LIVE Transfer Talk: Liverpool want Sandro Tonali to replenish midfield

January 28, 2019 admin Premier League 0

Former Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley says if he was Callum Hudson-Odoi, he would take the chance and go to Bayern Munich if they want him.

ESPN FC’s Alejandro Moreno delves into the marked differences he sees in Philippe Coutinho since he left Liverpool and joined Barcelona.

After Tottenham’s FA Cup exit, Craig Burley accuses Gab Marcotti of making excuses every time something goes wrong for Spurs or Mauricio Pochettino.

The transfer window for Europe’s biggest clubs is open again. Transfer Talk has been scouring the world’s media and setting our correspondents loose to see who could be heading to/out of your club this month.

TOP STORY: Liverpool want Italian midfielder

Jurgen Klopp wants to bolster his midfield options further next season with the signing of highly rated Italian Sandro Tonali, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. 

The 18-year-old Brescia midfielder is valued at around £30 million, but his value could rise as interest in him increases.

Roma, Juventus, and both Milan clubs have been tracking the Italy U19 international, and he looks set to move next summer.

Liverpool midfielder James Milner contract expires at the end of the season, while Adam Lallana may be moved on after an extended spell blighted by injuries has seen him fall down the pecking order. 

If the Reds will be looking for new faces to replace them, Tonali would fit the bill, and give them a different option in the centre of the park.

Another player reportedly on the Anfield radar is Paris Saint-Germain’s Adrien Rabiot, whose contract expires at the end of the season and is highly unlikely to stay at the Parc des Princes.

According to Paris United, the 23-year-old has rejected interest from Tottenham Hotspur and is waiting for the Premier League leaders to make him an offer for a deal to sign him as a free agent.

LIVE BLOG

14.11 GMT: Southampton have made an £8m offer for Birmingham top goal scorer Che Adams, according to The Mirror.

Adams has 14 goals for Birmingham, who sit 13th in the Championship.

13.46 GMT: Milan have completed the signing on 18-year-old Leroy Abanda from Monaco.

The player confirmed the move himself.

13.23 GMT: Stoke have released Ibrahim Afellay from his contract, the club have confirmed.

Afellay, a La Liga and Champions League winner with Barcelona, signed for Stoke in 2015 and was part of the side which was relegated from the Premier League last season.

13.03 GMT: Juventus could be in the midst of a defensive injury crisis following an injury to Leonardo Bonucci, which could see them make another reinforcement before the end of this window.

The Bianconeri have already signed Martin Caceres as a replacement for Medhi Benatia, who joined Qatari club Al Duhail.

However, Juve have confirmed on their website that Bonucci could face several weeks on the sidelines after suffering a “sprain of the right ankle which effects the capsules and ligaments.”

Daniele Rugani and Giorgio Chiellini were impressive against Lazio, but this setback may lead Juve to change their transfer strategy with the Champions League round of 16 clash away at Atletico Madrid on Feb. 20.

12.41 GMT: Porto are close to completing a deal for the return of another former, according to reports.

Having already re-signed Pepe, it appears Ricardso Quaresma will also rescind his Beskitas contract and make a comeback to the Estadio Dragao.

12.18 GMT: Manchester United will not challenge Arsenal for the signing of Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic, the Evening Standard claim.

Perisic was a long-term target for United in recent seasons, however the article suggests the Croatia international was someone former manager Jose Mourinho was interested in, rather than club officials.

It also claims United have known about Perisic’s availability for weeks, yet remained unmoved.

11.53 GMT: Paris Saint-Germain’s search for a central midfielder this month has been well-publicised, but The Sun are reporting the Ligue 1 leaders have seen a £25m bid for Idrissa Gueye turned down.

PSG could continue their search within the Premier League as Southampton’s Mario Lemina and Watford’s Abdoulaye Doucoure are on their list.

11.26 GMT: Gonzalo Higuain’s decision to leave AC Milan hasn’t gone down to well with far right interior minister and Rossoneri fan Matteo Salvini.

“I’m happy Higuain has gone,” Salvini said. “And I hope he never shows his face in Milan again because he has behaved in a disgraceful manner.

“I don’t like mercenaries.”

Higuain was on loan at Milan from Juventus for the rest of the campaign, but left to join Chelsea in this window.

11.07 GMT: Manchester United and Barcelona are interested in signing Youri Tielemans from Monacco, according to Niewsblad.

Tielemans is one of very few players to come out of this difficult season for Monaco with any credit, having recorded five goals in Ligue 1.

It looks like it could be a busy transfer window for the Belgium international.

 10.41 GMT: Manchester City will step up their bid to bring in a top quality left-back in the summer with Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell among their leading targets, sources have told ESPN FC.

Pep Guardiola is looking for quality competition amid the injury problems suffered by French defender Benjamin Mendy since he joined the club 18 months ago.

10.20 GMT: Inter Milan’s general manager Beppe Marotta has confirmed that “enquiries” have been made about signing Yannick Carrasco from Dalian Yifang.

“There has been contact which I would define more as enquiries at the moment. [Sporting director Piero] Ausilio is doing a great job,” Marotta told Sky Sport Italia.

Carrasco has been linked with a move to Arsenal in this transfer window.

09.55 GMT: It wouldn’t be a January transfer window without reports of a “loan swap” between two clubs, so thanks to Leicester City and Monaco for ticking that box.

The Daily Telegraph reports that Leicester could bring in Belgium international midfielder Youri Tielemans from Ligue 1 strugglers Monaco, with Portuguese playmaker potentially Adrien Silva heading in the other direction.

Silva, you may remember, signed for the Foxes on deadline day in the summer of 2017 but was barred from playing until the following January becasue his registration was filed 14 seconds too late. Since finally becoming eligible to play for Leicester, he has started only 10 Premier League games, the last coming on the opening day of this season.

09.30 GMT: DONE DEAL! La Liga club Espanyol have announced the signing of Chinese football’s biggest star, Wu Lei, after being linked recently with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League.

Wu is the biggest name in Chinese football after finishing the 2018 Chinese Super League season as top scorer to help Shanghai win a first ever championship. He also shone in the 2019 Asian Cup earlier in January, helping the national team to the quarterfinal stage.

The prospect of Wu heading to Spain has been welcomed by former Shanghai team-mate Iban Cuadrado, now a coach at Barcelona.

“Congratulation for Wu Lei that we played together in Shanghai four years ago,” the former defender wrote on social media. “Very good player. Good challenge in La Liga in Spain. Good luck my friend.”

09.10 GMT: Atletico Madrid are looking to finance Alvaro Morata’s move to the club by selling their Spanish right-back Jonny Castro to Wolverhampton Wanderers, according to AS. Morata is expected to complete his move to Atletico on an 18-month loan deal on Monday. Jonny, who joined Atletico on a six-year contract this summer from Celta, has impressed while on a season-long loan with Wolves.

The 24-year-old has made 19 Premier League appearances and his value has increased with respect to the €7m that Atletico paid for him last summer. Wolves are reportedly willing to pay €16m to acquire the player this summer, a figure that would allow Atletico to cover Morata’s cost for the 2019-20 campaign.

Atletico, meanwhile, are reportedly set to keep Croatia forward Nikola Kalinic until at least the end of the season. The imminent arrival of Morata has fueled speculation that Kalinic will leave the club.

However, unless receiving a tempting offer before the end of the transfer window, Kalinic, who started in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Getafe, will continue at the club. Atletico coach Diego Simeone recently said he was happy with Kalinic’s improved form.

08.30 GMT: Spain coach Luis Enrique says Real Madrid midfielder Isco needs to play more minutes if he is to keep a firm grip on his spot in the national team.

A regular under Luis Enrique in La Roja, Isco has started just one game in all competitions since the beginning of the year, leading to speculation that the 26-year-old may seek a move away from the Bernabeu.

Luis Enrique attended Real Madrid’s 4-2 win at Espanyol on Sunday, in which Isco came off the bench to play the final 20 minutes.

He told Movistar: “As it is right now I don’t know if I would call him [Isco] up. We will treat each case separately, there are still two months to go before we give the list of players. I would prefer that he play more minutes but that’s football.”

Spain next play when they take on Norway in an international friendly in Valencia on March 23.

08.00 GMT: Chelsea assistant manager Gianfranco Zola insisted that the club wants Callum Hudson-Odoi to stay after the 18-year-old marked what could be his final appearance at Stamford Bridge with an impressive goal in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup fourth round.

Hudson-Odoi was picked to start by Maurizio Sarri less than 24 hours after sources told ESPN FC that he had handed in an official transfer request to Chelsea as he attempts to force a January move to Bayern Munich, whose latest bid for the winger is believed to be in the region of £35m.

His goal was greeted by chants of “Hudson-Odoi, we want you to stay” from Stamford Bridge. After the match the academy prospect refused to be drawn on his future, but Zola made Chelsea’s position clear.

“We want him to stay as well, we were singing for him to stay,” Zola said. “I don’t know [what will happen but] we want him to stay. He has a contract, we are training. We believe in what he can do for this team.

PAPER TALK (by Danny Lee, Football Whispers): Giroud next to go from Chelsea?

Olivier Giroud has been in and out of the Chelsea team this season, and he could be eyeing a return to his homeland, according to Goal. 

Gonzalo Higuain made his Chelsea debut this weekend, having signed on loan from Juventus until the end of the season, and this has meant Giroud remains backup at the club despite Alvaro Morata‘s impending move to Atletico Madrid.

The French striker has just one goal for the club in the Premier League this season, and has only made six starts in that competition.

However, Chelsea are likely to want to keep him until the end of the season as Higuain will not be able to play every game, and the club are still competing on four fronts.

Everton reject Gueye bid

Paris Saint-Germain have made an offer of £26m for Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye, according to RMC, and confirmed by Sky Sports, but the Merseyside club are holding out for more.

Marco Silva’s side were dumped out of the FA Cup by Millwall this weekend, and will now be looking to save some face in the Premier League where they currently sit 11th.

It might be too late in the window to sell Gueye, who is one of their better performers so far this season, but with a big enough offer they will surely be tempted to sell the 29-year-old.

The French champions have also been linked with Watford’s Abdoulaye Doucoure, but are likely to face a similar problem when it comes to signing the player, as there might not be enough time for the selling team to sort a replacement.

Football Whispers’ transfer algorithm gives the likelihood of rumours happening a score out of 5.

Ivan Perisic to Arsenal — 3.0

The Croatian was left on the bench for Inter’s clash with Torino, adding weight to the rumours that he will join Arsenal before the end of the transfer window.

James Tavernier to Southampton — 3.0

The Rangers captain is a target for the south coast club according to the Mirror, with Rangers wanting £8m for the right-back.

Reece Oxford to Nottingham Forest — 2.5

Once considered one of the most promising English defenders around, Reece Oxford is now deemed surplus to requirements at West Ham, and is a target for Nottingham Forest according to the Nottingham Post.

Steven Bergwijn to Manchester United — 2.2

The Old Trafford club have asked PSV to keep them informed of any incoming bids for the Dutch winger, as they are likely to want to join the bidding, report the Mirror.

Eden Hazard to Real Madrid — 2.0

The European champions have made the Belgian their top target this year, according to AS, but they will not make a bid until the summer.

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