Rumours have it that this Summer’s transfer window will be a doozie, most notably in the EPL. Man United have been lining up players since 2010 and there is to be a huge clearout, Chelsea are prepared to add to the Torres deal to rebuild an aging squad, Liverpool, while not going to be shopping for big names are stepping it up to bolster their squad with more transfer of the Carroll/Torres ilk, should City qualify for the UCL then all bets are off with regards to them, Arsenal are going to have to shit or get off the pot and with rumours abounding that Wenger has made a €15m bid for PSG centre-back Mamadou Sakho he might be about to shit, and well, 'Arry likes a deal dont 'e?
Douglas Costa to Man Utd seems to be one rumour that isn’t going away.
Neuer isn’t staying with Schalke, rejected a new contract, and is holding a press conference later today. Utd and Bayern must be the favourites there with the latter far more likely.
Douglas Costa looks a good player from what I’ve seen him but there are a couple of Brazilian players (Matuzalem and Elano spring to mind) who looked great at Shakhtar and average elsewhere.
Neuer isn’t out of contract until 2012 so while he won’t be staying at Schalke beyond then it’s not inconceivable that he’ll remain at Schalke for next season. The fact that Bayern have confirmed their interest and are openly discussing the possiblity of signing him leads me to believe they’ll sign him this summer though.
Barton is a decent player alright. Not sure how much he’d fit into what Liverpool need though. Play him wide on the right and they’re very narrow on both sides of the park and I don’t know if he has the energy to be a top player in the centre of the park for a club with serious aspirations.
Marca and goal.com are reporting that Real Madrid will announce the signing of Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin tomorrow. I haven’t seen a lot of him, Bill.
I mentioned Sahin as my favourite footballer back at the start of the season and he had an excellent campaign. Lovely player, very stylish.
Dortmund conceded yesterday that the decision on his future is now in Sahin’s hands. In other words a bid has been accepted if he wants to move. Talk is of €10m - less than Real paid for Khedira or Özil (who shares an agent with Sahin).
Dortmund have already lined up Ilkay Gündogan from Nurnberg as a future replacement. He’s an Under 21 internationalist in a similar mould, though usually plays in a more advanced position.
Why so cheap? Surely Ozil was worth more than what Madrid paid and Sahin was supposed to be linked to several English clubs with relatively deep pockets. Would love to have seen either Ozil or Sahin join Utd which would have been in keeping with the policy of buying young players with potential resale value but they don’t seem to be in the running for them.
Özil was out of contract in 12 months from last summer and had pretty much confirmed he wouldn’t sign a new deal. So it was sell then or play him for a season and get nothing for him. The debate at the time for Werder Bremen was whether he’d be needed to secure CL qualification (thereby cup-tying him) or could they get that revenue and sell him.
Sahin has a rumoured release clause in his contract for €10m (for non Bundesliga clubs). He’s also out of contract next summer so again this is the last time to get a fee for him if he does want to leave. Pity to see the exodus from the Bundesliga - only Bayern really can manage to hold onto their stars.
Ozil is a class, class player and would have been tailor-made for Man Utd. Where will Sahin fit in at Madrid? He will be competing with the likes of Ozil, Kaka, Khedira, Di Maria, Alonso and Diarra for a place…
It’s a good question Dunph. On the face of it they don’t need another passing midfielder with Xabi Alonso already in there. May involve a change in formation but they certainly have a surplus of talent in that area now.
