Everton bean-counters will be rubbing their hands together with glee if the half-time substitution of John Terry during Chelsea’s 3-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City was, as many suspect, partly motivated by José Mourinho’s desire to send one of his sledgehammer subtle messages upstairs to his employer.
Chelsea’s interest in John Stones is likely to have increased after a weekend in which the vulnerabilities of José’s normally reliable back four were exposed and given an all too rare runaround, while Everton’s central defender gave a masterclass in self-assurance, poise and control in his side’s impressive win over Southampton at St Mary’s. Weekend speculation suggests Chelsea are concerned that Manchester United and Manchester City are “secretly plotting” to hijack their efforts to lure Stones away from Goodison Park, despite Roberto Martínez’s repeated assertions that the player is not available to anyone at any price.
Whether City actually want or need Stones is debatable, as reports from Spain suggest that they have already agreed a €40m deal to bring Valencia centre-back Nicolas Otamendi to the Etihad in a move that hinges on Eliaquim Mangala agreeing to go the other way on loan. The Argentinian defender’s name has long been mentioned in conjunction with a move to Manchester United, but Louis van Gaal looks likely to miss out on a player who has already agreed personal terms with City and apparently downed tools at Valencia in what sounds, on the face of it, like a petulant attempt to force through a move.
Back at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho is also believed to have demanded the club bring in Gonzalo Higuaín in from Napoli, despite the Argentinian striker having a £64m release clause in his contract. Contracted with the Serie A side until 2018, Higuaín recently rejected the opportunity to ink a one-year extension.
Tottenham Hotspur fans will be alarmed by news that, having failed in their efforts to sign Oscar, Mesut Özil and Mario Götze, Juventus have turned their attention to Christian Eriksen in their hunt for midfield reinforcements. Tottenham have insisted their great Dane is not for sale, but the player’s agent was non-committal when asked about the possibility of his client moving elsewhere. “I will never speak about specific clubs but we know that since he has been 14 many big clubs have been interested in him,” said Martin Schoots. “Christian is happy at Tottenham, but you never know what will happen in the future.”
Everton are reported to be pulling away from West Ham in the race to sign Barcelona midfielder Alex Song for around £3.5m, which seems a complete snip for a 27-year-old who has already proved himself more than capable of performing in the Premier League. The frustration of Everton fans at their club’s lack of action in the transfer market could be further alleviated by speculation linking Dynamo Kiev’s 25-year-old creative midfielder Andriy Yarmalenko with a move to Goodison Park.
Meanwhile in Newcastle, Steve McClaren is preparing to welcome £12m-rated Marseille winger Florian Thauvin to the club’s Darsley Park training ground, where a parking space and dressing room peg will be freed up for the 22-year-old by the departure of Rémy Cabella, who will move in the other direction on loan.
The plot surrounding the mooted move of David de Gea to Real Madrid has thickened, with idle chitter-chatter suggesting the Spanish club have told the Manchester United goalkeeper to see out his contract at Old Trafford in exchange for a wallet-busting £12m signing on fee next summer.
The Mirror reports that West Brom manager Tony Pulis is happy for Saido Berahino to go to Spurs for £25m, while Arsenal will zero in on handsome Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani if their tedious pursuit of Karim Benzema proves fruitless.
And finally, Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Liverpool won’t be getting their grubby mitts on Inter midfielder Mateo Kovacic unless they up their original bid of almost £18m by another £4m, while Wolfsburg sporting director Klaus Allofs has told Sky Sports that Manchester City could step up their efforts to bring Kevin De Bruyne to Manchester early this week. “It is possible that there will be an offer in the next days,” he said.
