Milan haven’t made a statement on the football pitch for quite some time and having had an underwhelming start to the season, that doesn’t look like changing any time soon. So, instead, they’ll focus on making a statement off it. Specifically, by channelling all their efforts into winning the January transfer window. The club’s new owner, Li Yonghong, has spent a good few months seeing how modern football works. And having grasped the concept of spending vast amounts of money on often fallible young men, he’ll order a crane to dump £80m outside the Etihad Stadium in exchange for Sergio Agüero, a player who could seemingly deliver 100 goals in a season and the moon on a stick to Pep Guardiola only to be met with a shrug.
The Italians could be done a huge favour if Arsenal accept Manchester City’s £20m offer for soon-to-be-out-of-contract Alexis Sánchez in January. And let’s be realistic, after turbo-charged full-backs, scurrying fake nines are Guardiola’s favourite kind of player. And if he can get shut of a cold-eyed centre-forward in the process then all the better. City will also trigger Sergi Roberto’s £40m Barcelona release clause in January because he’s a wing-back and Guardiola can’t help himself.
If City do land Sánchez who will score Arsenal’s goals? A player who is yet to fulfil his potential, of course. But not Theo Walcott – he’ll be off home to Southampton soon enough. No, the man to fill the void left by Sanchéz will be Anthony Martial, that’s who. Apparently, Thierry Henry reckons he’ll be far better than he ever was and the Gunners have listened to their former talisman’s gushing praise and made him a key transfer target. But if, as expected, Barcelona get there first Arsenal will make a move for Everton’s 19-year-old Ademola Lookman, a player who is far too fast for Ronald Koeman to understand. And while we’re on the subject of Everton, Koeman has been told by his Goodison paymasters that he needs to have his Toffees playing sweet football by the end of October or he’ll be sent skittering down County Road towards Lime Street with his P45.
Over at Chelsea, Antonio Conte faces a battle to get Thibaut Courtois to sign a new contract. Back when the goalkeeper was one of the club’s loanees at Atlético he got to know and love the city of Madrid. And now that Real Madrid have the hots for him, he’d quite like to walk the sun-kissed Gran Via again. Quite how Conte will persuade Courtois to stay when the Italian can’t even persuade himself to stay is another matter. But good luck.
Internazionale are going to help Jürgen Klopp to maybe think about signing a player who actually gives a flying one about defending by nipping in front of Liverpool to sign Marco Reus from Borussia Dortmund.
And Crystal Palace have found the man who is single-handedly going to spark the Royvolution. It’s Besiktas striker Cenk Tosun, who will cost £22m, the lucky fella’.