The dreadlocked Colombian winger Juan Cuadrado was one of the stand-out players at the World Cup last summer, but remained at Fiorentina despite persistent attempts by this column and other scurrilous peddlers of baseless football tittle-tattle to move him elsewhere. Now it seems the quick and athletic purveyor of fine crosses who hails from the unspoiled and decidedly pleasant-sounding coastal town of Necoclí is “unsettled” and the Daily Express reports that Manchester City are prepared to activate his £28m release clause to bring him to the Etihad and upset their city rivals Manchester United in the process.
Despite the ink on the new contract he signed with Fiorentina still being wet, Cuadrado is believed to have had “a change of heart” as far as staying at the Serie A club is concerned and his representatives are rumoured to have already held talks with United. With City ready to torpedo the deal, the world looks to be the 26-year-old Colombian’s lobster.
The Daily Star reports that Arsenal already agreed a deal to sign Petr Cech from Chelsea in January and will offer the Premier League leaders £7m for their reserve goalkeeper’s services. If Arsenal’s recent form is anything to go by, expect any transaction to proceed smoothly before collapsing comically shortly before deadline day as a result of overly-aggressive last-minute negotiations on the part of Arsène Wenger.
As the world wonders if Daniel Sturridge’s thighs are made of a combination of prawn crackers and Twiglets, his employers at Liverpool hope to recall Divock Origi from his season-long loan at Lille in January. Under the terms of their agreement with the Ligue 1 side, Liverpool would ostensibly have to buy the Belgian striker all over again, as they’d need to fork out another £5m on top of the £10m they already agreed to secure his services during the summer. Still, at least they’d be getting 50% off this time … and to think some people accuse Brendan Rodgers of not knowing what he’s doing when it comes to transfer dealings.
With hail and hearty Liverpool strikers Mario Balotelli, Rickie Lambert and Fabio Borini having failed to score a single Premier League goal between them this season, Origi could be the answer to Liverpool’s problems; the comparatively prolific 20-year-old has netted three times in the French top flight this campaign.
Reni hat-wearing Guardian Sport Manchester football correspondent Jamie Jackson says Louis van Gaal may break the British transfer record for a defender to bring Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels to Old Trafford, so it must be true. The Star report that United are also planning to introduce the Milan defender Adil Rami to life at Old Trafford, while at Chelsea José Mourinho will smugly survey his cut-price back four and muse that the merciless 21-year-old Ipswich centre-back Tyrone Mings would make the ideal cut-price replacement for John Terry.
And despite recent hints to the contrary, Lionel Messi’s father has scoffed at the notion that his son might leave Barcelona, but stopped scoffing for long enough to say that a bid of £200m might be enough to turn his boy’s head. In an effort to cause a bit of a distraction, the new Wigan Athletic manager Malky Mackay is preparing a bid.
