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The winter transfer window is closed — but now it’s time to look ahead to the summer! Here are the new rumours floating around following the Jan. 31 deadline day.
TOP STORY: Barca hoping to replace Suarez with Willian Jose
Barcelona have their eyes set on Jose. No, not Mourinho, but Real Sociedad striker Willian Jose.
Marca reports that Barcelona have been eyeing the player as a replacement for injured forwards Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele, with the club set to find out next week just how long the latter will be out of action. Barca can then obtain approval from the FA to sign a Spanish-based replacement — and the 28-year-old could prove to be the perfect solution.
Getting the deal over the line, though, could be tricky. Marca reports that Jose’s release clause stands at an eye-watering €70 million, and the Basque side look set to dig their heels in to ensure that they get every penny of that. The Brazilian, who was linked with a move to Tottenham early this month, has scored eight goals in La Liga so far this season, despite finding himself on the bench behind Alexander Isak in recent weeks.
Barcelona will hope the promise of more playing time and Jose’s previous time with new coach Quique Setien at Las Palmas in 2015-16 will work in their favour. Setien also tried to sign Jose when he was in the dugout at Real Betis and is a big admirer of the striker. Betis’ Loren Moron and Alaves and ex-Arsenal frontman Lucas Perez are also believed to be on Barca’s radar.
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09.00 GMT: Gareth Bale‘s agent has insisted his client still has a future at Real Madrid after the forward was left out of the squad for their last two games despite being fully fit.
“Madrid want Gareth Bale,” Jonathan Barnett said in an interview with AS. “There’s no problem between (coach Zinedine) Zidane and Gareth. He loves Real Madrid, it doesn’t matter what they say about him.”
The Wales international has faced fierce criticism in Spain for his injury record and another newspaper, Marca, claimed on Saturday that Zidane feels Bale lacks intensity in training.
“Gareth has gone through a lot. He’s had a lot of injuries and they worry him,” Barnett admitted. “He can’t train too much, not five days a week. That should be managed appropriately. But he can play.”
Bale was close to leaving Real Madrid last summer until a last minute change of plans saw the club pull the plug on a move to China.
“He had an offer that was impossible to refuse, but Madrid didn’t want to sell him,” Barnett said. “The Chinese club couldn’t pay what Madrid asked for the transfer … It would have made him the best paid player in the world.”
PAPER TALK (by Richard Edwards)
West Ham to lose Rice in the summer?
David Moyes has admitted that Declan Rice could be off in the summer as West Ham’s fortunes continue to nosedive. That’s according to the Telegraph, which reports that a player Moyes rates as the best holding midfielder in the country could seek a move as soon as the summer transfer window opens, regardless of whether West Ham stay up or go down.
Rice has played every league minute this season for West Ham, but the natives at the Olympic Stadium are restless, with the club in the bottom three and facing the real possibility of dropping to the second tier.
Rice is not short of suitors, including Man City, Man United and Chelsea, given his form while others have struggled for club.
Juve trying to avoid another Dybala standoff
Juventus are attempting to avoid another summer of “will he, won’t he” when it comes to Paolo Dybala and want to tie him down to a long-term deal to ward off Premier League suitors. The Argentine star was linked with moves to Spurs, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid but has since emerged as a key figure Bianconeri under Maurizio Sarri.
Now, according to Tuttosport, the Turin giants want to make sure he’s in it for the long haul with contract negotiations likely to start as early as March. All of which might cause considerably consternation among those English clubs still hoping to lure him to the Premier League.
Tap-ins
- Real Madrid will make up their mind over Martin Odegaard’s future once they have a clearer idea of Luca Modric’s plans. That’s according to Marca, which reports that Los Blancos won’t make any decision on extending Odegaard’s loan deal with Real Sociedad until they know if Modric intends to jump ship and head to Inter Milan this summer.
Modric, who will be 35 in September, has a deal with Madrid that runs until June 2021, although Marca claims that he could double his salary with a move to the Nerazzurri. In the meantime, Odegaard is revelling in his role in San Sebastian. Both player and club, it seems, will have to wait and see what happens next.
– MLS runner-up Toronto FC have a new designated player. The Reds announced on Friday that they have signed Argentine winger Pablo Piatti from Espanyol as their third DP. Piatti, 30, has played in Spain since 2008 with Almeria, Valencia and Espanyol, amassing 60 goals and 60 assists in 367 games.