According to reports in The Chronicle, Newcastle United have denied stories in Turkey that they have offered Aleksandar Mitrovic in part of a deal to bring Besiktas striker Cenk Tosun to St James’ Park during the January transfer window.
What’s the word, then?
Well, according to Turkish source DHA on Monday, the Magpies had offered £9m-plus-Mitrovic for Tosun, but The Chronicle says that United officials are “mystified” by the story and say there is no truth to it.
While The Chronicle says that the Tyneside outfit are interested in the prolific Turkey international, they also aren’t convinced that he is worth the £20m that Besiktas want for him considering he has never played in the Premier League.
While manager Rafa Benitez may want the 26-year-old, if the Super Lig side spark a bidding war for the striker then Newcastle are unlikely to remain in the chase for his signature.
How good has Tosun been this season?
He has been very impressive.
The striker has scored 10 goals in 18 appearances in all competitions for Besiktas, including four in five Champions League matches to help them qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.
Meanwhile, the 26-year-old has also netted three goals for Turkey since the beginning of the campaign, although it wasn’t enough to see them qualify for the World Cup in Russia next summer.
Are Newcastle right to be wary?
They certainly are.
Whenever you sign a player from abroad who has never played in England or the Premier League before there is a risk.
However, 59 goals in 135 games for Besiktas is a decent record and the Magpies certainly need a striker right now following four successive top flight defeats, and with first-choice attacker Joselu going six matches without a goal, with Tosun a good option in the New Year.
Should they offer Mitrovic as part of the deal?
They probably should, yes.
While the Newcastle fans want him to be given a chance it seems that he is never going to be a regular under Benitez, and if they could do a deal where they gave Besiktas Mitrovic and some money for Tosun it would probably be a good move for all parties.
Brendan Rodgers has seen his stock slowly rise since he left Liverpool.
Over two years ago, when the Irishman was sacked and Jurgen Klopp was brought in to replace him at Anfield, Rodgers was considered something of a laughing stock.
His David Brent style of speech, a sort of new-age management speak which comes out as smarmy, greasy or self-aggrandising grated with fans who don’t think of the game in the same way. Perhaps it was the fact that his team was losing, but it looked as though the pressure was getting to him more than anything – Rodgers was seemingly at breaking point when he left Liverpool. He was a man for whom nothing was going right.
That was a shame, because that one season when Liverpool were a Steven Gerrard stud-length away from winning their first ever Premier League title, Rodgers’ side was a joy to behold. They were bold and they were attacking, but most importantly, they were lethal. This year’s Klopp version is, at times, just as thrilling to watch, but they don’t have the prolificacy as the 2013/14 vintage.
Luis Suarez is probably the reason for that. The fact that Rodgers had a young and hungry Raheem Sterling and a mostly-fit Daniel Sturridge to call upon alongside the Uruguayan certainly helped, too. It was a side filled with wonderful players, rather than one where the manager made all the difference, but the two often go hand-in-hand.
At Celtic now, he has rebuilt himself, and he’s done it in a way that makes him employable towards the upper echelons of football management.
As an unbeaten domestic treble-winner, Rodgers has now won titles and managed a team of players who are at the top of their game. They are, perhaps not top players, but they certainly are the top of their bracket. And that has just the same pressure involved: you have to win.
You can say, for example, that Celtic could win the league without a manager, or certainly without a good one. But that’s not the level that Rodgers has set for himself or his team: they’re not just there to win the league, they’re there to win everything and never get beat. They’ve done that so far in domestic competition.
They’ve also made themselves mainstays of the Champions League group stage, and have ensured they’ll be playing European football after Christmas for the first time in a long while. And there’s certainly pressure in that high standard for a team who were used to doing the bare minimum under Ronny Deila.
There is a mentality of winning, but also of winning in a certain way. He has given his players the freedom to take the game to the likes of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, despite suffering heavy defeats.
The difference, though, is that last season, they finished bottom of a Champions League group because they couldn’t win against Borussia Monchengladbach. This time, they’ve finished above Anderlecht to secure a Europa League knock-out place. Next season, perhaps they’ll be able to go one better, having had a year of more practice at taking the game to more opponents and perhaps even a much kinder group stage draw.
Soccer Football – Champions League – Celtic vs Paris St Germain – Celtic Park, Glasgow, Britain – September 12, 2017 Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
If that happens, why shouldn’t Rodgers be given a chance at a high level in England? And because of that, the path he’s taken should now be one for others to follow, too.
Everyone wants to manage in the Premier League. The prestige is great and the money even better. It’s the place to be for the cream of the crop. But that means it’s a crowded marketplace. It means some managers plying their trade in the low reaches of the Premier League or young managers in the Championship might want to look elsewhere for experience first.
Take Sean Dyche for example. He is a man who has already proved that he can keep Burnley in the Premier League and overcome some severe obstacles like the sale of his best two players last summer, Andre Gray and Michael Keane. He’s even lost England goalkeeper Tom Heaton to a long-term injury. And yet, his side has actually become even better.
But what Dyche hasn’t proved is something that he can’t actually prove at Burnley – or any Premier League club outside of the top six – is that he is a manager who can manage a team with the pressure to win a trophy, or that he can do something with a side who aren’t going to play two solid banks of four.
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Some might say he hasn’t been given the chance. That’s true. But so far, he’s not grabbed it, either. In order to do that, he might think about taking the Rodgers path outside of England to a lesser league, but one where you can impose a pressure on yourself. That’s not just a pressure to win trophies in a league where it’s easier to do so, but a pressure of excellence. To excel to an extent where you genuinely couldn’t do a better job.
Indeed, Celtic may well be looking for a manager at the end of the season if Rodgers’ stock keeps rising. Even if the Irishman stays because he’s having fun and building something, there are plenty of other teams in Europe who’d have similar profiles. And if a manager like Dyche or Eddie Howe were smart, they should consider a job like that. Clubs like Ajax, PSV, Benfica or Porto are playing in leagues where it’s possible to win trophies and build a squad in the Champions League. That’s an experience you can’t get at a side like Burnley, even if you do the perfect managerial job.
The reason is because those managers haven’t been given top jobs is not because there is a bias against British and Irish coaches, but because they haven’t proved themselves at the right level. They can manage well in England’s lower reaches, sure, but they haven’t gone beyond that to show that they can manage a top team – or at least a team who are top of their own bracket, and one that has the burden of having to win week after week.
There’s an art to winning trophies at any level. You have to make sure you don’t choke, to get over the line. And in order to gain that experience, you have to be at a club where it’s possible to do so. In the Premier League, it isn’t if you’re not part of the top six these days.
But what Brendan Rodgers is also proving is that there’s another path you can take to gain that experience. It’s up to others to follow.
Liverpool have had a brilliant few months, it’s safe to say. From securing a top-four spot in the Premier League, to making it to the Champions League final, to starting off the summer with a bang by signing Fabinho – it couldn’t have gone much better for the club. Indeed, it’s pretty clear that something great is happening on Merseyside, and Jurgen Klopp is having a real impact.
In truth, it’s going to be tough to improve on last season in the coming year, but Liverpool have got to try. A Premier League title challenge will likely be wanted, but that will be a pretty big leap.
They must, then, continue to improve this summer, and the month of July could offer the perfect breeding ground for further success.
If Liverpool can have as much success in July as they did in May and June, they could be on to a winner next term.
But what would the perfect July look like? Would it include some signings? Let’s take a look…
Alisson Signs
Liverpool are reportedly ready to stick with Loris Karius this summer, but is that really the best idea?
The German has been inconsistent at best over the last year, and if the Reds really want to go to the next level, he needs to be replaced.
Alisson would be a sensational signing. He’s one of Europe’ss best, and he has impressed between the sticks for Brazil at the World Cup too.
An expensive choice, sure, but what a choice.
Van Dijk Partner Acquired
Virgil van Dijk has been sensational at Anfield since his arrival, but his defensive partners? Not so much.
The Dutchman has taken the Liverpool defence to the next level, but its rise is being stifled by a lack of quality.
Ahead of next season, Liverpool need to bring in a new defender to partner van Dijk at the back. If they’re able to do that, you could argue that their defence will be as strong as their unstoppable attack.
It won’t be easy or cheap, but it’s vital.
Striker Secured
Roberto Firmino did a fantastic job as Liverpool’s number nine last season, but it’s fair to say that he can’t be expected to lead the line long-term.
The Brazilian needs depth beyond him that can take his place occasionally, as if he continues to play every few days, he will inevitably get burnt out.
Daniel Sturridge, Dominic Solanke and Danny Ings aren’t cutting it, and so bringing in a top-class striker to help rival Firmino is essential.
Given Brazil’s World Cup run, Firmino could miss much of pre-season, and so this is so important for the Reds.
Kevin De Bruyne was a hugely influential figure in Manchester City’s Premier League title-winning campaign last season.
On Tuesday night on the biggest stage of all, one thing was clear after the final whistle blew – De Bruyne is in need of a rest.
The 27-year-old, rated at £135m by Transfermarkt, played the full 90 minutes of Belgium’s World Cup semi-final against France, which ended in a 1-0 defeat for De Bruyne and his teammates.
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The former Chelsea midfielder is not used to losses, but he was unable to drag his team back into contention.
By his standards, the 67-cap international was below par as he struggled to pull the strings in Roberto Martinez’s star-studded team.
De Bruyne delivered in some pin-point accurate long balls for Romelu Lukaku, but other than that, his influence over the game was minimal.
He lost the ball multiple times in the middle of the park, and his passing accuracy was the worst out of every outfield player that started for Belgium.
In terms of threat in front of goal, De Bruyne produced just one shot on target and only one of his crosses found the danger area.
It was a rare off day for Pep Guardiola’s star man, and it showed that after a long season, now is the time for the midfielder to rest up ready for the new challenge that awaits.
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West Ham fans are over the moon with their transfer business with Manuel Pellegrini adding five new signings already this summer.
The Chilean kickstarted his tenure at the club by landing Ryan Fredericks on a free transfer from Fulham and signed Lukasz Fabianski from Swansea following their relegation. The Hammers also sealed a deal for Jack Wilshere after he left Arsenal. The 64-year-old also splashed £40m to bring Issa Diop and Andriy Yarmolenko to the London Stadium.
The former Manchester City boss is not finished yet and wants to strengthen his defence in the transfer window further. Landing a centre-back partner for Diop will propel the Hammers into European contention and make them a force to be reckoned with next season. Despite their bid being rejected, West Ham are expected to make another move for Newcastle captain – Jamaal Lascelles.
Valued at £13.5m by Transfermarkt, Lascelles enjoyed a terrific season for the Magpies, making 33 appearances, scoring three goals. The 24-year-old is a natural leader that would add some much-needed stability to the Hammers backline. His arrival would also help Diop make the transition to life in England.
Lascelles is a natural leader and a no-nonsense defender. Only James Collins averaged more clearances than the Englishman last season (WhoScored). Naturally, Rafael Benitez does not want to lose his star player but may be forced into a sale if Mike Ashley decides to cash in.
Last season Wolves stormed the Championship, racking up 99 points after making a huge number of signings from top European clubs that shocked the league – including securing the services of Ruben Neves from Porto for a Championship record £15.8m.
So far this summer it looks as though Nottingham Forest are going through a similar process, having already made nine signings in total with just under a month of the transfer window still to go.
The common denominator between the two clubs? A slightly shady link with football’s super agent Jorge Mendes.
Who is Jorge Mendes?
Perhaps one of the only agents that football fans know by name (alongside controversial Dutchman Mino Raiola of course), Mendes was once just a failed footballer, DJ and nightclub owner. Now though, his agency Gestifute manages contracts worth nearly $1bn per year, according to Forbes.
Among the clients of Mendes and Gestifute are Jose Mourinho, James Rodriguez, Diego Costa and the greatest player on earth right now – Cristiano Ronaldo.
Mendes’ route into the glamourous world of football agency came after a chance meeting in a bar with a little known goalkeeper who played for Vitoria S.C. in the Portuguese league. Mendes signed the keeper and subsequently brokered a deal with Deportivo de La Coruna for his transfer.
That keeper was current Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo.
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Wolves 2017/18
It was no surprise at the end of the 2017/18 season that central-midfielder Ruben Neves was nominated for the Championship Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season awards and was included in the EFL Team of the Season.
Neves and Wolves had torn apart the Championship and secured promotion back to the Premier League in boss Santo’s first season in charge of the club. It was not without controversy though. The outlandish signings that Mendes had clearly helped his first ever client secure were investigated by the EFL towards the end of the season after Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani kicked up a fuss. The powers that be cleared the relationship to continue though as Mendes did not have an official role at the club and so didn’t need to pass an owners test.
Santo’s transfer dealings also managed to avoid breaking Financial Fair Play regulations, with Mendes securing a number of the deals on loan with options to buy the player at the end of the season.
Nottingham Forest 2018/19
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Rather than last season being a one off, Nottingham Forest’s current transfer dealings this summer would suggest that Mendes has managed to wriggle his way into another Championship club and is brokering deals that will line his pockets, but will ruin the competitiveness of England’s second division.
Mendes is no longer Karanka’s acting agent but the two have clearly retained a friendship and a working relationship.
The obvious similarities between the dealings done by Wolves last season and those done by Forest this year are there for all to see and it begs the question who is in charge of the transfer policy at these clubs?
Last season Wolves signed Portuguese left-winger Diogo Jota on loan from Atletico Madrid, this season Forest have signed Portuguese left-winger Diogo Goncalves on loan from Benfica – both, unsurprisingly, are managed by Gestifute.
As previously mentioned, Wolves also signed Ruben Neves last summer. This season, midfielder Joao Carvalho became Forest’s record signing and you can probably guess his home country.
Strangely, there are even similarities with the players who have signed but have no links to Mendes or Gestifute. Benik Afobe for Wolves and Lewis Grabban for Nottingham Forest are reasonably similar players and John Ruddy and Costel Pantillimon are both experienced goalkeepers who signed for the respective clubs at similar stages of their careers.
These may be coincidences but the players linked to Gestifute are certainly not. Mendes now has an influence over Championship clubs that no non-staff member has had before and the deals that are being done are severely affecting the competitiveness of the league when other clubs would have to spend bigger to sign the kind of quality that Forest are securing this summer.
Does this mean Forest will win the league? Absolutely not, but fans of all other Championship clubs will hope that one club receiving favours from an agent isn’t a regular occurrence. While Mendes is probably currently the only agent who could have this much influence, if the EFL do not crack down on these relationships soon then we could see a number of football’s businessmen sniffing around clubs in the second tier.
If fans were already disenfranchised with the parachute payment system, this latest development could be a serious problem for the EFL.
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According to Sky Sports, Aleksandr Golovin’s transfer to Chelsea could be close to completion following social media posts appearing to confirm his move.
Sergey Chepchugov, a teammate of Golovin’s at CSKA Moscow, posted a message on Instagram congratulating the 22-year-old on his move to a big club. The big club in question is believed to be Chelsea.
The arrival of Golovin, who shone for Russia at this summer’s World Cup hosted by his home nation, would be the second midfield acquisition already of Maurizio Sarri’s short reign at Stamford Bridge.
With Jorginho having signed only a matter of days ago, the addition of Golovin would surely force out at least one other member of the Blues’ current midfield contingent.
The Breakdown
Since his arrival at Stamford Bridge from Leicester City in 2017, the Premier League winner has barely gotten any significant game time in the league for the Blues.
At 28-years-old, the midfielder has to be getting regular football if he is to stand any chance of reviving his England dream.
He has already proved himself to be a highly capable top flight midfielder, who would be an asset to the majority of Premier League clubs, outside of the top six. Taking such a slight step down could allow Drinkwater’s career to begin moving forward again.
With Jorginho, Cesc Fabregas, and now potentially Golovin ahead of him in the queue at Stamford Bridge, the time has come for the Englishman to call a premature end to his time at Chelsea.
Transfermarkt value the Manchester United youth product at £18 million. Whilst a figure in that region would be far less than the £35 million investment the Blues made in him last summer, Sarri should see to it that the club cut their losses now.
According to Sky Sports, Chelsea have told AC Milan that they can have Alvaro Morata if they meet the asking price of £62 million.
If this deal goes through then it would mean Morata departing Stamford Bridge having served only one season for the Blues.
After Morata joined Chelsea last summer from Real Madrid, his career in England got off to a flying start. A goal on his Premier League debut was followed by a further 9 strikes before the turn of the year.
In 2018 though, the Spaniard’s form deserted him and he only found the back of the net once more in the league before the end of the season. The January arrival of Olivier Giroud eventually forced the 25-year-old out of the starting line up, which ultimately resulted in Morata missing out on Spain’s World Cup squad.
If AC Milan meet Chelsea’s asking price then it will result in a small profit for the Blues, considering they paid £59 million for the striker last summer. They shouldn’t be so quick to give up on their investment though, and Morata should remain to lead the line this season at Stamford Bridge.
The Breakdown
Despite previous spells with Real Madrid and Juventus, last season was the first in Morata’s career in which he was burdened with the sole responsibility of leading the line over the course of the entire campaign. Having either had a striker partner, or been a rotation option, at his previous clubs, it was always going to be a big ask for him to step up without any trouble.
Morata played over 2,000 league minutes for the first time in his career last season. That fact, combined with the additional fatigue that comes with being a lone striker, and not having a winter break for the first time, is the reason his form dropped off so dramatically in the second half of the last campaign. He was exhausted.
With that first season now behind him though, Morata will be more prepared for the rigours to come second time around.
At the start of last season, Morata showed his quality. Now, Chelsea should give him the chance to prove he can keep it up.
With Giroud, Michy Batshuayi and Tammy Abraham on the books, the Blues have goals in their squad, and enough security in their back up options to be able to afford to maintain their faith in Morata.
Tottenham Hotspur have pulled out of the race to sign Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha according to The Mirror.
What’s the story?
Zaha made a name for himself as a young Crystal Palace prodigy and sealed what appeared to be a dream move to Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson back in 2013.
Unfortunately it proved to be Sir Alex’s final transfer and Zaha wasn’t favoured by his replacement David Moyes and he soon returned to his boyhood club.
Since then the Ivorian has shone and the 25-year-old scored nine goals and assisted three last season for the Eagles.
He has been linked with a move away from Selhurst Park this summer, with Chelsea and Tottenham reportedly interested, but according to the latest rumour, Spurs have been put off by his £75million valuation, putting Chelsea in the driving seat.
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Time is running out
Tottenham are still yet to make a signing this summer and a move for Zaha would have satisfied fans growing frustrated with Daniel Levy and his reluctance to splash the cash this summer.
Zaha would be a perfect fit for Mauricio Pochettino’s electric football style but in the inflated market, Spurs are being left behind by their rivals who are prepared to pay for the top talent.
There’s still time to bring new faces in but time is ticking if Spurs want to improve on what is already a very strong first XI but a fairly weak squad beyond that.
West ham United have enjoyed a thoroughly productive summer so far, but with just a few hours remaining until the transfer window slams shut it appears they could be set to take a backwards step in the market.
After bringing in the likes of Jack Wilshere, Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko, it’s fair to say that the Hammers have set a precedent for the future and look set to usher in a new era of success at the London Stadium.
But a recent report from the Daily Mail suggests that they are going to compromise their ambition on transfer deadline day with an ill-advised deal for Tottenham Hotspur’s Fernando Llorente.
Indeed, the report claims that Manuel Pellegrini is keen to add Llorente to his squad in a deal which would set them back a figure in the region of £7 million.
West Ham have already brought Lucas Perez into the club from Arsenal today, so with the recent recruit, Javier Hernandez, Marko Arnautovic and even Andy Carroll all to chose from at centre-forward, a potential deal for Llorente seems rather unnecessary.
The main problem is that Llorente’s arrival would represent nothing more than a last-minute panic-buy rather than a forward-thinking acquisition designed to contribute to a glowing West Ham future.
At 33-years-of-age, Llorente is hardly the prolific striker he once was, and his record of just 1 goal from 16 Premier League appearances last season serves to illuminate his struggle in front of goal.
Considering West Ham have appointed Manuel Pellegrini to manage the club and brought in technically gifted and physically mobile players to the squad this summer, signing a target-man such as Llorente would go against the grain of the brand of football they are striving to implement in East London, so they should abandon their pursuit before they make their worst decision of the summer so far.