£35m. Yep, that’s the sum being mentioned in conjunction with Everton midfielder Ross Barkley, who seems a perfect match for Spurs in so far as he’s occasionally good but ultimately undependable. The Evening Standard say that they have made inquiries about bringing the 23-year-old down to that there London and are waiting to see what happens next. Tottenham’s interest in Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha is well documented and ongoing, but apparently he’s worth £10m less than Barkley ... which seems to make very little sense to today’s Rumours.
Despite all that talk linking him with a £60m January move to Chinese club Shanghai SIPG, Oscar wants to stay at Chelsea, although the Daily Mirror say Antonio Conte is ready to hand his locker key, dressing room peg and car park space to 23-year-old Genoa midfielder Diego Laxalt.
The Manchester City jig is more or less up for Gaël Clichy, who is wanted by assorted Serie A clubs including Napoli, Internazionale and Roma. The full-back’s contract is due to expire next summer and he’s free to see other people in January.
Having apparently failed to convince Brazilian club Santos to part with 26-year-old midfielder Lucas Lima for £12m last August, Crystal Palace are going to bid considerably less for him this January, according to tabloid reports. Whispers from Paris say Mill regular, Wolfsburg midfielder and long-time Arsenal target Julian Draxler, is wanted by PSG, who will outbid the Gunners in the race to secure the apparently unsettled 23-year-old.
West Ham whelp Reece Oxford turns 18 tomorrow and the London club are expected to mark the occasion by announcing that he’s signed a new five-year deal, despite reports of interest from Manchester United and Manchester City. Carlos Tévez, who lined up for both Manchester clubs and currently plies his trade with Boca Juniors in his native Argentina, has had his head turned by an offer of $25m from Shanghai Shenhua and reports in Argentina say he’s already agreed terms with the Chinese club. Elsewhere in the Chinese Super League, Tianjin Songjiang manager Fabio Cannavaro is preparing to hose down PSG striker Edinson Cavani with fifties.
And finally, Everton appear to have got the upper hand over Arsenal and Celtic in the battle to sign highly regarded Charlton teenager and England Under-20 international Ademola Lookman, while Liverpool are on the verge of signing Anderlecht winger Frank Acheampong for £6m.
