Fresh from delivering a plaintive lament about the difficult character of the modern player, José Mourinho has been tipped to become the new manager of Neymar. Thomas Tuchel is under pressure, see, after only winning 9-0 last weekend in Ligue 1, where PSG have but a 13-point lead at the top of the table, with two matches in hand. If they were to offset that embarrassment in that Champions League, then the French club might jilt Tuchel and make a move for Mourinho, who bumped into the the PSG president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, while a-punditing in Qatar recently. That story will sadden the hearts of fun-lovers, who would much prefer Mourinho to be thrust into power at PSG *before *their next Champions League fixture, which, of course, is against Manchester United, whose fortunes have turned around in exactly the manner you’d expect after replacing Mourinho with a bubbly work experience intern from Norway.
As if to endear themselves further to Mourinho, PSG have made a bid for a
new defensive midfielder, with Everton Idrissa Gueye their prime target.
And they were very confident of pipping Manchester City to the signing of
the dinky midfield schemer Frenkie De Jong until Barcelona made a
last-minute swoop for the Ajax prodigy, who now seems headed for the Nou
Camp. Oh well, Marouane Fellaini is still available.
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur’s attempt to convince Mauricio Pochettino that there is no need for him to consider a summer move to Manchester United has taken an turn, as the north London club have been linked with actual transfers. With the club running out of fit attacking players, Spurs are reportedly keen on signing Youcef Atal from Nice. A right-back, albeit a strong-running one. Serge Aurier, meanwhile, is welcome to embark on a long run to China.
Spurs, in fairness, are also being linked with PSV’s 21-year-old winger
Steve Bergwijn, who’s also on Manchester United’s watch list.
Spurs and Manchester United might well be among the clubs to receive a CV
from Rafael Benítez in the summer, with the Spaniard said to have resolved
to leave Newcastle when upon the expiry of his contract unless he is given
significant backing in the transfer market this month. Off he’ll go, then.
Real Madrid will give their manager significant backing, specifically £90m
to spring Paulo Dybala from Juventus. And Aaron Ramsey might be allowed go to Juve as early as next week if Arsenal complete deals for James Rodríguez and Denis Suárez. Arsenal are also on the lookout for a new director of football, and Roma’s Monchi is said to be their top target.
Lastly, with Thierry Henry’s management career getting off to a start every
bit as impressive as his punditry career as Tuesday’s elimination from the
Coupe de France gives him a record of four wins from 20 matches at Monaco
so far - there’s talk that a change of direction might be in order at
Monaco.
