Arsenal’s head of football Raul Sanllehi cut short his pre-season tour with the club in the US to lend strength to negotiations and has managed to sign midfielder Dani Ceballos from Real Madrid on a year’s loan. However, there will not be a purchase option as the Spanish giants want to keep Ceballos on their books.
The Gunners also brought on board after officially signing Saint Etienne centre back William Saliba in a £27million deal.
Emery was hoping to bring in four new players with a modest £45million war-chest and that means he is still short on his aspirations. I have been told that they are giving up on signing Celtic defender Kieran Tierney because the Scottish club has rejected three bids.
The last bid was for £25million with add ons for performance and appearances. Now it looks like mercurial winger Wilfried Zaha will not be joining the Gunners as they cannot agree on a realistic price for the Ivorian. Arsenal even offered Mohamed Elneny plus a young player on loan but Palace say if they lose Zaha it must be for cash.
Meanwhile, I have been told that Laurent Koscielny’s move to French club Rennes has not been agreed. Speaking with great respect to Arsenal, the French club’s president said: “We met Laurent twice last year and we asked Arsenal if they would be interested if we made an offer. We were told Laurent was not for sale. We have had no further contact with the player.” Elsewhere, Emery informed us that he has no further use for Koscielny as he did not go on the pre-season tour and the player is training with the academy players.
Could Dybala be coming to Manchester?
Here is one for Manchester United fans to consider. The Reds could make a dramatic bid for Juventus star Paolo Dybala this summer provided either Paul Pogba or Romelu Lukaku leave Old Trafford. Lukakau is the more likely to leave for Italy. The offer for Dybala would be around £90million and the Argentine could be available for the start of the season. United’s board are fed up with Inter Milan stalling on Lukaku and have been told if they want the player they must make a realistic bid now and sign him. They bid £54million last week but that was immediately rejected. Nicolas Pepe is also a possible replacement for Lukaku. He plays for French club Lille and scored 33 times last season and is valued by Lille at around £70million. However, Arsenal, PSG and Inter Milan are also interested although Arsenal do not have that much money to spend and Inter want Lukaku. Solskjaer has told his board of directors that if 26 year-old Lukaku leaves he needs a replacement quickly and Dybala would fit that role.
Everton manager upset by late arrivals
Everton manager Marco Silva has joined Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in expressing his concern at the late arrival of 50% of his team from the summer break for pre-season training. Yerry Mina and Dominic Calvert-Lewin arrived back on Tuesday but Marco says Richarlison is not expected back until Monday and he does not know yet when Idrissa Gueya will return. Silva has complained bitterly about not having his players to work with and said: “We finished last season on May 12 but we had players playing until June 11th. It doesn’t make sense. Big competitions are one thing but international dates in the middle of June doesn’t make sense and so after the season we gave some players a rest but after that they went on to play for their national teams. It doesn’t make sense to me.” I have learned that Everton are still hoping to add a striker, winger, right back and centre back to the squad before the transfer window closes in three weeks.
Expect to see more of Hudson-Odoi this season
The reason Callum Hudson-Odoi has signed a new contract with Chelsea is simple. Manager Frank Lampard has assured him that he will have plenty of playing time this coming season and not from the bench during the second half but as a starter. Hudson-Odoi became frustrated at being used as a substitute under previous manager, Maurizio Sarri, but he is a favourite of the Chelsea fans and has formed a close bond with Lampard, who he both admires and believes will look after his best interests and improve his style.
Pictures his life
I have to admit that I hate tattoos! However, watching Manchester City star Gabriel Jesus train recently I was amazed to see that he has pictures all over his body which depict his journey from the back streets of Brazil’s Sao Paulo to the world’s biggest football stadiums. His biggest and most proud tattoo will be when Manchester City win the Champions League. He said: “The tattoos are about my life and football is my life, so I would like something to remind me of the Champion’s League. I have won the Premier League title in England and the Brazilian championship with Palmeiras back home in Brazil. I did not get tattoos for those achievements but I did for winning the gold medal with Brazil at the Olympics in Rio. I would be happy to one day run out of skin because I want to win all the titles!” I can’t say that thrills me personally but I wish him luck in pursuit of his dream.
Sickness forces Arsenal goalkeeper back to UK
Hugo Lloris flew home from Tottenham’s pre-season tour of Asia when he complained of feeling ill soon after the squad’s plane landed in Singapore. He did not train and was not recovering so the medical team decided to send him back to London for more specialised treatment after diagnosing tonsillitis. The team are now in Shanghai and expected home in a few days.
Alderweireld looks like staying at Spurs
Good news for Spurs’ fans is Toby Alderweireld’s comment that he is not actively looking to leave White Hart Lane during the transfer period. Several clubs came knocking on Tottenham’s door but were put off by a £25million price fee for the 30 year-old. Toby has a clause in his contract which states that the club has to agree to sell him if a bid of £25million is made. However, as a gesture of good faith between Toby and manager Mauricio Pochettino, he was made captain for the win over Juventus in Singapore on Sunday. Tottenham, by the way, have been negotiating with relegated Fulham to take full back Ryan Sessegnon to north London for around £20million.
Coutinho’s value going downhill
Philippe Coutinho is rightly concerned about his career performance rating and because he has been failing for Barcelona, his value has plummeted. After pressing for a transfer from Liverpool, who wanted to keep the Brazilian, he moved to Barcelona for £140million. What happened is typical of a very hyped up player, like for instance Alexis Sanchez, and his performances lacked confidence and quality. He couldn’t live up to his price tag. The Barcelona fans were quick to show their disapproval which made matters worse. During Barca’s humiliating 4-0 defeat by Liverpool in the Champions League he was pulled off the pitch after only 60 minutes. Now leading accountancy and network services company KPMG have lowered Coutinho’s value by a staggering 22million Euros. Only Neymar, who’s value has dropped 34 million euros, Alexis Sanchez 23 million euros and Romelu Lukaku 22 million euros, have dropped more in value. Coutinho was 25 when he left and he is now 27. He has also been replaced in the world’s top ten footballers by Raheem Sterling. Liverpool have a chance to take him back but both supporters and the board are not convinced it would be a good deal.
De Gea wants to be captain
Ole Gunner Soslkjaer has an interesting problem on his hands. Several of his superstars want to wear the captain’s armband following the exit of Antonio Valencia. The latest is goalkeeper David De Gea. After agreeing to sign another six year extension to his contract for £375k a week, he sat down with Solskjaer and formally asked if he could be the new captain. Ole did not immediately agree but told De Gea he would think about it and that Paul Pogba was also another being considered. De Gea said: “I’ve been captain for some games…I feel like one of the most experienced players…I’ll be really, really happy to be captain. I need to show the younger players what United means and that is important to me.” Solskjaer has promised to reveal his choice before United’s opening game against Chelsea at Old Trafford on August 11th.
Bale has his future in his hands
I rarely get annoyed but the disgraceful treatment of Gareth Bale at Real Madrid by manager Zinedine Zidane is no joke. Gareth, arguably one of the world’s top five payers, has been humiliated time and again by Zidane even if the bitter pill is sweetened by Gareth earning mega amounts of money. He has been left on the bench so many times when inferior players have taken his place on the pitch. Even this week, Gareth came off the bench against Arsenal on their US tour and scored, made one assist and had a shot cleared off the line…he was the star act. Gareth has always said he will leave when he wants to and will not be pushed. Bale earns £650k a week at Madrid and there is talk of £1million a week being offered if he signs for Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan. At one point there was a discussion between Madrid and Paris St Germain about swapping Neymar for Bale but that came to nothing.
