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Category: Transfer window

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By on August 18th, 2017

Manchester City plan new Jonny Evans bid but Pep Guardiola wary of rising fee

• West Brom rejected initial £18m bid with player keen on move
• Guardiola has identified other options if fee cannot be agreed

Manchester City will not be held to ransom over Jonny Evans, with Pep Guardiola having identified other options at centre-back should West Bromwich Albion not agree with their valuation of the Northern Irishman.

City are set to make a renewed bid for Evans after having one in the region of £18m rejected by the Midlands club. Tony Pulis made Evans West Brom captain after Darren Fletcher left for Stoke City and the manager is adamant City will have to offer an acceptable fee if he is to be transferred.

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Football • Manchester City • Pep Guardiola • Sport • Transfer window • West Bromwich Albion
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By on August 18th, 2017

Newcastle’s summer transfer dealings not ideal, Rafael Benítez says

• Owner Mike Ashley’s blueprint now less ambitious than in May
• ‘He knows what he told me and what I was thinking,’ says manager

Rafael Benítez has indicated that Mike Ashley’s summer transfer market blueprint is now significantly less ambitious than it appeared when the two men last met in May.

“He knows what he told me and what I was thinking,” said Newcastle United’s manager, who has not spoken to the club’s owner since that rare get-together and finds himself forced to embrace a new-found minimalism when it comes to refurnishing his squad.

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Football • Newcastle United • Rafael Benítez • Sport • Transfer window
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By on August 18th, 2017

Football transfer rumours: Chelsea’s Diego Costa to Everton?

Today’s fluff has got new rules as well

“The football world has gone mad – OFFICIAL!” So states this morning’s Mirror on the back page, citing Manchester City’s willingness to spend £22m on Jonny Evans by way of evidence. “Pep Guardiola is determined to land the 29-year-old on a £120,000-a-week contract because he needs to add a home-grown player to comply with Premier League and Uefa rules on the composition of his squad,” they report. (If they think that’s mad they should read the Mail, who say City will bid £25m, or the Sun, whose “exclusive” is that they will have to pay £35m. The Baggies, sensing which way the wind is blowing here, are already in talks over a £15m bid for Tottenham’s £20m-rated Kevin Wimmer). “He must first offload £42m flop Eliaquim Mangala,” concludes the Mirror – Internazionale are keen on the French defender but though City want £30m for him, they are unlikely to get it. Indeed, the paper suggest City will end up with half of what they paid for the 26-year-old.

Related: Transfer window 2017 – every deal in Europe’s top five leagues

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By on August 17th, 2017

Tottenham agree club-record £42m fee for Ajax defender Davinson Sánchez

• Mauricio Pochettino closes in on Colombia centre-half
• Club officials are thrashing out a deal for the 21-year-old

Tottenham are closing in on their first signing of the transfer window after they agreed a club record fee of up to £42m with Ajax for centre-half Davinson Sánchez, with the Colombia defender now expected to compete his move in the coming days.

Related: Fall of pound means Tottenham face paying more for Davinson Sánchez by the day

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Ajax • Football • Mauricio Pochettino • Sport • Tottenham Hotspur • Transfer window
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By on August 16th, 2017

Manchester City identify West Brom’s Jonny Evans as possible target

• Pep Guardiola wants to increase centre-back options at the Etihad
• Only five men have played for both Manchester clubs in Premier League era

Manchester City are targeting West Bromwich Albion’s Jonny Evans in a move that could make the former Manchester United defender only the sixth footballer to represent both Manchester clubs in the Premier League era.

Evans, 29, had been identified by Pep Guardiola as precisely the kind of ball-playing centre-back the manager wants to bolster an area of the defence that lacks depth and quality. Guardiola, it is understood, has a firm interest in Evans. If City can prise the Northern Irishman away from West Brom he will be given a chance to compete for a first-team berth.

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Football • Manchester City • Sport • Transfer window • West Bromwich Albion
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By on August 16th, 2017

Not selling Virgil van Dijk is our statement, says Southampton chairman

•’It’s about a much bigger picture – a change of course for Southampton’
• Holland defender can be accepted by players and fans, argues Ralph Krueger

The Southampton chairman, Ralph Krueger, is adamant that Virgil van Dijk is “not for sale in this window” as keeping the defender is “the statement we need to make”.

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Football • Southampton • Sport • Transfer window
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By on August 16th, 2017

Manchester United reaping early rewards thanks to Chelsea’s unexpected largesse | Paul Wilson

After seeing José Mourinho hijack their Romelu Lukaku deal and letting Nemanja Matic go to Old Trafford, Chelsea have undeniably strengthened a direct rival while weakening themselves

Opinion has been divided on the wisdom of Chelsea selling Nemanja Matic to Manchester United for £40m. There are those who say top teams, especially defending champions, should never sell to direct rivals, and those who believe the money was too good to refuse down for a player who has just turned 29.

It is being argued that Chelsea have just signed an upgrade in Tiémoué Bakayoko for the same price, at least a player Antonio Conte regarded as an upgrade in the same position, and at just 22 the promising France midfielder offers many more years of service than Matic, whose sale effectively means the former Monaco player has joined for free.

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Chelsea • Football • Manchester United • Romelu Lukaku • Sport • Transfer window
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By on August 16th, 2017

Fall of pound means Tottenham face paying more for Davinson Sánchez by the day

• Ajax’s stance reflects problem faced by Premier League clubs since Brexit vote
• Dutch club slow down negotiations as pound continues to fall against euro

Premier League clubs are facing demands for ever higher transfer fees and for players’ wages to be paid in euros because of the collapse in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote.

As sterling fell this week to its lowest value since Britain emerged from the financial crash, the consequences for top-flight clubs have been laid bare by the ongoing haggling over the future of Ajax’s Davinson Sánchez.

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Ajax • European club football • Football • Premier League • Sport • Tottenham Hotspur • Transfer window
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By on August 16th, 2017

Juventus agree deal to sign PSG midfielder Blaise Matuidi for £18.2m

• 30-year-old signs a three-year contract with Serie A champions
• Midfielder becomes Juventus’s 10th summer signing

Juventus have agreed a fee to sign the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Blaise Matuidi for £18.2m plus add-ons. The French international is one of PSG’s longest serving players but has been allowed to leave during a summer of upheaval at the Ligue 1 club.

Related: Transfer window 2017 – every deal in Europe’s top five leagues

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Football • Sport • Transfer window
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By on August 16th, 2017

Gylfi Sigurdsson: tireless perfectionist will be worth the wait for Everton | Stuart James

A fee of £45m may seem excessive but the quiet and dedicated Icelander is a set-piece master with a bright football brain and Everton are set to reap the benefits now the transfer saga is finally over

It turned into one of those dreaded transfer sagas, leaving senior figures at Swansea City and Everton exasperated with the snail’s pace of the discussions to the point that even those on the inside became bored with the story, yet confirmation finally arrived on Tuesday evening that Gylfi Sigurdsson was on his way from the Mumbles to Merseyside for £45m.

The passage of time – more than a month – has arguably diluted some of the excitement at one end and certainly the level of disappointment at the other. While Everton fans grew tired of waiting and, in some cases, started to question whether Sigurdsson was really worth all that hassle and money, the mood shifted in Swansea once it became clear that the Icelander wanted out and that any significant signings would not be made until the first instalment of the biggest transfer fee in their history had been handed over.

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Everton • Football • Sport • Swansea City • Transfer window
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By on August 16th, 2017

Stoke sign PSG’s Jesé Rodríguez on loan as Joselu departs for Newcastle

• Jesé becomes Stoke’s sixth summer signing after joining on one-year loan
• Spanish forward arrives as Joselu moves to St James’ Park for around £5m

Stoke City have completed the signing of Jesé Rodríguez on a season-long loan deal from Paris Saint-Germain.

The forward passed a medical on Wednesday morning and becomes Stoke’s sixth summer signing, joining Darren Fletcher, Kurt Zouma, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Bruno Martins Indi and Josh Tymon at the Premier League club.

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European club football • Football • Newcastle United • Paris Saint-Germain • Sport • Stoke City • Transfer window
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By on August 16th, 2017

Football transfer rumours: Danny Rose to Chelsea for £30m?

Today’s blurb is bleary-eyed

Like Usain Bolt heading into the final 50m, Daniel Levy sees the end of the transfer window approaching and is starting to pick up the pace. There are signs of the pursestrings being loosened at last. That clinking sound you can hear is Levy rustling around his wallet for some loose change. The increased urgency may have something to do with *that* Danny Rose interview last week, in which the left-back helpfully wondered if Tottenham Hotspur might like to show him and his team-mates the money. But maybe it’s just a coincidence that Tottenham look like they may mean business.

Related: Danny Rose the rebel causes thorny problem for Daniel Levy and Spurs | Daniel Taylor

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Chelsea • Football • Sport • Tottenham Hotspur • Transfer window
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By on August 15th, 2017

Everton agree £45m club record fee with Swansea for Gylfi Sigurdsson

• Iceland playmaker will have his medical on Wednesday
• Gareth Barry joins West Brom on one-year deal

Everton have finally reached an agreement with Swansea City to sign Gylfi Sigurdsson, who will move to Goodison Park for a club-record fee of £45m subject to completing a medical on Wednesday. The breakthrough will come as a relief to both clubs after protracted talks and negotiations that have lasted for more than a month.

Swansea rejected several offers from Everton for Sigurdsson, with the Welsh club valuing the 27-year-old at £50m, yet a compromise was eventually reached for a player who was directly involved in 22 Premier League goals last season.

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Everton • Football • Sport • Swansea City • Transfer window
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By on August 15th, 2017

How Paulinho turned his career around to earn a dream move to Barcelona | John Duerden

The former Spurs midfielder has been the best player in China for 18 months – better than Teixeira, Ramires, Lavezzi and Oscar – and deserves his chance at Barça

April 2017: Paulinho had messed up. There was the Brazilian in China advertising a betting site alongside a Japanese porn star. His club, Guangzhou Evergrande, were unhappy about being kept in the dark about such controversial activities and there was even wild talk of deportation. It was one of the few mistakes he would make in Asia.

Not even the most committed gambler in south China or north London would have bet back in June 2015, when the midfielder signed for Guangzhou from Tottenham, that he would be heading back west two years and two months later to join Barcelona. After all, the midfielder had been declared a flop in England after two underwhelming seasons with Spurs from 2013-15. So bad had it become, with three starts in his second campaign, that his next destination was China to join his former Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari. We all know the reputation that the Chinese Super League has in Europe. The big names have arrived but the respect has not. Those who go there do so for the money.

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Barcelona • Chinese Super League • Football • Sport • Transfer window
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By on August 15th, 2017

Transfer system isn’t perfect but Premier League plans don’t make sense | Nick Miller

Premier League clubs are considering closing the transfer window before the season starts but the idea feels like a halfway house that could create more problems

The news that Premier League clubs are considering closing the transfer window before the season starts is not a particular surprise. Complaints from virtually everyone in the game have been long-standing, that transfer business dragging on alongside actual football provides too much of a distraction as rumours fly, agents scheme and players sulk.

Philippe Coutinho’s current situation is the most prominent recent example: a back injury is the official reason for his current unavailability, but due to Barcelona looming with an enormous pile of cash, one imagines he won’t play for Liverpool until September, assuming he isn’t sold before. That’s five matches, including two legs of a Champions League play-off and a game against Arsenal. Not ideal.

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Football • Premier League • Sport • Transfer window
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By on August 14th, 2017

Premier League clubs to discuss shorter transfer window for the summer

• Discussions to take place at chairmen’s meeting on 7 September
• Majority of the 20 ‘in favour of stopping domestic trades on eve of season’

Premier League clubs are set to discuss a landmark change to the transfer window which could end domestic player movement before the start of the season.

Representatives from the 20 top-flight clubs will attend next month’s shareholders’ meeting with a majority believed to be in favour of a new deadline which would stop managers bringing players in once a season has begun.

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By on August 14th, 2017

Tottenham open talks with Ajax over £25m move for Davinson Sánchez

• Colombia defender has informed Ajax he wants to join Spurs
• Tottenham also interested in Celta Vigo midfielder Pape Cheikh

Tottenham have opened talks with Ajax over the transfer of Davinson Sánchez, with Mauricio Pochettino increasingly confident of signing him after the Colombia defender informed the Dutch side that he wants to move to White Hart Lane.

Having sold Kyle Walker to Manchester City for a fee that could reach £50m, Pochettino has been searching for reinforcements to his squad and identified the 21-year-old as the perfect player to complement Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen in his back three.

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Ajax • Football • Sport • Tottenham Hotspur • Transfer window
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By on August 14th, 2017

Tottenham open talks with Ajax over £25m move for Davinson Sánchez

• Colombia defender has informed Ajax he wants to join Spurs
• Tottenham also interested in Celta Vigo midfielder Pape Cheikh

Tottenham have opened talks with Ajax over the transfer of Davinson Sánchez, with Mauricio Pochettino increasingly confident of signing him after the Colombia defender informed the Dutch side that he wants to move to White Hart Lane.

Having sold Kyle Walker to Manchester City for a fee that could reach £50m, Pochettino has been searching for reinforcements to his squad and identified the 21-year-old as the perfect player to complement Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen in his back three.

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Ajax • Football • Sport • Tottenham Hotspur • Transfer window
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By on August 14th, 2017

Despite this clod-hopping powerplay, Diego Costa may be on to something | Barney Ronay

The Chelsea striker has raised some genuinely profound issues about transfer fees and freedom of movement that have troubled even the biggest clubs for some time

W hat’s your favourite Diego Costa moment? Perhaps it’s the one where he manages to get Gabriel Paulista sent off for a retaliatory kick just by standing quite near him muttering and smiling like some horrible, handsome, impossibly terrible footballing Iago.

Or the 2-2 draw with Tottenham where Mark Clattenburg books 12 players but not actually Costa, who has a hand in at least five of those yellows, all the while maintaining an attitude of prim and saintly innocence. Or the 3-1 defeat of Arsenal where Costa “scare-assists” his team’s final goal by running towards Petr Cech and making Arsenal’s goalkeeper perform his best impression of Shaggy from Scooby Doo confronted by a double-dealing fairground owner in a zombie mask.

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Atlético Madrid • Chelsea • Diego Costa • Football • Sport • Transfer window
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By on August 14th, 2017

Transfer roundup: Stoke close in on loan signing of PSG striker Jesé

• Spanish striker expected to move to Bet365 Stadium
• Newcastle to sign former Real Madrid striker Joselu from Stoke

Stoke City are close to confirming a loan deal for the Paris Saint-Germain striker Jesé Rodriguez.

Officials from the Potteries club are in negotiations with the Ligue 1 team about the 24-year-old and are optimistic they can reach an agreement which would bring the former Real Madrid player to the Bet365 Stadium.

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Football • Newcastle United • Sport • Stoke City • Transfer window
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