Being a mill, the Mill often finds itself beset by an existential ennui at churning through the same products day in day out, wondering why rejected items keep being bunged back in for another whirl. Stories about Arsenal failing to land transfer targets, for instance. But what of their neighbours?
All has been relatively quiet on the Tottenham front this summer, but they like to get themselves in the mix late on in the window, and hark! Here they are chasing Euro 2016’s Moussa Sissoko, who may or may not be related to Newcastle Relegation’s Moussa Sissoko. Spurs have upped their offer for the France dynamo, offering to throw in Nabil Bentaleb – currently stewing in the Under-21s after going all wantaway on Mauricio Pochettino’s ass – as part of an attempted deal to to prise the midfielder, literally, from Mike Ashley’s employment. Newcastle want £30m, while Spurs value Bentaleb at £15m, despite effectively putting him on the naughty step.
While Spurs are rummaging around at the back of the cupboard, they’ve also decided it might be an idea to hawk out Ryan Mason, over whom Hull have begun talks, and Clinton N’Jie, who is set for a loan switch to Marseille for a year as part of the deal bringing Georges-Kévin N’Koudou to White Hart Lane. Hull’s caretaker Mike Phelan is also reported to be interested in bringing Micah Richards to the KC Stadium, because if there’s one player who understands what being in a doomed relegation scrap surrounded by fans baying for the departure of the owners in an atmosphere of acrimony and decay is all about …
Another putative Tottenham target meanwhile, the Lille forward Sofiane Boufal, is the subject of a €15m bid from Southampton, as Claude Puel lines up the next wave of Saints attackers destined to spend the subsequent summer being linked with Big Red Clubs in the north-west. Lille want €20m though.
Chelsea are after the Milan defender Alessio Romagnoli, waving £30m around in the hope it may work rather more smoothly than similar wad-waving in the direction of Napoli over Kalidou Koulibaly, who has now been offered a new contract with a £60m release clause by the Serie A club.
Today’s daily diet of Arsenal disappointment includes fresh reports on the unlikelihood of Shkodran Mustafi being lured from Valencia or of Alexandre Lacazette leaving Lyon, while Everton are edging towards the view that maybe all those implicitly critical things that have been said about Joe Hart might have a smidgeon of validity, and are casting covetous glances instead in the direction of the Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu.
And West Brom want to tempt full-back Charlie Taylor away from the stability and security that characterises life at Leeds United.
