So, Leroy Sane has been left out of Germany’s World Cup squad despite being one of the most productive players in Europe last season. England are one injury away from having to get on the phone to Jake Livermore. It’s all about context, isn’t it?
New West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini has been mugged at gunpoint in Chile. Rumours that this was arranged by David’s Gold and Sullivan to reclaim the transfer kitty they promised him are completely unsubstantiated.
Unai Emery is getting back to what he does best. And that is building a team to win the Europa League. And that means, Steven N’Zonzi! But there could be the first moments of discontent at Arsenal HQ as the Head of Recruitment, Sven Mislintat, reckons Watford’s Abdoulaye Doucouré is a better bet. Hell, buy them both. Arsenal’s midfield has needed an overhaul since goodness knows when.
Liverpool are determined to follow “good transfer window protocol” by “getting their business done early”. They’ve already bagged Fabinho, as we know, and are keen to get Nabil Fekir marked with a big sold sign on his forehead as quickly as possible. Several news outlets are suggesting that Jurgen Klopp is going to get his flirt on with Ousmane Dembele’s mum to get the talented Frenchman to leave the Camp Nou, and the chance to carry the Messi mantle in a few years time, and be a better back-up to Mo Salah than Adam Lallana will ever be. Dembele’s ma seems to look after his affairs, incidentally.
Rebuilding your midfield seems to be the thing this summer, and Jose Mourinho is a man in need of rebuilding his midfield. Brazilian one-namer Fred is due to be announced any second now and could well be joined by Brazilian-Italian Jorginho and completely-Italian Marco Veratti of Napoli and PSG respectively. Jose also hopes that Mateo Kovacic is so heart-broken by Zizou giving up his Real Madrid throne that he might need to leave Madrid to get over it. Manchester is a perfect retreat to mend matters of the heart.
Riyad Mahrez to Manchester City might finally happen for a sum in-and-around £60m and Leicester reckon Jack Grealish is now man enough to follow in Riyad’s footsteps. It will cost at least two-thirds of the Mahrez bounty to prise Jack away from Aston Villa no matter how financially banjaxed they now appear to be.
One player we know has left Manchester City to create a hole for Mahrez to fill on the bench is Yaya Toure and boy has he gone on the kind of rampage we used to see in midfield before his legs went. I think we can all safely agree that Yaya doesn’t buy into the Peppy G ‘myth’, eh? Speaking to France Football, Yaya called Pep ‘jealous’ and accused him of ruining his last season at the club by persistently picking younger, better players than him in the team. That Guardiola, hey? What a meanie.
Jack Wilshere is off to West Ham United or Crystal Palace in news that suggests Pellegrini is still rattled by his mugging. Roy Hodgson has no excuse, he has even worked with Jack.
Finally, and this is the kind of rubbish that the World Cup throws out from time to time – Bayern Munich are keeping an eye on Everton’s Jordan Pickford as a potential long-term replacement for Manuel Neuer. Yes, of course, they are.
