Having been repeatedly linked with a move to Manchester United that Real Madrid insisted would not happen, Gareth Bale could end up at Chelsea if Antonio Conte gets his way. Reports from the Spanish capital suggest that if Real land Monaco striker Kylian Mbappé from Monaco, as seems likely, their president Florentino Pérez will be happy to sanction a £90m deal with the Premier League champions for the Welshman, who has an admirer in their Italian boss.
When asked if Philippe Coutinho might be leaving Anfield last week, Jürgen Klopp said “so far nobody is going”, but rumours linking his star player to Barcelona just refuse to go away. Having sold Neymar to Paris Saint Germain for £198m, Barcelona are reported to be preparing to splurge almost half that money on a replacement Brazilian in a deal that could be finalised this week.
In better news for Liverpool fans, it’s being reported elsewhere that Barcelona have agreed a contract with Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembélé and might therefore cool their interest in Liverpool’s Brazilian if they can agree a fee with the German club. German newspaper Bild report Barcelona are also interested in taking Julian Draxler to Camp Nou, on the rather spurious grounds that the player’s agent has been seen rambling Barcelona’s La Rambla.
Ronald Koeman says Everton are “close” to finalising their attempt’s to wrap up their well documented attempts to bring Swansea midfielder and dead ball specialist Gylfi Sigurdsson to Goodison Park, where the Icelandic international could be joined by Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud. The arrival of Alexander Lacazette at the Emirates means the France striker’s Arsenal future is anything but assured and Arsène Wenger has conceded he’s going to have to trim a squad that is getting too big. “We will let some players go because too much competition for places is detrimental,” he said. Despite persistent rumours to the contrary, Alexis Sánchez may not be one of those to leave, as talk in assorted football gossip pages suggests the Chilean is happy enough to play out the final year of his Arsenal contract and go on a free transfer next summer. The unhappy Arsenal spell of Lucas Pérez looks likely to end sooner rather than later as Newcastle are ready to ramp up their interest in the Spanish striker.
Only Stoke City fans with the broadest of shoulders will be getting the name of free agent and former Schalke left winger Jean-Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting printed on their replica shirts. The German-Cameroonian is on the verge of inking a three-year deal with the Potters. Meanwhile at the King Power Stadium, Leicester City are continuing to play hard-ball with Roma over the sale of Riyad Mahrez. The Serie A side’s latest bid of almost £33m has just been rejected by the Foxes.
Newcastle’s young goalkeeper Freddie Woodman looks likely to go out on loan this season and has caught the eye of Crystal Palace and Everton, but the 20-year-old may opt to head for south London where he began his youth career and seems more likely to get a game. Liverpool and Tottenham are also reported to be interested in the England U-21 goalkeeper.
Having brought in Czech U21 right-back Ales Mateju from Viktoria Plzen for an undisclosed fee last week, Brighton will see if PSV Eindhoven midfielder Davy Propper can pass their fit and proper signings test, while Watford are interested in taking gravity-challenged winger Ashley Young to Vicarage Road from Manchester United. The Hornets are also eyeing up Liverpool defender Alberto Moreno. Back in London, the White Hart Lane hell of Tottenham’s £30m misfit Moussa Sissoko looks close to ending, with the midfielder on the verge of going on loan to Turkish outfit Trabzonspor.
And finally, West Brom are mulling over a move for Everton stalwart Gareth Barry, while Holland midfielder Wesley Sneijder, a free agent after leaving Galatasaray, is on the verge of settling in the south of France to play some Ligue 1 football with Nice.