With Olivier Giroud turning out to be handier than Antonio Conte realised at first, Álvaro Morata’s days at Chelsea could be numbered. Brought in as Diego Costa’s replacement, the Spaniard has spent most of his first season in English football looking a bit sad and forlorn. Where Costa snarled, Morata has allowed his bottom lip to wobble. When Costa took a knock from a defender, he got up and started a fight; Morata, by contrast, has tended to look pleadingly at unsympathetic referees. Not to worry, though, because Juventus are unmoved by his struggle to adapt to the Premier League’s uncompromising style. They want to bring the striker back to Italy this summer and will either take him on loan for two years or hand Chelsea £60m right now.
By the time Morata returns to Juventus, however, Max Allegri might already have left to replace Arsène Wenger at Arsenal, who have decided that Luis Enrique’s demands are too high. News that Arsenal are confident of tying down Jack Wilshere to a new deal and signing Brighton’s Lewis Dunk must have convinced the Italian that heading to north London is the right decision.
Liverpool have decided they want a new cheerleader and have identified Napoli’s Pepe Reina as the ideal candidate. The goalkeeper will return to Anfield on a free.
Barcelona are set to beat Manchester United to the signing of Atlético Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann. Atlético will console themselves by using the cash to sign Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani, whose habit of missing big chances in tight Champions League games will no doubt be met with a calm response from Diego Simeone.
Javier Hernández, the dullard’s idea of a good striker, could join Chivas on a six-month loan. Michail Antonio could also be on his way out at West Ham. Crystal Palace have an itching for an injury-prone winger and want Antonio to scratch it.
Ajax want Southampton’s Dusan Tadic.
Andrés Iniesta’s move to China could be off after it emerged that Chongqing Lifan are having doubts over paying the Barcelona midfielder £71m over the next three years. Maybe the Chinese club could sign Burnley’s Dean Marney instead, although they’ll face competition from Nottingham Forest for the 34-year-old midfielder.
