris Saint-Germain are closing in on Monaco starlet Kylian Mbappe in another eye-watering deal – but will they get their man?
Follow all the latest gossip, rumours and done deals as they happen right here.
Besiktas land Medel
It’s official! Gary Medel has joined Besiktas from Inter Milan.
In a bargain £3m deal, the Chilean moves to the Turkish Super League.
He could make his debut on Sunday vs Antalyaspor.
Catalan press continue Coutinho pursuit
The
Catalan press of Mundo Deportivo and Sport continue to fill their front
pages with news of Barcelona’s pursuit of Philippe Coutinho.
Mundo
Deportivo report the player is looking to force his move to the Camp
Nou, while Sport believe Ousmane Dembele is using a similar tactic.
Despite Liverpool’s stance, this one looks set to run…
Barca set to make improved offer for Dembele
Barcelona
are said to be lining up an improved £110 million bid for Ousmane
Dembele as they look to secure a replacement for Neymar.
The
Catalans had an £80 million bid rejected by Borussia Dortmund, but
Dembele failed to show up for training yesterday and reportedly flew out
to Spain to try and force through a move.
Dembele impressed in his first season in the Bundesliga, and is regarded as one of the hottest prospects in world football.
Ashley tells Benitez Newcastle must live within means
Frustrated Rafa Benitez and Newcastle fans have been told by owner Mike Ashley you know the rules, get on with it.
Ashley refuses to dip into his personal wealth, saying will not take on “the equivalent of countries” in the transfer market.
But he repeated that every penny Benitez generates is his to do what he wants with.
He said: “Every penny the club generates, he can have, but it won’t generate enough. It’s Newcastle United.
“It
doesn’t have a £40m a year stadium naming rights deal. So I don’t want
the fans to think ‘that’s great, Rafa’s getting £150m in the morning’.
He’s not.
“With Lee Charnley’s help – and Lee Charnley answers to
Rafa not the other way around, so we’re crystal clear – Rafa makes all
the final decisions on the players out and the players in, but he has to
do it with the money the club has.”
Spurs to defy Barca’s Eriksen bid
Tottenham will defy any attempt by Barcelona to target Christian Eriksen.
The
north Londoners are aware that 25-year-old has become another potential
target for the Spanish giants with Liverpool determined to win their
fight to keep Phillippe Coutinho.
Denmark
international Eriksen scored 12 goals in all competitions last season.
He also provided 15 Premier League assists, second behind Kevin De
Bruyne’s 18 for Manchester City.
But
Daniel Levy has decreed there will be no further exits from the club
from the players that Mauricio Pochettino wants to keep.
The Spurs chairman is abroad on transfer business with the club keen to strengthen in the last few weeks of the window.
Spurs considering big Diop swoop
Tottenham are keen to sign Celta Vigo midfielder Pape Diop.
The
20-year-old Senegalese star has a £25million release clause in his
contract and has represented Spain at Under-18 and Under-19 level.
Diop’s current deal at Celta runs until 2021.
Van Dijk fired warning by Pellegrino
Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino has warned rogue captain Virgil van Dijk : No player is bigger than the team.
Liverpool
target Van Dijk this week handed in a transfer request and will miss
Saints’ opening day clash at home to Swansea today due to a ‘virus’.
Pellegrino
said yesterday: “The problem here is that Virgil is one of the most
important players. But there isn’t one player more important than the 11
players playing together.
“Virgil is an important player but the
club was clear from the beginning with the player. We cannot control
every situation and Virgil is part of our club because he has a
contract.
“The player is clear with his position but we have to
keep going because I can’t control the thinking of the player at this
moment.”
Dutchman Van Dijk has been training in isolation since telling Pellegrino he wants to leave last month.
Coutinho’s bid to force move breaks into open warfare with owners
Philippe Coutinho’s bid to engineer a move to Barcelona has broken into open warfare with Liverpool’s owners.
The
player personally submitted a transfer request yesterday, even as his
manager Jurgen Klopp was insisting he would not leave, after a
“definitive” statement from club chiefs declared he would be at Anfield
when the window closes.
And in a carefully orchestrated move a statement was issued by an unnamed member of Coutinho’s‘family’,
saying: “Philippe has tried very hard to find an amicable solution to
this situation but to no avail. He has tremendous love for the club and
its fans.
“But like Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez have pointed
out in the past, Liverpool does not let its players leave on amicable
terms.”
Chelsea embroiled in legal battle over Costa
Diego Costa is involved in a legal battle with Chelsea, who have no idea when he will return to the club.
Chelsea outcast Costa, the club’s top scorer last season, is still on holiday and has posted regular pictures of himself partying in Brazil.
Costa is being paid £140,000-a-week but has yet to return to training after an ugly war of words with Antonio Conte who insists that he has no future at the club.
Costa’s
representatives has accused Conte of forcing him out of the club and
now the club are locked in a legal battle which leaves them facing a
bitter stalemate.
When asked Costa will return, Chelsea boss Conte admitted: “I don’t know. There is no news.”
A Chelsea spokesman added: “There is nothing to report on that.”
Mbappe to be offered £16m-a-year?
Paris Saint-Germain will offer Kylian Mbappe over £16million-a-year in wages to join from Monaco, according to reports.
PSG are looking to assemble a team of galaticos following the arrival of Neymar for a world record fee this summer.
Monaco
sensation Mbappe is next on the list and they are reportedly prepared
to pay him €18million-per-annum (£16.4m) on a five-year deal.
L’Equipe claim that PSG are confident the bid will help convince him to quit the Ligue 1 champions for their closest rivals.
The wages are expected to be fair bigger than what Real Madrid could offer.
Spurs in talks over Sanchez move (not that one)
Tottenham are in talks to sign £35million Ajax defender Davinson Sanchez .
The
north Londoners were last night confident of landing the coup that
would shatter their transfer record and produce the perfect response to
their critics.
Spurs
chairman Daniel Levy is understood to be in Amsterdam trying to thrash
out a deal for the twice-capped 21-year-old who has made himself one of
the most sought-after defenders in Europe.
England left-back Danny Rose expressed concern this week that the club would once again target “players you have to Google”.
City weighing up move for Barca star
Reports in Spain are linking Manchester City with a move for Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets.
Busquets
first broke into the Barca team under current City boss Pep Guardiola,
and Guardiola believes the Spain international could be open to a move
after spending his entire career to date at the Nou Camp.
The
29-year-old has won two Champions Leagues, six La Liga titles, the World
Cup and the European Championships and so would provide vast top level
experience as Guardiola looks to build a team that can dominate both
English and European football.
United deal for Perisic may not be dead
Manchester
United have been given hope in their bid to sign Inter Milan winger
Ivan Perisic, after his agent reportedly spoke to United representatives
to see if another offer was being lined up.
Perisic has a new
contract offer from Inter on the table, but according to reports in the
Italian media the Croatia international wants to see if United are still
interested before signing the deal.
Jose Mourinho had previously
hinted that a deal for Perisic was now unlikely to happen, but he could
now be tempted to go in for the winger again.
Boro keeper coach in emotional exit from club
Middlesbrough goalkeeper coach Leo Percovich has left the club after nearly four years, and leaves with a “heavy heart”.
Talking
to the Middlesbrough Gazette, the Uruguayan said: “Obviously I am sad
to leave the club but I leave as a friend of the club and as a fan.
“It’s a top class club full of top class people and I leave with so many great memories.”
Boro keeper coach in emotional exit from club
Middlesbrough goalkeeper coach Leo Percovich has left the club after nearly four years, and leaves with a “heavy heart”.
Talking
to the Middlesbrough Gazette, the Uruguayan said: “Obviously I am sad
to leave the club but I leave as a friend of the club and as a fan.
“It’s a top class club full of top class people and I leave with so many great memories.”
Burnley to launch bid for Championship striker
Burnley are considering a £15 million swoop for Leeds striker Chris Wood after losing Andre Gray to Watford earlier this week.
Boss
Sean Dyche is desperate to strengthen his squad for this season, and
Wood could be tempted by another crack at Premier League football after
being a bit part player at Leicester three years ago.
Wood scored
30 goals in all competitions for Leeds last season, 29 more than his
potential replacement Pierre-Michel Lasogga who is said to be on the
Elland Road radar.
Feghouli’s move to Galatasaray delayed
Sofiane Feghouli’s move from West Ham to Galatasaray is reportedly being held up.
Reports
in Turkey claim that a dispute between Feghouli and the Hammers over a
signing on fee means the deal has not yet been confirmed.
Feghouli started pre-season training with West Ham but has since been trying to force through an exit from the London Stadium.
Conte desperate to sign Sergi Roberto
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is desperate to see off competition from Manchester United and Juventus to land Sergi Roberto.
Roberto
has mainly played as a right-back for Barcelona, but favours a midfield
role and so could be open to a £35 million move to the Premier League
with the Blues needing to boost their thin squad.
He famously
scored the goal that clinched one of the most remarkable comebacks of
all time as Barcelona beat PSG 6-1 in the Champions League to overturn a
4-0 first leg deficit last season.
Ozil poised to stay at the Emirates
Mesut Ozil is close to agreeing a new £225,000 per week deal to stay at Arsenal, according to reports.
The
German has raised serious questions about his Gunners future along with
Alexis Sanchez by failing to sign a new contract as his current one
enters its final year.
But it looks as though a compromise has been reached, and the World Cup winner is set to become the club’s highest earner.
Mbappe joining PSG ‘to play with Neymar’
Kylian Mbappe has chosen to join PSG so he can form a deadly strike partnership with Neymar, according to reports.
The
18-year-old scored 21 goals in a stunning first season with Monaco, but
is now set to join their bitter domestic rivals for £162 million.
He
is expected to earn around £15 million a year, but says it is the
chance to play with world record signing Neymar and not the money that
has persuaded him to join the Paris outfit.
Chelsea favourites to land Oxlade-Chamberlain
Not long now until Arsenal and Leicester get the Premier League season under way.
The
future of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been in the air this summer after
he entered the final year of his contract at the Emirates.
And according to Ladbrokes, champions Chelsea lead the running to land the England midfielder.
They have him as a 2/1 chance to join the Blues, while he’s 4/1 to by snapped up by Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
Manchester City are the outsiders at 10/1.
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