Well, this is awkward. After yesterday’s act of gross insubordination, in which the Rumour Mill poured scorn on the futility and utter pointlessness of its own existence, here we are at the start of another week, surveying the football landscape to see what’s being reported in the wide and crazy world of feverish football transfer speculation.
The Mirror reports that Ross Barkley will have to take a pay cut if he is to leave Everton for Tottenham as his suitors aren’t prepared to give him the £120,000 per week stipend he’s asking for to move to north London. Were Spurs to acquiesce to Barkley’s demands, he would become the highest paid player at a club where even Harry Kane is forced to try to make ends meet on weekly pay of £100,000, a sum that barely amounts to the London living wage.
After winning their first trophy of the season with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Sevilla and their 100% record, things got increasingly weird at Arsenal when Arsène Wenger spoke of how “ideal” it is that Mesut Özil has only a year left on his contract and is in a stand-off with the club. Reports from Spain suggest Barcelona could make a move for the German if they are unsuccessful in their attempts to prise Philippe Coutinho from Anfield for £85m.
Alexis Sánchez, meanwhile, is still recuperating from his man-flu in Chile but expected to return on Monday night with speculation rife on the Manchester City training ground that he’ll soon be pitching up there for rondos. The Manchester Evening News reports that there is “anticipation within the City squad that the Chile international will head to the Etihad”. Sky Sports say Sánchez may pass the time on his flight back to Blighty inking a transfer request to present to the Arsenal hierarchy upon his return. In other Arsenal news, Kieran Gibbs may also leave the Emirates, having caught the eye of Watford manager Marco Silva.
Reports from France suggest Paris Saint-Germain right-back Serge Aurier is off to Manchester United, having been deemed surplus to requirements by Unai Emery. Sky’s fabled “sources” also say Manchester United have agreed a £40m fee with Chelsea for Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic and are confident of sounding the “done deal” klaxon in the coming days.
Having rejected Roma bids of £20m and £32m for Riyad Mahrez, Leicester City bean-counters are staging an office sweep to see what random number the Italians will come up with next. That old adage about God never closing a door without opening a window is likely to be proved true when Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho finally rocks up at the King Power Stadium. Meanwhile at West Brom, Tony Pulis wants Thomas Vermaelen to swap like for like and move from Camp Nou to the Hawthorns.
Despite the wealth of talent in their own youth set-up, Chelsea are hell bent on taking 19-year-old Bayern Munich midfielder Renato Sanches to Stamford Bridge on a season-long loan and will pay whatever it takes to get him there. The Star reports that Sanches may choose to go to Milan instead, because he’s worried the presence of Tiemoué Bakayoko at Chelsea would mean he’ll spend too much time kicking his heels on the bench. Back in London following their money-spinning tour of Asia, Chelsea’s players will be given a few days off prior to next weekend’s Community Shield match against Arsenal.
Midfielder Darron Gibson is almost certainly bracing himself for an awkward conversation with Sunderland manager Simon Grayson, having been filmed by fans disparaging his club and several of his team-mates after a few sherries on Saturday night. The Republic of Ireland international almost certainly didn’t say anything that wasn’t true but is likely to face disciplinary action for bringing himself and the club into very public disrepute.
In nearby Newcastle, the Chronicle reports that Hearts are interested in bringing reserve goalkeeper Freddie Woodman to Tynecastle. Defender Massadio Haïdara may also be heading for the St James’s Park exit door, with 90s synth pop and dance outfit Saint Etienne rumoured to be interested in giving him a fresh start. Tim Krul, Achraf Lazaar and Henri Saivet have also been told they’re surplus to Rafael Benítez’s requirements as the Spaniard focusses on bringing in a new striker for the imminent Premier League campaign. The names of Loïc Rémy and Lucas Pérez have been mentioned in passing.
There, that wasn’t so bad.