We begin with some heartening fitness news for cash-strapped minnows Manchester City. Leroy Sané is back in full training and possibly in line for some Carabao Cup minutes on Wednesday night which can mean only one thing: his name can be merrily tossed into the Mill for a good churning. And Bayern Munich, once again, have wasted no time in linking themselves with the Germany winger. With Sané entering the final year of his contract come the summer, the Mirror quotes Bayern’s chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge as remarking gnomically: “If we are still interested in principle, which I do not rule out, we will first talk to the club in order to create a friendly atmosphere of conversation.”
José Mourinho, meanwhile, wants a Proper Target Man for Tottenham in the light of Harry Kane’s long-term injury, and who has he alighted on as a possible quick-fix? Only Olivier Giroud. The 33-year-old striker had been heavily linked with Premier League old boys’ club Internazionale but, according to 90min.com, his agent has been touting him in Tottenham’s direction and the north London club are tempted.
Wolves are closing in on bringing another starlet to their Portuguese enclave in the Black Country, with a £17m deal for the Olympiakos winger Daniel Podence reported to be imminent. How imminent? Well, the Telegraph says that “it is understood that Podence’s agent is Jorge Mendes”. Done deal, then?
One club who have had a rather less happy time of late is dear old West Ham. There’s room for reinforcement everywhere there, and the Hammers are thought to have opened talks with RB Salzburg over their right-back Rasmus Kristensen. The 22-year-old has impressed for the Austrian side this term, and played in all six of their Champions League group games in the autumn.
Arsenal may have rediscovered a bit of their sparkle of late but Mikel Arteta still needs to shore it up at the back a little. As a result, he’s redoubling efforts to sign Flamengo’s Pablo Marí. The Spanish central defender was at Manchester City between 2016 and 2019 before joining the Brazilian club for €2m. Arsenal now want him for €10m (£8.5m), though they’re prepared to countenance getting him on loan for now and completing the deal in the summer. Arsenal are also mulling a late bid for the Southampton defender Cédric Soares.
Elsewhere, Sheffield United are reportedly ready to splash out £27m for Genk’s Norway international Sander Berg. The midfielder has also attracted interest from West Ham, but the Mail reports that Chris Wilder’s side are in pole position to secure a deal for Berg, who impressed against Liverpool in the Champions League before Christmas. And Celtic are interested in the Hull winger and Poland international Kamil Grosicki. The 31-year-old is out of contract in the summer.