Karim Benzema’s move to Al-Hilal has cast fresh doubt on the future of Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr. The 40-year-old was missing from Monday’s 1-0 Saudi Pro League win at Al-Riyadh, the day Benzema’s move from Al-Ittihad to Al-Hilal was confirmed. Ronaldo is reportedly dissatisfied with how Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which also has a stake in Newcastle, is controlling the affairs of Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr, unhappy that a rival club have signed his former Real Madrid teammate. Sounds plausible?
Dwight McNeil was all set to sign for Crystal Palace from Everton before Jean-Philippe Mateta’s switch to Milan fell through. The Eagles lodged a very late £20m bid for the former Burnley schemer, but reportedly moved the goalposts after failing to offload Mateta, preferring a loan deal with an option to buy instead.
The agent Giuseppe Riso has scotched reports that his client, the Italy international Sandro Tonali, was offered to Arsenal before the transfer window slammed shut. Reports on Monday stated that an intermediary had dangled the midfielder’s services in front of the Premier League-leading Gunners, but Riso has dismissed the story as “nonsense.”
Tottenham failed to get a deal for the Monaco forward Maghnes Akliouche over the line, but may revisit the deal in the summer. Will that do anything to placate Spurs’ furious club captain, Cristian Romero, who condemned the “disgraceful” lack of transfer activity in a social media post on deadline-night? It seems unlikely.
Tyrell Malacia, Manchester United’s left-back, is supposedly angry with the club’s director of football, Jason Wilcox, for putting the kibosh on a move to Besiktas. The plane due to take Malacia to Turkey was reportedly on the tarmac before Wilcox made it clear the 26-year-old Dutchman would be staying in England.
Meanwhile, is Marcus Rashford happy in Barcelona? We’ve all wondered about that and now it seems we have an answer. The on-loan Manchester United forward is said to be determined not to return to Old Trafford, and wants to make his move to Catalonia permanent. The United interim, Michael Carrick, was interested in getting him back, but the England international intends to move to another club if Barcelona don’t sign him.
Xabi Alonso, Cesc Fàbregas and Enzo Maresca could form a three-man shortlist to replace Pep Guardiola, should Manchester City be on the hunt for a new manager this summer. Speculation is growing that the 55-year-old will leave at the end of the season and while the club have apparently called it just that – “pure speculation” – there is a growing sense Guardiola will end his contract one year early.
And before the Mill returns to cold storage until the summer, Horst Heldt, the manager director at Union Berlin, claims he was offered the chance to sign Raheem Sterling. The former England forward left Chelsea last week, terminating his £325,000-a-week contract 18 months early. “Sometimes you have to rub your eyes,” Heldt said. “In this case it didn’t really seem serious. We didn’t pursue it any further.”
