If the Mill wasn’t a top, top purveyor of transfer tittle-tattle and wild speculation then it’d probably be either Martin Roberts or Lucy Alexander of Homes under the Hammer. Looking out for signs of damp, checking out coving, suggesting knocking through that wall to make a delightful breakfast bar that would really open up the space, turning up with estate agents to find out exactly how much money you could squeeze out of your property as a landlord … that sort of thing.
So today’s tabloid round-up is something of a dream come true. Raheem Sterling, you see, has apparently “taken the first steps” towards putting his Merseyside house on the market, which presumably means he has been scrolling idly through Zoopla or Right Move. But this news has put Arsenal and Chelsea “on alert”, because the forward is now looking for a property in London.
In other hot English starlet news, Manchester City have set their sights on snaring West Brom’s Saido Berahino. The powers that be at the Etihad want an influx of young English talent so the Baggies forward, the aforementioned Sterling, Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere and Tottenham’s Danny Rose are all making quiet blipping noises on the City radar.
Bad news for Arsenal: Palermo’s Paulo Dybala looks set to join Juventus rather than the Gunners in a €30m deal. Good news for Arsenal: that could mean Fernando Llorente is surplus to requirements in Turin and Arsène Wenger quite fancies a move for the Spanish striker instead. He’ll have to fight it out with Tottenham and Valencia, mind.
Burnley’s Danny Ings is off to Anfield, though you probably already knew that, and he’ll be joined by the Inter midfield maestro Mateo Kovacic, who’ll take around £15m to prise from Milan. Inter will cushion the blow by signing Southampton misfit Gastón Ramírez. It’s going to be a busy summer for Brendan Rodgers and co – they’re also hot on the trail of Real Sociedad’s Iñigo Martínez, though they will have to fork out £21.7m to get their man, and Rennes wide man Paul-Georges Ntep.
In other European news, Borussia Dortmund are leading the race to snap up Charlton Athletic wonderkid Joe Gomez. The 17-year-old defender has sparked the interest of Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United but Dortmund are hopeful of wrapping up a deal for £1m.
In what will surely be the most drab bit of today’s tittle tattle, West Brom are keen to sign Hull’s James Chester.
The Baggies also want Marseille’s André-Pierre Gignac, which is a bit more like it, and Inter are going to splash £10m on Yaya Touré if it’s the last thing they do. Lazio, meanwhile, have £12m burning a hole in their pocket and want to spend it all on Fabio Borini for some reason.
