Ah yes, the Mill loves the smell of hooey in the morning. So our nostrils are throbbing with glee at some of the claims being circulated in the wakes of Zinedine Zidane’s sudden departure from Real Madrid. Such as the one that would have us believe that if Real fail to prise Mauricio Pochettino from Tottenham, they will turn their attentions to Jürgen Klopp – and then, once they have convinced the German to defect to the Bernabéu, they’ll return to Anfield to nab Mo Salah, too. Less than a week after breaking Liverpool’s hearts in Kiev, Real are determined to finish the club off, it seems.
Assuming Salah does not spend the summer dicing with the issue of how to greet Sergio Ramos when they meet as team-mates on Real’s pre-season get-together, the Egyptian may instead be welcoming Thomas Lemar to Anfield, as Liverpool intend reviving their interest in the forward whom they tried to buy off Monaco last summer. Arsenal are going to try again, too, although given that they previously had a bid of €100m rejected, it’s hard to think they’re going to impress anyone with a transfer budget of £50m.
Still, Monaco are hopeful that a bidding war will drive up the price that Liverpool would have to pay because Bayern Munich and Chelsea are also said to be keen on joining the hunt. Chelsea, eh? It’s hard to see them spending big this summer if Roman Abramovich remains frozen out of Stamford Bridge but rumours of a transfer splurge persist, nonetheless.
Getting their hands on Gonzalo Higuaín seems doable, mind you, as Juventus are said to be willing to offload him in return for Álvaro Morata. Chelsea also reckon they could sign Arturo Vidal, who may be available for relatively cheap from Bayern. The manager who will work with these players at Chelsea will be Laurent Blanc, according to some. Or Zidane, according to others. But definitely not John Terry, as he’s off to become Frank Lampard’s No 2 at Derby, apparently.
By far the most interesting rumoured appointment could be about to take place at Elland Road, however, as Leeds United are said to be in talks about hiring none other than Marcelo Bielsa as their new manager. If that comes to pass, expect an electrified Leeds to take the Championship by storm. At least for a few weeks. But possibly for an entire season. Leeds are never boring.
Rafael Benítez, meanwhile, may treat himself to a Ferrari. Gian Marco Ferrari, that is, the Sassuolo defender who drove fans wild with his performance on loan at Sampdoria last season. Finally, with Bayern set to have a mini-clearout this summer, Arsenal fancy they may be able to pick up Jérôme Boateng on the cheap. Liverpool, again, have the same idea.
