There’s been much talk of whether the general public will be happy if Liverpool win the Premier League for the first time in a generation, but of course some sets of fans won’t exactly be delighted. Evertonians, for example, will have to board up the windows and hide under the duvet for weeks, and if that prospect isn’t enough, word on the street says that Liverpool are trying to lure away one of the Toffees’ better players too.
According to reports in Brazil – specifically, UOL Esporte – Jürgen Klopp recently had Richarlison’s agent Renato Velasco round at his place for tea and crumpets, leading to speculation of a bid worth north of £70million for the forward. Supposedly there are a queue of teams equally willing to offer Velasco some light refreshments, including PSG, Milan and Barcelona, which does make the whole thing whiff of a story that benefitted from the ‘input’ of the agent, but if you can’t enjoy a scurrilous rumour like this on a Friday, this is probably the wrong place for you.
Elsewhere in Gossiptown, the hot patter once again involves Manchester United’s supposed summer overhaul. David de Gea is one of those thought to be climbing aboard the Do One Express, and apparently it could be in the direction of PSG, who will supposedly wrap up a £400,000-a-week contract with a nice bow and do that thing with ribbon that makes it all curly, in an attempt to tempt the keeper to Paris.
Meanwhile, here come Real Madrid again, sniffing around the Premier League to snaffle the division’s top talent, luring the very best on offer over here with … hang on … just double-checking this … a £35million bid for Eric Bailly? How times change.
Still, they are up to their usual tricks, Paul Pogba-wise, and United have apparently pencilled in some face time with everyone’s favourite cuddly super-agent Mino Raiola in order to tie the midfielder down to a new contract, but they shouldn’t expect to get much change out of £500,000-a-week. Ooof. In terms of incomings, Ole Gunnar Solksjær wants some young English talent, so Declan Rice, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are on his list.
Might Ryan Sessegnon be too? He’ll apparently leave Fulham once this bin fire of a season is brought to a merciful close, and could be a relative bargain as his contract only has a year to run.
Arsenal are said to be looking at a summer overhaul too, albeit a slightly more modest one. Bournemouth’s fun-sized winger Ryan Fraser is pretty pleased to be on their wanted list – “I’m not going to lie, you do feel good, especially when it’s a massive club,” he told Sky Sports – while they have apparently ‘been handed a boost’ by Brazilian forward Wesley Moraes, currently of Club Brugge, who says he’d love to play in England, thanks very much.
Another South American who won’t be playing in England, as long as Barcelona have anything to do with it, is Leo Messi. “We want him to have a really long career so we can keep on enjoying him,” Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu told ESPN. “We would like to renew his contract, that’s the idea … I believe he still has many years in front of him and in the coming months we will sit down with him so that he has many more years at Barcelona. Messi is a one-club man. It’s more than what he does on the pitch – his relationship with Barça will last forever.”
Finally, some good news for a group of supporters who haven’t had much of that in recent years: the leading contender for the vacant QPR job is … Tim Sherwood! Triffic!