EPL Gossip Thursday May 28th
Chelsea are in talks to sign Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribery for £43m. Manchester United also want the 26-year-old French international as a potential replacement for winger Cristiano Ronaldo. (The Sun)
Chelsea may be forced to pay a British transfer record of £45m if they are to land Ribery. (Daily Star)
Going back two years, Bayern Munich made sure they squeezed every last dollar out of Manchester United when they signed Owen Hargreaves. Whoever decides to go after Ribery would have to cough up £40m before Bayern Munich would even blink.
Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho is planning an £8m move for Manchester City’s Brazilian midfielder Elano. (The Sun)
Elano plays a lot better for the Brazilian national team than he does for Manchester City. A change to Serie A may be more suited to Elano’s style of play.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has lined up Athletic Bilbao midfielder Javi Martinez as a long-term replacement for Xabi Alonso. Bilbao want £10m for the 20-year-old. (Daily Mirror)
If Bilbao want £10m for Javi Martinez, Liverpool shouldn’t even think twice about paying it. Not only could Martinez be everything Lucas is not but he could also be worth twice that 10 million figure in a couple of years.
Aston Villa have inquired about midfielder David Bentley’s future at Tottenham. (Daily Mirror)
Villa shouldn’t inquired about Bentley’s future at Tottenham since he has none. Villa should inquire about what it would take to sign Bentley.
Bolton and Blackburn are fighting it out for Villarreal’s Chile international Matias Fernandez. The 23-year-old midfielder will make a decision once the Spanish season ends at the weekend. (The Sun)
Fernandez has the talent to become the next Antonio Valencia but neither Bolton or Blackburn play the type of game which is suited to his strengths.
Middlesbrough have put winger Stewart Downing up for sale but only to a top-four club. (Daily Mirror)
Why does it even matter? It’s not like Middlesbrough are going to be a competition with a non top four club next season.
Wigan will look to Swansea boss Roberto Martinez if Sunderland agree to pay the £5m in compensation to take Latics manager Steve Bruce to the Stadium of Light. (The Times)
Martinez did do a good job taking Swansea from League One to the brink of the Championship playoffs last year, playing attractive football all the while.
Alan Shearer, who is set to become the permanent manager of Newcastle, is playing hardball with Magpies owner Mike Ashley over a £15m to £20m transfer pot for next season. (Daily Mirror)
The issue isn’t the transfer budget. The main issue is who are you going to get that is willing to play for a Championship team? Yes I know this is an EPL Gossip post which Newcastle is no longer a part of but just go with it for a few weeks.