He has had scouts purring far and wide, and now Real Madrid are intent on following up their interest in Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, the Serbia midfielder set to shine in Russia this summer. Real are threatening to dangle a monstrous £132m under the noses of Lazio in order to get their man, ahead of Manchester United. Any deal for the 23-year-old will doubtless line the pockets of his agent, the former Chelsea striker Mateja Kezman.
United have been thwarted in their attempts to sign Leonardo Bonucci too, with the Milan defender reaffirming his commitment to the Serie A club, while Gareth Bale is still umming and ahhing over whether to stay at Real, with the forward adamant he will only make a final decision over his future once it becomes clear who will replace the irreplaceable in the dugout. Liverpool are a little down in the dumps too after Nabil Fekir’s move to Anfield broke down at the eleventh hour. To get their transfer fix, Jürgen Klopp and José Mourinho will go head-to-head for Wigan Athletic’s 16-year-old striker Joe Gelhardt, an England youth international.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have a fight on their hands to keep hold of N’Golo Kanté, with Thomas Tuchel and Paris Saint-Germain circling. The Frenchman’s agent has reportedly met with Antero Henrique, the PSG sporting director in the past weeks and Tuchel has aspirations of beefing up his midfield with Kanté and Julian Weigl, who played under him at Borussia Dortmund. If that doesn’t whet the appetite, then Newcastle United activating the £16m release clause in Salomón Rondón’s West Bromwich Albion contract surely will. And it is a matter of when – not if – James Maddison departs Norwich, with Everton, Fulham and Leicester happy to pay over the odds, circa £20m to land the 21-year-old.
Down in the doldrums of the Championship, Leeds United intend to bolster their faltering front-line by signing Derby County’s Matej Vydra, while West Brom are lining up a good old-fashioned triple swoop. They want Bristol City’s Bobby Reid, Brentford’s Romaine Sawyers and the Celtic midfielder Stuart Armstrong, though they face competition from Crystal Palace for the latter. And Wolves are determined to re-announce themselves on the big stage, by tussling with Brighton for Sunderland’s £5m-rated Paddy McNair.
