According to Don Balón, Zinedine Zidane has his greedy eye on Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, who could be part of a wide-scale rebuilding project at the end of this season if it looks like Real Madrid’s current squad – and in particular their “BBC” attacking trident – are on a downward slope. David de Gea (inevitably), Paulo Dybala and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are also mentioned, with the newspaper suggesting that “if Real’s performance is sub-optimal over this campaign, after two quiet transfer windows we could see a very busy summer in 2018”, adding that Zidane has given the current side until Christmas to impress him, after which he will begin serious planning for next season.
There is news, though, about David de Gea’s immediate future. In April his £3.85m home was put up for sale (not by De Gea himself, mind – he was only renting) sparking rumours that he was about to leave Manchester for Madrid. Then in June, after the sale of the property was completed and just in time for the transfer window, he moved out. Now, three weeks after that window ended without an outbound transfer, he has moved into a new place just 500 yards from the first, a development the Sun has interpreted as “hinting at a long-term Manchester United stay”.
You will notice, going back to the list of players Real Madrid are keen on, that there is nary a mention of Alexis Sánchez. That is perhaps because the Chilean has decided that Manchester City will be his next destination, no matter who else comes in for him, according to the Mirror. City fans may consider this encouraging, but would do well to remember that Sánchez originally joined Arsenal because “I thought they were the perfect club for me, the perfect club to win titles and compete in every competition”, since when they have indeed won titles and competed, but only in the FA Cup. His success-predicting skills therefore appear a little wobbly.
RB Leipzig hope to shut down talk of Timo Werner’s departure by tying him to a new contract, a move their chairman, Oliver Mintzlaff, admits “is certainly a priority”. Perhaps it’s just as well, as the player’s mind is certainly straying – so far this week he has told one interviewer that though “I do not think what is ahead in one, two or three years,” he does “of course want to play at a big club”. On that occasion he went as far as listing the big clubs he might want to play at: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético or any of England’s top six. Then after RB Leipzig’s draw with Monaco on Wednesday, he admitted that “of course it is a pleasure to read that Real Madrid are interested” and that “it would be a mistake to say that I am not interested” but that “I’m not thinking about Real Madrid or any other big club, just RB Leipzig”.
Talking of big-name signings from Germany, Manchester United are preparing to have another go at signing Thomas Müller next summer, according to the Sun. An attempt to sign the player two years ago came to nothing but, the paper writes, “sources close to Bayern say Müller accepts he may now need a new challenge”. In other German player news, Benedikt Höwedes’ agent has revealed that Arsenal were among the clubs that tried to get his man in the summer – along with Roma and Leicester – before the 29-year-old defender opted to join Juventus from Schalke instead. And in other Italy-based defender news, Liverpool want Lazio’s Stefan de Vrij to sort out their rickety backline.
Back in Germany, André Breitenreiter, manager of Bundesliga side Hannover 96, has his eye on a surprise deal – for Robbie Williams, who back in July played a concert at the team’s HDI Arena and was so impressive the club’s scouts think they should let him entertain them on a regular basis – with boots on and with a ball at his feet. “We’ve got a space going up front. Robbie Williams can definitely pop by and join in a training session with the boys. Let’s see what he can do,” Breitenreiter said, after Williams enthused that Hannover had become “my favourite place in Germany” and was so bowled over by the city that “I want to start supporting their football team”.