Inter Miami have not played a competitive game in MLS yet. In fact, they have only had two training sessions in their history. But that’s not stopped the club’s co-owner, David Beckham, from dreaming big when it comes to his plans for assembling a winning team from scratch. Becks has taken on harder challenges – such as the time he stayed up till 3am to build a 4,000-piece Lego castle – so creating a competitive MLS club in a few months shouldn’t be a problem.
Which is why he’s batting his eyelids in the direction of David Silva and Sergio Agüero. Hot air doing the rounds suggests Agüero might prefer to see out his career on the same continent as his son, while Silva’s already said he will leave City at the end of the season and Miami’s not a bad place to spend your downtime. They could be South Beach’s most famous double act since Crockett and Tubbs. Mind you, the City empire includes New York City FC, so any move Stateside for either player could cause a family rift.
Manchester United have had breakthrough talk with Sporting, which means Bruno Fernandes’s shoulders may soon be loaded with the heavy weight of expectation that comes with being a playmaker in the club’s misfiring midfield. Once £55m is exchanged, Fernandes will be a Red Devil. The Portuguese playmaker could be joined by Jude Bellingham. Birmingham City’s attacking midfielder has scored four goals this season and is still only 16! It says here United have dangled £30m outside the St Andrew’s offices to see if Blues bite.
Barcelona want a replacement for the injured Luis Suárez and new manager Quique Setién would be more than happy if Rodrigo could be bundled away from Valencia. An asking price of £50m for the 28-year-old former Bolton loanee might be a bit steep, though. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is also on Barça’s radar but the Arsenal striker would potentially lose out on a £15m loyalty bonus if he jumped ship early. A bookmaker has suspended betting on Gareth Bale rejoining Tottenham so expect to see “the golfer” pinging three-woods around Lee Valley when the weather warms up.
Newcastle may give Danny Rose an escape route from Spurs after the left-back had a reported “bust-up” with José Mourinho over a back complaint. Mourinho falling out with players already? Who would have guessed? Japhet Tanganga’s emergence as a handy defender for all seasons will likely hasten the full-back’s exit. Rose once said he wanted to move back up north. Now Newcastle have come knocking we’ll see if he really meant it.
Bournemouth are considering going all-in as they attempt to stave off relegation. For the Cherries this means throwing a £30m-plus bid in for Lyon’s Bertrand Traoré. But with just three goals in 24 appearances this season, he’s no Harry Wilson, is he? And West Brom will try to reboot their push for the Championship title by signing the Dinamo Zagreb winger Mislav Orsic for £8m.