Private jet alert! But is he heading for the Toon?
Reports that Mesut Özil rejected an offer from PSG to sign his new Arsenal contract. The club have still not made that official but it seems liuke only a matter of time now. Meanwhile, Samir Nasri has terminated his contract with immediate contract with Antalyaspor, according to BeINSports. He is now a free agent and only 30. Any takers?
Some more on West Ham and Leander Dendoncker from Belgium’s fifth most famous man, Kristof Terreur.
Lots of you messaging to wish my namesake Rolando well at Hellas Verona. Let’s hope he does better than Micah Richards and Ravel Morrison did in Serie A. If he does, there could be a follow up to Tim Parks’s excellent tome A season with Verona. Working title: A half-season with Verona
West Ham appear to be stepping things up now after missing out on Islam Slimani. Jacob Steinberg has more on their pursuit of Anderlecht’s Leander Dendoncker:
One from the Championship now and Leeds have signed young striker Tyler Roberts from West Brom on a four-and-a-half year deal. The 19-year-old Wales Under 21 international has scored five goals on loan at Walsall this season.
As my former BBC colleague Piers Edwards points out, the £56m Arsenal have paid for Aubameyang makes him the most expensive African player of all time ahead of Liverpool’s Mo Salah and Naby Keïta, who will move to Anfield in the summer. But there is every chance he will be usurped later on should Mahrez move to City…
Meanwhile, Victor Burakov may have some news on Riyad Mahrez. The Algerian loves a deadline day dash having been reportedly seen in Barcelona back in August, only for the to move to fail to materialise. Now it seems he’s taking the long road to the Etihad:
Filip Gieldon is similarly excited. “Aubameyang is great business for Arsenal and even more so with Mkhitaryan at the club,” he writes via email. “Both are just under super-star class and can both very well still get there. I’m surprised if Ozil really has signed a new contract, but if so, that simply points to the new hierarchy at Arsenal, where the manager is not King anymore.
“Furhermore, to answer Brendan: this window is not about this season anymore, but about the next one, therefore this signing makes great sense. If Arsenal have just sorted their attacking and creative problems, then in the summer they will ‘only’ need to focus on the defensive shortcomings; keeper, defender and defensive midfielder . I would also bet on Arsene Wenger not being the manager next season unless he magically gets fourth or wins the Europa League… These new deals are clearly not in his vision, as was selling Walcott and now Giroud. Think the men behind the curtain finally made their move after the contract fiascos of Alexis, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ozil – expecting Jack Wilshere to sign on soon!”
Thanks for holding the fort Ben, I can report that my chicken and bacon sandwich was delicious, although me and the bloke at the cafe have yet to agree over the structure of payments. Anyway, back to Arsenal.
The whirlwind of activity down at the Emirates has understandably got a lot of you excited, including our own Amy Lawrence.
Done deal klaxon: Newcastle United winger Rolando Aarons, who started his career at Bristol City, is going on an Italian adventure. The 22-year-old has signed a loan deal with Serie A outfit Hellas Verona. It’s a nice city, to be fair. Home to the Casa di Giulietta, where Romeo promised his beloved Juliet eternal love in Shakespeare’s famous tragedy.
The Huddersfield chairman, Dean Hoyle, has been speaking, saying there will be no red-hot transfer action in west Yorkshire this afternoon. “David [Wagner] told me last week he’s happy with the squad, we believe in the team,” Hoyle said. “We have a great squad here, the team spirit and togetherness.”
Here’s an interesting done deal: Manchester City’s 19-year-old midfielder, Jacob Davenport, has signed on loan at Burton Albion until the end of the season. Davenport was named their best young player in 2016, and formerly captained their Under-18s side. “He’s highly-rated by Pep Guardiola and you won’t get a better endorsement than that,” Nigel Clough, the Championship club’s manager, said.
Reports that Swansea City and Leicester City are in talks over a loan move for Andy King. That feels left-field but could be a shrewd addition. Meanwhile, Newcastle are edging close to signing Martin Dubravka, with the Sparta Prague goalkeeper set to undergo a medical in the north-east this afternoon.
Ed has run off for a bite to eat, so you’ve got me, Ben Fisher, for a bit. In the Football League, it seems as though Nick Powell and Jordan Hugill are both in demand, with Brighton and Crystal Palace respectively among those interested.
While you digest that news (which we are just trying to confirm), here’s some lunchtime reading on Aubameyang, starting with the day he was marked by a non-league defender…
Here’s me on how he got his move to the Emirates:
Now this is big news. Reports from the reliable David Ornstein that Mesut Özil has signed a new contract with Arsenal…! What a day to be a Gooner.
Looks like being a quiet day in the the half of north London apart from the deal to sign Lucas Moura for £25m. That is expected to be confirmed by Tottenham imminently but an approach to sign André Gomes from Barcelona on loan has reportedly hit the buffers. What are your thoughts Spurs fans?
Leicester City are bracing themselves for another complicated and fraught deadline day, with Manchester City’s pursuit of Riyad Mahrez threatening to cause no end of problems. Mahrez has submitted a transfer request and is determined to join City. He has been restless at Leicester for a long time – he spent the previous deadline day at an airport and this is the second transfer request he has handed in at the club.
Leicester, however, are unhappy with City’s decision to make a move for Mahrez so late in the window and for starting the conversation over the fee at such a low level. It is understood that £45m was the first figure mentioned. Needless to say, it was dismissed out of hand. City are prepared to pay more for Mahrez but the big question is whether they will get close to Leicester’s valuation, which is likely to be north of £60m. Leicester point to the fees that have been paid elsewhere in this window – not least in relation to Coutinho and Van Dijk – to justify that sort of price tag.
From Leicester’s point of view, there is an uncomfortable sense of deju vu about all of this, given that Danny Drinkwater was pushing for a move to Chelsea on deadline day in the summer. On that occasion Leicester had a replacement lined up in the form of Adrien Silva – albeit they failed to get the paperwork done in time. This time, however, there is no contingency plan in place for Mahrez’s departure, which is another reason why they are reluctant to do business. The fallout, however, could be interesting to say the least if Mahrez fails to get his move.
An Ayew update on West Ham and Swansea from Jacob Steinberg. And it’s not great news…
Aubameyang’s move has gone down with a certain Moeen Ali. England’s spinning all-rounder thinks Arsenal have got themselves a good deal, although it turns out he is a Liverpool fan.
There was a lot of noise about Danny Ings leaving Anfield this month but Jürgen Klopp says he is staying put for now. Unless someone has a cunning plan that is….
“It would be funny if somebody calls about Ingsy – I would love to respond: No chance!” he said earlier. “We will see what happens but there is no chance that Ingsy is on the market – only if I’m unconscious. Maybe something happens. It’s clear who is a little bit (available).”
Brendan has been in touch with a salient point. Has Wenger really thought this through?
And if you didn’t see it yesterday, David Squires is clearly a big fan of transfer deadline day. Or maybe not.
Some lunchtime reading for you now. Here’s the excellent Ben Fisher on Josh Harrop making waves at Preston:
There’s quite a few other bits and bobs going on today which we should mention. We will bring you news as and when it happens.
- Watford are expcted to complete the signing of Didier Ndong from Sunderland on loan. The Gabon midfielder is having a medical today.
- Badou Ndiaye has passed his medical and is now expected to join Stoke for £15m.
- Wigan have turned down an undisclosed bid from Brighton for midfielder Nick Powell.
- Lucas Moura has completed his medical ahead of his move from Paris Saint-Germain to Tottenham.
Some reports that Palace have agreed a £9m fee for Norway striker Alexander Sorloth of FC Midtjylland but we understand that is not the case just yet. Palace had shown an interest in Preston’s Jordan Hugill as well although have yet to increase their £6m offer. Watch this space…
An update on Giroud from our Italian maestro Fabrizio Romano now and it seems like only a matter of time before his move to Chelsea is rubber-stamped…
Right onto some more of your correspondence. We’re getting a lot of concerned Newcastle fans making contact and it seems they just cannot understand what is happening.
“Following the liveblog all the way from windy Australia, and a question: what exactly is Ashley’s strategy at Newcastle? Like, what is the plan?” asks Scott Lowe. “Why not spend the extra 5 mill (which is nothing in the Premier League) and get the striker Rafa wants and maybe avoid a third relegation?”
@magicdarts is similarly bemused…
A good stat doing the rounds on Aubameyang – he has scored 100 goals for Dortumnd since the start of 2015-16 season, 45 more goals than any player has scored for Arsenal in this period. Eat that Olivier!
Here’s the full story on Aubameyang’s £56m move from Dortmund to Arsenal
Manchester United are yet to offer Luke Shaw fresh terms on the left-back’s contract that expires in summer 2019 and which does not contain any extensions that can be triggered by the club. Shaw is content at United and has no wish to leave Old Trafford, it is understood, having signed for five years in summer 2014 on a salary that made him then the world’s highest paid teenager. As Shaw is still only 22 it is a surprise United have yet not tied him to a new agreement. It is usual practise to secure any player with a lucrative sell-on value at least two years before his contract ends to protect the club’s asset.
Shaw has recently fought his way back into José Mourinho’s first-team plans, starting nine of United’s last 13 games having previously struggled to be selected in the 18-man match-day squad. However the 22-year-old remains second choice to Ashley Young, who was injured for the five Premier League matches in the sequence.
Mourinho also offered a mixed message by describing Shaw as one of the best left-backs currently playing then dropping him for the next match at Burnley on 20 January, the manager again preferring Young.
United have moved recently to tie up those players Mourinho values, with Juan Mata’s one-year extension triggered on Tuesday. Scott McTominay, who is a year younger than Shaw, and Angel Gomes, 17, also signed fresh deals with the club in the autumn.
Looks like Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc couldn’t resist a parting shot at Aubameyang: “Apart from the unpleasant episodes in the past few weeks we would like to remember that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at BVB was a real success story. In this team he performed superbly for Borussia Dortmund and scored many important goals and was part of the team that won the German Cup in 2017. We wish Pierre-Emerick all the best for his future at Arsenal.”
Not quite up there with the Besiktas video but hey ho. This must all mean the Giroud deal to Chelsea is sorted as well but at this stage we await further news. By the way, an update on today’s other potential big transfer is on the way very shortly…
And now Arsenal have confirmed it. Aubameyang is a Gooner
That works out at £56m by my calculations. Good business Arsenal fans? Please get in touch to let us know your thoughts.
