The Chinese Super League is not content with Oscar, Graziano Pellè or Gervinho. They quite simply want more. And by more, they want Tottenham Hotspur’s rampaging full-back Danny Rose. An unnamed Chinese superpower, as ever, wanted to chuck £14.5m at Doncaster-born, one-time Peterborough United loanee – and that is just in wages. Rose is not having any of it, though, with Manchester United and Manchester City still circling high above White Hart Lane.
He is not the only one. Chelsea’s Diego Costa has also rejected the chance to abruptly end his career by snubbing a lucrative five-year deal from China, worth a mouthwatering £220,000-a-week, to stay put beside Antonio Conte, for the time being at least. Chelsea, meanwhile, continue to focus on more important matters, like turfing out the Stamford Bridge naming rights to any willing investors.
And there has been no time for romancing in north London either, with Spurs too busy getting down to work. They are set to flog Nabil Bentaleb to Schalke on a permanent deal, in order to finance a £15m bid for Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha. While all that’s going on, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy continues to hawk the world wide web in search of a sponsor to scribble all over their new shiny stadium, fit with that transparent players’ tunnel.
Elsewhere, Antoine Griezmann has got cold feet about a move to Old Trafford, after taking one look at the Arndale shopping centre. The France forward is said to hold “doubts” over a move to England. There is some half-decent news for United, though, with the club bigwigs set to discuss extending Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s contract later this week. In other contract headlines, Mark Noble wants to stay at West Ham United forever, and is keen on committing his long-term future to the Hammers.
Remember Anthony Stokes? The former Arsenal and Celtic twinkletoes, currently of Blackburn Rovers, is a target for Polish outfit Jagiellonia Bialystok. You’ve heard it here first. And Brighton and Hove Albion’s Dale Stephens is ready to do one if the Seagulls fail to clinch promotion at the 97th time of asking. The 27-year-old slapped in a transfer request last summer after Burnley had a whopping six bids for the midfielder turned down.
