It seems that Manchester United are not set to dominate a couple of weeks of the transfer window, but rather the majority of it, with the Red Devils being the club who have seen the most action yet again this week.
The one transfer that everyone thought was a sure thing, David De Gea to Real Madrid, actually seems like it won’t happen this summer, but that doesn’t mean other moves haven’t been taking place.
Liverpool have sealed the deal for Christian Benteke, meaning Aston Villa have had to flash the cash in order to fill another hole in their squad, and Chelsea seem determined to land John Stones, with Jose Mourinho also eyeing up a reunion with one of this former players.
Newcastle United and Manchester City are also set to see arrivals and departures in the next couple of weeks, and they are not the only ones, so let’s take a look at a transfer window round up from the last week.
Confirmed
Given we’re right in the middle of the window, you might expect more to be going on, but really, it seems like there are a whole lot of rumours flying around right now and that’s about it. Manchester United have finally confirmed that they have signed Sergio Romero as a Victor Valdes replacement, and while that might not actually have much of an impact on the squad going into next season, it is a noteworthy move, especially if David De Gea does leave. Romero has been signed as the number two, so if Spaniard De Gea departs, expect another stopper to be targeted by Van Gaal, namely Jasper Cillessen.
Another bit of good news for United fans is that the club have tied down young starlet Callum Gribbin to a new four year deal according to BBC Sport, and while we won’t be seeing much of him in the first team, the fact United managed to keep him and fend off interest from Liverpool will come as welcome news to the coaches and the fans.
Wojciech Szczesny has taken matters into his own hands and confirmed that he will be joining Roma on Monday, taking to social media to announce the move obviously, and it comes as a surprise to approximately no one, given Arsenal have signed Petr Cech and are keeping David Ospina to boot. He will initially join the Serie A side on loan, and then make a permanent move next summer. The Polish keeper even learnt his speech to Roma fans in Italian, and looks to be on his best behaviour, with cigarettes nowhere to be seen.
Aston Villa are another club who look like having to make a couple of moves before the window closes, and considering they have let both Fabian Delph and Christian Benteke leave in the last couple of weeks, they have both cash to splash and places in the squad to fill, and Sky Sports claim they have completed a deal for Jordan Ayew. The striker has signed a five year deal, and cost the club £8.5 million from Lorient, with Tim Sherwood determined to have his squad sorted by the end of the transfer window, and preferably, the start of the season, with Idrissa Gueye and Jordan Amavi already having joined the club from Lile and Nice, taking their summer spending to £27.5 after seemingly borrowing Newcastle’s scouting team with their French connections.
In The Pipeline
The usual names are doing the rounds, but one of the more interesting links came from Sky Italia, who are linking Jose Callejon with a switch to Chelsea and reunion with Jose Mourinho, with the duo enjoying a successful spell together at Real Madrid. Chelsea do have space on that right hand side and you can see a move for Calleti coming off if Juan Cuadrado, Mo Salah and Victor Moses are all shown the exit door, which is looking more and more likely as the summer passes. Spurs are also thought to be keen on the player, but let’s be honest, if they haven’t learnt from the Willian saga yet, they never will.
Stevan Jovetic is set to leave Manchester City this week, with a medical at Inter Milan scheduled for Tuesday according to reports in the Italian press and the player’s own Twitter account, and a loan move with a compulsory purchase in 2017 thought to be the deal City are trying to push through. The loan fee is set to be £2.1 million and then a £8.6 million fee to buy him has been mooted. Jovetic never really got going following his move to City, with injures and a lack of chances hampering his time at the club, and after Bony signed last winter, it was always going to be curtains for the forward.
For once, Newcastle aren’t seeing mass exits and have even been linked with highly coveted forward Charlie Austin, who is expected to complete a move to the side in the coming weeks should several press outlets be believed, with the player keen to continue his career in the Premier League and unwilling to spend a season in the Championship with Queens Park Rangers. It could be a masterstroke of a move by the Magpies, with Austin already proving he can score at the highest level.
Sky Sports are reporting that Angel Di Maria’s move to PSG is almost complete, with Manchester United and the Ligue 1 side thrashing out a fee for the winger, who is determined to leave United this summer. The club will have to take a hit on the player who only joined a year ago, but it seems that Louis van Gaal is willing to do that, and then reinvest the money in another player, who looks like being Barcelona winger Pedro. United could come out on top of the deal if Pedro settles in England, but anyone who doesn’t think Di Maria will be tearing up Ligue 1 next season is sorely mistaken.
Chelsea are also set to make an improved bid for John Stones according to the Mirror, with the Blues set to offer £26 million for the defender, something that looks like being rejected straight away by Everton, who are determined to hold out for upwards of £30 million for one of their best players and a prospect who they think could be worth even more in a couple of seasons.
There’s more chance of it actually being Liverpool’s year than…
Sergio Ramos joining Manchester United. It was never going to happen. In a Dani Alves 2.0 situation, the defender had no intention of ever joining Manchester United, and was using the interest from Louis van Gaal’s side to get a better deal from Real Madrid.
That’s all well and good considering he was on far less than his counterparts across Europe, but at the same time, to string United along so badly that they even attempted talk of a swap deal with De Gea is poor form from the player and his agent.
