EPL Gossip Monday August 31st
Tottenham, Sunderland and Stoke are locked in a three-way battle to sign Portsmouth goalkeeper David James before the transfer deadline. Daily Mirror
Despite Sunderland and Stoke strong start to the season don’t see David James picking either of them over Tottenham. Besides, with the way Stoke are playing why risk it by bringing in a new goalie when Thomas Sørensen has played well.
West Ham have reportedly turned down an offer from Italian side Fiorentina for defender Matthew Upson. Sky Sports
Won’t be the end of the world for Fiorentina as English players are often fish out of water when playing outside of England.
Spurs will offer £8m to capture both James and Pompey midfielder Niko Kranjcar. Daily Mail
Would be insult to injury for Pompey fans if the first thing new ownership does is sell Niko Kranjcar to Tottenham.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is still hopefully of concluding deals to bring Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh and Inter Milan’s former Gunners midfielder Patrick Vieira to the Emirates. Daily Mirror
Maybe Arsenal will get an extra two days to wrap the transfers up like they received when finally signing Arshavin in February.
Stoke are keen on bringing Manchester City winger Martin Petrov to the Britannia Stadium, but could face competition for his signature from Tottenham. Daily Star
With Luka Modric injured it seems Tottenham are linked with every player you could think of. Someone should jump in and rescue Martin Petrov from rotting away this season on the Manchester City bench.
Sunderland are in talks with Hull over a £9m swap deal for defender Michael Turner. The transfer could see Frazier Campbell move in the opposite direction. Daily Mirror
Talk about wearing out your welcome quick if this was the case. Sunderland only signed Campbell back in June. Can’t see Hull taking Campbell back after he has rejected them twice in two years.
Portsmouth are hoping to sign Aston Villa left-back Nicky Shorey. The Sun
With Stephen Warnock coming in, Shorey doesn’t need tea leafs to figure his first team chances will be limited.
Everton’s £6m-move for Atletico Madrid defender Johnny Heitinga is in danger of collapsing over the player’s large wage demands.
Full story: Daily Mirror
I’m surprised it got this far. Everton needs to think what can they offer Heitinga for him to make the switch. Considering life in Spain, Taxes and Champions League football well the answer is going to be cash and lots of it.
Chelsea defender John Terry will become the highest-paid player in the country after agreeing a new £8m-a-year deal with the London club. The Sun
Terry has put pen to paper. I’m sure this was agreed weeks ago when the Terry-Manchester City rumours were heating up by announced today with it being an international week.