The word in Manchester is that Paul Pogba has told his teammates that he will not be around after the summer, so United are going to need a new midfield poster boy. OK, so they signed Bruno Fernandes but he’s all about the football and could not care less about his image. The club’s preferred option had been James Maddison, whose swept back hair would have looked great in the 2020-21 season calendar but, with Leicester closing on Champions League qualification and Manchester United’s chances of that looking slim, Maddison is close to penning a new contract to stay at the King Power Stadium.
So step forward Jack Grealish. Not only is the Aston Villa midfielder a damn fine footballer, but his short socks could be trademarked, too. He wouldn’t come cheap, mind, and plenty of other clubs are interested in Villa’s action man, who has scored nine goals and five assists so far this term. The new Bryan Robson?
Having voluntarily kept their transfer ban going in the January window, Chelsea are determined to bring in some fresh blood this summer and Frank Lampard will be given what’s known in these circles as a £150m war chest. He’ll begin his trolley dash in France, where he will part with as much as £85m to bring red-hot Lyon striker Moussa Dembélé to Stamford Bridge.
Juventus are circling the Etihad Stadium and considering sharpening their talons and swooping down to make off with Leroy Sané in the summer. Bayern Munich are favourites to sign the unsettled Manchester City forward but the Serie A side are a persuasive bunch and Turin’s not a bad place to be.
With Diego Simeone looking doubtful to continue as Atlético Madrid manager beyond the summer, who could possibly replace the cojones-grabbing, uber-passionate Argentinian? The answer to that is a cojones-grabbing, uber-passionate Argentinian. Yes, Mauricio Pochettino. The problem is that Pochettino would prefer to stay in England and how long is Ole Gunnar Solskjær really going to last at Manchester United?
Arsenal are interested in signing Feyenoord’s teenage playmaker Orkun Kokcu. Gunners scouts have been watching him for over 18 months and they reckon he would be good value at £15m and could be the answer to their chronic lack of creativity in midfield. It’s all going wrong for the world’s most expensive goalkeeper. Kepa Arrizabalaga has been dropping the ball and has been dropped by Chelsea as a result. It says here that his old club Athletic Bilbao might try to take him home.
And Leicester City and Newcastle will try to woo Brentford’s £15m-rated winger Said Benrahma in the summer.